After producing an earlier volume on the Typhoon, it is only logical that Valiant Wings Publishing would continue with the Hawker Tempest.  As with the earlier editions, it contains not only information on the aircraft, but also on available kits, accessories, and books. Build articles on many of the available Tempest kits is also included.

The book starts out by providing information on the history of the type, starting with the initial prototypes, of which there are a considerable number. What makes this book special is that there are drawings and photos of these planes, with each successive improvement noted in the drawings. Each plane in this early series has a bit of a history involved with it that gives some pertinent information on the aircraft in question, that includes the colors of the airframe. As the type gets more into production, this information isn't provided, of course. However, we are given information on all the known prototypes. This not only covers the variations on the Tempest, but it covers the Tornado as well.

In the airframe section, we are provided with a goodly section on camouflage and markings. Here you'll find several pages of very well drawn profiles by Richard Caruana. All the major production aircraft are covered in this section. As it is in the historical section, there are profiles of those aircraft sold to India and Pakistan. 

The book then goes into the miniatures section. This is the modeler's section with the author's choice for the best kits in each scale and a build-up of those kits. All of the 1/72 kits are built by the same person so you get a similar perspective on the builds. Most are OOB, which is a good thing as I find that if one is reviewing a kit, it should be pretty close to stock. For the 1/48 Eduard kit, it seems the author has chosen the more recent issue, which has quite a few changes over the earlier version.

The very last section is an 'in detail' section. Thankfully there are preserved examples of this plane extant, though not really all that many and apparently the majority are the radial engine powered Tempest II. There are many photos of these plus images from the period tech manuals and some period photos. These are used to cover all the different bits and systems of the Typhoon. 

This is followed by appendices listing and showing photos of many of the various modeling accessories dedicated to the Typhoon. A kit listing with all variations is next followed by a list of accessories, decals and books associated to the aircraft. This is followed by a huge fold out that offers plans in 1/48 scale. I know that many are plans fans and you'll find these to be especially useful as it provides cross section data as well.

All in all, and like its predecessor,  it makes for a superb book that should appeal to both the enthusiast as well as the modeler. It is a book that I found quite a good read. It is a great effort and well worth the cover price. A book I can most highly recommend to you as a reference.

November 2012

For more on Valiant Wings, including getting this book, visit www.valiant-wings.co.uk. Thank you for the review copy.

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