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Airfix’s new Spitfire


phildagreek

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So Airfix have released a new Spitfire. Anyone else not really impressed & dare I say a little disappointed?

 

Don’t misunderstand me, i know it’s an iconic aircraft, perhaps THE iconic aircraft. With a history of heroes, the right aircraft at the right time & so on. And a sound, what a sound of a BBMF Spitfire going through it’s paces. I’m old enough to have read pretty much all the books as a young lad about Bader et al & it’s important stuff to know.

 

But another Spitfire kit, really? I know it’s commercially driven & it’s a business but another Spitfire. Where’s the imagination? There are so many great & equally iconic British aircraft in so many variations, do today’s young modellers even care about the Spit?

 

Anyways, it was a mild outburst & it’s done now, I won’t be adding it to my stash & if you do then good for you but how many Spitfires do we need?

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It's a mark that's never been adequately covered in the scale before.

 

And I'll be content when I have a 1/48 model of every mark of Spitfire in my display cabinet.....!

 

Each to their own, and you are entitled to your opinion, of course - I am of the same view when it comes to Early Tiger Is in 1/35, or another 1/48 109G-6/a*++

 

But Spits is special! 😄

Edited by Paul Bradley
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Not only Airfix with the FR.XIV, which has not been done well in any scale up to now, but Tamiya thought the world needed a new Mk.I as well, despite there being an Airfix kit not many years old. You know what, they weren't wrong. It's brilliant. 

It's true there are quite a few Spitfire kits. There were also a lot of different Spitfire variants, even more if you add in the Seafires. However, many of the available kits are quite poor in terms of detail and especially accuracy. Somehow we still don't have a mainstream Mk.Vc. The model kit market moves on and kits that were good enough 30, 20, 10, even 5 years ago no longer are. You might as well argue there are too many Bf 109G kits or Fw 190A-8 kits or P-51Ds; somehow, new kits of these subjects still seem to sell.

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7 hours ago, phildagreek said:

So Airfix have released a new Spitfire. Anyone else not really impressed & dare I say a little disappointed ?

Not nearly as disappointed as I would have been if it was a Triumph Spitfire .....  :)

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9 hours ago, phildagreek said:

dare I say a little disappointed?

Only that its not 1/72. otherwise it looks like a stunning kit of a little modeled variant & I'm sure it will do well for Airfix.

Steve.

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2 hours ago, IanHx said:

Not nearly as disappointed as I would have been if it was a Triumph Spitfire .....  :)

But you would have then had the perfect subject to practice and perfect rust weathering techniques :D

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I guess that's the difference between someone who isn't a Spitfire fan and one who is. The first one say "not another Spitfire" and the second says "at last a descent version of that Mark".

 

The Spitfires isn't my most favourite modelling subject and there's plenty of other types I would like to see done, but this Mk.XIV was much needed and will do well for Airfix.

 

I'll be happy with the Spitfire lineup when we get a Mk.Vc,Mk.XI and a PR IV added to what we have.

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Kits of subjects I have zero interest in are released every week. There are whole categories of this website, and shelves in the model shop, that I rarely if ever visit. Somehow I manage to cope without complaining. Should I be disappointed every time a new armour kit, modern jet fighter, F1 car, airline or Star Wars spin-off  kit comes out? Of course not: it costs me nothing and if it makes money then it increases the chance of the manufacturer surviving to make something that DOES tickle me. 

 

p.s. I've be VERY interested in a nice 1/24 Triumph Spitfire, especially an early one, and a GT6 too.

Edited by Work In Progress
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I just bought my 6th and 7th (or 7th and 8th if you include my second(?) ever kit- it's awful btw) 1/72 Spitfires. None of them are the same.

I have a Mk.I, Mk.Ia, Mk.II, MkVb, Mk.VIII (bought today), Mk.IX (bought today), and Pr.XIX

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On 5/18/2019 at 12:29 AM, IanHx said:

Not nearly as disappointed as I would have been if it was a Triumph Spitfire .....

Well, maybe the butt-ugly fastback! (Or was it a 2+2?) I seem to recall a magazine add for the Triumph Spitfire that had it parked next to a real Spit, but I don't recall the mark- maybe a Mk 1 or a Mk V?)

Mike

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On 5/18/2019 at 3:44 AM, JohnT said:

But you would have then had the perfect subject to practice and perfect rust weathering techniques :D

Even more impressive would be putting in a lighting system that works only randomly.

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Another Spitfire kit?... am pleased with another choice of an iconic aircraft, while still hoping that the less known types will one day be produced.

As technology advances, the quality of moulding improves and with the research, new kits will replace the older releases.

With such releases, the hobby continues to refresh itself.

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51 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

Well, maybe the butt-ugly fastback! (Or was it a 2+2?) I seem to recall a magazine add for the Triumph Spitfire that had it parked next to a real Spit, but I don't recall the mark- maybe a Mk 1 or a Mk V?)

Mike

 

The fixed-head fastback version is the GT6, which also has a sweet little straight-six engine that sound utterly delicious. 

Even some sceptical modern-day Americans like it

 

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A state of the art 1/24 Spitfire and GT6 from Airfix would certainly make me a happy man! That said, I’ll be buying at least one FR.XIV... I have at least one of all the other marks...

 

...and, sorry, but there IS no aircraft that’s “equally iconic” when compared with a Spitfire. As famous, as familiar, maybe, but iconic, no...

 

best,

M.

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On 5/18/2019 at 7:32 AM, IanHx said:

I guess a Triumph Spitfire has front wings.  Just not the sort that fly !

 

I recall that Triumph sportscars were mainly known for being static exhibits on the roadside...

 

Sorry, no offence meant, I'll get my :coat:

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Stags were justifiably known as unreliable in the early 70s with their poorly developed V8, but the Triumph sports cars of the '60s - the TR's based on the Standard 4-cylinder and the straight sixes, and the Herald-based cars - were as trustworthy as any other car of the era and enjoyed considerable motorsport success

Edited by Work In Progress
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6 hours ago, cmatthewbacon said:

A state of the art 1/24 Spitfire and GT6 from Airfix would certainly make me a happy man! That said, I’ll be buying at least one FR.XIV... I have at least one of all the other marks...

 

...and, sorry, but there IS no aircraft that’s “equally iconic” when compared with a Spitfire. As famous, as familiar, maybe, but iconic, no...

 

best,

M.

Vulcan, at least in Britain, mainly because of xh558. Maybe not by name, but it certainly rivals the Spitfire for most iconic.

Seriously, who doesn't like a big tin triangle?

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