Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Hi all i have an old air waves conversion for an airfix mkv spitfire. I made an attempt mny years ago at this conversion. Including a 2nd kit of a mid production mk IX for the mid production vertical tail. After some work i eventually shelved the whole pile. Well 14 years later im considering a second go and now i wonder is the airfix mk XII the way to go? Or would it be better to attempt converting another brand ie Tamiya mk v or Hasegawa/Eduard mkVIII. On top of those questions if i convert i still have no decals/markings for the mk XII. Im in a long term quest to build a certain number of spitfires for my collection. I currently have a mk2 in empire flying school markings. Two mark v's a usaaf midstone/dk earth from the mediterranean and sailor malans mk v. A mk XIVe from the continent in 1945. And a seafire mk 46. Id like to add a mk 1, mk 8, mk 9, the 12, a 19 and a 22 from the far east. Not to mention at least one more seafire. Well if anyone wants to chime in and give me there 2 cents it would be appreciated. Oh just so you know im a newbie here at BM. And im still trying to get a connection for displaying my work so patience on that please. Also i took a 10 year break from the hobby from 2005 to the end of 2014. So im getting back into things but having to start from pretty much nothing( no airbrush only rattlecan, and rebuilding all my supplies up from scratch. Thanks all Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 What scale are you working in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 Hmm thought id added that but 48th scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck1945 Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Don't Aifix have Spit XII in 1/48. That isn't my scale, but I vaguely recall discussion about an Airfix kit a few years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 That was my original question chuck. I wasnt sure which route would be best the new airfix mk12 or converting a Tamiya or Hasegawa/Eduard with my existing conversion. My original problem comes in two parts. The original airfix mk 5 kit didnt have all the correct parts to complete the conversion. It didnt come with 5c wings or mid-production mk9 rudder. Plus the airfix 5 had wings that were as thick as a hurricanes. Two the lack of markings. Now my question stems from this does anyone know if the new airfix mk 12 is a new mold or a modification of the old mk 5 kit. Another big problem is i can only really get airfix online here in the states. As they dont really have any hobbyshops in chicago anymore. Weve gone from about 8-10 good shops 20 years ago to just 1 shop for the greater chicagoland area. Its a dying business sadly. Thanks again for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 (edited) The Airfix Mk.XII is a new tool, but has faults, It's too deep fuselage, 'tamiya' too broad wing, etc etc, It's fixable, but requires a load of work to be accurate, and new prop blades. it's late, you want details, I can dig out threads on this,but they get convoluted and might give you a headache. I'd be wary of an Airwaves conversion, a lot of their stuff is, erm, not great. You couldn't use a Tamiya Vb or hase Vb, as both are B winged. (without getting into what's wrong with them) You possibly could convert an Eduard IX, but I'd bet that the Airwaves bits would be noticeably crude in comparison to the Eduard base kit, and you'd still need decals. If you are in the market for a 1/48th Mk XII, and you want accuracy, get the Special Hobby kit,it will be as easy to get as the Airfix XII online,it has more decal options, and some etch parts. Short run so can be tricky too build if not careful. You will get some naysayers to this, but I have the Airfix XII, SH XII, and the Aeroclub XII fuselage, and I did a lot of cross checking of other Spitfire kits, the accurate ones for shape and dimension comparison, as well as he trusted plans, and while the SH is not 'perfect' in my opinion it's the best overall option for a XII. HTH T PS Quote Id like to add a mk 1, mk 8, mk 9, the 12, a 19 and a 22 from the far east. Mk.I - new tool Airfix Mk. VIII/IX, Eduard XIX - Airfix 22 - Airfix Edited June 30, 2017 by Troy Smith add details 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 Thank you troy special hobby is one id forgotten. Im not afraid of limited run or short run kits. Did a grand phoenix Fj fury about two years ago. Not afraid of extra work just checking all my options. No i dont need the threads but thanks for the offer. I guess i can use the airwaves stuff for spares or naybe a seafire 15 conversion ? Again thanks for the info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Beema Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 (edited) SH also do a range of Seafires with etch & resin included.. Very buildable kit that finishes really well. I have both a Seafire II & II on the go... Edited June 30, 2017 by Grey Beema Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 (edited) Some years ago I combined the Falcon vac-form XII conversion with a Hasegawa / Gartex Vc (itself a limited edition of the Hase Vb kit with some C wing conversion parts). It went together very well and I wtill have it on the shelf. Edited June 30, 2017 by Work In Progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Hi, CorsairfoxfourUncle, The way I followed is using an Aeroclub conversion (complete fuselage, prop, radiators) with a Spit IX kit (I have used a Hase, but an Eduard wold be equally good). Bear in mind that surface detail in a too modern and good kit would be much better than in the Aeroclub fuselage. I do not know the Airwaves conversion for the XII, but have used one for a Seafire XV (basically the same airframe) and worked perfectly with a Hase donor kit. As Troy said, the fuselage in the Airfix kit is too deep ("tall", if you like) so the general shape is really awry. Something you notice immediately upon first sight if you are familiar with Spits. I remember when the kit was first issued and some of us noticed that we were flamed out mercilessly. YOu also have a Special Hobby kit, which comes with a good fuselage but has the wing four millimeters back. There are some methods to correct this, even some proposed in this very forum, mainly regarding SH Spitfire V/Seafire III, which shares the same basic problem. I have not tried neither of these. Hope that helps, Fernando Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnAndersen Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 (edited) I work in 1/72 where I have had good results in mating a Griffon front to a IX kit. You will of course also need a mk V oild cooler, but it's much easier by having a 'C' wing that trying to modify a 'B' wing. Edited July 3, 2017 by FinnAndersen added picture 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 3 hours ago, Fernando said: As Troy said, the fuselage in the Airfix kit is too deep ("tall", if you like) so the general shape is really awry. Something you notice immediately upon first sight if you are familiar with Spits. I remember when the kit was first issued and some of us noticed that we were flamed out mercilessly . YOu also have a Special Hobby kit, which comes with a good fuselage but has the wing four millimeters back. There are some methods to correct this, even some proposed in this very forum, mainly regarding SH Spitfire V/Seafire III, which shares the same basic problem. I have not tried neither of these. Hope that helps, Fernando Hi Fernando the wing is at most 2 mm back, more like 1.5 mm, having just lined up the new tool Airfix V and the SH XII. Again, due to a 1.5 shortness just in front of the cockpit, if this was a big problem, a complete fix would be a splice, in the fueselage fuel tank , but an easier fix would be cutting off the leading edge fillet on fuse, (maybe use an Eduard spare?) and over the wing and trim the trailing edge fillet. The SH kits also have the correct cockpit with 'sidewalls' (in reality the fuselage sides) as seen here Spitfire boneyard. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr note wing fillet formers while most Spitfire kits have the cockpit curving into the wing fillets. The SH Spit Vc.Seafire III is also about 1.5 mm short in front of fin,so the Spit XII and Seafire XV are better. The Airfix XII (and Seafire XVII) share most of the faults the Academy XIV is damned for, too deep, including the fin, and thus the rudder, and on the nose the exhausts are too low, wing too broad, though they get the nose ring size right (Academy get this too big which is why their XIV really looks off) and useless prop blades the Airfix also has separate flaps and heavy panel lines. Sure, there is the Falcon vac fuselage (is this raised line detailing) or the Airwaves (OOP) or Aeroclub (OOP) but the point I was trying to make for Dennis, is if you are looking to buy a kit for a 1/48th Spitfire XII the Special Hobby kits is the best overall package, not least as it has 4 decal options, There is a in box review here There has been much debate over these kits, and comparisons etc etc,but much of this predates the issue of the new tool Airfix I/V, and the Eduard VIII/IX/XVI kits, both of which I have yet to see any criticism of for overall shape and dimensions. The SH XII match up with the Airfix V very well apart from being 1.5mm short just in front of the cockpit. Anyway Dennis, welcome to 'Spitmodeller' and I hope this helps! cheers T 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Hi, Troy, Agreed SH is the best option. Might be I exaggerated the wing misplacement, I was writing out of memory. Wasn't aware of the longer rear fuselage. I was thinking about the cure you had proposed of just forcing the wing forward and fairing it in fore and aft. Fernando 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 Thank you to everyone and there advice please keep it coming. Finn thats why i originally shelved the project in 2004 tried to make too many changes and it felt like every time i started one change it would reveal 1-2 more i needed to accomplish. So i finally got frustrated and said in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishKiwi Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 For any manufacturer of 1/72 scale aircraft out there - a decent spitfire Mk.XII in 1/72 scale would be very welcome. With a lot of recent spitfire models in this scale coming onto the market mainly through AZ Models, Eduard and others, we do not have a good spitfire Mk.XII. To the best of my knowledge, this is really the last main operational variant that requires to be produced in 1/72 scale. I hope soon that this gap in the market will be filled. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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