Which Tiger Moth kit? Part 11

[mozart]

For my own amusement as much as anything else I've been comparing the three Tiger Moth kits which are now available.  I thought I'd make a running thread of my musings on various aspects of the three but please feel free if inclined to add observations, comments, questions or ribald humour!

 

Part 1 - THE KITS:
 

The oldest of the three is the Matchbox one, first produced as long ago as 1978 in multi-coloured plastic (why?) then latterly re-boxed by Revell in 1997 in a light grey plastic:

 

 

Matchbox/Revell is quite a mouthful and too much typing for me so from now on I'll call it Revell.

 

Only last year Silver Wings picked up the challenge in what appeared to be a gap in the market given the venerable age and increasing scarcity of the Revell kit.  The Tiger Moth is very much in line with the type of aircraft that Silver Wings tend to specialise in so fitted the bill very nicely.  A little persuasion from LSP members added to the chances of its issue:

 

 

And then, completely out of the blue ICM announced a new Tiger Moth kit which has come out very recently indeed.  ICM are the emerging player in 1/32 scale aircraft, we were all stunned and delighted by the Gladiator that they produced last year, so a new Tiger Moth was very welcome:

 

 

BOXES:

 

It's worth mentioning the boxes, and indeed the box art because in each category one is notable for all the wrong reasons.  The villain in box design is the Revell one, an end-opening box which as a storage box whilst working on the kit is as much use as a chocolate fire screen.  The hero is the ICM box, it's the type we have come to expect from them of a cover lid lifting off to reveal a stout box which opens from the top and closes securely.  ICM can't rest on their laurels though because the box art isn't that good, especially the representation of a Tiger Moth being flown solo from the front cockpit.....it doesn't happen!! 

 

MATERIAL:

 

Both the Revell and ICM kits are injection moulded plastic, the Silver Wings resin with some photo-etch.

 

COSTS:

 

Most people wanting a Revell Tiger Moth will search on eBay and as we all know prices there can fluctuate wildly, a recent search showed kits available between £25.00 and £70.00.

 

Silver Wings kits, being short-run and resin are always expensive, slight variations can be found but typically they are around £120.00.

 

The brand new ICM kit works out at about £35.00 from suppliers such as Hannants.

 

WHAT'S IN THE BOX:

 

So what do you get for your hard-earned money in terms of bits of plastic (or resin)?

 

 

Five sprues with the Revell kit which includes two aircrew and a mechanic (not very well done I'm afraid), but also floats should that "float your boat" and an enclosed canopy if you want a Canadian version.

 

 

 

Lots of bits (I haven't counted them but some smaller ones duplicated) giving a high level of detail.  For example, a one-piece mould in both the Revell and ICM kits of the main undercarriage structure comprises five pieces in the Silver Wings kit.

 

 

Just three sprues in the ICM kit, the most notable part is the lower wings and cockpit floor structure moulded as one, therefore setting the lower wing dihedral.  More about that in later additions to the thread.

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

 

Wide, wide variations here!  All are A4 size.  The Revell one:

 

 

 

Compared to the Silver Wings ones:

 

 

 

The main problem with the Silver Wings instructions is that apart from the PE, there are no part numbers showing allocation positions so the builder is entirely at the mercy of the clarity of the illustrations.  Experience shows they don't always work!

 

and the ICM ones:

 

 

 

I know which I prefer!

 

Enough rambling for today, more diatribe downstream!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2021 by mozart

[monthebiff]

Interesting thread Max, looking forward to your WIP on your new ICM kit. 

 

Regards. Andy 

 

[mozart]

2 hours ago, monthebiff said:

Interesting thread Max, looking forward to your WIP on your new ICM kit. 

 

Regards. Andy 

 

Thanks Andy, I'm warming up to a bit of modelling!!

[thierry laurent]

Excellent Idea! I love such comparison threads.

 

And the Special Hobby kit should normally arrive this year!

[mozart]

12 minutes ago, thierry laurent said:

Excellent Idea! I love such comparison threads.

 

And the Special Hobby kit should normally arrive this year!

I wonder if SH will go ahead with their’s still Thierry? 

[thierry laurent]

2 minutes ago, mozart said:

I wonder if SH will go ahead with their’s still Thierry? 

Indeed. It looks the 3d model was ended months ago and they had built a very detailed design. So wait and see...

[Out2gtcha]

Excellent, thanks Max! Looking forward to my ICM copy.

[monthebiff]

1 hour ago, mozart said:

Thanks Andy, I'm warming up to a bit of modelling!!

Thats good to hear Max, I had the same modelling block last year and its just so annoying, fully back in to it now though!

 

Regards. Andy 

 

[quang]

Very useful initiative and most welcome by the modellers who like me, have an ICM kit on the way. Am curious to compare your impressions with others’.
Cheers,

Quang

[Kagemusha]

Thanks Max, looking forward to the next installment. 

[LSP_Ron]

Well done Max.

[geedubelyer]

Nice one Max. I look forward to reading more of your thoughts. Thanks for taking the time to make the comparisons. This will be most useful. 

[Pup7309]

Nice one. That lower wing dihedral really stands out!

[dennismcc]

What a great thread, it would be nice to see he same type of comparisons made for other kits, mind you it could get never ending especially if you started on the Me 109.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

[mozart]

Part 2 - FUSELAGE

 

The Silver Wings fuselage halves differ from Revell and ICM in that with the former the nose section forms part of the fuselage whereas in the latter two it ends at the firewall.  This has major advantages because, as Kev found out with his RAAF Air Ambulance conversion where he's using the Revell kit, attaching and lining up the engine bearers, the engine and the upper cowling can be tricky.  Get it wrong and the whole of the nose section can look like it's been through a few rounds with Tyson Fury (insert your own choice of heavyweight boxer here!).

 

 

Other less obvious external differences include the treatment of the area below the forward cockpit where the control horns for the rudder bar project, see below:

 

 

The Revell kit ignores it completely, it just ain't there!  The Silver Wings kit provides a slot and PE strips which you bend at an angle as the shield, and the control horns which you build into the cockpit framing.  The ICM kit has the shield moulded in position but instructs you to drill two holes from the inside and secure the control lines early on in the build, ie no control horns showing.  This is a compromise which can be easily overcome.

 

ICM's is the only kit which includes a blind flying hood to be fitted aft of the rear cockpit.....Brownie points there!  BUT whilst doing their research they have omitted the rubbing strips fitted below the rear cockpit which are there to avoid the thick rubber bungees from the hood ripping the fabric of the fuselage as the hood is pulled forward and backwards:

 

 

 

On the other hand, Silver Wings have included the rubbing strip (Brownie points!! ) but no hood!  Can't have it all I guess.  Whilst looking at this picture, note the baggage area aft of the rear cockpit.  Revell acknowledge the existence of this area with an engraved line.  Silver Wings have moulded catches and a PE strip for the hinge at the top.  ICM similarly have moulded catches but their baggage door is slightly proud of the fuselage surface.  It isn't:

 

 

Those catches Kev are fiddly to reproduce aren't they if you're using the Revell kit?!

 

Just visible in the picture above towards the lower right corner is a green "bolted attachment".  The vertical bolt secure the rear part of the wing to the fuselage.  Silver Wings is the only kit which features this item, so more scratch-building Revell and ICM!!

 

 

Notice how smooth the fabric is in these close up pictures.  The ICM kit surface has a slight "grain" to it, I don't know whether this is an attempt to replicate fabric covering, and it will soon be lost under a coat of primer and top coat, but it really isn't necessary anyway.

 

Moving to the aft end and the area of the fuselage where the cables for the elevator lines run:

 

 

The Revell and ICM kits will have you drill these points; the former gives very precise dimensions for the correct position in the instructions, the latter drilling points are marked on the inside of the fuselage so these need drilling before halves are joined or else you're scuppered.  The Silver Wings kit has small "fairings" moulded in place.  They may have been on the Tiger Moth they used and measured but I can't remember noticing them before on the many Tiger Moths I’ve seen.

 

Shooting right forward finally: the lower location points for the cabane struts!

 

 

These really are horrible great square seats on the Revell kit moulded onto the fuselage, easy enough to streamline though.  The Silver Wings rendition is much better, but interestingly they form part of the cabane strut on the ICM kit, not part of the fuselage.

 

Enough for today!  Part 3 moves to inside the cockpit.....a can of worms!

Edited January 25, 2021 by mozart