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USAAF Spitfire PR XI- Tamiya w/ Ali Cat conversion kit


BloorwestSiR

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So here's an illustrated update as promised.

 

After joining the wings and fuselage together, I went to drill the ventral camera ports. And ran into a bit of a problem. Here's the photo from the instruction sheet for the conversion. It shows the wing and fuselage together so that you use the joint between the two as a reference point to mark out the camera ports. 

 

005-3.jpg

 

So looking at that and not really thinking about it at first, I joined the two together, marked out the holes and drilled them out using a stepped drill bit I have:

 

001-3.jpg 

 

Everything looks good until I come to the point where I have to install the backing plates and trim for the ports:

 

004-3.jpg

 

And since my fuselage and wing are now one piece, there's no way to get them in. :BANGHEAD2:  :BANGHEAD2:  :BANGHEAD2:

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After doing a bit of  :BANGHEAD2: , I decided to try cutting off the ports from the backing plates and mounting them into the drilled holes:

 

006-2.jpg

 

The tubes are quite thin so this was a bit nerve wracking but I was able to separate both ports from the backing plates. They were then mounted as flush to the fuselage surface as I could following the contours as best as possible. 

 

The instructions tell you to drill holes near the wing tips and attach some 1.0mm diameter tubing to depict the fuel vent tubes. After taking out some 1.0mm tubing, it looked too large to me so I used 0.8mm instead. This is from Albion Alloys and is hollow so no need to drill the end out. 

 

016-4.jpg

 

The deeper chin cowl on my set didn't fit very well and no matter how much coaxing, I could not get to fit decently. I'm not sure if this was due to operator error or something with the part. One thing I have noticed is that all the bits that are direct replacement for kit parts or are based on kit parts seem to be ever so slightly larger. I was under the impression that resin tends to shrink and therefore, they should have been smaller. 

 

After fighting with it for several nights, I finally decided to try and modify the kit one. I used CA and baby powder. It may not be pretty, but it worked:

 

010-4.jpg

 

After some wet sanding and a final coat of Mr Surfacer 500, here's my version:

 

015-2.jpg

 

The profile is close enough to the resin one that I'm happy with it. And it fits a lot better too. It's still not perfect so it probably was operator error but I'm much happier.

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Again scrolling through your build with interest my question is. Worth it to bye that conversion kit of can a modeler do the needed changes form a IX to a XI with doing it from scratch?

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Again scrolling through your build with interest my question is. Worth it to bye that conversion kit of can a modeler do the needed changes form a IX to a XI with doing it from scratch?

Considering that most of the conversion is easily within the realm of most modelers, it's a very valid question.

 

If you start with the MkVIII kit, the hardest part would be the one piece canopy in place of the standard fighter one. Next would be the under wing fairings for the fuel pumps in getting a symmetrical pair. And then I guess markings. Otherwise, most is fairly straight forward. As you can see from my build, I've ended up having to modify some kit parts for one reason or another.

 

For what on first impression should be a"plug and play" conversion, a lot of work is needed finessing the various bits. But that could be me.

 

Carl

Edited by BloorwestSiR
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Don't know if it will help, but the undersides ports had a panel which came across the opening on the inside, and the fuel vent tubes point forwards, they enter the wing at the rear.

 

The chin part on my set was too long, here's a review by me and Kev which I give a solution http://www.largescaleplanes.com/reviews/review.php?rid=1160

 

Any questions just pm me.

Edited by Kagemusha
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Don't know if it will help, but the undersides ports had a panel which came across the opening on the inside, and the fuel vent tubes point forwards, they enter the wing at the rear.

 

The chin part on my set was too long, here's a review by me and Kev which I give a solution http://www.largescaleplanes.com/reviews/review.php?rid=1160

 

Any questions just pm me.

Hi Andy,

 

Nice review. I have to agree with most of your comments. Interesting that on your set the long intake con cowl is bigger as they're a much better fit in both my sets compared to the short one I'm using.

 

The canopy is definitely on the thick side. Plus the fit is a challenge as I will highlight in my next update.

 

Carl

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So,I've managed to get some more work done on the Spitfire over the last couple of days. 

 

As I mentioned earlier, the canopy is not a great fit.

 

020-4.jpg

 

This is with me holding the rear corners tight to the fuselage. With some downward force, you can close the gap a bit but not enough to eliminate it.

 

As well,both of my copies are not very clear. I tried polishing it but it didn't make a difference. I sanded off the panels just in front of the cockpit opening hoping it owuld improve things. I also carefully chamfered the edges slightly and that helped a lot. I primed it with interior green to check my progress. It still needed some filler around the front edge but to me,  it is a major improvement.

 

011-3.jpg

 

After a unexpected visit from our cat Fursnake (long story on how she got her name), I decided to call it a night.

 

008-3.jpg

Edited by BloorwestSiR
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So earlier tonight, I started by masking the invasion stripes. I sprayed the areas flat white first and then used 1mm tape around the curves and 5mm tape along the straight sections.

 

009-2.jpg

 

I then fill in the large gaps with green painters tape. This helps to cut down on using the kabuki tape unnecessarily.

 

012-1.jpg

 

I forgot to mention that I re-oriented the wing vent tubes. Thanks to Kagemusha for pointing out their correct orientation.

 

015-3.jpg

 

Here's the topside with the cockpit opening masked off.

 

010-5.jpg

 

And a first coat of paint:

 

016-5.jpg

 

There are a couple places that need some work including scribing some panel lines I missed.

 

I have to say I'm definitely feeling better about this build now that i seem to have clear the biggest hurdles.

 

Carl 

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It looks beautiful Carl!

 

I'm looking forward to building mine after I finish my Tamiya P-51D. I'm just debating whether I want to do a Recon Spitfire first or if I want to do Johnny Johnson's Spitfire with the Beer kegs under the wings on the pylons with a different conversion set.

 

Keep up the awesome work!

 

 Brady

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More progress on the Spitfire. I engraved a few panel lines that I had missed as well as sanded down some fish eye marks in the paint. I then gave it a light post shading on the upper wings and top of the fuselage. This is the first time I've tried something like this. It doesn't show too well in the pics probably because of the lighting but it's there.

 

002-5.jpg

 

After unmasking the invasion stripes, i noticed a slight omission:

 

003-5.jpg

 

Yup, no black stripes  :doh:

 

004-4.jpg

 

So, out with a bunch of masking tape:

 

005-4.jpg

 

And a quick spray of Tamiya XF-1 later:

 

007-6.jpg

 

008-4.jpg

 

Now to let things dry a bit.

 

Carl

 

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It looks beautiful Carl!

 

I'm looking forward to building mine after I finish my Tamiya P-51D. I'm just debating whether I want to do a Recon Spitfire first or if I want to do Johnny Johnson's Spitfire with the Beer kegs under the wings on the pylons with a different conversion set.

 

Keep up the awesome work!

 

 Brady

 

 

Hi Brady,

 

Thanks Brady, it is good knowing that once done, I'll have a slightly different Spitfire. I'm also working on a PRU pink FR IX and once I sort it out from the other two Spitfire kits it's mixed up with, they'll make an interesting pair.

 

As for J-EJ Jr, I've got the Victory decal sheet for that one too so I may just have to take a crack at it as well. Where did you get the conversion kit for it? I imagine it's just a pair of barrels.

 

Carl,

 

Reading your latest updates you sound calm but I am sure that the little glitches must give you a heads he as

You tried to resolve and over come them.

It appears you have managed to find a solution ..

 

Good work...

It's coming along just nicely.

 

Good luck...

 

:clap2:

 

 

Thanks Maru! I really thought this would have been an easy one but it hasn't. At least I'm getting near the end of the build. 

 

Mostly though, I'm just glad to be at a work bench again on a regular basis. Last year  I could only manage once a month if I was lucky thanks to a new baby and then buying a new home and selling our existing home. 

 

Carl

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Hi Carl,

 

Here's a complete review of what you get in the conversion set for Johnny Johnson's JE J Jr. beer barrels:

 

http://scaleplasticandrail.com/kaboom/index.php/all-things-aviation/132-135-scale/132-aftermarket-items/1554-132-beer-kegs-for-tamiya-mkix-spitfire-from-profimodeller

 

To answer your question it's made by ProfiModeller and it comes with a masking set for the markings and the link to purchase it directly is in the review or right here:

 

http://www.profimodeller.com/detail/32065-beer-kegs-spitfire/

 

Enjoy,

Brady

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