1/48 Airfix Spitfire Mk.I and Hurricane Mk.I "Battle of Britain" (FINISHED)

Thanks for the kind words all.  I'll take a Porterhouse with Mushrooms Mike. 

Steve, thank you for the advice on the saddle.  That overlap makes sense now.  I ended up doing just that, grinding out the inside of the piece and the top of the IP with a Dremel.  I got it to fit flush but the panel lines looked lousy on the port side, so I filled and rescribed.  Now I know if I decide to build this one again (I'm still firmly in Tamiya Spitfire corner though).  

So I segue into an brief update.  I got some bench time in, which consisted of getting the airframes together.  The wingroots on both needed some putty but nothing major.  On another note, I don't know if I'm just not used to Airfix plastic or what, but it seems soft and I had trouble with seamwork.  They just wouldn't go way.  Tenax----squeeze---bubbling out.  Perfect right?  Oh no, a swipe of the seam with an exacto and its still under there...oye!  More Tenax and persistence eventually worked and times the super glue-accelerator-sand trick was necessary.   

Also, I don't particularly care for the off white/light grey colored plastic as the standard darker grey is easier on my eyes.  My silver Sharpie worked overtime on these turkeys.  I do like the separate control surfaces though, which I decided to deflect.  

All this aside, I must say the Hurricane is light years ahead of the Hasegawa kit in every way so far.  

After the painful seamwork, I finally got them both primered and ready for some paint.  I intend to paint on the upper roundels and fin flashes with the use of Tamiya tape, a fresh exacto, and circle template.  I'll do a step by step for those interested in trying it.

 

An a amazing start!  I'm definately following this WIP.

Toshi

lawdog114

I was dryfitting the fuselage and I can already see this piece I'm holding is going to be a problem.  What a dumb design.

 

 

 

Hi LD:

I built test shots of the new Vb and Mk.I Spits for AMW, before the kits were released for general sale, so am familar with the fit matter you describe. I questioned the engineering rationale (on the Vb) with Sam, who heads up the Airfix design team. He explained that the CAD was set to create a lip of 0.1mm, to reflect the thicker aluminium over the fuel tank, ahead of the windscreen and a feature seen in photographs.

Whether by tooling error or some other means, the Vb covers D33 and the 'Duxford' option were rendered too thick (D33 more so than the Duxford cover) and it's a case of too much plastic attempting to occupy too little space.

I was ready for more of the same, when I later received the Mk.I kit but it was an improvement all round and the remedials more straightforward. My m/o in such matters, is to come up with the simplist, most direct solution and what I have since recommended is to glue the cockpit in gently at the rear only, leaving the forward bulkhead unglued. Then when the cover is slotted over, the front cockpit can flex down a little to accommodate. If you have a mini-drill, then hollow out the cover certainly and ensure the IP and forward bulkhead are slimmed and lowered.

Wish you well with it. :-)

 

Steve :-)     

Great start on those Brits. I loved building that Hurricane kit, and I'm itching to get their Mk. Vb as well.

Mike - I had the same dilemma with the P-40. But orders over $50 are free shipping, so I bought two for something like $54. If I build both, great, but I am certain I can always offload one on eBay and recoup at least $20-$25, which brings the price for the single kit down to the $25-$30 range.

-BD-

Popcorn? Meh. We need a good steak and baked potato for this show.

This one is worth taking your time to watch with a good meal.  ;)

Ooh ooh where's the popcorn for this show.

Hannants was the first place I went to. I almost pulled the trigger.

I'd love to build the AVG version of the Airfix kit, as the Monovell markings are so ambivalent. But I will finally be building the Pearl Harbor version of the Monovell kit. I can only build the AVG version so many times (3 times throughout the years) lol.

Am waiting to see more progress on these two kits.  :)

Thanks Mike. I ordered two P-40s from Hannants in England. I should expect them soon. They aren't available here yet for some reason. It's not a particularly expensive kit, so I'm sure the high prices are supply and demand. Mine will promptly be done in a Pearl Harbor and then an AVG subject. Reference the top cowl piece, it doesn't look like it will sit flush in there without trimming the top of the instrument panel. We will see soon.

That's a nice amount of detail in those pits in comparison to the Revell offering. They look very nice and I can't see where the decal slipped on the Spit IP at all.

I've been eyeballing both of these kits, especially the Hurricane, but its the P-40 I'm willing to put out the cash for. Waiting for it to show up on Sprue Bros. or someplace where it isn't nearly $40 without shipping lol.

But I've had some budget issues and I am forcing myself to have some patience. I've got another Monovell P-40B in the stash, so I've got something to cool the itch lol.

Speaking breifly of the Monovell P-40 real quick, they changed the instructions recently. The new instructions now include three (left, right, top, bottom) diagrams that show the proper placement of the decals and the camouflage patterns - though the color call outs are still wrong.

Back on topic; Interesting piece that goes in front of the pit. What's wrong with it? I'm not understanding.