Spitfire XIVe- Tamiya with Laminar Flow Design conversion

[Thunnus]

6 minutes ago, williamj said:

Looks very impressive, Have a set coming and plan on a highback with belly tank.

   So much to look forward to, now if we could only find someone to do some Mk XIV markings,decals,stencils.

 

I've sent Aviaeology Decals an email to inquire if they would consider reprinting their decals that include TWO low-back XIVe's...

 

https://www.hyperscale.com/2013/reviews/decals/aviaeology32009mreviewbf_1.htm

 

But I haven't gotten a reply.

[BloorwestSiR]

2 hours ago, williamj said:

Looks very impressive, Have a set coming and plan on a highback with belly tank.

   So much to look forward to, now if we could only find someone to do some Mk XIV markings,decals,stencils.

 

I think the only hurdle is the fillet at the base of the vertical tail. But someone with your skills that shouldn't be a problem. If you start with an VIII, that'll have the retractable tailwheel and therefore one less thing to deal with. 

 

As for your set should get picked up by Canada Post sometime today. I sent Martin the tracking number but let me know if you need it. 

Edited August 14, 2023 by BloorwestSiR

[BloorwestSiR]

2 hours ago, Thunnus said:

 

I've sent Aviaeology Decals an email to inquire if they would consider reprinting their decals that include TWO low-back XIVe's...

 

https://www.hyperscale.com/2013/reviews/decals/aviaeology32009mreviewbf_1.htm

 

But I haven't gotten a reply.

 

I haven't spoken to Terry in a while. I should maybe give him a call and see if he had any plans for a reprint. 

[BloorwestSiR]

2 hours ago, Thunnus said:

Great work on the conversion set, Carl!  I may delay the start of my build so that I can benefit from your trailblazing!   Good to see the thought that went into the design of this conversion set.  Touches that you normally don't see from an upgrade like this.

 

Thanks John! It's definitely a well thought out conversion. The fit has been so far been very nice too. 

 

Between this and the Halberd Cavalier Mustang, the quality for these conversion sets had really leapt forward. 

[BloorwestSiR]

So I've made more progress on this build. Using the templates for the hatches, I scribed them into the plastic. I then drilled them out and sanded the openings referencing the templates for size and shape. 

 

 

 

Mine was one of the first 20 made that had a minor issue with the starboard camera door. LFD includes a replacement one separately. On mine, the original had a small blemish but that was it. I've used the substitute one. 

 

 

While fitting the second door, I sort of realized that most conversions would have one engrave the hatch outline,add the rivet pattern and be done. Then I noticed the hinge detail that is included on the replacement. So I guess that makes the extra work worthwhile. 

 

 

Last was the single port side hatch. That was the done the same as the starboard ones.

 

 

At this point, I'll need to start working on the interior. 

[Thunnus]

20 hours ago, BloorwestSiR said:

Mine was one of the first 20 made that had a minor issue with the starboard camera door. LFD includes a replacement one separately. On mine, the original had a small blemish but that was it. I've used the substitute one. 

 

 

Good stuff, Carl!  Can't wait to see more!  I don't know if this makes a difference but Mathieu has made a correction about the replacement fairing on FB based on my message to him where I pointed out that my broken fairing was labeled as LEFT.

 

Quote

So if your kit contain this small part, just use it instead of the (correction) PORT (left side) camera fairing present in the cage.

 

These parts are labelled so you should be good but I thought I should point this out.

[BloorwestSiR]

2 hours ago, Thunnus said:

 

Good stuff, Carl!  Can't wait to see more!  I don't know if this makes a difference but Mathieu has made a correction about the replacement fairing on FB based on my message to him where I pointed out that my broken fairing was labeled as LEFT.

 

 

These parts are labelled so you should be good but I thought I should point this out.

 

Thanks John! 

Yes Matthieu messaged me about the correction to the correction. If you look closely at the port door, you can see the small imperfection on one edge. I'll swap in the replacement next time I'm at the bench. 

[williamj]

On 8/14/2023 at 1:11 PM, BloorwestSiR said:

 

I think the only hurdle is the fillet at the base of the vertical tail. But someone with your skills that shouldn't be a problem. If you start with an VIII, that'll have the retractable tailwheel and therefore one less thing to deal with. 

 

As for your set should get picked up by Canada Post sometime today. I sent Martin the tracking number but let me know if you need it. 

  Thanks so much for all your help Carl,appreciate it greatly, and yes Martin sent the tracking #.     In the stash there are the VIII and XVIe, last 2, Would like to get hands on some unique markings though,I have 2 Aviaeology sets (one unused) but have built two of them already.

Edited August 16, 2023 by williamj

[chaos07]

Nice project.  Looking forward to the final product!  This conversion kit appears to be very well thought out.  

 

Following.

 

Cheers

[mozart]

All fascinating stuff Carl, can’t wait to see more.  Naïve question, what is, and is there one only, base kit for this conversion? What impact will the availability of the conversion have on the availability of base kit(s) I wonder? 

[MikeC]

5 hours ago, mozart said:

what is, and is there one only, base kit for this conversion?

Good question. I had a look at the photo of the box earlier on, and I think from what I can make out that it specifies the Tamiya Mk XVIe.  That would, of course, give you the lower rear fuselage.

 

I guess doing it from a Tamiya Mk VIII would work (in theory) and would give you a XIVc with a standard rear fuselage, and also a nice smug feeling that you've been true to life, as the XIV was developed from the VIII.  You could probaby also do that from the Tamiya IX I guess.  Would it work with the Revell IX?  We'll see if anyone's brave enough to try.

Edited August 16, 2023 by MikeC

[geedubelyer]

The Revell Mk IX would be a more affordable option but I wonder if the radiators are similar? 

Does Revell have the ramped exhaust inlet/outlet sections in the wing?

Edited August 16, 2023 by geedubelyer
*spelling

[BloorwestSiR]

7 hours ago, mozart said:

All fascinating stuff Carl, can’t wait to see more.  Naïve question, what is, and is there one only, base kit for this conversion? What impact will the availability of the conversion have on the availability of base kit(s) I wonder? 

 

Currently the conversion is designed for the Tamiya XVIe kit. LFD is coming out with a different version that will work with the high back Tamiya VIII kit. One of the changes he's making is to the vertical tail so it will fit the high back fuselage better. This one will also include the blister style fairing on the camera port. 

 

Using the VIII for the high back conversion simplifies things. The retractable tailwheel is already part of the kit and the wings won't need panel lines added. 

 

As for the kits themselves, the Tamiya Spitfires have been out for quite some time now so I imagine there's lots of them out there. Tamiya USA was even running a sale on them for some time earlier this year. 

 

Using a different manufacturer's kit is certainly do-able but I suspect there will fit issues. I know when I did my original XIV conversion, it was designed for the PCM kit which had a very different cross section compared to the Tamiya kit I used it on. So I had lots of reprofiling to make it work. 

 

[BloorwestSiR]

30 minutes ago, geedubelyer said:

The Revell Mk IX would be a more affordable option but I wonder if the radiators are similar? 

Does Revell have the ramped exhaust inlet/outlet sections in the wing?

 

 I don't have the Revell IX kit but if the rads are similar to what's in their II kit, the ramps are fairly shallow. Not hard to cut them on either side and then bend them inward which is want I did when I built that kit. 

 

[thierry laurent]

1 hour ago, geedubelyer said:

The Revell Mk IX would be a more affordable option but I wonder if the radiators are similar? 

Does Revell have the ramped exhaust inlet/outlet sections in the wing?

You can simply use the Barracuda ones.