Beginner, what to start with?

[Alan Crossley]

Just started building models, several tanks so far but very keen to start on aircraft esp Spitfires. So any suggestions with which Spitfire kit to start with?

[Richard E]

Hi Alan

 

You haven't said which scale you are interested in in your question so I'm going to take the liberty of assuming 1/72nd scale and suggest that you consider any of Airfix's recent releases.

 

Hope this helps

[vppelt68]

In 1:72 I'd suggest an FW 190 A-3 or a Spitfire Vb from Tamiya. Airfix kits are very good too, but (if you're really a beginner) the Tamiya can't be beaten in ease of removing the parts cleanly and in one piece (thin sprue gates, no flash and non- fragile plastic) and then there's the fit... Superb  V-P

 

[Sabrejet]

I'd suggest Tamiya for beginners. They are easy to put together and pretty accurate. Not much fun in terms of modelling, but you'll get a quick result. 

[WildeSau75]

Depends on the scale - Airfix is a good one to go with in1/72 I would say. Tamiya in 1/48.

[degsye39]

Hi alan, airifx do a readily available 1/72 spitfire mk1a, a word to the wise though the instrument panel needs sanding for the fuselage to close up right, and the canopy needs sanding on the back but besides that it builds well (pilot figure is only fit for the bin though mind!).. Other marks are available and though and i have a mk22/mk24 in the stash, though i haven't built said bird yet so i cannot comment on it.

 

If you fancy building a Messerschmitt the airifx me 109 g6 is quite crude (early hornby tooling) but fit is excellent and all in is a very nice relaxing build..

 

Im going to sound like an airifx fanboy here  .. but if you can lay your hands on an old tool airifx hurricane it is a cracker and seamless to assemble!

 

Cheers!

Edited September 13, 2018 by degsye39

[RAS]

My advice would be to keep the paint job simple just one colour if poss.

 

Go for something like a US Navy Hellcat, Avenger or Corsair as they are one colour (Blue)

 

Avoid anything black, white or silver as these colours are a pain to bush or spray.

 

Look at the following, Heller has not been around for years but it does show an all blue Hellcat

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235037562-grumman-f6f-5-hellcat-heller-172/&tab=comments#comment-3022789

[Tweener]

For Spitfires, I would really recommend any of the Airfix Kits. Have not built one but have seen a few in the box and they look great. If they build anything like other new Airfix kits, the only issue you'll have is seams. The best advice for your first aircraft though would be to do what RAS said. Avoid Orange or Yellow as well. My advice for a kit to start with, if you do choose to do a single color build, would be the old Revell P-26 - with aftermarket decals you could make a Chinese bird in overall gull gray or overall dark green, or a Guatemalan bird in the same dark green. Other kits that would fit this bill would be the Matchbox / Revell Hawker Fury (A true Gem), the Heller / Academy T-6 Texan, and, although slightly harder to build, the ICM Polikarpov I-1.

[Sturmovik]

You could have a go at Hobby Boss´s Spitfire Mk.V/Mk.V Trop, it lacks the landing gear covers, but it looks pretty once built. And it´s cheap too.

[Vlad]

New Airfix Spitfires get my vote too. Simple, cheap, easy to put together but nevertheless accurate and attractive when finished. The Mk.22 builds very nicely as well, as do the Mk.IX and PR.XIX, that I actually kitbashed into a XIV but look like they would build up great individually as well.

[Seawinder]

Well, I build in 1:48, and while I love Spits, they're not the only good option IMHO. Off the top of my head, Tamiya P-47, Tamiya F4U, Tamiya A6M5, Eduard or Tamiya Spitfires as alternatives to Airfix -- both are really pleasant builds even though the Eduards are complex.

[John Masters]

Airfix Sopwith Pup.  Try something a little challenging like struts and basic rigging.  The Spits and so forth will be there...

[fubar57]

I'm strictly 1:48, a scale in which you can add a bit of extra detail and it will still be visible. For the beginner I strongly suggest HOBBYCRAFT. Just kidding. Now that everyone's heart has restarted, I agree with all of the above and say to go with a Tamiya Spitfire. Build a few of their kits to gain confidence and then venture out to other brands. There are some dogs out there so before making a purchase I recommend reading as many builds as you can find on this site and others so you can discover potential pitfalls. By the by....Hobbycraft kits on the whole aren't that bad but do require some extra effort 

[galgos]

Try the 1/32 Revell Spitfire II, makes up into a great model which whilst not 100% accurate is very satisfying. 

Max 

[Giorgio N]

While I understand how many like them, personally I would not suggest the recent Airfix kits to a beginner. They are nice kits but suffer from a few annoying features that IMHO  make then less than ideal for a beginner. Worst of all is that sprue gates are pretty big and this, together with the soft plastic used, makes removing some parts very difficult if not impossible (anyone here managed to remove the 1/72 P-51 control column without breaking it ?). The unpredictable quality control also results in some kits that fit perfectly while another supposedly identical kit doesn't (happened to me with the Spitfire Mk.I) so much that in several kits it's better to remove the locating pins to achieve a good fit. Not really what a beginner is likely to be happy with.

Regarding other brands, Tamiya is hard to beat when it comes to fit and engineering but at the same time their kits are not the cheapest if this is important. A brand that I often recommend is Academy as many of their smaller 1/72 kits are nice modern kits, with good detail and fit, easy to build and generally cheap. Their decals are however not all of good quality and nobody is happy to have a nice model ruined by bad decals.

The Hobbyboss easy kits are an interesting solution, however I'd sure suggest them to a kid but maybe not to an adult beginner as they are really very simplified. Mind, I love them and find them a great way to build a fleet of a certain type focusing on markings only, but not all will like their construction.

Speaking of easy kits, Zvezda have some great ones, unfortunately only a few. Their 1/72 Fw.190 and Bf.109 are IMHO true gems, being very easy to build (the kits are designed to be assembled without glue) while retaining a very good level of detail

[Graham Boak]

I do understand the lure of the Spitfire, but if you are really concerned about both accuracy and ease of fit, then I'd avoid them for your first few attempts, as in 1/72 and 1/48 they do tend to be one or the other. Hobbyboss are generally perhaps a bit too simplified in the fuselage/cockpit area to be typical of modern kits.  I suggest that you consider Tamiya single-seaters such as the Zero or the Mustang, which are excellent on all counts.  Yes natural metal finishes are difficult to get right, but as a beginner you needn't be too concerned about that.  Or find a colour scheme that doesn't need it.  The P-51D also avoids most of the awkward canopy frame painting, which bugs many beginners.  Just to toss something into the mix, one kit that hasn't been mentioned is the Airfix Typhoon: yes Airfix kits do have large attachment points but there are a lot worse faults.

[Seahawk]

If you're thinking 1/72, best and Spitfire, the obvious answer is Eduard.  I haven't mentioned them before because, being very detailed, they are more challenging to assemble.  On the other hand the fit of parts is beautiful and, if you choose your retailer, you can get one for about the same price as the Airfix Series 2 Spitfire IX, (which suffers badly in the comparison, for both accuracy and detail) and a fair bit less than the Tamiya Spitfire V.   And if the small detail parts faze you, leave them out: you'll still end up with a better representation than the Airfix equivalent.

 

Ultimately it's a toss-up between the Airfix kits (simple and accurate but detail heavier and will need careful clean up of parts for pain-free assembly) and the Eduard kits (complex but exquisitely detailed state-of-the-art click together kits).  For cheap, cutting-my-teeth models, I suppose I might go for the Airfix Mark I/II kits, esp if I could find them going cheap at Aldi's.

 

PS Some Hobbyboss kits scrub up quite nicely (eg F4U Corsair) but IMHO the Spitfire is not among them.

 

PPS And if we break out of the Spitfire box the Eduard F6F Hellcat and the Tamiya F4U Corsair are lovely kits: accurate and a joy to assemble.

Edited September 17, 2018 by Seahawk

[Alan Crossley]

Wow fantastic response guys, plenty to think about. Interesting comments on Airfix kits as I was considering them to start with. Not sure what scale to start with 1/72 does look a bit "small" I think the best thing is to have a go at both and see what happens. Again thanks for all the advice.

[Graham Boak]

I suppose that given you've been a tank modeller, most of the advice directed at the simpler kits will have been misdirected.  If no hint of scale is given, a majority of UK modellers tend to assume 1/72 as the choice there is so much wider.  (US modellers don't seem to be aware that there are any scales other than 1/48.)   I'm not very well up on 1/48 but from what I gather the best kits are the Tamiya and Hasegawa Japanese subjects - there are other good kits but as far as WW2 goes, a lot of them are very dated and leave a lot to be desired.  But of course you haven't said WW2 or more modern - there are a lot of very good kits of modern subjects in 1/48 and at least overall grey is easy to paint.  Pretty well any F-16 kit will do.

 

You could always risk leaping to 1/32 and attempting the Tamiya Spitfire Mk.IX.  This is a large and complex kit,  but being Tamiya it will fit together perfectly and just need approaching slowly rather than requiring immense expertise.  You might feel safer by first practicing your painting skills on something smaller, however.

[Jazzie]

Alan,

I by no means claim to be of a level of some of the posters who have helped you out, but will try and help as well, but only 1/72.

 

Depending on what you want, i would start by getting some of the Airfix Spitfire I/Ia/IIa/Va Spits, ignore the internet and build the first one out the box, warts n all! Then build another where you are looking to improve on the first one, eliminating the issues if you remember them all. After that, i would be looking at working through a couple of other manufacturers, taking with consideration to comments on the kits, working towards getting a double box of the Eduard Hellcats and enjoy! 

 

Currently building 2 Eduard Spitfire XVIs and find i am a bit underwhelmed at how easy they are to build. The plastic detail is fantastic but the etch is lost on me. Preferring a bit of a challange, i would rather build AZ Models Mk.IXs. 

Arabest,

Geoff.

 

 

[malpaso]

If you've done some tank models I'd recommend a Weekend Edition Eduard Spitfire.  They're not really much more expensive than an Airfix equivalent but much better quality and fit.

Or any of their other Weekend Editions.  I'm not sure with painting it's terribly easy to complete in a Weekend, but that's true for any plane depending on the colour scheme and your chosen detail level.  Eduard instructions are excellent if you're new to aircraft.

Cheers

Will

[Lawzer]

Just mho but if your local home bargains store (if you're in the uk and you have one  ) still has the airfix 1/72 mk1 spitfire for 3 (or is it 4?) quid you can't go wrong....

 

i mainly build in 1/48 and as said the tamiya vb literally falls together.

 

Whatever you choose - enjoy!

Edited September 19, 2018 by Lawzer

[Seawinder]

On 9/17/2018 at 11:55 AM, Graham Boak said:

(US modellers don't seem to be aware that there are any scales other than 1/48.)

C'mon, man!

 

In any case, I apologize for muddying the waters with things like P-47s. I failed to notice that the OP was specifically interested in Spitfires. Speaking as an American who builds in 1/48, I stand by my earlier recommendation, but I'd actually lean toward Eduard over Tamiya: although complex, the fit is first rate, including the wing-to-fuselage join, which is staggeringly good.

[Troy Smith]

On 17/09/2018 at 15:55, Alan Crossley said:

Wow fantastic response guys, plenty to think about. Interesting comments on Airfix kits as I was considering them to start with. Not sure what scale to start with 1/72 does look a bit "small" I think the best thing is to have a go at both and see what happens. Again thanks for all the advice.

Creative models regularly have Eduard kits in their weekly specials, at the mo they have the 72nd Spitfire XVI combo for just over £20

http://www.creativemodels.co.uk/eduard_kits_172_spitfire_mkxvi_dual_combo-p-45826.html

 

MJW models, run by our own @Mikemx carries these specials as well,  and also relevant paints, 

 

As has been stated, if you can deal with fiddly construction,  I think you'd be impressed.   The combo I linked is a profipack, so has several markings, plus photo etch and paint masks

This is what's in the box

https://www.eduard.com/store/eduard/spitfire-mk-xvi-dual-combo-1-72.html?cur=1&listtype=search&searchparam=Spitfire

 

The Eduard site is good for info, note there are PDFs of he instructions too, so you can see what's involved.

 

The 72nd kit is basically the 1/48 kit shrunk, and there are plenty of boxings of those as well,

https://www.eduard.com/store/index.php?stoken=CA15FAF6&force_sid=e48c03fc83fc0f15ffa530d1063a5864&lang=1&currency=1&listtype=search&searchparam=Spitfire&cl=search&tpl=&fnc=executefilter&attrfilter[]=&attrfilter[17]=1%2F48&attrfilter[13]=Eduard

 

HTH

T

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

12 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

Creative models regularly have Eduard kits in their weekly specials, at the mo they have the 72nd Spitfire XVI combo for just over £20

http://www.creativemodels.co.uk/eduard_kits_172_spitfire_mkxvi_dual_combo-p-45826.html

 

MJW models, run by our own @Mikemx carries these specials as well,  and also relevant paints, 

 

As has been stated, if you can deal with fiddly construction,  I think you'd be impressed.   The combo I linked is a profipack, so has several markings, plus photo etch and paint masks

This is what's in the box

https://www.eduard.com/store/eduard/spitfire-mk-xvi-dual-combo-1-72.html?cur=1&listtype=search&searchparam=Spitfire

 

The Eduard site is good for info, note there are PDFs of he instructions too, so you can see what's involved.

 

The 72nd kit is basically the 1/48 kit shrunk, and there are plenty of boxings of those as well,

https://www.eduard.com/store/index.php?stoken=CA15FAF6&force_sid=e48c03fc83fc0f15ffa530d1063a5864&lang=1&currency=1&listtype=search&searchparam=Spitfire&cl=search&tpl=&fnc=executefilter&attrfilter[]=&attrfilter[17]=1%2F48&attrfilter[13]=Eduard

 

HTH

T

 

Indeed and we have a selection of Eduard Spitfires in stock and the Mk XVI's should be in today

 

thanks

Mike