UPDATED with purchase in hand. Which WW2 1/48 RAF/FAA aircraft with folding wings should i do?

[James B]

I'm starting to think about what my next project will be. (A continued distraction from an unfinished harrier).

 

I'd like to add to my current WWII RAF collection, and am intrigued by the folding wing options having never done one.

 

I'm not a scratch builder at all, so I'd like to work with a kit that goes together with minimal complications and can be improved upon with a photo etch set or two. I've been building a Tamiya P-47 and I'm pretty certain that if i'd thrown a modelling knife and open pot of glue into the box and given it a vigorous shake, I would have pulled out a perfectly built aircraft.  The photo-etch sets from Eduard gave me enough head scratching and difficulty to make the build a slight challenge and a good feeling of accomplishment as I worked through it. 

 

So with this all in mind, what can you wise people suggest please?

 

Many thanks,

 

James

Edited September 28, 2017 by James B
Title for clarity

[SimonT]

Airfix do lovely Seafires Mk XVII and FR 47 that come with folded wings options. Or their new tool Walrus.

 

Tamiya do a corsair that I believe you can get aftermarket to make it a Brit version.

 

Trumpeter do a Sea Fury (Airfix kit due this year too) though perhaps a little too late for your timeline.

 

Eduard do the different types of Hellcats.

 

Classic Airframes/Italeri do the Avenger ( you'll need aftermarket for the fold though).

 

HobbyBoss do the Avenger with fold included. 

 

I like folded wing aircraft, the above are either in the stash or waiting to be.  I'm sure there are others and someone else will come along with some other ideas.

[Black Knight]

The RAF operated very few aeroplanes which had folding wings.

The FAA liked them though [as in the suggestions above]

[James B]

12 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

The RAF operated very few aeroplanes which had folding wings.

The FAA liked them though [as in the suggestions above]

Apologies, a case of ignorance on my part I'm afraid. I guess what I'm looking for anything operated by the British, so FAA would be acceptable, but would be second place to a RAF. Something that can add some interest to my display cabinet. 

 

53 minutes ago, SimonT said:

Tamiya do a corsair that I believe you can get aftermarket to make it a Brit version.

I like the idea of the Corsair in Brit colours, but am wondering if a Seafire might suit the display better. The non US decals I can find for the Seafire seem to be RNZAF. As I now live in NZ, this jumped out at me, but then it goes against my Brit theme, and reading up they didn't really see any combat. Living in NZ also makes importing expensive if from various sellers, so I try to order all from one seller if I can (normally Hannants), but they only have the Revell or Super hobby boxings. 

[Darby]

FAA bird without a doubt. You've got 108 yrs of the RNAS to play with.

[James B]

5 minutes ago, Darby said:

FAA bird without a doubt. You've got 108 yrs of the RNAS to play with.

Not quite 108 years   I'm looking at active aircraft during the second World War. Are there any kits you've done that are particularly good, with perhaps some nice aftermarket etch to give the wing fold some nice detail?

[85sqn]

Straight out of the box Tamiyas Corsair is lovely and the wing fold detail is good.

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

The Tamiya Swordfish is worth a look, and the Airfix Supermarine Walrus is about to be released. In the latter case I *expect* it will have a folding wing option. Note the wings swing backwards on both of these, not hinge up like a Corsair.

 

The only Hellcat with folded wings straight out of the box is Hobbyboss, and it's not very Hellcat-like in other areas.

[Black Knight]

How about one of the Tamiya Swordfish kits?

They also do photo-etch for the wire bracing

I don't know the kit but being Tamiya I'd guess that it has decent wing-fold option

 

edit; typed and posted as Jamie posted his suggestion

[James B]

34 minutes ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

The Tamiya Swordfish is worth a look, and the Airfix Supermarine Walrus is about to be released. In the latter case I *expect* it will have a folding wing option. Note the wings swing backwards on both of these, not hinge up like a Corsair.

 

The only Hellcat with folded wings straight out of the box is Hobbyboss, and it's not very Hellcat-like in other areas.

 

32 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

How about one of the Tamiya Swordfish kits?

They also do photo-etch for the wire bracing

I don't know the kit but being Tamiya I'd guess that it has decent wing-fold option

 

 

I'm not sure I'm ready for something with all that rigging. I've watched as people far more competent than I struggle. Both really excellent suggestions, and I think I may well pick up the Walrus when its released, and will definitely keep my eyes peeled for the Swordfish, but I think I need to get my skills a little higher before I attempt these. I've yet to master the cotton or stretched sprue aerial wire (?) on the WWII aircraft yet. I gather its a similar principle for rigging?

 

 

1 hour ago, 85sqn said:

Straight out of the box Tamiyas Corsair is lovely and the wing fold detail is good.

 

I'm definitely leaning this way. Great to know the detail is good out of the box too. Hmmm, just need to find a seller that also stocks some British decals. So far the suppliers I've found either don't have the Corsair or they don't have Brit decals.

 

 

Genuinely really appreciating all the really great suggestions. Britmodellers are a fantastic bunch. You always manage to not make me feel like a complete moron, while still providing really great, detailed and thought out help, advice and encouragement, every time I've asked.  So thank you, for all of the above, and for every other post. 

Edited September 18, 2017 by James B

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

16 minutes ago, James B said:

 

 

I'm not sure I'm ready for something with all that rigging. I've watched as people far more competent than I struggle. Both really excellent suggestions, and I think I may well pick up the Walrus when its released, and will definitely keep my eyes peeled for the Swordfish, but I think I need to get my skills a little higher before I attempt these. I've yet to master the cotton or stretched sprue aerial wire (?) on the WWII aircraft yet. I gather its a similar principle for rigging?

 

I'd recommend not bothering with that. Cotton thread looks very unconvincing IMO, and whilst stretch sprue can look very good it's frustrating to work with and extremely fragile. The easy thing to do is to use a lycra monofilament product for this. It's stretchy.

 

I find it easiest to work straight from the reel and tack one end at a time by laying it into a dot of medium CA applied with a pin. Tack one end, pull it straight (not tight) and tack the other end. Once the CA has dried, trim the excess away.

 

Here's CedB's first go at it on his recent DH Dragon Rapide thread with just one of the similar rigging line products available on the market:

 

[neilh]

The Tamiya Swordfish is not an easy build as its complex, but if you follow the instructions and clean up sprue attachments points, the fit is the usual exemplary Tamiya.  The wingfold is very easy to build as Tamiya provide separate parts for folded and open options. If you buy the photo etched set, the rigging slots into place ( with patience).  No stretching sprue or nylon thread on this one ( unless you choose to add the rudder control wires yourself).

As others have said, the Tamiya Corsair is another beauty with an easy wingfold.  I think for a RN aircraft you may need to just shorten the wingtips with sanding, or otherwise build a NZ aircraft- there are plenty of decal options of those.

The Airfix Seafire XVII mentioned is a real gem. I enjoyed that one so much I bought and built another one so I could have one folded up and the other open winged.

There are options to build earlier Seafires but you will need one of the aftermarket sets from the likes of Airwaves or MDC ( not always in production but maybe E Bay). 

[Seahawk]

15 minutes ago, neilh said:

The Airfix Seafire XVII mentioned is a real gem. I enjoyed that one so much I bought and built another one so I could have one folded up and the other open winged.

NB the man said Seafire XVII.   You may come across an older Airfix 1/48 kit marketed as a Seafire III: not one of Airfix's finest hours.  And no folded wing option.

[Darby]

 

No folding wings but this looks good.

[Black Knight]

3 hours ago, neilh said:

The Tamiya Swordfish is not an easy build as its complex, but if you follow the instructions and clean up sprue attachments points, the fit is the usual exemplary Tamiya.

....

Did not Tamiya publish a book on how to build their Swordfish?

[neilh]

8 hours ago, Black Knight said:

Did not Tamiya publish a book on how to build their Swordfish?

Yes, they did. Written by Geoff Coughlin. I have not seen it in the flesh however to vouch for it or not. There are plenty of build reviews on line though.  I've now built 3  one with floats, one fully extended, one fully folded and one with one wing in, the other out.  The only really tricky parts I found were making sure not paint is on the fuselage frames where they fit as the tolerances are tight, the risk of breaking the lewis gun mount ( several times), and also, when building wings folded, it was better to rig with the folded wing in place. Although tricky, the weight of the wing hanging on the spar can flex the structure making pre applied rigging bend.  If you only glue one end, the other end can float avoiding the issue.

[Max Headroom]

No one's mentioned this

 

https://img.planespotters.net/photo/089000/original/xv350-royal-air-force-blackburn-buccaneer-s2b_PlanespottersNet_089317.jpg

 

Airfix (a bit of a pig apparently)

 

or this

 

http://alansheppardart.com/communities/8/004/010/916/128/images/4576073708.jpg

 

Hasegawa or Revell repop

 

Trevor

 

 

[SimonT]

2 minutes ago, Max Headroom said:

No one's mentioned this

 

https://img.planespotters.net/photo/089000/original/xv350-royal-air-force-blackburn-buccaneer-s2b_PlanespottersNet_089317.jpg

 

Airfix (a bit of a pig apparently)

 

or this

 

http://alansheppardart.com/communities/8/004/010/916/128/images/4576073708.jpg

 

Hasegawa or Revell repop

 

Trevor

 

 

They sadly weren't around in WWII

[James B]

2 minutes ago, SimonT said:

They sadly weren't around in WWII

I think this is entirely my fault though. I just went back and re-read my original post and it is vague. I did indeed mean to be asking for WWII active aircraft, but it could easily be read otherwise.

[Max Headroom]

3 minutes ago, SimonT said:

They sadly weren't around in WWII

Oops! You may want to rejig your thread title.

 

Trevor

[James B]

It looks as though I'm going to have to do a corsair and a swordfish after. That said, if I can find a Seafire XVII in stock, I think that might be first. So many choices. I thought I had decided, but clearly not! 

 

Still need to find somewhere stocking them, but now I know what I'm sort of looking for at least.

[SimonT]

There's a corsair for sale on this very site, with aftermarket to make it FAA and at a bargain price.  I was tempted myself just to get the MDC resin.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2017 by SimonT
Added it's a corsair

[James B]

14 minutes ago, SimonT said:

There's a corsair for sale on this very site, with aftermarket to make it FAA and at a bargain price.  I was tempted myself just to get the MDC resin.

 

 

Nice, thank you. PM sent.

[James B]

12 hours ago, neilh said:

The Tamiya Swordfish is not an easy build as its complex, but if you follow the instructions and clean up sprue attachments points, the fit is the usual exemplary Tamiya.  The wingfold is very easy to build as Tamiya provide separate parts for folded and open options. If you buy the photo etched set, the rigging slots into place ( with patience).  No stretching sprue or nylon thread on this one ( unless you choose to add the rudder control wires yourself).

As others have said, the Tamiya Corsair is another beauty with an easy wingfold.  I think for a RN aircraft you may need to just shorten the wingtips with sanding, or otherwise build a NZ aircraft- there are plenty of decal options of those.

The Airfix Seafire XVII mentioned is a real gem. I enjoyed that one so much I bought and built another one so I could have one folded up and the other open winged.

There are options to build earlier Seafires but you will need one of the aftermarket sets from the likes of Airwaves or MDC ( not always in production but maybe E Bay). 

What's the detail on the wing fold like OOB? Does it benefit from a photo-etch set?

[Troy Smith]

4 hours ago, James B said:

I did indeed mean to be asking for WWII active aircraft, but it could easily be read otherwise.

 

4 hours ago, James B said:

That said, if I can find a Seafire XVII in stock,

 

Seafire XVII is post war.     The folded wing can be used  on a  Seafire III with some modifications.   The Airfix Seafire XVII actually has many of the same outline faults the much maligned Academy Spitfire XIV has.....

 

Unless you are a Spitfire obsessive,  the Special Hobby Seafire II and III kits are pretty good.    Limited run so care needed,  and no folding wing.   

16 hours ago, neilh said:

There are options to build earlier Seafires but you will need one of the aftermarket sets from the likes of Airwaves or MDC

 

the MDC set converts the Tamiya kit,  which has a load of faults,  a lot of Airwaves stuff is nowadays pretty shoddy and not worth the money,  but they did do an etch wing fold set for a Seafire III

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AEC48107

Seafire I and II wings don't fold...  says for Airfix,  and has been noted the Airfix Spitfire Vc/Seafire III kit is not recommended.

 

Surprisingly not mentioned for FAA types with folding wings.

 

Skua

https://www.scalemates.com/products/reviews.php?scale=1%3A48&topic=Blackburn+Skua

Fulmar

https://www.scalemates.com/products/reviews.php?scale=1%3A48&topic=Fairey+Fulmar

Firefly

https://www.scalemates.com/products/reviews.php?scale=1%3A48&topic=Fairey+Firefly

Airwaves do a wingfold set

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AEC48106

which is not the easiest to use IIRC.

Barracuda

https://www.scalemates.com/products/reviews.php?scale=1%3A48&topic=Fairey+Barracuda

https://modelingmadness.com/review/allies/gb/cleaverbar.htm

 

All been done by various ,limited run Czech firms, so not tamiya shake and bake for sure, ,   though  from memory I think only the Skua has an OOB wing fold option.

the Scalemates link to various reviews.  you find build of all of them on here as well,  though many have been Photobucketed.

 

 

as you are in NZ, I'd be looking at far east online shops.

 

Bear in mind that the postage for decals and etch should not be too high,  so no need to get all in one place

 

HTH