Which Tiger Moth kit? Part 11

[mozart]

Part 7: UNDERCARRIAGE

 

This is another area where Silver Wings differ markedly from Revell and ICM in the complexity and level of detail:

 

 

The main "W" structure comprises 5 interlocking parts from Silver Wings whereas the others are one piece.  

 

 

All have longer support struts, shown below which extend towards the nose, and shorter thinner ones adding strength at the back.  The Revell strut is noticeably longer than the other two, the ICM one being particularly thin.  The Silver Wings front struts fit very nicely over the "ears" which stick out on the main oleos.

 

 

 If you buy a real set, this is what you get:

 

 

......not too dissimilar to the Silver Wings bits!  Therein to my mind is Silver Wings' strength and weakness: all the parts provided in the whole kit are very detailed, very accurate and pleasing to the eye (with one exception of which more later) BUT assembling such items is far from easy especially given the lack of guidance within the instructions, not only the location of parts but also the plane in which everything rests.

 

The actual undercarriage:

 

 

and a couple more angles/details:

 

 

There's a protective gaiter which is present on the Revell and ICM legs but not Silver Wings.

 

Front from the front looking aft:

 

The wheels are worth a detailed look:

 

 

Both the Revell and ICM ones are two piece, the Silver Wings a solid cast.  I like and dislike them all for different reasons!  I like the Revell ones because they show the centre structure of the wheel hub but no centre cover is provided as an option.  In service in WW2 the majority of Tiger Moths dispensed with the covers for ease of access and servicing.

 

I'm very disappointed with Silver Wings' wheels.....full stop!  They just don't look good.

 

The ICM ones are great with the DH logo on the wheel covers, so if you were modelling a 1930s flying club, privately-owned Moth or a lovingly restored post-war one, they are brilliant but I wish ICM had gone down the Revell route and then provided the covers as add-ons.

 

Size (mm) of all is very consistent:

 

 

Pre-drilled centres on Revell and ICM, DIY on Silver Wings which like the wings needs to be done with caution to avoid coming out the other side!

 

 

The main oleo legs of the Tiger Moth are actually attached "within" the wings, not the fuselage.  This I found quite a problem with the Silver Wings kit because there's no cut-out in the wings where the legs fit nor of course guidance in the instructions.

 

 

I think I've dealt with the major parts of the kits now, Part 8 will cover miscellaneous items such as all those gubbins down the centre of the under fuselage, the fuel tank, the oil tank cover, wind screens and the engine etc.  Bye for now mes amis! 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by mozart

[Alain Gadbois]

4 hours ago, mozart said:

Agreed, Revell not bad but the ICM one is definitely the worst. Your latest also shows how wrong the control horn position is too.  Must have had the “B” team doing the empennage area!  Makes the kit unbuildable in my book! 

I'll take the ICM B team anytime over the Trumpeter one!!!

I shiver at what a Trumpeter Tiger Moth might look like...

To be fair, their Yak-18 trainer is a fine kit, obviously A team.

 

Alain

[geedubelyer]

Looking at the pictures that Quang created it would appear that the ICM rudder is a little short and a little narrow plus the fin and corresponding part of the rudder don't follow the right curve? Am I correct in that?

 

Very neat to see all of these bits compared so thoroughly. 

 

Looking ahead, would it also be possible to compare the fully built models do you think?

[Alain Gadbois]

12 minutes ago, geedubelyer said:

 

 

Looking ahead, would it also be possible to compare the fully built models do you think?

Be patient please...there's three of us here trying to finish only one TM kit and progress is somewhat unpredictable!

 

Alain

 

[mozart]

1 hour ago, geedubelyer said:

Looking at the pictures that Quang created it would appear that the ICM rudder is a little short and a little narrow plus the fin and corresponding part of the rudder don't follow the right curve? Am I correct in that?

 

Very neat to see all of these bits compared so thoroughly. 

 

Looking ahead, would it also be possible to compare the fully built models do you think?

Yes I agree Guy, it seems as though the ICM has a "waist" to it where there shouldn't be one.......unlike me recently!  

 

I was dreading somebody asking the question about fully built models, though funnily enough as I was packing everything away this morning I thought to myself it would be fun to do an OOB build of all three just to see what differences were visible.  Hmmmm.....

 

OK Guy, I'll bite!  My Silver Wings Tiger Moth isn't too far from completion, though in ICU at the moment but for a bit of fun I'll resurrect this one:

 

The pretty WAAF has been waiting long enough, and her ciggie is burning her fingers but it will be fun to do.  This is the Revell Tiger Moth by the way and needs a bit of retrospection attention in some places.  The original thread is here in all it's gory details:  

 

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by mozart

[quang]

1 hour ago, geedubelyer said:

Looking at the pictures that Quang created it would appear that the ICM rudder is a little short and a little narrow plus the fin and corresponding part of the rudder don't follow the right curve? Am I correct in that?

In fact the ICM tail is sooo wrong that it’s not worthy correcting it. It would be easier to build a new one from scratch using the proven method of Harry Woodman of scored plastic card over a balsa core. It’s not as daunting as it appears. I’ve done it several times when I was young and ... foolish.

[mozart]

1 minute ago, quang said:

In fact the ICM tail is sooo wrong that it’s not worthy correcting it. It would be easier to build a new one from scratch using the proven method of Harry Woodman of scored plastic card over a balsa core. It’s not as daunting as it appears. I’ve done it several times when I was young and ... foolish.

Yep, true, but that implies you have an accurate shape to work from Quang! 

[Bradleygolding]

It does seem to me that ICM may have rushed this out due to the possibility of the Special Hobby one appearing as well. There was very little time between its first mention and the kit being available. I am currently making the Gladiator and it is an excellent model.

 

Steve

[geedubelyer]

That's a good point Steve. 

Max, you know you're going to have to do this all again when Special Hobby release their version don't you?     

 

Your Revell offering looks superb and the colour scheme is very similar to the one I flew in. Time to get back to it perhaps? 

[mozart]

45 minutes ago, geedubelyer said:

That's a good point Steve. 

Max, you know you're going to have to do this all again when Special Hobby release their version don't you?     

 

Your Revell offering looks superb and the colour scheme is very similar to the one I flew in. Time to get back to it perhaps? 

I sincerely hope SH do continue with their plans for a Tiggie, I doubt that I’ll still have the three unmade kits by then though.....who knows!? 

 

See “Works in Progress” Guy! 

Edited January 30, 2021 by mozart

[mozart]

Part 8 - ENGINE & RELATED

 

Lots of modellers like to make a feature of the engines so what potential is there with the three Tiger Moth kits?  This is what you get:

 

 

Both the injection moulded kits opt for the two-piece main block whereas Silver Wings is a single.  By  the way I've got the orientation of the Silver Wings engine bearers the wrong way round in the picture above,  but they've opted not to include the main horizontal arm, turn through 90 deg. anti-clockwise!   All provide varying degrees of detail with push rods, carburettor etc., so a couple of reference pictures:

 

 

 

Most of the main bits supplied are readily identifiable but there is scope for more detailing for sure.

 

The exhausts differ in shape and accuracy:

 

 

(switched the image round to get a better idea!) 

 

 

I think the ICM one is the least convincing.  Silver wings provide the longer "civilian" version as an option.

 

If you're going to make a feature of the engine on your model you'll need to consider the engine panels, surprise surprise....more shape differences!!

 

 

Port side

 

 

That panel is a complex curve where it goes over the front of the oil tank cover so its shape can be misleading.  I think the Revell one is too straight, the ICM one too curved and the Silver Wings one the best of the three.  I think we need a bit of "Quang magic" to scale and superimpose each to get a better view.

 

Starboard side:

 

 

and: 

 

The lower edge is definitely a long way out on the Revell kit, again I think the Silver Wings one is the most accurate.  In terms of thickness of plastic the Revell panels need lots of sanding and edge thinning to be anything like acceptable.  Both the Silver Wings and ICM ones are better but to my mind still need a swipe or two with a sanding stick.  ICM have chosen to add that cooling intake as a separate item - rather good because it can be easily thinned a bit more and provides a realistic hole through the panel.  I'm not that happy about the fasteners on any of the three, all a bit simplified.  Nobody provides the stays for holding the panels open. 

 

Three others related features to compare, the fire wall, the fuel tank and the oil tank cover:

 

 

Because of the way Silver Wings have done their fuselage their fire wall is integral.  The Revell one has more features moulded in but I think if I'm going to detail I'd probably take those off anyway and go down the ICM route, which is pretty much what the Silver Wings one looks like.

 

 

The fuel tank, like the engine, comes in two halves for the IM kits but a solid cast for the resin.  The size appears common for all three but Revell and ICM ignore the metal ridges on the sides of the tank:

 

ICM's tank is moulded as part of the upper wing as described earlier in Part 4 so the top half above just fits.....on top!  The Revell method of construction involves two prominent tabs on the wings which fit into the slots created by forming the two halves of the fuel tank into one.  The Silver Wings method remains a bit of a mystery!  Given that the dihedral of the wings is critical I'm not happy that the "method" (and I'm not sure what it is) is adequate.  Extra support via brass rod bent to the correct angle is vital, I'll certainly be paying a LOT more attention to the fit of both the upper and lower wings on my next SW build! 

 

 

That gap either side of the fuel tank had me puzzled, but it's accurate!

 

 

but on most Tiger Moths it's faired over.  The picture above shows well the features on the underside of the tank, none of which are modelled in any detail by any of the three companies.  Pretty much can be said of the oil tank cover:

 

ICM win it by a smidgeon! 

 

Topping up:

 

 

That just about ties up this part, more odds and sods next time!! 

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by mozart

[geedubelyer]

Including the reference photos helps show the accuracy of the respective components but is also a huge boon to a modeller who might wish to add extra detail. 

Very much appreciated Max

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks for doing this, Max. It looks like the ICM kit is not quite the saviour we had hoped for. As far as the engine goes, however, I think Lukgraph may well be:

 

 

Here's the original Facebook post this image comes from:

 

https://www.facebook.com/Lukgraphkits/posts/2739645163016206

 

And a very pertinent quote from the description:

 

Quote

By the way, the engine should fit the Tiger Moth from ICM.

 

Kev

[mozart]

Whoa......wonderful!  I think I may just have to buy at least a couple, all sorts of scenarios come to mind  “a la Kent Karlsen”! 

Edited January 30, 2021 by mozart

[Anthony in NZ]

Well I as much as I would love the new release to be an Auster I suspect it's probably a Dragon or something??

 

Will definitely be getting a couple of those engines!

 

Max, I am totally LOVING your comparisons here, thank you so very much!