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1/72 - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vc by Airfix - released


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20 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

I'll step quickly over the SMER Mk.Vc retooling of the Heller vb.

 

This is without the options of sticking a single stage Merlin nose on a two stage Merlin Spitfire Mk.IXc, and changing the cooling arrangements.
 

There is a Sword Mk.Vc, and even a Seafire III with a spare Mk.Vc fuselage.

 

I'm looking forward to this Airfix kit 

Good choice, it’s horrible...

 

I’m currently trying this and is obviously why airfix have announced this new tool... no no everyone no need to thank my the sacrifice was worth it...

 

buy the new 5 seafire boxing, you get two mk Vc’s and some seafires!!

 

me too....

 

its good to point out errors, and some changes do get made before release, we’re all passionate about these aircraft and want it to be perfect. It’s a good thing! 

 

Rob
 

 

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On 1/10/2020 at 9:10 AM, 72modeler said:

Not if they engineered the Mk Vc with two different lower fuselage sections to cater to the land/sea version. The strengthening straps and the reinforcement around the radio hatch could be easily done with decals/vinyl, like the RAM on some of the F-35 kits. Flashed over holes for the catapault spools, and Bob's your Uncle, as they say on the east side of the pond!

Mike

 

On 1/11/2020 at 12:45 AM, Giorgio N said:

 

They did and will be interesting to see if any of their products will fit the new Airfix Vc.

Of course as this is now a Vc there will be no need for a new wing to build a Seafire IIc, as the wing stays the same of the Vc, Different story with the folding wing of the Seafire III... here it is possible to modify a Vc wing, not a huge job but requires a bit more than just scribing new lines for the wingfold as the wheel well was also modified in shape.

A IIC is simpler, just add reinforcement plates, arresting hook and catapult spools.

Later subvariants would also need the 4-blade propeller and 6-stack exhausts. These exhausts however were also used on a number of Spitfire V, so it would be nice to have them in the box. If not, there's plenty of aftermarket ones made for the Spit IX.

 

Said that, personally I'm happy enough to have a Vc, that a Seafire II can be built from it is a bonus and I may well convert one, but the bulk of my future Vc purchases will be finished as straight Vcs

On the Airfix website screenshot renders it looks to me like the lower/wing fuselage is in the darker grey suggesting this will be able to be swapped out for the Seafire IIC option???

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Looks good and has quite a high parts count for a 1/72nd scale Spit (73 ish).My only gripe from seeing the renders is the lower portion of the the front windshield being moulded into the fuselage,leaves me filled with horror of the sprue connection point being directly against a piece of canopy without any framing to hide any removal mistakes.Regardless i will still be diving in.

 

Shane

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18 hours ago, fishplanebeer said:

I totally agree with AWFK10.

 

We are now getting seriously anal here and losing sight of the fact that an aircraft at 72nd scale is close to seeing it in real life from what, perhaps 80-100 yards away (sorry, metres in new parlance) so how much detail can you actually see and can you really see minor imperfections in dihedral or cockpit harnesses etc...…..? - I think not.

 

 

No, a 1/72 model is not like watching a real one from 80-100 yards away. A 1/72 model is a reproduction of a real aircraft that is 72 times smaller. The way something looks at a distance is very different from the way something smaller looks like.

 

 

o, fishplanebeer said:

 

 

 

My advice is to just get on doing modelling and not expect it to be perfect straight from the box (which seems to be the expectation these days) as  surely that's part and parcel of modelling in the first place?  And give Airfix some credit by tackling this thorny subject as we have all been waiting for decades for a half decent Spitfire V in this scale so lets not judge until it is actually released into the public domain. I fully expect it to be the best on the market to date so happy days ahead!

 

Regards

Colin. 

 

 

 

Not really ! There have already been half decent 1/72 kits of the Spitfire Vc within the years, and some of them have actually been better than half decent. The Sword kit may be a bit lacking in accuracy (wing a tad short) but is overall quite a decent kit. Same goes for the KP kit, currently available. So Airfix will get their deserved credit if they do something that is better than what has already been available. If they don't improve on what is already on the market then they will receive the deserved criticism

 

 

 

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On 1/10/2020 at 12:47 PM, AWFK10 said:

As well as lacking undercarriage doors, the Hobby Boss Vb needs a replacement prop as for some bizarre reason the blades are moulded in the feathered position. Another oddity is that the landing lights are lowered. Neither of these quirks is actually wrong, of course, it's just that the real aircraft wouldn't typically be seen in that condition. I seem to recall the canopy isn't great, either, but I too kind of like the kit.

As the Spitfire didn't have a feathering prop, this is actually wrong.

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OK, I clearly come from a different generation to most on the forum who are spoilt, IMHO, with the sheer quality of the kits that are now available.

 

We shall never agree I suspect but a 72nd scale aircraft, of any type, is what it is yet with new production techniques they are close or even better than the original 24th scale kits Airfix issued back in my day which I find utterly bizarre and amazing in equal measure.

 

Most modellers who buy this kit will never come close to super detailing and weathering the kit as some will, so all I'm saying is give this kit a chance. If you want to super detail it and make it a micro version of the real thing then absolutely fine but for me with my heritage this is not my bag. Bear in mind that in the 60's all we had was the Airfix Mk9 with solid wings and dodgy spinner/canopy, but it was still a Spitfire. Revell did a Mk2a with separate canopy and FROG did an even more dodgy I/Va but we were all accepting that they were Spitfires.

 

Clearly times have changed and the market for kits is no longer as toys to build, play with and then ultimately throw out of the bedroom window whilst stuffed with ignited cotton wool soaked in lighter fluid to see it blaze and burn.  But for me trying to judge a 72nd scale kit based upon it being exactly the same as a true scale example sort of defeats the point of SCALE modelling in the first place. If I want to see a fully detailed example of a Spitfire then I'll go to the appropriate air show and/or museum to see or sit in one.

 

Thank heaven for democracy as it means we can all take our own path and debate until the cows come home!

 

No offence implied or intended, just my honest thoughts as a veteran modeller of the 60's.

 

Kind Regards

Colin.

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Airfix bean counters and have done all their sums and have concluded that this will fill their coffers. So if this means that ‘yet another Spitfire’ will fund the so far unkitted Scruggs Wonderplane Mk.2 then all power to them.
 

We have been banging on for years about a readily available Vc variant and now we are getting one. Yes, Seord and their like may already do it, but Airfix’s bread and butter is the casual sale.
 

Little Johnny’s gran doesn’t know about Hannants, Sword or whoever, she sees ‘Airfix’ on the shelf in her local shop at an attractive price and will buy it as a birthday or whatever present. Let’s not kid ourselves, Airfix doesn’t exist for us ‘exalted’ modellers and if they did would soon go under. If it’s as good as their MK.I, I will be buying them by the shovelful too.

 

I am a very happy camper👍🏻😆

 

Trevor

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With reference to the reply from Giorgio N it reminds me of an episode of Father Ted where it was a case of 'close' or 'far away', a real classic comedy gem.

 

For me it's 'far away' and always will be as trying to reproduce the real thing but 72 times smaller will always be bedevilled with the minutiae of detail and disagreement , not withstanding the ongoing improvements in production/moulding techniques.

 

As has always been said with aircraft of all generations, if it looks right then it probably is, so for me the same applies to a 72nd scale Spit  I know others will micro build it and check out every subtle nuance in order to get a 72nd scale of the real thing but more often the superb extra work undertaken ends up being hidden behind the fuselage etc.. anyway so to me it seems rather pointless.

 

As I said in my previous post we all have our own perspective on this but the SMER and SWORD kits are not for the faint hearted so if Airfix can produce a kit that the AVERAGE modeller can build, without hours of filing and sanding/scrapping just to get the basic parts to fit  then for me it will be a major improvement.

 

Kind Regards

Colin.

 

 

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I don't think the explanation that designing a subject in 1/72 scale promotes the chance of obtaining details wrongly shaped.  With CAD designing, the technician working in front of their computer can either enlarge the view he is working at, or better yet, work in 1:1 scale and then afterwards shrink his work down to the required scale. 

 

There are, of course, some details in the end product that be will slightly oversize due to them being too fragile if done to scale.

 

regards,

Jack

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On 1/10/2020 at 12:47 PM, AWFK10 said:

As well as lacking undercarriage doors, the Hobby Boss Vb needs a replacement prop as for some bizarre reason the blades are moulded in the feathered position. Another oddity is that the landing lights are lowered. Neither of these quirks is actually wrong, of course, it's just that the real aircraft wouldn't typically be seen in that condition. I seem to recall the canopy isn't great, either, but I too kind of like the kit.

Probably to make it easier to remove them from the mould!

Italeri did this with the radators of their Vb & Vc and I think likewise, Academy with their XlV

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4 hours ago, fishplanebeer said:

OK, I clearly come from a different generation to most on the forum who are spoilt, IMHO, with the sheer quality of the kits that are now available.

 

[...]

 

Kind Regards

Colin.

 

I think I can be called as somebody from that generation, and I think your assessment is not bad. That obvious that model were originally toys to be built by yourself, but hobby over years evolved and branched into something completely different.

I mentioned earlier in Airfix 2020 thread, that trying to make kits for both: toy shops, where parts should be tough and simple, and for "rivet counters", who want a lot of small and delicate parts, must be a real headache. That's a reason I have quite high hope for "Beginners" kit, with those made specially for first mentioned target audience, may Airfix for example tone down with size of panel lines in "normal" kits. Still, I'm not sure that "Beginners" is a good name, such kits and also toys should be their own thing, not just prelude for "serious" modellers.

 

Anyway, the facts is that Airfix kind of attracted such harsh judgment of their kits by its own PR strategy. Quick built kits or for example simple Hobby Boss kits are not a target of criticism, because it is obvious forum dwellers are not their main customers.

From the other hand, Airfix made a big deal and was basically bragging about about their LIDAR usage, clearly aiming at "rivet counters" too, so no wonder those were a bit ... perplexed, when Airfix did not delivered such high accuracy.

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Just because something is designed for beginners or children or gnomes to assemble doesn't mean it has to be crude or inaccurate, it just needs to be simplified. That's not a dig against Airfix (or gnomes, either), BTW, just an observation. Some kits which have been designed and promoted as "snap-together" or "easy-assembly" are actually the best available in some cases, e.g., Hobbyboss 1/72 MiG-3 and Zvezda 1/72 Yak-3. These may not be perfect, but they are better detailed (except for the MiG's cockpit) and more accurate than any current competition.

 

John

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29 minutes ago, John Thompson said:

Just because something is designed for beginners or children or gnomes to assemble doesn't mean it has to be crude or inaccurate, it just needs to be simplified. That's not a dig against Airfix (or gnomes, either), BTW, just an observation. Some kits which have been designed and promoted as "snap-together" or "easy-assembly" are actually the best available in some cases, e.g., Hobbyboss 1/72 MiG-3 and Zvezda 1/72 Yak-3. These may not be perfect, but they are better detailed (except for the MiG's cockpit) and more accurate than any current competition.

 

John

 

I specifically did not used Zvezda as a example, because, well, that's a special case. For sure it is possible, and that's really great some companies do both once, but I just not take it as given.

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My very last words on this topic.

 

I'm not saying an aircraft in 72nd scale shouldn't be accurate in outline etc... just that the level of detail needs to be kept in perspective. If you want to micro detail it then fine but it also needs to be relevant to the average modeller as well.

 

The best examples I can give are the Eduard Mk9 Spitfires versus the Zvezda B109F and FW190A. The former is so daunting to the average modeller that you give up before you even begin what with all the etched bits and pieces although I suspect it is bang on in every respect. On the other hand you have the Zvezda kits which look great, are easy to build, and have lots of detail as well but may not conform precisely to published scale plans (always assuming these can be relied upon to be accurate anyway!)

 

And by the way Revell have announced a new and long awaited Ju88A-1 this year, presumably a down scaled version of their previous offering, so 2020 looks like being a good year for me with my BoB interest. If it's anything like their previous A-4 or C-6 (both again over detailed IMHO) then we are in for a real treat.

 

Happy Days!

 

Kind Regards

Colin.

 

 

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Somewhat 'off topic' but surely Airfix or others need to re-visit the Mosquito at some point ?

 

Of course there are plenty of kits we would all like to see but this, along with the P38 in this scale, is another huge miss along with the Sea Fury and any Tempest/Fury variant. Preferably a Mk V but a V1 or Mk2 would be grand as per the old Matchbox kit.

 

Just my honest thoughts.

 

Kind Regards

Colin.

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Looks really, really good and beyond my own skills I have to admit.

 

That said it definitely has an LF 'b' wing so the rivet counters may have an issue but who cares as long as it looks right, as this definitely does!

 

Many thanks for sharing the photo.

 

Kind Regards

Colin.

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Coming back to the kit, while a bit difficult to tell from the pictures, it looks like they’ve got the wheel wells right - slanted walls - but the undercarriage doors may need replacing (?) - not ‘bulged’. Maybe one for after market companies.

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14 hours ago, Peter Roberts said:

Coming back to the kit, while a bit difficult to tell from the pictures, it looks like they’ve got the wheel wells right - slanted walls - but the undercarriage doors may need replacing (?) - not ‘bulged’. Maybe one for after market companies.

 

Yes, I commented on this in a previous post in this same thread. Hope that Airfix correct this detail before releasing the kit. It would be an easy thing to do for an aftermarket line like Quickboost but in 2020 a kit manufacturer should be able to get this right without forcing a modeller to search for alternatives

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Very nicely put.

 

I'm sure this kit will be a major step forward after 20+ years of waiting for a half decent Spit V.

 

Perhaps a Vb might have been a better option but with the Vc it opens up numerous options to convert to a XII or Seafire as well.

 

Again many congrats to Airfix and can't wait to receive my examples when the kit is actually released this year, along with the Revell Ju88-A1.   In the meantime I'll have another KitKat and cuppa and wait to see the responses from the rivet counters and micro builders of whom I have full respect for but just not my bag.

 

Kind Regards

Colin.

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Interesting little 'snippets' of information from the instruction sheet from Aardvark eg:

- That a separate, oblique, camera port is included.

- There are separate  (presumably clear) wingtips for clipped wing builds

- The main radiator is in 4 parts!

- 2 types of drop tank

But most interestingly 'instruction 33' shows the same recesses under both wings of the type to accomodate a 'full' ie Mk lX, radiator!   Not sure how the little l/ll/V oil cooler is added.

Personally not to hopeful for follow-ons for Vb, Xll, Seafires etc.  My gut feel is that Airfix will tool this one to allow virtually any variant of the Vc to built from the box, with anything else having to come from the aftermarket.

No doubt we will be drip-fed with information.

Does anyone have a better release date than 'autumm'?

Saw this before seeing Rabbit Leaders' suggestion that it was for the XlV

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9 hours ago, Aardvark said:

Why no one is discussing a photo of the new sprue from Airfix  Spitfire model:

82649817_10157751986676271_1724783845879

????

😁

Of course this is a revolution in picking models, 😁 but it seems to me that the details in this gate are not entirely accurate! 🤔 Perhaps a few rivets or panel lines are missing?😉😁

In addition, it seems to me that red does not correspond to the RAF BS of the 2WW period, maybe this is after WW2 standard?

😁

B.R.

Serge

 

17 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

I think you’ll find that the instructions above are for the 1/48 Spitfire XIV and not the newly announced 1/72 Vc.

Cheers.. Dave 

My kit must have been faulty as it didn't have that section :( 

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