Seawinder

The production list at www.airhistory.org.uk has it as a Mk. Ia produced at Eastleigh. Link to the page: http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p008.html

The AFV Club F-5E is a pretty good kit and has recessed panel lines (not to mention rivets, grrr). If you're going to do an early aggressor, you need to be sure the particular boxing has the early conical nose (not the "shark" nose). For example, kit AR48101 -- F-5E/F-5N -- only has the shark nose, while AR48102 -- F-5E USAF Aggressor -- only has the conical nose. The shark nose is on sprue E, the conical nose on sprue N. The instructions for all the kits are available at Scalemates. I found one boxing -- AR509 "MiG-28" -- that provides both sprues.

If you're talking about the thin horizontal strip on top of the fin starting at the forward tip and protruding a bit beyond the aft edge, it was apparently present on some E's. Or maybe you're talking about something else?

I used the Quinta set on the early F-14A kit and really liked the way they came out.

I built mine with extended wings. Checking it out I can see no sign of a step (it's even hard to tell there's a joint there), and I don't remember any build issues.

Did I get it wrong? It's on page 16; there's a photograph too. Pip

According to Dana Bell in "Air Force Colors Vol. 3" (Squadron), the width was specified as 30 inches. The official mandate called for one stripe on each side, but P-51s were photographed with as many as three on each side.

Got a calculator? Do 1 divided by 8 (which I'm sure you know is what the fraction 1/8 indicates). You'll get 0.125.

It's pretty close. 4 inches in 1/32 scale is .125 (1/8) inch, which converts to 3.175 mm.

I actually have those decals in hand. The letters measure scale 22 inches high with scale 4.5 inch stroke. I don't know how Tamiya obtained those numbers or whether they're plausible. FWIW their roundels are right on at scale 36 inches.

Can you explain the second option further? I'd say separate hubs is a no-brainer, but is there an engineering down side that makes it controversial?

D-25-RE for sure. I think you could also do a D-26-RA using the Curtiss Electric propeller that's an option in the box. Probably a D-27-RE as well although I don't know which prop was standard. Of course, lots of Jugs had props replaced as newer, more efficient ones were developed -- mainly CE symmetric and asymmetric paddle blades. It's hard to tell from sprue photos, but it looks as though the kit supplies the original, narrow CE prop along with the Hamilton Standard, which was factory stock for the D-25-RE.

Yes, sorry. I corrected the number in my post above.

Sorry about the typo in the color code. It's corrected now. Mr. Color also has a flat Sky (C368) the look of which I like better than C026. It's labeled BS381C/210.

Assuming Peter meant to type 10' 3" for the RX5/10, it would appear that the other two parts in the Eduard box are for RX5/14 and RS5/24, both of which appear to be scale 10' 9". Does anybody know on what, if any, Spitfire variants they were ever mounted?