GuildAero Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Hi all, I have one of the above and a friend who has a share in a real one has asked me to make the kit for him as a display model for his office. Now what do people here reckon to it as a kit? Is it a half decent kit of the aircraft that can be easily made into a damned good model of a particular kite? Are there any absolute boo-boos in the model or is it generally a good 'un? I'd really appreciate the help and advice of those vastly more knowledgeable than I about kits and this one in particular before I agree to do my chum a model or not. Cheers, Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuildAero Posted September 3, 2016 Author Share Posted September 3, 2016 Apologies for mis-spelling my title line! If anyone knows how to change it to 1/32nd, please do! M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 There's a lot that can be done to improve and detail Revell's Tiger Moth Martin but the major problem is the "sit" of the plane due to the virtual absence of a dihedral on the lower wings. John Adams has written about the problem and its correction thus: "Please note that the kit interplane struts are too long, which means that the lower wing dihedral will be too flat. The true lengths in 1:32 are Front 44.5mm and Rear 45.25mm. Make sure that your top wing dihedral isn't pulled down if you alter them. The dihedral of the top wing is 2 deg 45 min and the bottom wing is 4 deg 30 min at the front spars. I think the kit top wing is Okay.This means roughly 5mm under the top tips without the tank fitted and 8.5mm under the lower tips with roots flat. The fault comes from the Cox drawings which Matchbox used as the basic reference. The drawing shows separate struts and these are over scale." I've got some pictures of other bits that I've done to change the kit which I'll sort out and post but having said all of that EricG made a super Tiger Moth here a year or two ago, worth a search. Max rafju, Rick Griewski, LSP_Ron and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John at Aeroclub Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 (edited) The Matchbox kit is basically a good but simple representation of the Tiger The major problem with it is that the main interplane struts are too long and this flattens the lower wing dihedral, destroying the quirky look of the Tiger.. To correct this the front struts should be cut to 44.5 mm long and the rear ones to 45.25 mm, The error comes from the most widely used drawings (which were the basis of the Matchbox drawings) published first in Aeromodeller (March 1961) in which the struts are drawn separately but of the wrong length. These were revised in Scale Modeller some time later but the strut error remained. The best drawings of the Tiger are the rare Ron Warring ones ( MA, march 1957). John Just spotted Mozart's post. Thank you for the reference. Edited September 3, 2016 by John at Aeroclub kalashnikov-47, Iain and Kagemusha 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 (edited) A small example of detailing in progress: the fuselage/wing stubs on the right are as supplied, as John said a simple representation. That on the left shows some of the "real" structure being added with plastic strip: ....and a bit futher on.... A detail shot of the rudder and tailplane area, all of this can be vastly improved on the kit: Max Edited September 3, 2016 by mozart kalashnikov-47 and rafju 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Southern Bandit Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 (edited) Interesting stuff. Was looking at one of these on Ebay the other day, tempted to buy one now and see what I can make of it. As I get older its real Aircraft like this and models of them that I find more and more fascinating as the years go on. PS: Wouldn't it be good if a company like WnW were to diversify just a little and do something like this? Hint Hint They have done at least one post war (WW1) subject now I think, but this would be a real diversion indeed. Edited September 3, 2016 by The Southern Bandit airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunwinglow Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Like all the Matchbox kits, they are a basis for a deal of work, but the subjects chosen were all excellent! And if you get any of the kits that were reboxed by Revell, the plastic is a more sensible colour, and the decal sheets are brilliant. The Spitfire 24 kit is worth a tenner for the transfers alone! Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 I had a lot of fun building mine. I didn't fix the wing issue though but it still came out looking great. http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=49809&view=&hl=&fromsearch=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamj Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 (edited) Hi Martin....Max gave you the best advice,he would be the go to guy on anything Tiger Moth ..watch the dihedral on the lower wings,bend the wing tabs up and shorten the inter plane struts. Post some pics of progress as you go...would love to see them. Cheers. Here's one we did a while back....and I think this is one aircraft that really should be re-done in 32nd. http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=61243&hl=williamj Edited September 4, 2016 by williamj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 That was a brilliant build William, I remember it. I have built this kit many times and still have one original MB example in the stash. It has it short comings but I love all the old MB kit's a great deal. I still have an original Spitty 22/24 to build some day also. williamj 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Ah yes, your beautiful Moth build slipped my memory when I was writing last night William, my apologies. One of the best and so captures the era. Max williamj 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Ah yes, your beautiful Moth build slipped my memory when I was writing last night William, my apologies. One of the best and so captures the era. Max Agreed, nice post Ron williamj 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuildAero Posted September 4, 2016 Author Share Posted September 4, 2016 Well, I can hardly NOT build it now! All in all a splendid set of reviews for what seems to be a very good basic kit. Many thanks for all the advice on dihedral, etc. I shall be doing this one, which lives at Felthorpe Flying Group. I love the 2 tone blue. I also like the old Matchbox kits, both planes and cars. It was very brave of them to go for 1/32nd in aircraft when they did. I am also the proud owner of a Spitfire 22, turning it into a 14e, so I can do it as a Cleveland Racer. I have the correct decals already and they are superb. It's a lot of work and so far it is used as a "mule" for spare Milliput when I'm doing slot car masters! There is ALWAYS spare Milli! Thanks, Martin williamj 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Make sure you do a WIP build Martin! I've got lots of detail pictures of Tiger Moths and easy access to three beautifully restored ones should you need references. Max williamj 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuildAero Posted September 4, 2016 Author Share Posted September 4, 2016 Max, I really fancy doing this without delay, but I can't get over to photograph the real one for a while, so anything you have that might help will be great. I would like to do the IP in wood, but I don't know whether the Felthorpe kite is wood or black finish. So I guess I need anything that details the cockpit walls, floors and seats, which for some reason are not in the kit. I'm also considering doing the engine cowling in aluminium as I do love to work the stuff! And being in separate panels it is eminently doable. I have a roll of malleable ally and for the flatter stuff either litho plate or the excellent K&S sheet. I will PM you, Max, to give you my e-mail address for any pics. you could send me. Cheers, Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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