Got a 1/24 Airfix Spitfire Mk I in the stash? Here’s a thought….

[Pete Roberts]

I have two 1/24 Airfix Spitfire Mk I’s in my stash and have been pondering what to do about the lack of detail/incorrect detail in the cockpit and wheel wells. There are some nice resin sets now which hopefully will help with the cockpit.

 

And there is now another alternative. Looking at the sprues for the new Airfix Spitfire Mk IX, Airfix have done a very organised job as each of the sprues tend to deal with a specific area of the plane. Sprue D has the cockpit bits. I have ordered 2 of these at a cost of 29 pound including postage to Australia, which I reckon is pretty good value for a couple of detail sets. Not all the parts are usable, but a good amount are, some with a bit of tweaking (like the throttle). I don’t know how these will go fitting into the Mk I but I’m not anticipating any great difficulty, at least not something that can’t be overcome with a little tweaking here and there. So food for thought.

 

Unfortunately the undercarriage/wheel wells are too different so that area is still crying out for aftermarket. Won’t hold my breath there though.

 

 

Edited December 1, 2022 by Pete Roberts

[geedubelyer]

Great idea. 

I hope you can share how you get on. 

 

Cheers

[iaf-man]

2 hours ago, Pete Roberts said:

I have two 1/24 Airfix Spitfire Mk I’s in my stash and have been pondering what to do about the lack of detail/incorrect detail in the cockpit and wheel wells. There are some nice resin sets now which hopefully will help with the cockpit.

 

And there is now another alternative. Looking at the sprues for the new Airfix Spitfire Mk IX, Airfix have done a very organised job as each of the sprues tend to deal with a specific area of the plane. Sprue D has the cockpit bits. I have ordered 2 of these at a cost of 29 pound including postage to Australia, which I reckon is pretty good value for a couple of detail sets. Not all the parts are usable, but a good amount are, some with a bit of tweaking (like the throttle). I don’t know how these will go fitting into the Mk I but I’m not anticipating any great difficulty, at least not something that can’t be overcome with a little tweaking here and there. So food for thought.

 

Unfortunately the undercarriage/wheel wells are too different so that area is still crying out for aftermarket. Won’t hold my breath there though.

 

 

Wilde-Sau resins(Kevin Martin, I think he's a member here as well) makes wheel wells for this old kit

here's his list

https://www.facebook.com/groups/452003448710021/permalink/971499486760412

[Pete Roberts]

1 hour ago, iaf-man said:

Wilde-Sau resins(Kevin Martin, I think he's a member here as well) makes wheel wells for this old kit

here's his list

https://www.facebook.com/groups/452003448710021/permalink/971499486760412

 

Yes I have seen them. They look as though the walls are vertical - if so that is incorrect. The rear section of wall in the well slopes back towards the wing trailing edge. I suppose there may be enough resin to modify them, from memory.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Pete Roberts

[D Bellis]

3 hours ago, iaf-man said:

Wilde-Sau resins (Kevin Martin, I think he's a member here as well) makes wheel wells for this old kit

here's his list

https://www.facebook.com/groups/452003448710021/permalink/971499486760412

 

1 hour ago, Pete Roberts said:

Yes I have seen them. They look as though the walls are vertical - if so that is incorrect. The rear section of wall in the well slopes back towards the wing trailing edge. I suppose there may be enough resin to modify them, from memory.

That guy's wheel wells for the 1/24 kits are nothing more than walls around the kits' open holes - NO details or even proper shapes:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/452003448710021/posts/453233511920348/

An image from that post:

 

Utterly useless.

D

[Pete Roberts]

7 hours ago, geedubelyer said:

Great idea. 

I hope you can share how you get on. 

 

Cheers

Happy to do that, but not sure how to post photos. May be a little way down the track ‘cause I think the Kotare kits will be getting preference.. 

[geedubelyer]

@Pete Roberts, thanks. 

I can understand your desire to dive into your Kotare Spits first. That kitset looks like being a gem.

 

If you should decide to share a WIP for us all to follow your images can be uploaded to a free online photo hosting site and shared from their.

 

There is a “how to” here on LSP that will take you through it step-by-step. On the Home page look at the LSP info sub forum at the top of the page. It’s a pinned post. Hth

 

Cheers. 

Edited December 2, 2022 by geedubelyer

[iaf-man]

8 hours ago, D Bellis said:

 

That guy's wheel wells for the 1/24 kits are nothing more than walls around the kits' open holes - NO details or even proper shapes:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/452003448710021/posts/453233511920348/

An image from that post:

 

Utterly useless.

D

Any insight on other his bits?probably the same for the old ME-109?

[iaf-man]

10 hours ago, Pete Roberts said:

 

Yes I have seen them. They look as though the walls are vertical - if so that is incorrect. The rear section of wall in the well slopes back towards the wing trailing edge. I suppose there may be enough resin to modify them, from memory.

were there any differences between early and late marks?

[D Bellis]

7 hours ago, iaf-man said:

Any insight on other his bits?probably the same for the old ME-109?

All of his 1/24 "wheel wells" are exactly the sort of thing you see in that pic. He posted those pics here on LSP quite some time ago, too, and they're all like that. 

 

HTH,

D

[Pete Roberts]

10 hours ago, iaf-man said:

were there any differences between early and late marks?

 

The Mk I and II, and from what I’ve seen, the Mk Vb all have rear wheel well walls that sweep up and back towards the wing trailing edge.

 

The ‘c’ wing has wheel well walls that sweep up and out towards the wingtips - that is, that part of the wall closest to the wing tip sweeps up and out. I suspect the ‘e’ wing has the same well. The undercarriage associated with these wings canted out further which may have necessitated the change. I also suspect this change added more strength to the wing - note the earlier Marks were later fitted with strengthening strakes on the upper wing, above the wheel wells.

[Pete Roberts]

9 hours ago, MARU5137 said:

...Here you go...

 

Looking forward to your exciting build  .

thank you.

 

Thank you Maru - I’ll have a play with that when I get a chance.

 

You may be waiting awhile for the build - may need some ‘No-doze’ medication too….