I know there are a lot of cat lovers on BM, so let me make it clear - no cats will be harmed during the making of this thread. However, a number of plastic kits will be brutally, viciously and callously butchered! The release of the new Airfix 1/48 Spitfire PR.XIX has introduced a couple of options. I'm going to build a Mk.XIV from that kit. However, there are always a number of ways of doing things, so I'm going to investigate a couple of other options.
Basically, I will be building the following:
Mk.XIVe
Airfix XIX fuselage,
Hasegawa IX wings
FR.XIVe
Airfix 22/24 fuselage,
Hasegawa IX wings and tail
Mk.XIVc
Hasegawa IX wings and fuselage
Airfix 22/24 nose
I'll also be building an Airfix XIX as a sort of control group!
Apart from buying the two XIXs, this should be a fairly inexpensive exercise. About eight years ago I bought half a dozen Airfix 22/24 kits. They were being sold off cheap by Hannants because they had no boxes, instructions or decals. They were three quid each! I bought them with the intention of using the Griffon parts as conversion sets for the Hasegawa IX.
As for the Hasegawa IXs, I have eight in The Stash. They've been there for some time. Most of them are the Revell boxing which I bought when I saw the way the prices of Hasegawa kits were going. However, now that Eduard is releasing a supposably state of the art accurate IX, the Hasegawa kits are redundant unless I convert 'em all to Griffon Spitfires.
So here goes. Wish me luck!