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1/32 Kotare conversion; Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk.Vb YO-A 401 Sqn RCAF.


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I've been wondering what to do with my Brian Lane boxing of the Kotare Mk.I Spitfire for a while and have been going through my stash of AM and decided on a plan to convert it in to a Mk.Vb and in particular this airframe from the Exito Decals set

 

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I did have the Hobby Boss Mk.Vb and started on it many years ago but it's shape was awful being far to fat and flat in the general fuselage shape and the fit of the various wing panels left a lot to be desired. In the meantime I slowly collected some bits and pieces and while I've been working on my early Mk.I release I've decided no time like the present and make a start on this one.

 

First port of call is the wing assembly and converting it to a 'B' wing configuration . I have a set of Master Hispanno cannon barrels  and AML wing bulges to help with this

 

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First cuts so no going back now

 

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I've also started filling unwanted panel lines etc, here is the lower wing 

 

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and initial work on the upper wings after filling and sanding 

 

20240128-213750.jpg

 

so far so good and think this should come together quite nicely, I've given it a fair bit of thought and have been test fitting various pieces to my early boxing of the Kotare Spitfire I'm building at the moment before I committed to chopping off the wings tips. More quite soon.

 

Regards. Andy 

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19 hours ago, John1 said:

What a great idea for a build.  The Vb is my favorite version.  I’ll be following…

 

Been planning this one for quite a while, was going to use the Revell kit but the Kotare kit gets the nod now.

 

Regards. Andy 

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18 hours ago, Uncarina said:

Very imaginative and inventive Andy!

 

Cheers, Tom

 

Hopefully I can pull this one off Tom! I have spent a fair bot of time test fitting various parts on to my early boxing before taking the plunge and chopping the wings about.

 

Regards. Andy 

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14 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

Agreed, great idea.

I haven’t seen a large nude on a Spitfire before. I wonder how long he was allowed to keep it.

Does the conversion include the oil cooler?

 

John

 

 

I've had the Exito Decals set for a while now and very nice indeed and it's this set which got me thinking about a Vb conversion.

 

The AML set contains only the wing bulges and Hispanno cannon ms but the Master barrels are a real step up from the resin pieces.

 

I'm going to use the oil cooler from a stalled and binned Hobby Boss Vb which looks pretty reasonable as a starting point and then a set  of Tamiya clipped wing tips to finish thing off.

 

Regards. Andy 

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8 hours ago, Shoggz said:

Great and innovative project Andy. Will follow this one with interest!

 

Thank you Shoggz, think it will work out but just need to take my time.e on the wing conversion.

 

Regards. Andy 

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5 hours ago, Hagar said:

Very cool. I'll have to look for those decals. Kotare is coming out with a Spit Vb later this year so I'll wait until then as converting stuff doesnt seem to be working well for me lately.

James

Exito decl sets are just superb James but sadly to date they have only two 32nd scale sets which are always interesting subjects! Hopefully Kotare will release a Vb thos year now I'm going all out but seems a shame to let my AM stash for this go to waste.

 

Regards. Andy 

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