1/48 Tamiya Spitfire MK. I (New Tool) 609 Squadron (FINISHED)
I'm supposed to start another project, another Accurate Miniatures B-25 but in Doolittle's markings, but I can no longer resist this kit......a beckoning me from the stash. Alas, a new tooled model kit of my favorite aircraft during my favorite subject, the Battle of Britain. They're giving us a new Midway movie, why not a Battle of Britain one? We could only hope. Anyways, I digress, Aside from Montex masks, it's being built right out of the box. Consider this a review as well as a WIP thread as I will try to point out the pros and cons as compared to the original 1993 release.
I often like to salute the lesser known heros. F/ Lt. Frank J. Howell of 609 Squadron is one of those. He was a Dunkirk and Battle of Britain veteran who would score 5 kills with many more damaged. I'll be building R6691 PR-J which he flew in August of 1940 during the Battle of Britain.
I started with the cockpit. What a beauty. The side fuselages come with separate inserts for whether you want the canopy open or closed. I chose the "open" option. The fit was perfect, barely worth even mentioning. Tamiya provides a PE fret with some integrated into the cockpit, to include seatbelts. As usual, I used XF-1 Black as a primer under XF-71 Cockpit Green with a touch of XF-19 Sky Grey. I sprayed the area aft the seat Alclad Aluminum.
The instructions call for the seat to be cockpit green. It's my understanding some were metal (green) and others were "bakelite", which was apparently an early form of resin. This was a red brown color and not painted. I went with bakelite to add visual interest using a mix of XF-64 Red Brown and XF-1 Black. The belts were painted XF-57 Buff. They were suprisingly flexible too. Easy to crinckle up to look real, which can be challenging with PE sometimes. Their 1/32 Corsair seatbelts were like sheetmetal. I gave them a brown wash to look dirty.
The instrument panel assembly is a multi piece. Tamiya provides decals for the dials. They fit pretty well but of course they always move on me. Tamiya gives you PE rudder straps too. Nice touch. I wasn't really impressed with the control stick. It seems thick and under detailed to my eye. I remember the 1993 version looking better.
Continuing with observations, If I'm being honest, I like the 3 dimensional detail on their original 1993 MK.I better. It just needs Airscale bezel decals. Here's the IP from my MK.I from last year done up in this manner. I think it's better.
As you can see, all the cockpit pieces fit into a "tub" that goes into the fuselage. This was where I found the kit to be sort of finicky. I struggled to get the pieces in there and to line up correctly. I eventually prevailed. Here's a test fit into the starboard fuselage.
I got the fuselage closed. I had no issues with alignment once I got the tub where it was supposed to be. I must note a weird to nose piece you need to add. Perhaps for another version? It doesn't seem to fall on a panel line so sanding is needed. Fortunately the fit is great.
The gearbays are way more detailed that the earlier kit and require assembly. These were built and the wing halves (upper and lower) were glued together. The fit was perfect. Here I have a test fit with the fuelage and do not forsee any wingroot issues.
I should be firing down paint in no time.