Jim Kiker Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Hi all, I'm working on a Spitfire PR XI conversion in 1/48 scale. The main fuselage and all other components are from the Airfix PR XIX kit, with an Aeroclub Mk IX Merlin nose. Looking at the main landing gear, the main struts seem a bit flimsy and the strut looks like it was molded at full extension, versus the shorter strut length seen when the aircraft is on the ground. The softness of the plastic also concerns me. One thing I want to know is this: if you have built one of these and left the landing gear length alone, how does the completed model sit? Does it look like the nose is higher than it should be? On the other hand, if you did something to shorten the struts, what did you do? I have looked at white metal and brass replacement struts on-line, but they too suffer from over-long lower struts. Your thoughts? Thanks, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elger Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Here is how mine sits - landing gear is OOB except the wheels which are from Eduard's IX kit: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 (edited) There are two main visual cues that I pick up on when judging this sort of question. The main one is the deck angle i.e. the angle of the fuselage datum line against the ground. A secondary one valid on the Spitfire and some other types, is the question of where the line of the bottom of the undercarriage door cuts through the wheel, which can be judged against the centre of the hub. Based on that, for an XIV or XIX. broadly speaking you want the gear door line to be no higher than the centre of the wheel, generally looking around a full-size inch or so below the centre of the wheel. Looking at Elger's rather lovely model versus a selection of googled PR.XI, XIV and PR.XIX pics it looks very much at the right sort of deck angle, and in the middle of the range for the gear door, based on pics of serviceable and well-maintained aircraft in active use (not static museum aircraft which often are jacked up a bit and don't have the oleos pressurised). So I'd want mine to look like his. Of course even with identical undercarriage setups any XI will tend to look a little perkier than a XIX judged by the nose, as the Merlin Spitfire has a higher thrustline than the Griffon Spitfire, which has a couple of degrees of downthrust. Edited September 29, 2019 by Work In Progress 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kiker Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 Thanks, gents! I appreciate the information and the pictures. I am now better informed which makes my overall modeling tasks lighter. Regards, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Hi, Jim, I would add that the apparent flimsiness of the strut (probably due to it being moulded flat on the back) disappears when assembled to the u/c door. It certainly holds the plane. Regards. FErnando Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kiker Posted October 25, 2019 Author Share Posted October 25, 2019 Hi Fernando, While I chose to go with a pair of brass struts, you make a valid point for most of the strut's length. Maybe next time. Thanks for the input! Cheers, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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