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Trumpeter 1/24 Spitfire VI. Thoughts?


mpk

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One of my current builds is a Trumpeter 1/24 hurricane. 

 

I am loving the Hurricane in 1/24. I did build the Airfix Hurricane when a boy. I loved it as well.

 

So, how's the Spitfire VI by Trumpeter?

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My thought is I wouldn't touch it as the fuselage is too wrong.

Immediately behind the sliding canopy the glazing and the fuselage has flat sides to it which is a legacy of its initial design because it was originally going to be waisted in behind the cockpit but the sections were redrawn for the mock up and the prototype. Trumpeter have just assumed it's an egg shape so the fuselage glazing and behind is curved here which is totally wrong.

Graham

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I've just finished building the MkV kit - and I presume the MkVI is based on this so as well as the issues Graham mentions there is also the following to consider:

  • The cockpit interior is way off - the seat is nothing like the real thing and there's no armour plate present. Grey Matter do a decent replacement seat but you'll have to do the armour yourself.
  • The stabilisers are wrong in the fact that they are moulded with a fabric covering - again Grey Matter do new resin stabilisers which solve the problem.
  • Windscreen shape, in my opinion, is suspect.
  • Lots of missing pipework in the engine - the coolant pipe from the header tank to the firewall as absent and this is very prominent on the real thing - not a problem if you keep the cowlings on.
  • Rubber tyres are a pain in the ****.

However, it goes together really well and I enjoyed every minute, and despite my moans and groans above it certainly looks like a Spitfire. Surface detailing is good but a little heavy, although the purist would argue it should be raised rivets from the cockpit back. 

 

To summarise, if you're absolutely passionate about Spitfires the errors will bug you, but I am not in that category and with the Grey Matter seat/stabs it build into a nice model. 

 

If, of course, the MkVI is a different tooling, ignore all of the above!

 

Tom

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The Trumpeter Hurricane is perhaps the best of the 1:24 collection.  The Spitfire V & VI might be some the worst, although most reserve that title for the Mustang. The shape issues are many, the detail is adequate but not outstanding.  Some things can be scratch built, like the prop, spinner, cowl, cockpit parts.  Many of the shape issues remain. I think that the front windscreen is only correct for limited early versions of the Mk. V, and outright wrong for any of the VI’s. If you search for the 1:32 Hobby Boss Vb you might get more info about the shape issues. I have two of these kits unbuilt.  Although they are not the most accurate models around, you won’t mistake the completed model as anything but a Mk. V or VI. 

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Airfix have just re-released their 1/24 Spitfire Mk I which though older and perhaps less detailed seems to be considered a bit more accurate. It too has it's issues - lack of wheel well detail, basic cockpit detail, and the wings will likely need a spar to maintain dihedral. It is of course a different Mark as well if you are set on a Mk VI.

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I have built a few of Trumpeter's 1/32 kits and am so far amazed how they can do many things well and then drop the ball within the same kit. But at the end of the day I think we should be thankful for Trumpeter as they have been such a big contributor to the large scale renaissance. 

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A lot of folk spend a lot of time slagging Trumpeter off and - from one point of view - I can see why. What people seem to ignore is that Trumpeter produce 1/32nd kits that NO OTHER manufacturer would even contemplate producing. Personally, I think we are very lucky to have them around. I will now brace myself for a torrent of "Are you mad?"-style comments.

 

Chris.   

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A true point, and one that has been acknowledged for some time. In my exoerience, modellers dump on Trumpeter not because of subject matter, but rather the seemingly random accuracy and attention to detail that accompanies each release. The easiest way to determine  purchase- ability for any given kit (in 1/32 & 24 scale) is to see if it is an "A"  "B"  or "C" team release. Everyones mileage will vary from that point.

Oh, and Chris.... are you mad?

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