Johnson Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 In a fit of misguided Spitfire enthusiasm I bought the Special Hobby Mk.XII with V1. It's a bit late for me to start in this GB, and I've never made a 1/48 Spitfire. But I really fancy a wheels up Spitfire and V1 combination and I was impressed with the pilot! AFAIK this isn't a new tool and has a few accuracy issues. So I checked the fuselage against the 1/48 plan in the Valiant Wings book Part 2 - Griffon engined Spitfires. The kit fuselage was 8mm too long ! Then I checked the scale of the plan - which is 1:50 . Compared against the Scale Planes drawing by Fred Spring, which looks excellent but I have no real idea of how accurate it is, the kit is short in the fuselage by 1mm and the shape conforms quite well, certainly better than the Airfix Mk.XII. Panel lines are more restrained than Airfix with some interesting raised panels on the rear fuselage, maybe this is right? So, this will hopefully be a fairly rapid OOB build. Any comments, tips etc - most welcome! Cheers, 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 1602 Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Looking forwards to watching this develop - I had no idea special hobby made a MkXII You are right about that pilot figure, it looks excellent. Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 OK, the obligatory sprue shots - 0% complete! The sky codes are fairly restrained in their colour, a bit bright for sky but not bad. I'm going to model MB882 EB-B, the much photographed Mk.XII. But according to the info in the very nice accompanying booklet, it did 125 sorties including 30 anti-diver patrols in 153 hours 20 minutes between 30 Dec 43 and 11 Sept 44. I wonder if it wore D-Day stripes? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Hmmm Favorite Mark of the Spitfire ? 🤔 Following ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 4 hours ago, Johnson said: the kit is short in the fuselage by 1mm and the shape conforms quite well, certainly better than the Airfix Mk.XII. Panel lines are more restrained than Airfix with some interesting raised panels on the rear fuselage, maybe this is right? IIRC the Spring drawings are suspect. the SH kit is way ahead of the Airfix kit. Main fault, slightly to short fuselage, 2.5-2.8 mm, for the non obsessed, don't worry. If it bugs you, a 1mm extension in front of the tail, and trickier, a 1.5 mm extension in the fuel tank in front of the cockpit, which also pushes the wing forward. The raised panels are trying to show the overlapping of the skinning. The Airfix kit is too deep along the fuselage, fin and rudder too high, exhaust are too low, wing too broad in chord, and so too far back... prop blades are too narrow. trenchy panel lines. separate flaps. Most of these are reasonably easy to fix with 'some modelling skill' except for the prop blades, which are just easier to replace, except there are no replacements, I think blades for a Mk.XIV can be used with some adjustment. 2 hours ago, Johnson said: The sky codes are fairly restrained in their colour, a bit bright for sky but not bad. Sky is a bright colour, it's a very pale green. 2 hours ago, Johnson said: I'm going to model MB882 EB-B, the much photographed Mk.XII. But according to the info in the very nice accompanying booklet, it did 125 sorties including 30 anti-diver patrols in 153 hours 20 minutes between 30 Dec 43 and 11 Sept 44. I wonder if it wore D-Day stripes? EB-Z did, One of the decal options see https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/53232-spitfire-mk-xii-no-41-squadron-with-d-day-stripes/ the thin stripes were a 10 Group oddity, as the link explains. HTH 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted June 17, 2020 Author Share Posted June 17, 2020 17 hours ago, Troy Smith said: the SH kit is way ahead of the Airfix kit. Thanks Troy, you have put my mind at rest. When I put the SH fuselage on the plan in the book I thought I'd bought a real lemon, until I realised the plan was the wrong scale! I scanned the plan and printed it out at the correct size for 1/48 and the fit was much improved, but far from perfect. Here's the SH Mk.XII fuselage on the Fred Spring plan and the R.J. Caruana plan from the Valiant Wings book at the bottom. The kit fuselage and wing fits the Fred Spring plan better, but which is correct I couldn't say. 18 hours ago, Troy Smith said: Most of these are reasonably easy to fix with 'some modelling skill' except for the prop blades, which are just easier to replace, except there are no replacements, I think blades for a Mk.XIV can be used with some adjustment. Interesting what you say about the prop blades as the blades in the Airfix kit appear more like those used on the Mk.XII than the SH blades which are very brutal Mk.XIV looking. Having said that I have a dim recollection that I've seen a photo of a Mk.XII with blades similar to the SH ones, out with the reference books. Airfix 1/48 Mk.XII Special Hobby 1/48 Mk.XII And while on the subject of this photo of MB882, have you seen the colour version? I used a link here to avoid any copyright complications. I realise that its been 'colourised', but its a lovely rendition and does help bring out the detail. Cheers, 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 On 17/06/2020 at 16:33, Johnson said: the R.J. Caruana plan Sorry, he produces masses of material, and he's certainly quantity not quality. Not to be trusted, without supporting data... The prop blades comparison is very interesting. I'd used photos from here But re-reading the link https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/91549-spitfire-mk-12-en224-2009-thread-revisited they are from a Seafire XVII. So, perhaps the Airfix blades are not that bad, but I still think they are a bit narrow, but seems further study required! HTH 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Good morning Charlie Nice to see a MkXII in this Gb Have fun with your build .. Best Regards Patrice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 21 hours ago, Troy Smith said: but I still think they are a bit narrow I'm inclined to agree. I'll re-profile the SH blades slightly. 13 hours ago, TEMPESTMK5 said: Nice to see a MkXII in this Gb Thanks Patrice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Nice choice have gotten myself this one as well, but I'm going for a Dutch Diver hunter. MB880/ EB-X, P/O van Goens, also 41 Sqn. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted July 3, 2020 Author Share Posted July 3, 2020 Sorry about the lack of progress folks, lots of reality and most of all a new pup getting in the way. But finally finished the cockpit with F/O Smith at the controls. No gun-sight yet as it would only get knocked off. Also missing are the rudder pedals which I did fit but obviously weren't going to work and have the Donald's flying boots as well, so he'll have to fly without a rudder. Scratch built and added (yes, I know, I said it would be OOB) are the radio control box and the supercharger control which is hidden behind the pilot's arm. Getting the RAF uniform blue right was a bit of a nightmare, it looks lighter in the photo than real life, but I will tone down the brighter bits a tad (not that anyone will ever see them again!) Got to thank Bill @Bill Livingston for suggesting the Optivisor which I can highly recommend, especially if you have older eyes like me. And now I can close up the fuselage and get a move on, though finishing within the GB time frame looks pretty doubtful. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 1602 Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 Nice work Charlie. The pilot looks excellent and that head angle makes it look far mor realistic than the normal ‘eyes front, hands on lap’ figures. Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted July 3, 2020 Author Share Posted July 3, 2020 38 minutes ago, Steve 1602 said: The pilot looks excellent and that head angle makes it look far mor realistic than the normal ‘eyes front, hands on lap’ figures. Thanks Steve. TBH I think he looks better than the photo portrays. He's looking at the V1 on his starboard side. I've done a trial fit with the fuselage closed and the canopy (which is a bit narrow anyway) on and its all very tight! His nose will be up against the perspex. But it might have been like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 The nice thing about making a model of MB882 / EB*B is that it was probably one of the most photographed Spitfires during WW2. Good for getting the markings and details correct, but it also highlights the bits of the kit that differ from the real thing. A lovely view of the underside (look at all that weathering - gulp! ) The pic shows that the gun blisters on the bottom of the kit's wing are too large and for the outer cannon shouldn't be there at all. I could try to modify them but probably easier to remove them and add new ones. The outer cannon shell ejection slot needs filling. Now the cockpit's finished I can close up the fuselage. The fit isn't the best and the thickness of plastic isn't great, so I've added some tabs that will strengthen the join and help align the two halves; I've done the same at the wing roots as although the fit seems reasonable, the plastic is very thin. Back soon I hope (dog willing). Cheers, 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 New cannon and MG blisters on the underside; I cut .0040" plasticard to shape and very carefully sanded to shape once the glue was fully dried. The fuselage is all joined up, wings on next. Thanks for looking. Any thoughts, criticisms and suggestions gladly accepted - before it's all too late! Cheers, 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 Fitting the wings. Not easy, in fact a bit of a nightmare. The mating surface between the top wing and the fuselage is less than a millimetre and there's nothing, no tabs or pins, to ensure they aligned along their length. The tabs I'd put in place were no help, wrong angle and interfered with the wheel wells, so they had to go. So it was a matter of gluing a section at a time and clamping; Modern modelling isn't supposed to be like this Still a gap (sorry about the photo, it just wouldn't focus!) Yes, that my Leatherman held by elastic bands! But got there in the end! Quite a bit of clean up to do. The amount of Tamiya super thin needed to hold everything in place did spread a bit. And some minor filling, but not too much, Should get the primer on soon. Ho-hum. I keeps saying to myself; 'Why am I not building one of the nice Eduard kits in the stash?'... 'Why am I not building one of the nice Eduard kits in the stash?'... 'Why am I not building one of the nice Eduard kits in the stash?'... Back soon. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 1602 Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 That’s not looking like a relaxing build Charlie, but it’s a great mark of Spitfire to have in the collection and neatly spans the transition between Merlin and later Griffon engined Spits. I’d certainly like to add one at some point, so it’s good to watch your build and understand some of the challenges! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 On 7/10/2020 at 9:41 AM, Johnson said: 'Why am I not building one of the nice Eduard kits in the stash?'... 'Cos they don't have a XII, that's why! /runs But seriously, good work there, even if it's with heavy-duty tools used 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelmaker Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 On 7/9/2020 at 10:46 AM, Johnson said: New cannon and MG blisters on the underside; I cut .0040" plasticard to shape and very carefully sanded to shape once the glue was fully dried. The fuselage is all joined up, wings on next. Thanks for looking. Any thoughts, criticisms and suggestions gladly accepted - before it's all too late! Cheers, I was pondering how to make cannon blisters for a Mk II Hurricane, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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