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1/72 - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IIa (new tool) by Revell - released


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Actually, I find this kit really annoying, because with a bit more effort, Revell could have had the best kit of an early Merlin Spit in the mainstream market.  Actually, I could live with it as is if it wasn't for the wheels and THAT canopy, as they are the most obvious errors.

 

And I've found another - well, it was pointed out - the u/c doors are too wide.  Again, fixable with the wheels up option in the older Airfix toolings with a tad trimming.

 

The bits you need to fix it with are generally spare in other kits - the Airfix  IIa/Va will give you nearly everything you need if you built that as the early mk I (and bearing in mind the Airfix kit has the fabric ailerons, it's a I or a II).  The more dedicated Spitfire builder should have the spares already, but many people replace wheels with resin and canopies with vacs.  I'm blessed with a large spares box, a number of older kits to canibalize for bits plus the knowlege and capability for home resin casting so it's fixable, but I shouldn't have to do it in this day and age.  I expect to do it with a 70s Airfix kit but not now.

 

Sorry, Revell, but this is really a massive fail.  Especially as it's so nearly right.

 

 

Edited by The wooksta V2.0
I just can't stop banging on about this ****** disappointing kit!
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Very disappointing to hear this. Revell really should do their homework. The Corsair was a disappointment and now the Spit. These kits could have cornered the market as the alternatives are either lacking in price, quality or availability. But with these issues, I'll stick with Tamiya and pay a few quid more.

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15 hours ago, The Wooksta! said:

Because I don't have time and, quite frankly, I take rather unkindly to being harrassed to posting photos.  I also take very unkindly to being called a liar.

Ugh, sorry - don't take it personal. I have no intention to insult you in any way. It's only funny jargon

 

1 hour ago, IanC said:

 

The mantra of the Instagram generation. Banal and irritating.

 

 

and radio killed the internet star #Luddites..

TBH I prefer reddit with imgur...
JC7GAyN.jpg

Edited by meisnerr
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Revell De seem to be very hit or miss at the moment.   Getting a Spitfire so wrong seems odd considering there is no shortage of references, both 2 and 3 dimensional.  Reading the thread on their new Typhoon is interesting.  A replacement of a fairly new mould but with less options and for more money.  Shackleton generally well received but Halifax I/II generally panned (apart from the engines how could they get the H2S teardrop so wrong?).  I always thought Revell's old Spit VB was so disappointing in that it has some beautiful surface detail but the complete absence of the 'gull wing' seemed inexplicable. Prop and spinner and decals were awful too.  So the new Spitfire is like history repeating itself.

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I dunno - what's been described so far doesn't sound that awful. Wheels, canopy and landing gear doors - easy stuff. I know - life is short and why should you have to, but have you ever built the ICM 1/72 Yak-9? I have - corrected, painted, and decalled, twice. Now that's a horrible life-waster of a kit - count your blessings.

 

John

Edited by John Thompson
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7 hours ago, IanC said:

 

The mantra of the Instagram generation. Banal and irritating.

 

 

 

The so-called "Instagram generation" is hardly responsible for the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words".

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6 hours ago, Procopius said:

 

The so-called "Instagram generation" is hardly responsible for the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words".

 

Wasn't a dyslectic Rembrandt responsible for that saying?

Edited by Dorbeck
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And on a more serious note:as i was lacking a mkII spit and saw bioth the airfix offering and the new Revell in my local hobbyshop, I couldn't resist and bought them both. First look confirms what The Wooksta! stated already (and with more knowledge and more detailled): things like panels look quite fine, but the overall feel is a Frog kit from the seventies reissued by Novo. 

Quite nice, but from a new mould in 2016 you would expect a bit more... 

(I just saw that my other local hobbyshop has in its description of the kit: "Adapted Revell Spitfire MKVB kits". Might explain some issues)

 

The things that bother me most with the revell kit (again, first look, may work out alright in the end) are things like the canopy and the wingtips. Apart from having to blend in the tips with the rest of the wing (I have build of an Italeri Spit, and that still hurts my eyes when I look at it... when you know an error is there, you just can't unsee it, right?), the wingtips have some very fine flash.

Now we are talking about very thin  wingtips (a plus), but knowing my own skills, I will never be able to remove the flash and not do damage to the shape of the tips.

 

Not sure about the wheels, prop and spinner. They look somewhat strange, toylike and lacking in detail.

Such a missed oportunity in my view.

 

 

I hope to do, in a couple of days, a work in progress buildiing both kits with an old Scale Models special on the Battle of Britain with scale drawings to compare dimensions with kitparts. When I start it, I'll will post a link in this thread for those interested.*
And yes meissner, I will add pictures ;)

 

*disclaimer: build will be OOB, and being an average modeller, some faults may be blamed on the builder :D

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6 hours ago, Procopius said:

 

The so-called "Instagram generation" is hardly responsible for the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words".

 

Very true. But that's not the point. I was referring to that silly expression - a rather terse demand for photographic proof of a written statement. Seems to be more prevalent on forums these days.

 

But, whatever...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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14 minutes ago, IanC said:

 

Very true. But that's not the point. I was referring to that silly expression - a rather terse demand for photographic proof of a written statement. Seems to be more prevalent on forums these days.

 

 

Sorry but am I the only person here who did not find the comment offensive in any conceivable way? That and the comment a few pages back. Sensitivities in a Spitfire thread seem to be drowning out tolerance of even the most inoffensive banter. Guess you Brits do have your limits after all ;) 

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Back on topic, I agree with the "yawn" sentiment. Another early mark Spit? It's a saturated market so unless you come out with THE Mk I/II to rule them all why waste time? Clearly this is far from it.

 

Revell could have come out with a Mk XIV and it'd have been a game changer, even if it had a few flaws. There's just one steel mold kit (Academy) and it's a dog, and not everyone will want to do a short run kit which are the only alternatives. They could have done a Seafire of any mark. So many possibilities.

 

I don't blame Revell's engineers for putting out a less than perfect kit. I blame their marketers for not realizing a less than perfect kit of a different mark would have cornered the market given that there's no likely rival in the near future (Eduard is not planning Griffon Spits or so I think)

Edited by Phantome
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8 minutes ago, Phantome said:

There's just one steel mold kit (Academy) and it's a dog, and not everyone will want to do a short run kit which are the only alternatives. .

 

 

 

Two! You forgot the FROG kit.

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7 minutes ago, Phantome said:

Back on topic, I agree with the "yawn" sentiment. Another early mark Spit? It's a saturated market so unless you come out with THE Mk I/II to rule them all why waste time? Clearly this is far from it.

 

Revell could have come out with a Mk XIV and it'd have been a game changer, even if it had a few flaws. There's just one steel mold kit (Academy) and it's a dog, and not everyone will want to do a short run kit which are the only alternatives. They could have done a Seafire of any mark. So many possibilities.

 

I don't blame Revell's engineers for putting out a less than perfect kit. I blame their marketers for not realizing a less than perfect kit of a different mark would have cornered the market given that there's no likely rival in the near future (Eduard is not planning Griffon Spits or so I think)

 

I think you quickly forgot the Fujimi Griffon series that are still very good steel molded representations of Mk.XIV.

For now I have a preference for the SWORD kits that are far more easier and more detailed (Cockpit) than the FUJIMI.

SWORD may be short run but equals the best steel mold production and, more important for both FUJIMI and SWORD, the shape is correct ! 

In resin CMR made beautiful griffon Spitfire and Seafires.

 

Madcop :)

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30 minutes ago, Phantome said:

Back on topic, I agree with the "yawn" sentiment. Another early mark Spit? It's a saturated market so unless you come out with THE Mk I/II to rule them all why waste time? Clearly this is far from it.

 

Revell could have come out with a Mk XIV and it'd have been a game changer, even if it had a few flaws. There's just one steel mold kit (Academy) and it's a dog, and not everyone will want to do a short run kit. They could have done a Seafire of any mark. So many possibilities.

 

I don't blame Revell's engineers for putting out a less than perfect kit. I blame their marketers for not realizing a less than perfect kit of a different mark would have cornered the market given that there's no likely rival in the near future (Eduard is not planning Griffon Spits or so I think)

 

Absolutely have to agree with you. i would love to see a XIV that is better than the Academy or the Fujimi one. 

But, as one of the guys in the modelshop where I bought my kits said: "we sell any spitfire mkI, messerschmitt 109e, sherman and tigertank." The casual buyer (for instance granddad buying one for his grandchild) wants a kit of a plane or tank everybody recognizes  (i.e. 109e, spit mkI/II). And don't forget, here on the continent Revell and in a lesser extant Airfix are the two main players whose kits are easily available (as in: also sold in department stores and toy shops. Although that is less and less the case. For instance in Holland kits are nowadays only sold in a few toy shops, apart from hobby shops that is). So Revell and Airfix have to have a kit of the bestsellers.

 

I'm afraid we're entering an age where the big players have to play it save and make kits of the most wanted models. And I think the marketeers are responsible for that....We can only hope they pour some of the money they earn into kits that are catering to our needs. The perfect XIV would sell well, but its market share compared to even a part of the market for the iconic mkI is a much smaller one;

 

That said: if a big company brings out a new kit, even of the spit mkII, with all knowledge and technique there is available, I expect it to be close to perfect. And that is my gripe (at first look) with the revell offering. 

 

 

Edited by Dorbeck
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So I got a copy of this kit today and it is fairly clear that Revell plans other variants. The entire nose and upper fuselage forward of the cockpit is a mold insert so a Mk.IX is in the offing as well as a cannon armed Mk.V (but can't tell if it will be a Vb or Vc or both). The lower wing is also a drop-in insert to that sprue, which explains why they made the tips separate: Vb's, Vc's, and IX's all could have clipped wings. I would guess we'll also get a V with the Vokes tropical filter air intake. I don’t think an VIII or XIV is likely because the fuselage sprue doesn't have an insert to allow an option for a retractable tailwheel.

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If Revell go for a VB or Vc - a drop in nose means a possible XII - then great.  I'd advise them against a IX, given that Eduard's mk IX/XVI is as close to perfection as it is possible to get.  It'd be like comparing a Ford with an Aston.

 

The market is flooded with Spitfire mk IX kits.  We definitely don't need another one!

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Mk.XII's had the retractable tailwheel so I don’t see that as a possibility. I think the IX is a certainty though. Revell kit distribution is much more widespread than Eduard, the quality of the Eduard IX notwithstanding.

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