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Revell Spitfire Mk. IX #03927


phasephantomphixer

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Found this kit available and before posting this, tried (TRIED) a search of anything about it here. Either I don't know how to properly (computer lingo?) input "Revell Spitfire Mk. IX", or the search here still doesn't work for me...

Anyway, what should I know on this one?  THX

Edited by phasephantomphixer
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It is a newish kit and yes it has all the bits to make a Mk.IX. I really quite like the kit, it has some faults as do most kits but depending on how particular you are or not a very acceptable model can be made from it.

 

Go on Hannants and look under this code RV3927 

you will the see all the bits and pieces that you can get for the kit as well, should you want them.

 

Ali

Edited by Ali62
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I built it and liked it very much regarding price/quality. It's basically an updated Mk II/V (similar to what Supermarine did) and builds into a very nice representation. The landing gear and wheels are some of the weak parts of the kits and the wing dihedral is a bit flat in my opinion but nothing that can't be fixed. I put my build next to my earlier Tamiya IX and they nicely complement each other. Pity about the Photobucket disaster as Tony build some very nice ones.

Cheers

Cees

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There are also Brassin exhausts.

 

Two months ago, I started converting a Revell MkII/Mk IX cross-kitted mix into a PRXI and a MKXII. Each plane got the fuselage and belly from one kit and the wings of the other one before converting. Of course, this asks for doing risky cuts to separate the lower wings from the belly. However, this noticeably simplifies the process to get accurate wings. I am using parts from the Roy Brown set for the XII and the Alleycat one for the XI.

 

To me, the most annoying issue of the kit stays the too shallow radiator faces. I corrected this myself and adapted new faces from Radu parts intended for the Tamiya kit. Far from easy but I had no other choice as Eduard simply copied the too shallow kit parts! It is a pity Barracuda did not correct that as they did for the Mk II.

 

Besides this, add  a Brassin pit, exhausts and wheels and you will get a beautiful kit. With regard to Eduard photoetched sets, the only one I got was the one to detail a little bit the landing gear wells.

 

Last, with regard to the main LG legs, I do not understand all the compliants about this. Glueing the two parts for each leg and cleaning them just took me a total of twenty minutes...

 

All that stuff plus the kit (minor a conversion set) was purchased for more or less 80 euros. So, if you do not want to show an engine or want to do a conversion, the Revell kit is surely the best solution! Indeed, this asks for some elbow grease but in any case, even if you use a Tamiya kit, you will need some for such conversions.

 

Thierry

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To go back to the MkIX from Revell, I focused on the radiators but forgot notifying the following points:

 

The type C wings have bumps that you will only find on a warbird. This includes the large wheel well one that was added because they now use concrete runways rather than grass ones. You should only keep the Hispano gun breech cover. Fortunately, the plastic is thick enough to sand them.

 

The fit of the flaps is simply horrendous. Moreover, the reverse side of the upper wing had three weird tabs that prevent the positioning of the flaps. It looks like they have only been designed to be positioned opened. However, the amount of detail is just vaguely acceptable and not really sufficient for the scale. Last, normally, they were up on a parked plane. Again, solving that asks for a lot of sanding!

 

The canopy had a small flat disk on its top. This will be visible if you close it.

 

The strips on the ribs over the fabric surfaces are grossly overdone and... again ask for a lot of sanding.

 

The seat has no cushion and the rear seat armor is missing.

 

The engine cowling parts Dzus fasteners are protruding (a problem on all 1/32 Spitfire kits including the Tamiya ones!)

 

The recesses in the wings to add the radiators are too large and ask for putty and ...sanding!

 

Nothing that cannot be solved but this asks for a lot of stupid additional work...

 

Well, I should possibly write a full tweak list!

 

Thierry

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As I mentioned sanding, I also forgot the following points (I did not have time to work on the kit for ages):

 

-  the guns need a lot of sanding to be correctly positioned and the wing holes are too small to get them!

-  it is impossible to put correctly the wing ailerons without... heavy sanding!

-  the clear wing end tab need... guess what? sanding the rear of the tab to position the part correctly.

 

Moreover, the gear leg key is simply useless to position correctly each leg. So, use templates! And if the wheels are a little bit better than the Mk II ones, they are still awful. Use Brassin or Barracuda ones.

 

Do not misunderstand me: I think that after the Tamiya kits, the Revell kits are really great options: cheap, nice scribing even if too heavy here and there, many options, detailed cockpit, generally correct shapes, acceptable wheel wells that just ask for a little bit of additional detail, possibility to cross kit parts from early and late marks, etc.

 

However, if you want a quick build, look elsewhere! The kit needs patience and a heavy use of sanding paper, blocks and files...

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I had no problem fitting the ailerons, without heavy sanding. :oops:

Cees

 

I could position them correctly but their front edge was protruding whereas this is not the case on the actual plane. I possibly worsened the situation on my PRXI because I corrected the radiators. So I had to clamp the wings to glue them. However, the Mk XII had the same problem on both wings whereas I only corrected the single radiator and had not to clamp the wings. I do not think the problem is either linked to the fact I swapped the external sections of the wings as everything else lined correctly (such as the upper wings).

 

Thierry

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