Typhoon Reference Information - UPDATED - Now with 6 Sqn Markings

[Bobski]

The idea of this thread is to provide a central repository for all references or questions about modelling the Typhoon. Quite a few people have requested this, but it's taken me this long to actually find time to sit down and do it!

My first (and biggest) caveats are that I do not claim to be an expert on absolutely everything to do with Typhoon, nor will I will discuss any information that is not already publically available. That said, I hope that this will give people enough useful information to build an accurate Tiffie from any of the partner and customer nations in pretty much any scale. My second caveat is that most of my knowledge is around RAF and Saudi aircraft, as those are the ones we build at Warton, so this is open for people with more knowledge on other nations' jets to fill in any blanks that I have. If you want more detail photographs etc of the Tiffie, I can recommend Andy Evans' book on the subject (although ignore the paint callouts for the Saudi Typhoon as they are completely wrong).

All photographs here are mine unless otherwise stated. Where I have used a photo from Airliners.net, for copyright reasons I have used a link rather than copying the photo and I ask anyone who adds anything else to this thread to do the same. I would also ask that if anyone would like to use my photos for anything other than their own use then please ask me first.

Colours

The following colours are the specific shades for each of the customer or partner nations and are from Eurofighter:

UK Royal Air Force - BS381c-626 (aka Camouflage Grey or "Barley Grey")

German Luftwaffe - FS35237 (this has a slight blueish tint to it)

Spanish Air Force - FS36492

(From www.eurofighter.com)

Italian Air Force - FS36440 (Approximately)

Austrian Air Force - FS36492 (the same as the Spanish Air Force)

(From www.eurofighter.com)

Royal Saudi Air Force - Two-tone camouflage - overall BS381c-626 with FS35237 on top

Photo on Airliners.net

While the main airframe colour varies depending on the operator, there are a number of areas where the colours remain the same across all the aircraft, most notably the undercarriage, the radomes and other unpainted areas. The undercarriage is a very light grey, and the radomes all start off something close to RAF Barley Grey, but quickly darken as they weather. To see these unpainted areas more clearly, your best bet is to find some photos of the jets in primer. Here are some links to some good ones:

Pic 1 on Airliners.net

Pic 2 on Airliners.net

Pic 3 on Airliners.net

The primer itself is a orangey-brown colour for most of the airframe (ie the parts made of composite materials), with metal areas in a greeny-yellow colour. Sorry for the scientific terminology there, but I don't have any more details than that!

Variants

Obviously there are two main variants - the single-seat and the twin-seat. Both are fully combat capable, however the twin-seat is used primarily for training and NOT as a twin-seat strike aircraft like the F-15E. Naturally enough, like the F-16 there are sub-variants depending on the Block standard of the aircraft (and in which tranche it was built):

Tranche 1

Blocks 1 and 2 were air defence only aircraft and these jets do not feature the PIRATE FLIR on the nose. Block 5 introduced the PIRATE FLIR and (on RAF machines) a basic air-to-surface capability. The easiest way to tell a Block 5 from the earlier jets in RAF, Italian and Spanish service is to look for the FLIR. If it is there, then it is a Block 5. If it is not, then it is most likely an earlier jet. HOWEVER, the FLIR is removeable, so you might want to check plenty of references to make sure. To complicate things a bit further, the Luftwaffe do not have the FLIR on their jets (other than a few test aircraft), so there is no visible difference between the different aircraft Blocks. For those jets you will need to check the tail numbers.

Tranche 2

Block 8 onwards - all of the RAF, Italian and Spanish aircraft should be delivered with the FLIR, however many fly without it. Your best bet to spot a Tranche 2 jet is to look at the tail number and/or the build date. Any jet that flew for the first time after mid-2008 is a Tranche 2 jet. For the RAF, any single-seat tail number from ZJ944 onwards or ZK3xx is a Tranche 2 jet, as are all the Saudi jets. No RAF Tranche 2 twin-seaters have flown as of May 2010, so I can't tell you what serials they will have.

Weapons

This one is a common one, especially seeing as Revell give you a plethora of air-to-surface stores in their 1/48th and 1/72nd scale kits, so I will go through the stores that can currently be seen flying on the jet, as of May 2010. If I don't mention something then there are three possible reasons - 1) I'm not allowed to say it, 2) It's not being flown on the jet or 3) I simply don't know (like I said, I'm not a complete expert):

RAF:

ASRAAM

AIM-120B AMRAAM

AIM-9L Sidewinder (Very rare and only on BAE Development aircraft)

Paveway II (UK) 1000lb LGB

Paveway IV 500lb LGB (BAE Development aircraft only)

UK 1000lb Iron Bomb

LITENING III Laser Designation Pod (Centreline Only) - Note that the LITENING LDP used on Typhoon is the opposite way round to the one on the F-16 - ie the intake and access panel are on the port side rather than the starboard side. Dr Pepper makes one in this configuration in 1/48th, but to do it in other scales you have to cut off the front section with the seeker head and rotate it through 180 degrees to get it correct.

Luftwaffe:

IRIS-T

AIM-9L Sidewinder (very rare)

AIM-120B AMRAAM

Spanish Air Force & Italian Air Force

IRIS-T

AIM-9L Sidewinder (very rare)

AIM-120B AMRAAM

Austrian Air Force

IRIS-T

External tanks are all the supersonic 1000 litre tanks with integral pylons. They can be carried on the centreline and the centre-wing stations only, and are the same for all customers and partners.

Edited September 10, 2010 by Bobski

[Bobski]

Cockpit

The cockpit is painted Dark Admiralty Grey, with all black areas a very matt black (for NVGs). That said, DAG is far too dark for a model, so I usually use either Medium Sea Grey or FS 36375 for mine. Some photos of the cockpit on Airliners.net can be found at the links below:

Cockpit Pic 1

Cockpit Pic 2

Cockpit Pic 3

The third one is particularly good as the seat as been removed, allowing you to see both of the side consoles.

Ejection Seat

The Typhoon has the Martin Baker Mk.16A ejection seat and it is very different to the Mk.16 seat used in the Rafale and the F-35. For your viewing pleasure, here are some walkaround photos I took of the seat at a recent defence training trade show in London:

Other Info

If you want some good references for Typhoon, then Airliners.net is your friend, as is Andy Evans' book.

If you're looking for aftermarket decals then the following options are available:

TwoBobs do a couple of sheets in 1/48th and 1/32nd - RAF and Italian Tiffies - and they are absolutely superb. The one issue is that the red border around the 'XXX' on the 29 Sqn fuselage markings is incomplete, however this is a minor complaint against an otherwise superb sheet.

The Model Alliance RAF Typhoon sheet has a good selection of serials and squadron markings, however the greys are a little too light and the roundels are the wrong colour. They too have done the 29 Sqn markings incorrectly and have also done the intercept markings on ZJ932 incorrectly as 4 Tu-142 Bears when it should be 2 Bears and 2 Blackjacks.

Model Alliance were first on the market with the Royal Saudi Air Force markings, however sadly they got the colour of the Squadron badge on the tail completely wrong. These can only therefore be used to represent the first aircraft (CS001 / 1001 / ZK060) after it was painted but before it flew for the first time.

Finally there are the decals that come with the Mark 1 Guide book. These are available in every scale from 1/144th up to 1/32nd and include a variety of options, including German and Italian special schemes, the short-lived 1435 Flight Maltese Cross from ZJ950 (it was on the jet for a day) and the (correct) Saudi markings. I've not used these yet, but they look to be pretty good.

For resin accessories, then there are a number of options:

TwoMikes have a selection of items available, including inboard pylons (essential when loading air-to-surface weapons), an APU exhaust and intake covers. These are absolutely superb and I cannot recommend them highly enough - they will really bring your model to life.

Airwaves have just released a set of resin seats for the Typhoon in 1/48th, which are available from Hannants.

Aires are apparently doing a resin cockpit for the Typhoon in 1/48th, and they have done some excellent engine nozzles for the Trumpeter kit in 1/32nd (hopefully these will be followed by some for the Revell kit!)

Finally, Eduard do a variety of detail sets in PE for Typhoons in all scales that can really add detail to your model.

That's about everything from me - I hope that some of you find this useful. Mods - can you make this a "Sticky" please?

[Stephen]

A VERY useful thread.

Thanks

Stephen

[otis252]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have the 32nd scale Typhoon on my bench as we speak. This will be very useful.

Chuck

[Darth2307]

Sweet! Thank you very much! I am currently starting a German Typhoon and I am sure this post will help tremendously.

PM. sent!

[janman]

Thanks a lot for this excellent and informative post!

This should be pinned instantly!

[Bobski]

Thanks for the comments guys. I decided that it would be easier to have all this info in one place for people to read rather than having to trawl through every post about Typhoon to try and find something out!

[thegoodsgt]

Great thread that should be pinned! Here are a few other resources that quickly came to my mind.

Fencheck thread about the Typhoon.

Prime Portal walkarounds

Of course there are a ton of great discussions like this one here on ARC for those willing to looking for them.

[Matt Roberts]

Can we pin this one, considering how many times the simple question about Typhoon colors comes up?

Matt

[Bobski]

There's already a bit of controversy around the colour given for the Italian Tiffs, so I've written back to Eurofighter to get them to clarify it!

In other news, I've just found this photo that might be useful for anyone needing a ref for the nozzles and the rear of the jet: Airliners.net

[4scourge7]

From the early days of 3 Sqn`s affiliation with Typhoon.

Some close-ups for the modeller.

Cheers, Ian :)

[giacomo]

For those who are interested, Lifecolor issued a 6-colour set for modern Italian aircraft, featuring a grey shade that should fit the EF-2000 as well.

http://aeroscale.co.uk/modules.php?op=modl...ead&order=0

[otis252]

When will we have an answer about this been pinned up top?

Chuk

[Marcel111]

Thx for posting, much apreciated!

Marcel

[Paolo Maglio]

very nice and interesting topic.

I would like to add that the use of AIM-9L Sidewinder in not that rare and it is quite common especially on two seaters.

Now some photos I shot recently

Edited June 1, 2010 by Paolo Maglio

[Bobski]

very nice and interesting topic.

I would like to add that the use of AIM-9L Sidewinder in not that rare and it is quite common especially on two seaters.

I will try to add some of my walkaround pics pretty soon.

Those would be great Paolo, thanks.

[Paolo Maglio]

landing gears and wells are called to be very light gray but still looks white to me!

the curve inside the intake

Edited June 1, 2010 by Paolo Maglio

[Firecaptain]

Great reference material....thanks!

What's the criteria for the Aires 1/32 "early" or "late" exhaust nozzles....(I'm building a German 2 seater)

Edited June 1, 2010 by Firecaptain

[Bobski]

Great reference material....thanks!

What's the criteria for the Aires 1/32 "early" or "late" exhaust nozzles....(I'm building a German 2 seater)

I don't know where Aires got their information from, but I've never heard of an "early" or "late" engine nozzle. As far as I'm aware the original Tranche 1 engine nozzles are identical to the new Tranche 2 engine nozzles. There are small differences between Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 engines, but they are all internal.

[otis252]

My question is will the Aires burner cans fit in the Revell kit? Anybody checked this out?

Chuck

[Bobski]

My question is will the Aires burner cans fit in the Revell kit? Anybody checked this out?

Chuck

If they are sized to replace the Trumpeter kit nozzles then no they won't, as the Trumpeter kit nozzles are undersized.

[4scourge7]

Some tips on detailing Revell`s 72nd scale Typhoon.

Speculative four ship with E.Paveway III, at the bottom of the article is links to T.2 and FGR.4 detailing without the need for aftermarket.

http://www.arcair.com/Gal9/8001-8100/gal80...n-Buick/00.shtm

HTH

Cheers, Ian

[4scourge7]

I don't know where Aires got their information from, but I've never heard of an "early" or "late" engine nozzle. As far as I'm aware the original Tranche 1 engine nozzles are identical to the new Tranche 2 engine nozzles. There are small differences between Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 engines, but they are all internal.

The Aires cans have hit the shelves and are almost identical. I took a while to notice that the difference between `late` and `early` is on the inside of the petals. Anyone spot any other differences?

Late

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AIRE2118

Early

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AIRE2119

I wonder how visible this distinction is once the cans are fully assembled?

Overall, they look quite nice though.

Cheers, Ian

Edited June 12, 2010 by Ian Buick

[Bobski]

The Aires cans have hit the shelves and are almost identical. I took a while to notice that the difference between `late` and `early` is on the inside of the petals. Anyone spot any other differences?

Late

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AIRE2118

Early

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AIRE2119

I wonder how visible this distinction is once the cans are fully assembled?

Overall, they look quite nice though.

Cheers, Ian

I've seen it, but I still don't believe it exists on the real jet!

[4scourge7]

I've seen it, but I still don't believe it exists on the real jet!

It is a bit baffling that no-one can explain why two sets are needed. I`m personally inclined to believe someone who actually works on the Typhoon, that`ll do for me.

Cheers, Ian