Seafire XV in 1/48th scale.Finished.

[dadgaddad]

Not only am I seriously impressed with your work but there is a heap of useful tips and tricks here and I'm having them all!

What is 4" in 1/48, BTW?

Edited August 16, 2013 by dadgaddad

[Alex Gordon]

Very tiny

It's around about the 4mm sort of size.I used my SAM scale rule as my guide.

[Dave Gibson]

Not only am I seriously impressed with your work but there is a heap of useful tips and tricks here and I'm having them all!

What is 4" in 1/48, BTW?

It's NOT 4 mm

one inch is about 25 mm, so 4 inches in 1/48 scale is (4*25)/48

It is close enough to 2 mm.

Sorry about the hijack Alex.

Dave

Edited August 19, 2013 by Dave Gibson

[Alex Gordon]

Feel free Dave,good to know that you are still about old chum.A quick calculation on the Nokia Mobile Phone Converter facility bears out 2.11mm.

I've only used the scale rule,not a 1:1 measuring stick so I haven't made a real life measurement.

Looks almost right on the kit supplied blade tips though.,maybe a tad too small possibly,but specifications are specifications.

[Dave Gibson]

the blades look spot on to me, so your scale rule must be doing its job. If measured, I'd warrent they would be about 2 mm each.

Regards,

Dave

Edited August 19, 2013 by Dave Gibson

[Alex Gordon]

G'day chums,

Dave,here's a photo,and it looks like I've got them nearer to 5" than 4".Whoops.

Dadgaddad (crumbs that's mindbending to type),looks like our good friend Dave has given us the gen here.

 

 

Happy days,will do a spot more tomorrow afternoon as long as I don't get Shanghai'd.

Edited March 2, 2021 by Alex Gordon

[Alex Gordon]

In my last post I vowed to do something constructive the following day,should I not be called to do something workwise.

Guess what?

Dayoffski has failed to happen and I'm becoming ever more frustrated about doing nothing.

This close to finishing...

Will happen.Apologies for the rant chums,we're nearly a month down the line and I'm annoyed about not being anywhere near home,never mind turning plastic.

[Troy Smith]

Not only am I seriously impressed with your work but there is a heap of useful tips and tricks here and I'm having them all!

What is 4" in 1/48, BTW?

well, 1/48th is 4 scale feet to 1 inch, so 4 scale inches = 1/12th inch. I know we are supposed to be metric... but really imperial scales are easier in imperial.

Alex, a point or two.

in this thread

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234935974-revell-germany-148-seafire-mk-xv-new-kit-or-re-release/

Looks like RoG have cocked up the roundels, making the centres too large, as this rather dramatic photo of one of the options shows!

As this is your subject this may be of use [or irritation] but also you have run the wing walk black decal over the roundel.

If it really bugs you then it would be easy to add some right sized BPF roundels over the existing.

Hope the pic is of use for weathering details at least. Oh, note that the BPF roundels were applied onboard AFAIK, so you could add a slightly different shade for the overpainted ones, just about visible in the photo.

Also note the chipped paint on the spinner band.

Very neat build, you read a lot of whining about how tough Special Hobby kits are but you have done a really good job here with care and forethought, like the masking tip as well.

Hope of use

T

[Alex Gordon]

G'day Chums,

Hurrah,Dayoffski at last!

Troy,thanks for the gen.I'm not going to alter anything for now but when I build another one it will be part of the plan.

 

Here are most of the components including the pair of mainwheel tyres that I have half inched from my Seafire XVII kit.These are a smaller diameter than the supplied items and look a bit closer to the correct size.Also the mounting hole is smaller than the axle on the mainleg so can be opened out to make a good fit,unlike the kit items which are oversize as moulded.

I thought I'd start by fitting the radiator housings.These stand a little too proud of the wing but a spot of scraping and sanding of the mating faces cured that with no great effort.

 

 

Once they were sitting happily I offered up the radiator matrix faces inside the housings and found them to be a bit too tall.

 

 

I took a lump off each one from the edge that will be next to the housing (less visible once assembled) and offered them up again.

 

 

 

I found that I'd cut them slightly too short but that is very difficult to see without really peering in.Once it was all glued together I thought I'd try to get her up on her legs.

 

A spot of fettling was needed on the mainwheels.Creating the weighted flat spot at the bottom of the tyre was a job for the Zippo and one that I always seem to overdo.

 

 

Fitting the hubs entailed cutting off the mounting flange (the kit would have you fit them before closing up the tyre halves and then mask off for painting) sanding a little off the thickness and then filing an undercut around the edge to drop into the replacement wheel while leaving enough of the rim to look convincing.It works for me anyway.

Anyway,as we leave her for now she is jigged up on a sheet of glass to set the wheels onto the legs in the right position.

 

 

That's all for now folks,should have a bit more time later this week.

Edited March 2, 2021 by Alex Gordon

[malt1977]

That is going to look stunning when its finished. I'm looking forward to seeing your Seafires.

[Troy Smith]

Here are most of the components including the pair of mainwheel tyres thai I have half inched from my Seafire XVII kit.These are a smaller diameter than the supplied items and look a bit closer to the correct size.Also the mounting hole is smaller than the axle on the mainleg so can be opened out to make a good fit,unlike the kit items which are oversize as moulded.

hi Alex

If the Airfix Seafire XVII wheels are the same as the MkXII kit, and I think they are as they were tooled at the same time, then they are a bit too small. Kits not to hand so can't confirm but will check when I can.

But from memory the MkXII tyres were nearly 2mm undersize!

One contributory factor to the funny 'sit' of the Airfix kit OOB.

Check againts another set of Spitfire wheels, and you'll see what i mean.

If the Revell /Special Hobby ones are the same as their other Spitfires/Seafires then they are the correct size.

I don't have the Seafire XV, yet, to confirm this.

HTH

T

[Alex Gordon]

G'day Troy,

It's taken me nearly an hour to set this photo up .

Between the straight edges of two pieces of mirror glass that I have:At each end Airfix Seafire 46/47 for calibration.

From left to right;Hasegawa (Revell) Mk IX, Tamiya Vb, Airfix PR XIX, Airfix Mk XII, Airfix Vb (5 spoke from 1979), ICM Mk XVI, Special Hobby (Revell) Seafire XV, Airfix Seafire XVII 3 spoke, Airfix Seafire XVII 4 spoke and at the far end my trusty SAM Scale Rule.

I could add more but I'm as near to doing a Gaston as I am ever going to get.

I have taken on board your comments and do enjoy your attention to detail.Thank you for taking the time to look in.

My apologies for indeterminate to downright lousy photography.

Oh crumbs,now I've got to put all this lot away again.Now then,which one was which?

Edited March 2, 2021 by Alex Gordon

[Troy Smith]

HI Alex

sterling work...now, where are the vernier caliper measurements

I only meant to check, but as you can see the Seafire XVII are really small, as are the Spitfire XII. Saved me dragging out the Spitfire/Seafire box ...

Possibly the reason that the wheels give the impression that they appear too big, is it looks like the UC legs are at full extension [judging from the torque links]?

One more to remember when I get to mangle the pile of Spitfire kits I have...

cheers

T

[Alex Gordon]

G'day Troy,

Read and weep dear heart;

 

 

Possibly the least useful adjustable spanner in my toolkit

Edited January 17 by Alex Gordon
Replace Photobucket URL

[Troy Smith]

Hi Alex

Funny, that's what my Vernier looks like....

OK, a quick in the Spitfire box gets this...

Cooke XIV/XIX drawings [enlarged to 1/48, printed out] 13.7mm [but the XIV and XIX has special thin tyres according to recent thread]

Airfix Spitfire 24 13.6 mm [though the 24 may well have had different wheels]

Aeroclub Spit 21 13.8 mm as this comes wheels quite possibly so...

Special Hobby Seafire III [same wheels in all SH kits I believe] 13.2 mm

Airfix Seafire XVII 12.5 mm

Airfix Spitfire XII 12.2 mm

Airfix Spitfire I 12.8 mm

Airfix Spitfire VB 12.7 mm

ICM IX 12.6 mm

Tamiya Spitfire I 12.6 mm

Hobbycraft XIV 12.7

Eduard IX 12.6

and finally Ultracast block tread 4 spoke 12.2

I got carried away, and assuming I can actually read the darn thing.... so maybe the SH wheel are a bit big?

Hmm, interesting...perhaps worth a thread in the WW2 section?

cheers

T

Edit I did just that. Got a very helpful Edgar response as usual.

The Mk.I, IX & XIV (early) were all the same, with a 5" x 10" hub, plus (nominal) 7.5" tyre, with a typical diameter, at 47 (mk.I) or 60 (IX & XIV) psi, of 24.31". This gave a nominal clearance, between "structure" and tyre of 1", with a minimum permissible clearance of .625" (at any point of travel.)
I don't have figures for the late XIV & XVIII, but it seems unlikely that the wheel well dimensions changed, so neither would the wheels/tyres, but the 20-series could have been different.
Edgar

So, 24.31", convert to mm, x 25.4 = 617.5 mm



divided by 48 = 12.86 mm


I've not checked hub size, which also affects appearance.

So, Alex, my apologies, the SH wheels are a bit big. The XVII marginally small. My assumption for the correctness of the SH wheels was comparison to the Cooke drawings BTW, which are on the larger size. Possibly the plane measured by P Cooke was fitted with post war tyres, so the rescaling and subsquent print added an error.

Still, hopefully of use to others?

[bigbadbadge]

Wow looks amazing, nice work

All the best
Chris

[Alex Gordon]

Troy old chum,

There is no need to apologise,you have done no wrong.I am flattered that one with your knowledge and understanding has seen fit to excercise the thinking through process in pursuit of the definitive answer in amongst my odd ramblings.It won't be long before all the first hand knowledge has gone so find what you can and understand it and make it available to the rest of us.

The Special Hobby wheels might be useful for a late model Spitfire/Seafire then?

[Alex Gordon]

G'day Chums,

I'm calling this one finished.A couple of hours this morning have seen the finishing touches applied.There are a few odd bits that could be done like more realistic exhaust staining and oil streaking but I'm not very good at those so that will be a job for further down the line.Also there is the replacement of a decal that came off with a bit of masking,but this will be dealt with when I buy another kit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What will I do differently next time?

The decal on the spinner will be applied before the propellor blades are fitted.

The exhaust stacks were a tricky fit and needed the removal of some plastic to position them.I will do that before painting them.

I will use a little more gloss varnish in the paint so that there is no silvering of the decals.

I will wait until decalling is completed before I fit the underwing antennas,which is why I've lost both of them and they are not there.

That's about it really.I like this kit and will be building another.

Thanks to Phil and Sean for doing the hosting bit,Ive enjoyed this GB so far and there's still a bit to do yet.

Thanks for looking in chums,now I'm going to spend the rest of the weekend on my XVII and FR 46 and finish those off.

Edited March 2, 2021 by Alex Gordon

[John_W]

Lovely Seafire.

Not a great Spitfire fan, but becoming quite an admirer of the Naval variant after seeing all the nice builds on here.