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1/72 Spitfire Mk.VII conversion


Gazontipede

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Hi all,

I'm looking at converting an Eduard Spitfire HF.VIII into a Mk.VII. (It seems to be a fairly easy conversion that even I should be able to manage.)

 

These Eduard kits come with so many bits and pieces and are such marvelous little works of art that it seems to me to be the obvious choice for conversion.

Pointy wingtips - check, retractable tailwheel - check, choice of rudder - check.

I assume I only need to do a couple of other things to it.

1) Add a pressure bulkhead at the rear of the cockpit - easy fix with some plastic card

2) Add the cabin pressurization intake under the starboard exhausts - I'm thinking of fiddling with one of the clipped wing tips provided in the kit to produce this item.

At this stage I'm not going to worry too much about the thicker canopy bracing and modified rails.

 

Does this seem like a workable plan to the Spitfire gurus out there?

I haven't missed anything or made any obvious clangers, have I?

 

Cheers!

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There's another modification required and it is the engine carburetor intake. Sounds like an easy correction but requires some work...

In the Mk.VIII and the Mk.IX Late Eduard moulded part of the Aerovee intake on the lower wing while the Mk.VII had the smaller early intake. This is included in the kit as is the lower engine cowling part for this intake so at least there's one less problem, but the wing lower part will need surgery. To show what I mean, this is the Eduard Mk.VIII wing assembly seen from the bottom. You would have to remove the large bulge at the front.

 

2e0489e5-4d0a-40bd-ab83-0488452e9811.JPG

 

A wing designed to have the small intake is included in Eduard's Mk.IX early box. This however does not include the fuselage with retractable tailwheel. This is however included and the its location can be cut in the fuselage. What's worse is that the upper wing parts have the wide gun bulges moulded in place, while the VII seem to have generally used the narrow type. Of course this wing comes without leading edge fuel tanks (not present on the IX). And of course the ailerons are the larger type.  The Mk.IX early therefore would need a bit more work. An idea would be to check id Eduard would sell you the sprue with the lower wing of the IX Early, you would still have to sort the aileron location on this though.

 

Regarding other modifications, I'm with Gingerbob here, the rear fixed canopy part is deeper on the Mk.VII and IMHO this is an important feature. There are vacuform sets that include this type, may be worth hunting for one.

Edited by Giorgio N
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Thanks for the advice guys!

I'd forgotten about the cockpit door or lack thereof (easy fix), the deeper rear canopy section should also be doable and I'll probably get out the saws and sandpaper for the carburettor intake (I've got a pair of Sword XIV's in the stash and, IIRC, they come with extra lower wings which don't have this moulded in, so I might just chop out the appropriate sections.)

I love it when a plan comes together.

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On 27/04/2019 at 00:52, Gazontipede said:

Thanks for the advice guys!

I'd forgotten about the cockpit door or lack thereof (easy fix), the deeper rear canopy section should also be doable and I'll probably get out the saws and sandpaper for the carburettor intake (I've got a pair of Sword XIV's in the stash and, IIRC, they come with extra lower wings which don't have this moulded in, so I might just chop out the appropriate sections.)

I love it when a plan comes together.

Late to the party, but I've just done a VII this way (it's in the decaling stage) and you pretty much have the idea, however, you do have the short carburettor intake on the eduard sprues. I used the VIII lower wing and carefully sanded off the rear part of the long intake, and it came out neatly. 

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Great thread.

 

I was thinking about the possibility of an Eduard Mk.VIII to a Mk.VII conversion, so most of my questions have been answered! 😁

 

 

What decal options are there? The DK decals (DKD72046) for the Mk VII / VIII no longer appear to be available. Has anyone got other recommendations?

 

Thanks,

 

Charlie

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11 hours ago, Admiral Puff said:

You could try these: www.redroomodels.com/172-scale/red-roo-spitfire-mk-vii-453-sqn-raaf-uk-1943-172/

which look very much like the ones Finn's used.

That's correct. Dunno if they still are available.

 

/Finn

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14 hours ago, Admiral Puff said:

You could try these: www.redroomodels.com/172-scale/red-roo-spitfire-mk-vii-453-sqn-raaf-uk-1943-172/

That's certainly what I'm after, I'd like to model DU-G, MD114.

 

But (and I don't mean to sound ungrateful), they don't appear to be available in the UK and the ones in model shops in other countries are going to cost about £25 which for a very small decal sheet in prohibitively expensive,

 

Charlie

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2 minutes ago, Johnson said:

That's certainly what I'm after, I'd like to model DU-G, MD114.

 

But (and I don't mean to sound ungrateful), they don't appear to be available in the UK and the ones in model shops in other countries are going to cost about £25 which for a very small decal sheet in prohibitively expensive,

 

Charlie

The codes, serial, markings for DU-G are pretty easy to obtain by buying roundels, Sky letters sheets, and serial number sheets. If you don't want to, or can't afford that, drop me a PM... I have some spare.

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2 minutes ago, Beard said:

Sky letters sheets, and serial number sheets. If you don't want to, or can't afford that, drop me a PM... I have some spare.

Thank you!

 

I will try the Sky letters / black S/Ns. I actually have some old Modeldecal (I think - will have to look in the stash, they must be 20 years + old?). Never tried them with modern gloss finishes and softening solutions, I'll do some experiments.

 

Charlie

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If you can find a cheap Italeri HFVII kit, the decals are quite nice, and the pressurisation intake is a seperate part. 

The rest of the kit is pretty average, and is incorrect for a MkVII (wrong canopy, cockpit door etc) but probably no more expensive than an aftermarket decal sheet?

cheers

Tania

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Good idea Tania. The pressurisation intake would be useful, but doe you know if the Italeri HFVII kit has decals for DU-G / MD114?

Thanks,

Charlie

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5 hours ago, F1xena said:

YQ-W, Isobel II, was flown by my grandfather’s brother, Jack Cleland

Cannot think of a better reason to model the plane!

Thanks Tania, I shall add it to the shopping list.

Charlie

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An alternative to the Italeri kit is the Kopro/KP offering. The kit in the box is the old KP one, and most of this can go straight in the bin, but the pressurisation intake and decals for MD114 are included. If you can find one cheap, may be an option. I used the decals from the Kopro box on my Ventura Mk.VII and they were not spectactular but good enough

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On ‎5‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 12:50 PM, F1xena said:

If you can find a cheap Italeri HFVII kit, the decals are quite nice, and the pressurisation intake is a seperate part. 

The rest of the kit is pretty average, and is incorrect for a MkVII (wrong canopy, cockpit door etc) but probably no more expensive than an aftermarket decal sheet?

cheers

Tania

Add to this that the radiators are (like the Academy XlV) are perpendicular to the ground, not the wing;  presumably to assist removal from the mould.

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Let's not start going into the shortcomings of the Italeri 1/72 Spitfire VII nee IX: we'll be here all night.  One of those few kits with next to no redeeming features: a usable pressurisation intake might just be one (I don't know, I haven't seen one).  Evem the Mk.VII transfer sheet looks a bit dodgy from here: odd code colours and proportions of roundels slightly out.

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I got home tonight to find a slightly damp* box sitting on my doorstep that had come all the way from Poland thanks to the wonders of the internet.

I've now got my Eduard HF.VIII, so time to start actually working out the conversion.

I'm rather tempted to do an example in the attractive MSG/PRB scheme.

So, at the risk of sounding like a weasel (and I know this isn't the proper place for it really) does anyone here have any spare Italeri or other Spit VII decals kicking around that could go to an appreciative home?

I've got plenty of fin flashes, roundels and stencils so am really just after the white codes and serials (although the Italeri D-day stripes look rather natty too :whistle: ).

Cheers!

 

*It's been pouring here today. Fortunately the damp was confined to the packaging, the model box itself and contents are pristine.

Edited by Gazontipede
Correct spelling or lack thereof
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13 minutes ago, Gazontipede said:

I got home tonight to find a slightly damp* box sitting on my doorstep that had come all the way from Poland thanks to the wonders of the internet.

I've now got my Eduard HF.VIII, so time to start actually working out the conversion.

I'm rather tempted to do an example in the attractive MSG/PRB scheme.

So, at the risk of sounding like a weasel (and I know this isn't the proper place for it really) does anyone here have any spare Italeri or other Spit VII decals kicking around that could go to an appreciative home?

I've got plenty of fin flashes, roundels and stencils so am really just after the white codes and serials (although the Italeri D-day stripes look rather natty too :whistle: ).

Cheers!

 

*It's been pouring here today. Fortunately the damp was confined to the packaging, the model box itself and contents are pristine.

I've got the DU-G letters in sky (dunno from where) you can have, but Oz is a long way from me.

 

/Finn

Edited by FinnAndersen
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