Plans

[Sean_M]

I am always interested to read how people compare kits to plans and come up with the various differences. Where would one get 1/48 and 1/32 plans for Spits, Hurri's 109's,190's, Zeros etc

[Edgar]

Hurricane I - Arthur Bentley.

Fw190 - Arthur Bentley.

Spitfires - some time in the future - Arthur Bentley.

Can't help with the Zeroes, though.

Edgar

[John Aero]

To add to Edgar's list, Monforton (Spitfire Engineered). Nearly all published Spitfire drawings contain errors I use a set which Arthur Bentley let me have some time ago. In my opinion all the Far East Spitfire kits are derived from a drawing done by George Cox and subsequently modified in Japanese publications. Unfortunately the Cox drawing had been subjected to 'printers push' hence all the short Spitfires. The exception to this might be the new large scale kits which I haven't examined. What I find difficult to get across is that virtually all drawings published in magazines etc are re-detailed traces of stuff that's been around for years and so the errors keep getting repeated.

John

[Troy Smith]

Sean

you may find this thread of interest.

and this, on the most accurate Spitfire plans

http://www.britmodel...topic=234921406

regarding the Hurricane

This thread is well worth reading, has the Hurricane II nose drawing by Peter Cooke, posted by Edgar.

http://www.britmodel...pic=64364&st=20

as for the Bentley plans, from this thread.

The AL Bentley drawings Edgar mentions are updates of his original set done in 1979 and published in Scale Models.

Bentley mentions in the notes that as he wanted to show the internal details he used the production drawings, used to actually build the planes, even though there were some very detailed general arrangement drawings available in the files.

After completing the basic framework, he checked these against the existing drawings, and got a shock. They didn't match.

After more checking he found that the drawings that had been given out in good faith were wrong in various areas.

His drawings were then taken from production blueprints and are as good as you will get.

The revision Edgar mentions is a to do with a detail of the rear fuselage decking.

the reprints were printed in 1/48 in Model Aircraft Monthly vol4, no 11, though a quick check of the SAM sites shows this is now sold out.

Given the history of inaccurate Hurricane drawings coming directly from Hawkers, if you want to be sure, get the Bentley drawings.

they are theoretically available from his site, http://www.albentley...ne.htm though when I have contacted him I have not got a reply. [ I have tried by email twice ]

Note, for the purposes of checking the basic outline, the lo-res preview drawings in the link above can be saved and using a graphics program, correctly scaled and printed out, they will be fuzzy, but good enough to see the correct outlines.

Though if it's just the nose you want to check, the drawings posted by Edgar will do that just fine.

note, while the Bentley drawings are for the MkI, but add on the II cowling and deeper radiator and you have a IIA, add the outer gun postions, you have a IIB.

Also note the Hurricane type rotol spinner and Sea Hurricane fittings are on the Bentley drawings.

And they do show the C wing, so if you use the cowl drawings posted by Edgar with those wings you get the IIC.

The C wings was the basis for the 'D' and IV wing as well, there are threads on here about the differences of those, for example this one, which links to others

http://www.britmodel...topic=234927188

scans of plans are in the links, or photos.

So, with a bit of cross referencing you get plans for all the Hurricane variants.

The only bits missing from what I have given links for are the IIB outer gun postions and the IV armoured radiator, and the MkII type tailwheel. These are in the old PSL book 'Classic Aircraft No4, Hawker Hurricane, their History and how to model them.' which I should scan and post at some point, having scanned the IID wing and rocket mountings ones.

[The book has been out of print for 30 years now.]

regarding the Bf109, I suggest the one available on the 109 lair, which has them for the F, G and K

http://109lair.hobby...awings_menu.htm

The site is Lynn Ritger's, who is a 109 buff you find on Hyperscale, and wrote the 109 Datafile books, so I beleieve the plans should be good.

HTH

T

[NPL]

Until we have the new Arthur Bentley plans (if I was a Muslim I would add: Imsallah!) my preference is the MAP drawings (lucky enough to have these plans).

But isn't it really a matter of preference? If you choose and artist stay with him. Any comment should be on how well the model is done, but not really that it does not follow your preferred drawings--until something really authoritative is here. Too much of the discussion about plans have to do with people sticking to one or the other set of plans.

Lemche