My Spitfire factory

[Miggers]

Originally Posted by conkerking

I just snagged this lot on ebay. Couldn't help myself. My finger kind of slipped on "buy it now".



I am doomed.

Damned good bag that.
Just two things though,strip both the Italeri and Academy kits for the parts,i.e,cockpit interiors,propellers and undercart.
The Italeri is a poor effort,the Academy from the cockpit forward is all over the place plus the radiators are 'orrible.

For a Vb you can't better the old Airfix kit at all(or the Mk 1 kit for early single stage engined variants).

For a Griffon engined fighter use Fujimi's XIV series or the new Airfix XIX fuselage mated to the new Airfix
IX wing(when it comes out soon).

The Airfix Mk 1,Vb and XIX are really the "gold standard" for accuracy of dimensions and outline.

The Revell Vb is actually quite good,but the Airfix one gets the nod because of it's well known accuracy
and the superb depiction of the under fuselage "gull wing" ,something which both Revell and Italeri forgot all about.

Mark

[ian lanc]

Originally Posted by Wurger

Nice to see a machine used by Polish 303 Squadron..Looking very nice.

Hey Wurger. Any answers to why the code letters are on top of the serials on that Spit'

Great models Mark

ian.

[conkerking]

Originally Posted by Miggers

Damned good bag that.
Just two things though,strip both the Italeri and Academy kits for the parts,i.e,cockpit interiors,propellers and undercart.
The Italeri is a poor effort,the Academy from the cockpit forward is all over the place plus the radiators are 'orrible.

For a Vb you can't better the old Airfix kit at all(or the Mk 1 kit for early single stage engined variants).

For a Griffon engined fighter use Fujimi's XIV series or the new Airfix XIX fuselage mated to the new Airfix
IX wing(when it comes out soon).

The Airfix Mk 1,Vb and XIX are really the "gold standard" for accuracy of dimensions and outline.

The Revell Vb is actually quite good,but the Airfix one gets the nod because of it's well known accuracy
and the superb depiction of the under fuselage "gull wing" ,something which both Revell and Italeri forgot all about.

Mark

Thanks for all this info... further into my modelling "career" I'm sure it will come in handy. At the moment as far as to-the-millimetre dimensions are concerned, I'm not too fussy, as long as it comes out broadly resembling a Spit. I was really pleased at how my Italeri turned out, poor effort as it is. When I come to do a Vb seaplane though I will probably draw the line at the PM kit, which it has to be said is a mutt - from pics I've seen of the completed kit it barely looks like a spit. Will probably graft an Italeri or Revell to the floats.

For all the flak that poor old Airfix get elsewhere on this forum, they're the gold standard then... I've done the new XIX and it's great.

[Miggers]

Originally Posted by conkerking

Thanks for all this info... further into my modelling "career" I'm sure it will come in handy. At the moment as far as to-the-millimetre dimensions are concerned, I'm not too fussy, as long as it comes out broadly resembling a Spit. I was really pleased at how my Italeri turned out, poor effort as it is. When I come to do a Vb seaplane though I will probably draw the line at the PM kit, which it has to be said is a mutt - from pics I've seen of the completed kit it barely looks like a spit. Will probably graft an Italeri or Revell to the floats.

For all the flak that poor old Airfix get elsewhere on this forum, they're the gold standard then... I've done the new XIX and it's great.

If people are giving Airfix flak over their 1/72nd Spits(except for the old JE*J Mk.IX)then I'm afraid they don't know what they're talking about.

Go to Britmodeller forums and ask the accuracy question about Airfix's 1/72nd Spits and see what they tell you there.
Ask there too about the Italeri and Academy Spits.

I've seen the new Airfix Mk.IX,it apparently is spot-on too(and looks it),especially now they've retooled the stb'd fuselage
and prop.

Mark

[conkerking]

Originally Posted by Miggers

If people are giving Airfix flak over their 1/72nd Spits(except for the old JE*J Mk.IX)then I'm afraid they don't know what they're talking about.

Go to Britmodeller forums and ask the accuracy question about Airfix's 1/72nd Spits and see what they tell you there.
Ask there too about the Italeri and Academy Spits.

I've seen the new Airfix Mk.IX,it apparently is spot-on too(and looks it),especially now they've retooled the stb'd fuselage
and prop.

Mark

Not about their Spits specifically (although I did pick up the JE-J Mk IX and laughed out loud when I took it out of the box), I meant generally...

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/mod...ost-16346.html (Has Airfix lost it?)

And like I said, I know this might seem ridiculous to many on this forum, but (at this stage at least) I'm really not that arsed about relative degrees of super-accuracy, certainly not to make the time to go asking people about it anyways, short enough of time as it is...

Appreciate the feedback though, and looking forward to the new Airfix IX. What I really want is one of those 1:1 kits like what James May has.

[ian lanc]

Originally Posted by Miggers

Go to Britmodeller forums

Don't you dare mention that forum on here, any dissagreements on that site and moderators jump in and your banned, bunch of ies

ian.

[conkerking]

Fight! Fight! Fight!

[djos]

Hi

very nice models, and very interesting versions.
Great, you are definitely big fan of Spitfires

I have one question. I want to make Seafire IIb same as you did. But i can not buy any model of Seafire in Serbia, so i must do it with homemade approach. Can you advice me how to do it, which model should i use, and what need to be changed at standard model. I have (also) big stock of many different versions of Spitfire, but not even one from Seafire series. As i mentioned before, i think that you done good job with your Seafire so definitely you are right person to get advice from .

Thanks a lot

Best regards

[conkerking]

Originally Posted by djos

Hi

very nice models, and very interesting versions.
Great, you are definitely big fan of Spitfires

I have one question. I want to make Seafire IIb same as you did. But i can not buy any model of Seafire in Serbia, so i must do it with homemade approach. Can you advice me how to do it, which model should i use, and what need to be changed at standard model. I have (also) big stock of many different versions of Spitfire, but not even one from Seafire series. As i mentioned before, i think that you done good job with your Seafire so definitely you are right person to get advice from .

Thanks a lot

Best regards

Actually if you can get the Airfix Spitfire Vc kit it includes all the components necessary to make the Seafire (including the grappling hook), there's really nothing expert about my conversion , however the instructions/decals supplied with the kit are not for the Seafire, they're for the Spitfire.

To do the Seafire you will need the instructions and decals that come with this year's Airfix Club limited edition members kit (Fleet Air Arm set). I still have the instructions left over from when I did mine, as well as a spare set of decals in two options (assuming you're happy to do one of those two), if you want them PM me your address and I'll happily post them to you.

Have a look here at how I built the Seafire (I noticed the other day that I forgot to stick the air intake on!! I'll need to add it)

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/sta...ild-20008.html (1/72 Airfix Spitfire PR XIX and Seafire side-by-side build)

Cheers

[conkerking]

Another one wrapped up... this was originally going to have a camo scheme but I took a left turn halfway and sprayed it silver. I learned from this that metal finishes are very unforgiving and if I'm going to do them the model has to be seamless... in this case I've made a bit of a hash of the wing roots. Oh well.

This, apparently, is a fairly well known Spit, served at the Central Gunnery School in 1946 at RAF Catfoss just north of Hull. Crashed at Skipsea in January 1949.

Heller kit, Lifelike Decals sheet 72-007.

[Heinz]

Looks awesome CK!

[Airframes]

Nice one!

[A4K]

Great work Tony!

I think the original issue of the Heller LF.XVI came with those markings you ordered, since changed to those of D-GE 'Winston Churchill'

[conkerking]

Cheers guys

Originally Posted by A4K

I think the original issue of the Heller LF.XVI came with those markings you ordered, since changed to those of D-GE 'Winston Churchill'

I don't know how old this particular kit was (box looked a bit retro, picked up on ebay), but it came with both those sets of markings. However the decals were pretty nasty so I went for the aftermarket option. Lifelike do two sheets for 1/72 XVIs, and both this Spit F-JWL RW396 and the "Winston Churchill" kite feature. They're lovely decals to work with.

[B-17engineer]

Nice work!!