Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire IXc

[Notdoneyet]

By a strange quirk of fate/alignment of the planets, the recently announced Tamiya Spitfire IXc in 1/32 scale hit the shops in Canada before anywhere else. A second, less strange, quirk of fate took me in to Montreal today where I managed to snaffle what looked to be the last one on the shelves of my (not so) LHS.

There have been lots of "first look" reviews posted on the internet and Brett Green is doing a very nice build on Hyperscale but all the reviews I've seen have omitted something. So I thought I'd do an in-box review to fill in some gaps.

So what do you get for your hard earned? A very nice box :-

Which is stuffed full of polythene bags filled with grey plastic and a rectangular inner box filled with more grey plastic and some metal bits :-

Well that's it .... that's what's in the box ............. These in-box reviews are pretty easy

Oh you want more ..... ok here's some more ..........

Here are the sprues in the order that mine came out of the box. Firstly the sprue with the beautifully moulded pilot figues (one seated one standing) :-

The clear as crystal clear parts. The seam on the sliding part of the canopy is very fine and will polish out in moments. The clear parts include a separate part for the pilots goggles, a nice touch I thought.

Next out came the wings :-

Here's a close up showing the incredibly fine moulding :-

The inside of the wing panels :-

Moulded interior detail on the lower wing panel with some ejector pin marks (highlighted with red circles) that will need a little attention :-

Moveable control surfaces and wing tips sprue next :-

Again finely moulded detail :-

Two undercarriage sprues are provided to allow for the interchangeable up and down U/C and flat or bulged doors :-

Gun bay covers sprue and the first of many engine sprues :-

The centre fuselage and rear fuselage inserts :-

Close-up showing the fine rivet detail and one of the datum plates moulded in place :-

Moulded interior detail :-

Prop and undercarriage bay parts including different inner wall parts to accommodate legs with/without scissor links. The radiators have positional flaps but no actuator mechanism inside:-

Some faint ejector pin marks on the parts that make up the wheel well roof (highlighted with red circles):-

Slipper tank sprues (one for in flight stand mounting) and bombs/racks:-

Another engine sprue (There are 3 sprues containing engine parts and engine assembly takes up 13 sections in the instructions):-

Another:-

Continued .......

Edited November 7, 2009 by Notdoneyet

[Notdoneyet]

Part 2

Firewall and undercarriage parts :-

More faint ejector pin marks (highlighted with red circles) in the gear roof near the leg attachment point.

Cockpit interior sprue :-

Cowling panels are in the inner box :-

Again beautifully moulded :-

The etch fret :-

The nuts, bolts hinges and u/c reinforcing rods, along with the incredibly strong magnets to hold the cowling panels on (top):-

The colour reference booklet and the painting guide:-

The comprehensive 36 page instruction booklet has a few errors (Edgar will be saddened to see the Y belt passing through the hole in the back of the seat):-

Conclusion

This is certainly the best moulded and engineered kit I have ever seen. It is a sight for sore eyes and the whole package oozes quality. Is it perfect? Well, within the bounds of injection moulding technology I'd say it's as close as you can get. Yes, there are flaws but they are minor (ejector pin marks are easily filled) and there are omissions - no engine pipework or wiring and no wiring or pipework in the cockpit again easily rectified with a little modelling skill. SO in summary I think that this is a phenomenally good kit and is well worth the money IMHO. Now I've just got to decide what scheme to do it in ............

Review sample courtesy of that nice Mr Visa.

I hope that this was informative and assists in any buy/no buy decisions.

Cheers,

Ian

Edited November 7, 2009 by Notdoneyet

[daz greenwood]

Being Tamiya quality that'll go together in a day or two.

[Danuleson]

If any big expensive kit is going to tempt me, this'll be the one!

Like any kit, their are some imperfections as mentioned. And to the trained enthusiast their will always be things to find if you want to.

But, like any Tamiya kit this one looks very very nice, and knowing Tamiyas quality i'm sure they've put in every ounce of effort to make this kit

as near as damn it.

Can't wait to see the first build post either

[CockneyCol]

Yeah...But are you happy?????

Looks a real treat.....Perhaps a little christmas present from me to me is in order, afterall I have been very very good!

Cheers

Col'

[Terry McGrady]

Yeah...But are you happy?????

Looks a real treat.....Perhaps a little christmas present from me to me is in order, afterall I have been very very good!

Cheers

Col'

Go on Col . Get Frank to order you one you know you want to

Cheers

Terry McGrady

[TonyT]

Sweet review Thank you so much, my wallet may end up NOT thanking you though

[Doug Rogers]

I will have one, oh yes...just not for a while.

[Edgar]

I think that those "ejector pin" marks, in the wheel well sections, might, in fact, be deliberate, but I'll need to have a close look at some photos, to be sure. I think that the presence of "true" pin marks, on the upright portions, close to the circles, could be significant; taking photos of that area, on the real thing, though, is difficult, to say the least, because of access, and the amount of dirt & muck that accumulates up there.

I'd say that the large circles, outside the outer m/g bays, in the lower wings, instead of pin marks, could be flashed-over holes for the downward recognition lamps fitted to early VIIs & VIIIs.

If you want to follow the instructions for the Sutton harness, paint the seat green, and tell everyone that it's one of the specially strengthened metal examples.

Edgar

[Jennings Heilig]

Gadzooks... Imagine if this were a P-51D. **shudder**

J

Edited November 7, 2009 by Jennings Heilig

[rob]

God i've Got a busy December! I should get my Spit about 2 weeks before a small squadron of Mossies arrives! Actually I think 2010s modelling requirements

have been fullfiled by only 4 Kits!!

Edited November 7, 2009 by rob

[Notdoneyet]

I think that those "ejector pin" marks, in the wheel well sections, might, in fact, be deliberate, but I'll need to have a close look at some photos, to be sure. I think that the presence of "true" pin marks, on the upright portions, close to the circles, could be significant; taking photos of that area, on the real thing, though, is difficult, to say the least, because of access, and the amount of dirt & muck that accumulates up there.

I'd say that the large circles, outside the outer m/g bays, in the lower wings, instead of pin marks, could be flashed-over holes for the downward recognition lamps fitted to early VIIs & VIIIs.

If you want to follow the instructions for the Sutton harness, paint the seat green, and tell everyone that it's one of the specially strengthened metal examples.

Edgar

Edgar,

I think that my less than stellar photos taken in fading light yesterday have introduced some confusion so I've edited the photos to add red rings to highlight the, what are mainly very feint, ejector pin marks. I hope this clarifies things.

Ian

[Edgar]

Wish I'd seen this before going to Telford; I'd have had a closer look at different areas. I suspect that you'll only need to be concerned about those in the wheel wells; the fuselage marks look as though they'll disappear behind bulkheads, cockpit walls, and under the seat. With the main wells, only the two central marks, between the strengtheners, might need attention; the others will be outside the walls of the wells. The small ones, beside the leg supports look to need attention, maybe, but, if anyone picks one of my models up, without invitation, and shines a torch into the u/s, they'll be taking said torch home without the need of their hands.

We were told that the container ship, for the U.K., was only due to set sail during the Telford weekend, so we won't see the kits until the end of the month. Just a thought, for any ditherers, VAT goes back up to 17.5% on January 1st., so the kit might cost around £2.50 more, after that date.

Edgar

Edited November 9, 2009 by Edgar

[Foxhound]

Looks remarkable

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Wish I'd seen this before going to Telford; I'd have had a closer look at different areas. I suspect that you'll only need to be concerned about those in the wheel wells; the fuselage marks look as though they'll disappear behind bulkheads, cockpit walls, and under the seat. With the main wells, only the two central marks, between the strengtheners, might need attention; the others will be outside the walls of the wells. The small ones, beside the leg supports look to need attention, maybe, but, if anyone picks one of my models up, without invitation, and shines a torch into the u/s, they'll be taking said torch home without the need of their hands.

We were told that the container ship, for the U.K., was only due to set sail during the Telford weekend, so we won't see the kits until the end of the month. Just a thought, for any ditherers, VAT goes back up to 17.5% on January 1st., so the kit might cost around £2.50 more, after that date.

Edgar

Hi Edgar - and isnt that a classic case of bottom from elbow for the distributor? The Canadian distributor apparently paid for a load of kits to be air-freighted in - hence our Cannuck cousins have then now.

And then.

So consider the distributor here in the UK: "Hmmmmm, SMW in 2 weeks time, wonder if people would buy 500 or maybe 1000 spitfire kits? well no point bothering as they wont be shipped onthe cargo freighter till then. "

ERRRR - DUMB bottom FOOLS - you just missed a chance to flog so many spits you would never have beleived - EVERYONE I spoke to at Telford was willing to pony up the cash for a Spit - EVERYONE - it was the to be had item.

I hope whoever is in charge of Tamiyas plastic model distribution in the UK gets the sack, because to forgo this event by spending a little bit more to air freight them over, would have paid off big time. Actually their boss should get the chop too - for not managing his man properly or for being the penny pinching idiot that said no to the idea.

If the item had been a P-51 and the event had been the US Nationals - this would not have happened.

Dumb Dumb and dumb - A captive audience desperate to spend their money, well advertised in advance , and the distributor shows up with sprues and a built up model with a gluey finger mark on the forward fuselage!!! - christ almighty - I just give up.

sorry to hijack the thread with this - but it annoys me so much.

Jonners, rant off