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Poll:Which is the better !/48 Sea Fury Trumpeters's or Airfix's


LorenSharp

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Here's is a query for all my stalwart modeling experts. Which is the better 1/48 Sea Fury kit. Airfix's or Trumpeters. I have an OLD Hobbycraft which I doubt I will ever build ,but I do want to do a Seafury. Any advice is cheerfully accepted.

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This depends on what you want from the model in the end. Joy of modelling and a delight to build? Accuracy? 

I have built both and enjoyed both the builds. I did use a resin replacement  cowl on the Airfix kit but the fix is apparently quite easy. 

I have read that the Airfix offering has the edge over Trumpeter on accuracy. 

Side by side, I prefer the look of the Trumpy model as I like the rivet detail, it seems to catch the eye more than the Airfix version.

 

Atb, Steve.

 

PS I think the Airfix kit would be a lot cheaper too??

Edited by triumphfan
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I've built the Airfix Sea Fury with a few aftermarket items -- Aerocraft resin cowling, Barracuda spinner and main wheels --  and think it's a great looking model. I have to say I'm not a rivet enthusiast. In terms of accuracy issues with the Trumpeter kit, this quote from Tom Cleaver's review at Modeling Madness (written before the arrival of the Airfix kit) may be helpful:

 

"Unfortunately, while the Trumpeter kit is miles in advance of the Hobbycraft kit in terms of outline and dimensional accuracy, it has its own faults. The cockpit bears no resemblance to any Sea Fury cockpit I have ever seen (and I have sat in three), being too shallow and incorrectly laid-out. There is the additional problem that the area of the fuselage under the canopy when closed has been cut down, which is totally inaccurate. Also, the gear legs are too short and the gear is positioned much too far inboard in the wheel wells. The drop tanks that are provided bear no resemblance whatsoever to any used by the Sea Fury, being at least twice the size of the actual tanks. Finally, the propeller blades are strangely shaped and the spinner is too long and too pointed."

Edited by Seawinder
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The Trumpeter kit is typical Trumpeter fodder - it fits together nicely but nobody troubled themselves to find out what a Sea Fury looked like when designing the kit. On top of all the above, the cowling is the wrong shape on it too.

 

Airfix's kit is the best Sea Fury.

I'd leave Trumpeter's on the model shop shelf - but I recognise I may be in a minority in that I dismiss all other attributes as completely worthless if the basic shape is mince.

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Listen to Steve (Navy870) - he is Mr. Sea Fury here at BM.

 

I used to own the Trumpeter kit, purely in the interests of research.  Couldn't wait to get rid of it. Don't bother with it if you are at all concerned with accuracy.  

 

I stand to be corrected, but I don't think Trumpeter has done one good kit of a British aircraft in 1/48....

Edited by Paul Bradley
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4 hours ago, Paul Bradley said:

Listen to Steve (Navy870) - he is Mr. Sea Fury here at BM.

 

I used to own the Trumpeter kit, purely in the interests of research.  Couldn't wait to get rid of it. Don't bother with it if you are at all concerned with accuracy.  

 

I stand to be corrected, but I don't think Trumpeter has done one good kit of a British aircraft in 1/48....

 

Wasn't/isn't their Wyvern meant to be decent?

 

Unlike the Spiteful, Attacker, Hornet.... (all of which, in fairness, make enjoyable to build What-ifs where the backstory allows for the Trumpeter kits to be absolutely perfect representations of the [not the] real aeroplane down to the last rivet/fabric elevator...)

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55 minutes ago, XV107 said:

 

Wasn't/isn't their Wyvern meant to be decent?

 

Unlike the Spiteful, Attacker, Hornet.... (all of which, in fairness, make enjoyable to build What-ifs where the backstory allows for the Trumpeter kits to be absolutely perfect representations of the [not the] real aeroplane down to the last rivet/fabric elevator...)

 

There weren't too many complaints about the 1/48 Sea Hawk when that was released, too. However, with the passage of time, more may have come to light...

 

Jon

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14 hours ago, Beazer said:

Airfix for sure, I just built one.  Theres a couple fussy parts but its the leader.

Definitely get an aftermarket cowling too.

 

just finished the Airfix kit too, no aftermarket.  Quite pleased with it.  Only thing I did do was get some new decals as I thought the kit choices were a bit boring..

 

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Are the cockpit, wheel wells & cowling in the Airfix Sea Fury that incorrect/basic, that one needs the Barracuda Studios aftermarket resin replacements?

Larry

Edited by ReccePhreak
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On 21/04/2020 at 18:04, XV107 said:

 

Wasn't/isn't their Wyvern meant to be decent?

 

Unlike the Spiteful, Attacker, Hornet.... (all of which, in fairness, make enjoyable to build What-ifs where the backstory allows for the Trumpeter kits to be absolutely perfect representations of the [not the] real aeroplane down to the last rivet/fabric elevator...)

 

On 21/04/2020 at 19:01, Jon Bryon said:

 

There weren't too many complaints about the 1/48 Sea Hawk when that was released, too. However, with the passage of time, more may have come to light...

 

Jon

Legend has it the research was done for a or by a Japanese company, Monochrome IIRC.

@Basilisk did some tweaks on the Sea Hawk.

 

The sad thing is that Trumpeter given the right information, can make decent kits, some minor detail glitches and recessed  rivets aside their 1/24 th Hurricane is amazingly well shaped..... why this has not been given the shrink ray treatment is beyond me...

 

Even more more depressing,  nearly 10 years ago, an then employee of Trumpeter did join here,  and ask for help

see here

which was duly offered,  in the thread and by PM....   none of which was used or acted on.   

This source of free research ash not been consulted since, and since then we have thus been given the treats of classic British types given their inimitable research department, hhm Sea Fury, Vampire, Dh Hornet, Spiteful, Whirlwind, Firefly, Albacore, Sea Vixen, Defiant (the last two oddly after Airfix did theirs,  and with no reference to Airfix's either...) 

 

HTH

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19 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

 

Legend has it the research was done for a or by a Japanese company, Monochrome IIRC.

@Basilisk did some tweaks on the Sea Hawk.

 

 

I didn't know whether Monochrome had done the Wyvern in the larger scale, or whether Trumpeter managed to scale it up without fouling it up... I think I have a 72nd Wyvern in a box with a Monochrome logo on it; the F-107 was a Monochrome product as well. 


It's a great shame that Monochrome hadn't done the Hornet and the Whirlwind (at the very least), since there might not be those 'interesting' errors. The subject for a separate thread, but I wonder what the worst Trumpeter representation of an aircraft flown by the RAF or FAA is? 

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On 4/26/2020 at 10:08 AM, ReccePhreak said:

Are the cockpit, wheel wells & cowling in the Airfix Sea Fury that incorrect/basic, that one needs the Barracuda Studios aftermarket resin replacements?

Larry

Cockpit is a bit too wide but be quite usable for most, wheel wells are missing most of the gubbins that live in but in fairness it would be a nightmare to replicate.

Cowling is a chore to sort  definitely easier to replace. Ali makes one as well.

Edited by NAVY870
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17 hours ago, NAVY870 said:

Cockpit is a bit too wide but be quite usable for most, wheel wells are missing most of the gubbins that live in but in fairness it would be a nightmare to replicate.

Cowling is a chore to sort  definitely easier to replace. Ali makes one as well.

Thanks for that input. I am getting the Airfix Sea Fury in a trade, so I think I will wait until I have a chance to actually look over the kit before I lay out ~$70 for aftermarket parts.

Larry

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