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Airfix Tiger Moth


Denford

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That's going back a few years. This kit was copied in resin and the person who did it didn't even bother to remove the tiny ding in one wing, caused by a mishandled screwdriver, which wasn't noticed until the run was finished and by then several had gone out.

I have the prop off the Royal Fox Moth CDD. DD has an interesting history having been used for a record run to the Belgian Congo and then going to NZ where it crashed on a glacier and was eventually manhandled off the mountain. It's still flying in Canada. My prop was swapped early in it's life for a Fairey Reed.

John

Interesting story there John. It must be quite something to own an item of significance. As an aside and still Fox Moth orientated, am I right in believing that one of the mods done to a particular Fox had a Spitfire canopy fitted over the open pilots cockpit?

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I have heard the tale re the canopy and OJH is fitted with one which does look like a Spitfire type but they were specifically built for the Fox. The early Canadian and Speed Foxes had a simpler type with a headrest fairing.

For years i was under the impression my prop was off the Royal Puss Moth BBS but only recently I matched the drawing number up to the Fox and as HRH only had one Fox it's off DD. When I got it the fabric was in very poor condition and filthy with years of grime so it looked matt black . It was only when the fabric had peeled away did I realise it was Royal blue. The tips had been daubed bright Red and White but underneath I found the dark Red and thin White line of the Brigade of Guards colours. The back of the boss is still the original blue. It was then that I found a tightly wound piece of paper in one of the bolt holes which just said "off the Dukes Moth". To cut the story short I eventually tracked it back to Sunningdales, where it had been given to a Scout group when the house closed at the abdication.

John

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John, that really is useful thank you!

As for the kit, eHattons have processed my order so I hope to have it by Thursday at the latest. In time for the Training Types GB!

Wez

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Nice pics John. Re the Fox Moth prop,I reckon the colouring you mention will be very helpful in my planned restoration of your cute modle I have. A big thanks for that!!

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I agree. Knocking a model without having the unworthy object in your hands is really pointless, if well meant... I don't build 1/72nd, but when I first saw pics of it I had to go and check the scale. Rats! Guess I'll have to wait a bit longer for Airfix to knock out a 1/48th. It looks great anyway. Well done Airfix!

Seadog

there is already a 1/48th option, by Aeroclub.

John mentions here he has done two in 1/48th, presume a vac in the 90's and limited run injection one early 2000's

I just bought one off John, so if you want one PM him.

HTH

T

link removed as requested.

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If anything is making it look odd I don't think it is the aircraft itself but the crew, they look a little small to me and are making the model look a little bulky.

Dek.

That wouldn't surprise me. I have a couple dozen of the newer airfix red arrows hawks in the stash and the pilots in those are tiny! Fair play to airfix though, they have since altered a few things with the kit, have now included a larger more to scale pilot , and are due to release a newer version of the kit again in July!

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Troy

Please remove the link to Aeroscale as that review was deliberately negative and was the first issue which by that time had been superseded by the later much improved Tiger with the revised fuselage and one piece wings (which you have) which is an accurate Tiger. This was made to new drawings and measurements. My learning curve. I have run out of decals for my Tiger (you had the last set) so now it's kit only.

Thanks

John

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John, that really is useful thank you!

As for the kit, eHattons have processed my order so I hope to have it by Thursday at the latest. In time for the Training Types GB!

Wez

Thanks Wez! I've been waiting for Hannants but also ordered a few from eHattons. Good price too!

Probably will receive them only next week.

Carlos

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Thanks for the sprue shots-looks nice!

Going back to the AZ kit for a minute, even is the span difference is correct (I'm inclined to doubt that it is), the kit as built will have the interplane struts splayed out at the bottom when viewed from directly ahead-i.e. they won't stand parallel to each other or vertical with respect to the ground. The wingspan discrepancy means that the locating holes for the struts in the lower mainplane are further apart than those in the upper mainplane- and the whole thing ends up wonky if built OOB.

I ended up removing most (if not all) of the 1.5mm discrepancy on each lower wing (at the wingroot) to cure this problem, and the struts on mine ended up pretty straight. While you could re-drill the holes for the struts, to me this still doesn't cure the essential problem of the wings being different lengths.

I concede that real Tiger wings are different lengths when laid flat next to each other, and that this difference disappears due to the differential dihedral/washout in the assembled aircraft (What Neil Lambess said). However, the kit parts of the AZ, with the dihedral already moulded in, are still 1.5mm different on each side! When built up, the wings of the AZ would still be noticeably mismatched, simply becuse the discrepancy, as shown by Carlos, is so great. A total 3mm difference scales up to be 216mm -over 8 inches- in 1:1 scale!

Anyway, that plus the struts issue convinced me to modify the lower wings on mine, and I'm glad I did!

I must say I wasn't aware of the rear fuselage issue when I built mine-and to be honest I'm not worrying-with the spin strakes and rudder cables fitted it doesn't really notice.

Anyway, sorry for the thread drift, the Airfix kit looks great, and I'm looking forward to getting one!

Edited by Vulcanicity
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Vulcanicity: The way you have corrected the wing is what I'm doing to my AZ kit. As I mentioned earlier the rearmost end of the fuselage needs a millimetre taken off and to improve the fin rudder fit and looks. #

I too am eagerly waiting my Airfix ones I've ordered. Seeing the images of the sprues via the link posted earlier, I still have a little reservation about the wing tips; thye look a bit too rounded to me.

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I have my Airfix Tiger here on the desk. The mouldings are beautiful and the level of detail is just right. The wings are very good and have a just discernible fabric sag and the tail surfaces are very subtle The level of detail in the cockpits is very nice IMO. One small quibble is the raised DH motif on the wheel hub caps I would have preferred a decal as this detail was often picked out in White, Black or Red. The hub caps on the real thing were moulded rubber and usually Black. The decals are for a postwar ACDC. My decals are for the pre-war ACDC.

I need to compare the front fuselage a little closer with the full size data I have, before I say any more.

John

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John, It seems Airfix have based their civvy reg on the style/font as it is now on the real 'CDC and not the more traditional period style of font. I flew in 'CDC from Redhill in 1972 and at that time it carried the same font as on your decals. Of course the aeroplane has been rebuilt a few times and sure enough the paint scheme changes and sadly not a lot of care taken in research. But then again at least it still flies.

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Hi Paul

I presume you are referring to the DH 'bite' out of the G's.

I've been studying the nose of the kit it looks to me that if too much liquid cement is used and a little too much pressure applied, there is a danger the nose cowl can droop. It's essential to the looks of the Tiger that there is no kink or roman nose effect on the top where the cowl meets the fuselage. It should be a straight sloping line from the top of the nose cap to the windscreen. I think I'll experiment with a little packing under the lower edge of the cowl or better on the lower edges of the fuselage nose.

That blasted refuel step on top of the cowl can throw the eye. It's one of the reasons you see battered top cowls on Tigers. The cowlings side access door hinge line should point up and definitely not be level with the datum which is the bottom edge of the doors.

The kit is beautifully engineered and delicate and the wings aren't covered with Woods frames like the AZ kit.

John

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Got mine today. Absolutey love it... despite my fears on seeing those pics on ATF. As John Aero says its very well engineered and I can't help thinking that a Canadian one will come some time. One clue is the separate engine that can make way for the Menasco version fitted to Canadian built Moths. The struts could easily be reproduced to the narrower ones which really just leaves a new fuselage to be tooled wiith the 'peaked' looking shrouds over the instrument panels, lower sill sides and of course a canopy. The tail wheel is already there. The raked undercart is also easily sorted by shortening the forward struts for want of a better description.

Going back to this kit, Airfix are really going for better detailing with each new release and I am really very happy with it. Not worried about the tiny decal sheet for 'CDC as I won't be doing this one having already done a Pavla one in this scheme with the more appropriate font style in the registration lettering. As it is, the kit perfectly represents 'CDC as you see her today. But I may well replace it with this new kit at some point. Got to go now and cut some plastic.....

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