Typhoons! Need info, please

[Dominik]

My request considers plastic kits and Typhoons. I want to built Academy's Typhoon but decals quality is very poor. Who has made Academy's models knows what I mean. I found two decal sets, made by Polish companu - Techmod. Unfortunately both represent aircraft with "car dor" type canopy. I searched through the Net and two monographs I have, but I couldn't find any photo of these aircraft with bubble canopy.
These are:
DN 421 SA-H; No 486 Sqn
JP 510 FM-A; No 257 Sqn
JP 496 HH-W; No 175 Sqn
DN 473 OV-E; No 179 Sqn
DN 406 PR-F; No 609 Sqn

Could someone write some information about these Typhoons. Thak you

Best regards

Dominik

[Chris Thomas]

Dominik
I'm not quite sure what information you require on these aircraft. First thing to point out is that either the decal company or yourself seem to have made an error with the aircraft at the top of your list; there are photos known of DN421 as EL-C of 181 Sqn and SA-H with a white nose was R8781. Photos exist of all the other aircraft in the markings quoted and all have the 'car-door' canopy. Two of the aircraft, JP496 and JP510 were subsequently modified to have the 'bubble' canopy; no photo of JP496 is known in this guise (it served with two training units, 3 TEU and 56 OTU). After modification JP510 went back to 257 Squadron but its letters were changed to FM-Y. There is a photo of this aircraft in '2nd TAF' Volume 1, p.80, after it had force-landed in France on 16 March 1944. It had retained the squadron leader's pennant and name on the nose and had gained some new artwork - what appears to be a rather crude representation of a kangaroo - in front of the cockpit.
CT