Spitfire Mk 1 - the best route

[Archimedes]

This is a fascinating thread: Accepting the limitations of drawings; What does this forum consider an excellent set of drawings for the Mk.I Spitfire? Arthur Bentley's drawings of aircraft are generally well regarded. Having looked at his website he has a set of Spitfire drawings but it appears he has put several variants on one sheet as overlays. Thoughts?

https://www.albentley-drawings.com/drawings/british-aircraft/supermarine-spitfire/supermarine-spitfire/

 

Best regards,

Paul

[scimitarf1]

That is a good question. Given the commonality is all marks until the 21 that should not be too much of an issue. I have heard some drawings done in Canada are very good and the Bentley drawings

are normally top quality.

 

i was surprised at how closely the profile of the Hase Mk V matches the Tamiya Mk IX - there really is nothing in it:

[thierry laurent]

Monforton Spitfire drawings are known to be the most accurate but they only cover the MkIX. Plans in the Bracken books are quite good but do not include the Mk.I either. With regard to that initial type I'm not sure there are really better plans than the quite old Cox ones. 

 

As far as I know Arthur Bentley only made outlines and no detailed drawing of any Spitfire mark. 

[Archimedes]

1 hour ago, thierry laurent said:

Monforton Spitfire drawings are known to be the most accurate but they only cover the MkIX. Plans in the Bracken books are quite good but do not include the Mk.I either. With regard to that initial type I'm not sure there are really better plans than the quite old Cox ones. 

 

As far as I know Arthur Bentley only made outlines and no detailed drawing of any Spitfire mark. 

Hi Thierry - yes you are correct. I'll not show an image here but I posted the link on my original post -  Arthur did only GA outlines and wing sections. 

 

[wunwinglow]

On 5/18/2020 at 9:09 PM, Iain said:

Interesting - solder balls??

 

Iain

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25K-0-2mm-0-75-mm-BGA-Solder-Ball-BGA-Reballing-Balls-Lead-free-Leaded-Repair/323806533973?hash=item4b645f9955:m:mak_vvyKIuEjYgSoqDvSvOg

[Iain]

Brilliant - I didn't even know they were a thing!!

 

Iain

[Pete Roberts]

There were some beautiful Spitfire plans prepared in Japan, posted on other sites, but cannot find these now! I think I saw these over on Britmodeller. I'll post a link if I can find them, but hopefully others have better searching techniques than I! Or know of them. After an hour of searching I still cannot find them and starting go a bit gah-gah....

 

PR

Edited May 20, 2020 by Pete Roberts

[Chek]

There's this article where the Polish modeler combines the Tamiya with the Revell kit, and includes using those micro solderballs to turn the indented rivets into positive ones.

[Troy Molitor]

Wow.  Four full pages of trying to convince someone on the ultimate Mk-1 Spitfire.   This is epic.

[eoyguy]

All this proves a point. Imagine if someone wanted to build the "ultimate" 109 of (almost) any version, and were told to start with a kit from 1969... there are so many 109 kits that even the smallest deviation from plans has seemingly been accounted for, but for a MkI/II spit, your choices are a 50 year old kit with good surface detailing but fit and accuracy problems, a 30 year old hybrid kit with engraved wings, raised panel fuselage, and 30 plus year old detailing, and the recent Revell kit that looks like the Trumpeter mad riveter said "beat that", and the Revell Mad riveter said "hold my beer"... Even the Hurricane, which played second fiddle to the Spit in the BoB, (at least as far as notoriety goes) has a least 2 worthy kits of the machines used in that battle, and one earlier kit for the battle of France.

[nmayhew]

6 hours ago, eoyguy said:

All this proves a point. Imagine if someone wanted to build the "ultimate" 109 of (almost) any version, and were told to start with a kit from 1969... there are so many 109 kits that even the smallest deviation from plans has seemingly been accounted for, but for a MkI/II spit, your choices are a 50 year old kit with good surface detailing but fit and accuracy problems, a 30 year old hybrid kit with engraved wings, raised panel fuselage, and 30 plus year old detailing, and the recent Revell kit that looks like the Trumpeter mad riveter said "beat that", and the Revell Mad riveter said "hold my beer"... Even the Hurricane, which played second fiddle to the Spit in the BoB, (at least as far as notoriety goes) has a least 2 worthy kits of the machines used in that battle, and one earlier kit for the battle of France.

 

funny - I like the Revell / trumpy hold my beer analogy

 

i can assure you there is no 109 grail out there either, of any marque, in 1/32 or 1/24

some nice ones eg Hassy Fs, but nothing that even approaches a Tamiya Spitfire / Corsair etc

 

i still think this comes down to modelling skill at cutting / filling / re-scribing though

if you can perform those tasks to a level where it is impossible to differentiate your work from standard injection mould plastic, then sure use a kit from 1873 as a basis for your project

 

but most people can't, and don't even come close

so whilst the result may be 1mm more accurate or have the correct profile etc etc, it will still look pretty mediocre because its Frankenstein nature is immediately apparent

 

and i say that as someone who is exasperated by no Vc in 1/32, and contemplating kit bashing to get there 

[thierry laurent]

16 hours ago, Jennings Heilig said:

 

I disagree.  They are along the edges of every panel, which is factually not the case on the real airplane.  Regardless, they make the model look like a Chinese toy.

 

Well, alas, I cannot agree with your analysis.

 

Have a look at the following pictures.

Monforton plans are showing each individual rivet or screw where it is on the individual airframe. If you do not have that book, simply get it and you will see Spitfires differently!

If you compare the kit with the plans you clearly see the locations are 100% identical even if it is a Mk.IX plan and a Mk.II kit.

By the way, if the rear ones are not that visible anymore, it is simply because I filled them.

So, it is just a matter of old modelling skills to solve that up to an acceptable point.

By the way that book also has plans with the protruding rivet lines.

 

Hope this helps

 

Thierry

 

[RLWP]

A Spitfire nose, for comparison

 

 

http://www.grubbyfingersshop.com/walkaround_galleries/Supermarine_Spitfire_MkIX_Walkaround_SM-15_MJ783_RAF_Belgium_2015/content/Supermarine_Spitfire_MkIX_Walkaround_SM-15_MJ783_RAF_Belgium_2015_03_GraemeMolineux_large.html

 

Richard

Edited May 21, 2020 by RLWP

[scimitarf1]

8 hours ago, Chek said:

There's this article where the Polish modeler combines the Tamiya with the Revell kit, and includes using those micro solderballs to turn the indented rivets into positive ones.

That is a great build with significant surgery. 
 

Does anyone have photos of the details on the rear fuselage of the original Revell kit. I really want to get an idea of what the Fuselage looks like and what is worth using.

 

it is ridiculous that there is no good mainstream kit in 1/32 of either a Hurricane or Spitfire Mk1 given they won the first really/most significant air campaign ever

[nmayhew]

56 minutes ago, scimitarf1 said:

That is a great build with significant surgery. 
 

 

and if it's all in the quest for accuracy, the builder has forgotten that the MkI wheel wells and angle of landing gear are different from the universal wing...