1/72 Revell Spitfire Vb (new tool)

[johnd]

Hi all,

 

this is going to be my first ever WiP on Britmodeller (and anywhere else for that matter). The subject is the new Revell Spitfire Vb and it'll be built as W3380/RN-J of 72 Squadron, based in Acklington, August 1941. This was a presentation aircraft, flown by Squadron Leader Des Sheen and was finished in Dark Earth/Dark Green over Sky.

 

The kit, as you've probably heard, is not perfect. Out of the same stable as their recent Mk.IIa, it is basically sound in shape but suffers in the detail. I'll be fitting a new canopy, propeller, wheels, oil cooler and exhausts. In addition, the cannon blisters will be removed and replaced in the proper position by ones the right size.

 

Here are some photos of the runners to start off:

 

I'm aware that the quality of the photos isn't great and I aim to improve next time.

 

Wish me luck,

John.

[Andy G]

Sounds like a nice little project.  I’ll interested to see how this develops.

[johnd]

2 minutes ago, Andy G said:

I’ll interested to see how this develops.

Me too!

[johnd]

The first thing to tackle is the cannon blisters. The obvious solution of carving off the rear portion and fattening up the sides with filler did not appeal as there was no chance that they'd end up the same size. I recalled that the earlier Revell Vb had them as separate parts. I happen to have one in the stash, the fuselage of which will take part in a future project. Bingo!

 

 

You can see what I mean above about the cannon blister. The wing is the new Revell Vb, the replacement part is from their old effort. So how do I know the old one wasn't wrong too? Well, 

 

 

Here's the same part on an Italeri wing. It's also the same size as that on both Hobby Boss and KP Vbs, varying very slightly in width, so I'm in business!

 

John.

 

PS I don't have any plans and couldn't find a usable overhead photo of the real thing, so this'll have to do.