Spitfire Mk XIV

[BloorwestSiR]

Hi folks,

 

This is my first WIP and the first time I've shown a build on any forum. Having read other threads here, I know I can look forward to lots of support to help me through this.

 

After picking up the RB conversion kit and a Tamiya Mk IX, Tamiya released their MkVIII kit. Seeing that the latter kit has the retractable tail wheel and leading edge wing tanks, I decided to use it instead. so much for building a Grey Nurse Spit for now.

 

As the RB conversion was designed with the PCM kit in mind, I've probably made things a bit more complicated for myself but too late now. After a quick mock up, the biggest issues are the new nose and the larger under wing rads. There is a sizable gap on the underside of the cowl due to the removeable lower cowl. The leading edges of the wing roots will also need some filling in as well. For the rads, Tamiya has molded the rad cores as part of the lower wing while the replacement rads are integral with the fairings. These were probably the biggest hurdle to overcome-cutting out the rad cores without destroying all the details (never mind the wing) around them.

 

I 'll try to get some pics up later tonight of my progress so far (need to resize them) , so sorry if this is a bit of a tease.

[BloorwestSiR]

Called a friend who likes computers and he helped with getting the pics up so here's one showing the wing root gap. Sorry for the poor resolution but all I had with me was my Crackberry.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Carl

[LSP_Kevin]

Whoa, ambitious Carl! I can't help but think you'd be better off sourcing a PCM kit for this one, but I'll be interested to watch now you deal with the issues here. It looks like the general fit of the nose is OK, and should be pretty convincing once you've sorted out the gap.

 

Kev

[BloorwestSiR]

Hi Kevin,

 

After I mocked up the nose, I started thinking the same thing. Only problem was I had already cut the tail off to make the replacement one fit.

 

So from that point, there was no turning back. Guess that's what you get for starting from the easy part.

 

Carl

[Out2gtcha]

After having built Radus Mk XIV conversion on a clipped wing PCM spit, I can attest to the fit on the PCM kit was not bad at all, and with Radu's conv being made for it, it made attaching the new radiators a breeze comparatively to hacking off Tams molded radiators.

 

My example of the Mk XIV conv seemed like it had some mold release agent on it, and needed a good bath. I personally use Westley's Bleche Wite (yeah my spellings horrible but thats how its spelled). It does wonders for removing any gunk on the resin parts.

 

If might also suggest using a pair of MasterCasters 4 spoke resin spit wheels:

MasterCasters 4 Spoke Spit wheels

 

 

They have smooth tread, a very realistic subtle weighted spot to them and look really good on the Mk XIV

 

 

 

Looking forward to more progress pics. I love the Mk XIV, its by far my fav spit.

 

Good luck and take lots of pics and upload them with the help of your friend. Always like to see progress weather its struggling or a smooth build. Seems no matter who we are or what level we can always learn something. As kev mentioned, I think if you can sort the tail and nose joints then maybe the radiators wont be as bad as you think.

 

Keep up the pics and welcome!

 

Cheers,

Brian

[BloorwestSiR]

Hi Kevin,

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to try and get some of those tires. As I mentioned initally, it was seeing your build that made me want to try this.

 

Here's a couple more pics I took. This one shows the gap due to the lower cowl being removeable. I'll most likely use part of the cowl to fill the hole.

[BloorwestSiR]

After debating whether or not I would even attempt to replace the wing mounted rads with the correct ones, I decided that it would be too obvious if they were not done.

 

I then had a bit of an epiphany. To cut out the rad cores, I used a scribing saw that Hasegawa makes. Basically, it's a piece of photo etched stainless steel with a curved section on it. There are some fine teeth along the curve which are supposed to be used to "saw" new panel lines. With the curved end though, I was able to get into the recess and cut the cores out without damaging the surrounding plastic. It was a bit slow cutting due to the location and the size of the teeth, but it worked.

[BloorwestSiR]

This photo shows the cuts in the wing after sawing through the ends of the rad cores. They are a lot thinner than they appear in the photo. Again, sorry for the poor photo resolution but my digital camera is nowhere to be found.

[BloorwestSiR]

Here's the final result with the core removed

 

 

And here's a comparison of the MkVIII rad on the left and the MkXIV one on the right

 

[BloorwestSiR]

So I got a bit more done. I decided to cut down the upper part of the engine cowl so I could attach the entire nose as a one piece assembly to the kit firewall.

 

 

This allows me to remove it from the fuselage so that I can work on filling the gaps.

[BloorwestSiR]

The RB cowl is a bit more square on top compared to the Tamiya fuselage so I added a couple small triangles to help build it up. I sanded the edges down a bit before gluing them and then used Tamiya putty to feather in the rest of the edge.

 

[BloorwestSiR]

This way I can work on the wing root a bit easier. I filled the gap with epox putty and with the front removeable, I can check the fit and not have too hard a time adding putty and shaping it. Or at least, that's the plan.

 

[dodgem37]

Good problem-solving, Carl. Looking forward to more of your work.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[BloorwestSiR]

Well, it's been a while for updates to this but that doesn't I haven't been making progress. My old laptop died and I finally broke down and picked up an IPad.

 

I've completed the cockpit and closed up the fuselage.

 

 

The nose was mounted to the fuselage and the final putty work was done.

 

 

After making a go of converting the cannon blisters to the E wing, I gave up and bought the Alley Cat conversion set. I did retain the stock wing leading edge inserts for the cannons though and just very carefully drilled them out for the Master 20mm brass barrels.

 

 

 

I decided to use Archer transfers to replicate the look of the fasteners similar to what Tamiya did on the stock kit. Here's the nose after a coat medium sea grey.

 

 

Now I just need to finish it before the end of March.

 

Carl

[BloorwestSiR]

Here''s an update on this build. Looks like entering the home stretch with this this one. Sorry for skipping some steps but I had packed my camera. Anyways, I painted the camouflage onto the plane using Tamiya's acrylic paints thinned with their lacquer thinner. I then used paint masks from Ad Astra for the roundels and fin flashes. Came out better than I thought they would as they were the first time i'd used masks for markings. Gives me hope. I then painted the Sky band, invasion stripes, wing walk markings and leading edge stripes too.

 

 

 

 

I still have to paint and assemble the prop, landing gear and final markings and it's done. Which means it's in the danger done for me where I lose interest and go onto something else. Gotta keep plugging away.

 

Carl

Edited April 28, 2011 by BloorwestSiR