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Spitfire Mk 1 - the best route


scimitarf1

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I am aiming to build a Spit Mk 1 for the Britmodeller Battle of Britain group build this Summer. 
 

I was planning in building the Hasegawa 1/32 kit reboxed by Revell about 30 years ago. I was looking at the sprues yesterday and comparing it to the Tamiya Mk9 fuselage. The good news is that the profile of the rear fuselage matches very well The bad news is that sides of the fuselage are vertical rather than curve in at the bottom.

 

I see a few options ro fix:

 

1. Fix the kit parts - separate the wing fillet from the fuselage - cut heat and bend until the shape is about right

2. Use the Tamiya rear fuselage and fettle the wings and engine to fit

3. Use the Revell MkII (that I do not really like the look of built up) for the same or do some hideous kit bash.

 

i have seen some of the amazing work on here amd

am up for the challenge.

 

What do you think would give the best result overall?

 

Will

Edited by scimitarf1
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Thee old 60s Revell kit is very accurate, with the exception of the gull wing section under the rear fuselage. I think Grey Matter do a resin insert.

Alternatively, the entire lower wing of the Revell/Hasegawa hybrid can be used.

The original Revell kit was reissued some years ago as a Seafire Ib and was available quite cheaply.

 

Items like the cockpit, wheels/u/c bays and prop need work or replacement but the fuselage for both shape and detail remains unmatched.

Edited by Chek
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Hi Will,

 

The beauty of the Tamiya 1/32 scale Spitfires makes it rather difficult to appreciate the qualities of some of the older kits.   Personally, I rate the Hasegawa 'hybrid' Mk I and the original Revell offering higher than Revell's most recent rendition.   At the end of the day, whatever model you choose (within reason), I'm sure you will produce a model you're proud of because of your love of the aircraft and your modelling skills.   The Hasegawa kit has quite a lot of aftermarket accessories supporting it so, perhaps that should be the one you choose.   For what it's worth, that's the path I'll be taking when I build my Mk I.

 

 

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5 minutes ago, Grissom said:

Personally, I rate the Hasegawa 'hybrid' Mk I and the original Revell offering higher than Revell's most recent rendition.

 

 

 

That is the kit I am building at the moment, with raised panel lines on the Hasegawa parts and recessed on the Revell parts

 

https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/84825-asr-spitfire-mkiic/

 

It builds well, I have had no significant issues so far

 

Richard

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If you can get the Revell Seafire reissue (I picked up 3 or 4 at about £5 each a few years ago) you'll find the correct forward fuselage 'horseshoe' section with engraved lines and raised rivets where required, such as the rear fuselage.

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The original Revell kit has too short wings. This is not that visible and if you do not put it close to a kit with accurate dimensions, this is not a problem (I started building a Mk.I from that kit). To me, thanks to its fuselage with protruding rivets, this is still a very good option but you need at least another propeller, another canopy, other exhausts, other wheels, an aftermarket cockpit and LG wells plus a noticeable amount of plastic card!

 

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1 hour ago, Grissom said:

Hi Will,

 

The beauty of the Tamiya 1/32 scale Spitfires makes it rather difficult to appreciate the qualities of some of the older kits.   Personally, I rate the Hasegawa 'hybrid' Mk I and the original Revell offering higher than Revell's most recent rendition.   At the end of the day, whatever model you choose (within reason), I'm sure you will produce a model you're proud of because of your love of the aircraft and your modelling skills.   The Hasegawa kit has quite a lot of aftermarket accessories supporting it so, perhaps that should be the one you choose.   For what it's worth, that's the path I'll be taking when I build my Mk I.

 

 

I am with you in that. Just making the Hasegawa one was my original plan but I made the mistake of comparing it to the Tamiya one! The rivets were coming from Archer.

 

Thank you for all the responses. I am rapidly moving in the direction of using the old Revell fuselage and the rest from the Hasegawa kit. 

 

Failing that I will buy a spare Tamiya Mk9 fuselage.

 

I have all the other bits. I also have the very good Wingleader Mk 1 book that is a revelation 

 

Will

Edited by scimitarf1
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1 minute ago, scimitarf1 said:

Thank you for all the responses. I am rapidly moving in the direction of using the old Revell fuselage and the rest from the Hasegawa kit. 

 

My understanding is, the kit I have has the Hasegawa MK.V fuselage with new Revell wings. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-04715-supermarine-spitfire-mki-ii--155519

 

This is not the current MK.II kit

 

Richard

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5 hours ago, scimitarf1 said:

I am aiming to build a Spit Mk 1 for the Britmodeller Battle of Britain group build this Summer. 

 

The next group build on this forum June 1st is Battle of Britain - is Britmodeller doing the same theme?

 

Richard

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