1/72 Spitfire Mk. XII

[opus999]

6 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Jays still carry this kit.

So yesterday afternoon, I popped out to ebay to see if there were any Jays or Ventura Seafire XV kits and there was only one, which I snapped up at a good price.  I'm embarrassed to say, I didn't think to look for Jays... for some reason i assumed they were old and out of business (probably confusing them with Ventura).

 

1 hour ago, Planebuilder62 said:

There`s a Brigade 1/72 XII for sale on ebayuk at the moment.

So I see!  That's the first time I've seen a Mk. XII conversion kit on ebay and I've been looking off-and-on for a couple of years.  Well, the Ventura kit is on its way and since I'm in the US, the shipping for the Brigade set is way more than the item itself.  It does have the decals though... 

 

Edited June 27, 2020 by opus999
forgot something

[opus999]

3 hours ago, Bonhoff said:

 

Parts that were replaced out of the original kit were the exhausts which were rather crude, spares were taken out of a Special Hobby kit and the undercarriage was replaced by the "wings up" option ones that Airfix provide with a bit of trimming. Installing the oil cooler necessitated filling the location of the port radiator under the wing. The wingtips were simply cut down and re- profiled. The magneto hump was fabricated from a piece of thick styrene and sanded to profile.

Thanks for this info!  Although my Ventura kit will be here soon enough, I'm happy to know what's ahead of me. The exhausts I've got covered... but I'll need to find a kit or resin after market for the oil-cooler though.

 

Did you just eye-ball the magneto hump, or are there drawings to work from?

[opus999]

7 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Several years ago I did a XII conversion from a Jays reboxed Ventura Early Seafire XV (A-frame hook) , it came out rather well even if I do say so myself.

It came out terrific! I read through your build thread and was able to get a lot out of it.  The one thing I didn't see was how you managed the magneto cover.  Right now my plan is to find some drawings somewhere and try to scratch build one using epoxy putty.

[Giorgio N]

1 minute ago, opus999 said:

It came out terrific! I read through your build thread and was able to get a lot out of it.  The one thing I didn't see was how you managed the magneto cover.  Right now my plan is to find some drawings somewhere and try to scratch build one using epoxy putty.

I have some drawings from an old magazine, can't vouch for their accuracy but show the magneto cover. Give me a couple days..

[opus999]

4 hours ago, John Thompson said:

So far, no one's mentioned the Merlin Spitfire XII

Since it was early in the morning when I read this, I thought you meant "Merlin-engined", which made me think, "What was the point of that??".  I mean, isn't that a mk.V?  As I woke up more I realized you meant the "Merlin models" Spitfire XII.    I've seen pictures of the Merlin spitfire XII and even well built and finished they look dreadful.  Maybe one of the worst models for accuracy I've seen out side of Starfix.

2 minutes ago, Giorgio N said:

I have some drawings from an old magazine, can't vouch for their accuracy but show the magneto cover. Give me a couple days..

Oh!  That would be great! I appreciate it.

[Bonhoff]

1 hour ago, opus999 said:

I'll need to find a kit or resin after market for the oil-cooler though.

 

Did you just eye-ball the magneto hump, or are there drawings to work from?

I found a drawing on line for the hump - Whether I modelled it with any accuracy remains to be seen.

 

For the oil cooler, either of these two kits come with an extra sprue that gives the correct oil cooler and you can still build them as a Mk.1 early or Mk.2 with the original parts.

 

IanJ

 

 

[opus999]

44 minutes ago, Bonhoff said:

I found a drawing on line for the hump - Whether I modelled it with any accuracy remains to be seen.

 

For the oil cooler, either of these two kits come with an extra sprue that gives the correct oil cooler and you can still build them as a Mk.1 early or Mk.2 with the original parts.

 

IanJ

 

 

I didn't know that!  So, could you use the correct oil filter for the Mk. XII and still build a Mk. II?  That's what I gathered...  Well, it seems a moot point since I can't seem to find them anywhere.  I guess I'll keep an eye out on ebay -- It might be a month or two before I get to the Mk.Xii anyway.

[Beard]

41 minutes ago, opus999 said:

So, could you use the correct oil filter for the Mk. XII and still build a Mk. II? 

Yes. The 'circular' oil cooler was introduced on the MkV.

 

IIRC, Airfix included the MkV oil cooler on the same sprue as the two blade propeller for the early MkI and the bulge for the Coffman starter for the MkII.

[opus999]

5 minutes ago, Beard said:

Yes. The 'circular' oil cooler was introduced on the MkV.

 

IIRC, Airfix included the MkV oil cooler on the same sprue as the two blade propeller for the early MkI and the bulge for the Coffman starter for the MkII.

Yes, looking at the pictures in the in-box reviews, it looks like that is the case.

[José Antonio Granado]

Hi all.

I was lucky to get the 1/72 Xtrakit Mk. XII. It is a good base to get a great model. Unfortunately now it is almost impossible to find it.

Here's mine finished in 2018.

 

 

IMG_20180301_204744 by José A. Granado, en Flickr

 

IMG_20180301_204653 by José A. Granado, en Flickr

 

IMG_20180301_204904 by José A. Granado, en Flickr

 

IMG_20180301_204949 by José A. Granado, en Flickr

 

 

José A. Granado

[stevehnz]

6 hours ago, opus999 said:

The one thing I didn't see was how you managed the magneto cover. 

A  slim piece of sprue, rounded at one end to approximate the front of the mag cover & then sliced length ways at a shallow angle & sanded down till it looked right. Looking at @José Antonio Granado's lovely model above, the Seafire carb intake is bigger & further forward, sort of like an Aerovee filter on a later IX to the the early ones. I sliced it off mine, reshaped it & glued in on further back. The Ventura molding does take some fettling but its bones are good.

Steve.

[72modeler]

For the magneto cover, you can pencil the outline of the cover on the upper cowling. Then  using the white PVA glue of your choice, paint the outline of the cover, starting from the narrow back end to the wider front end. This may take a couple of coats, as the glue tends to shrink when it's drying. If you practice on a scrap fuselage or wing, it won't take long to get the hang of it. The surface of the cover or blister can be smoothed with a paintbrush dipped in hot water. When you get it like you want it, hit it with some primer, and you're done! Works great for nav and position lights, too- you can add a drop of red, green, yellow or orange  food coloring to the glue to simulate colored light lenses- dries clear with the color of food coloring used. Neat thing is if you make a mistake, just wet it, wipe it off, and try again! Makes great flap fairings, too! Replaced the  misaligned ones on my 1/72 Hasegawa Corsairs and they looked great! Hope this helps.

Mike

[opus999]

On 6/27/2020 at 12:47 PM, José Antonio Granado said:

Here's mine finished in 2018.

It looks great!

[opus999]

21 hours ago, stevehnz said:

A  slim piece of sprue, rounded at one end to approximate the front of the mag cover & then sliced length ways at a shallow angle & sanded down till it looked right. Looking at @José Antonio Granado's lovely model above, the Seafire carb intake is bigger & further forward, sort of like an Aerovee filter on a later IX to the the early ones. I sliced it off mine, reshaped it & glued in on further back. The Ventura molding does take some fettling but its bones are good.

Steve.

Well, I've got plenty of sprue!  I could probably manage that.  My other idea was to use my epoxy putty to shape it, since it is water soluble and has a working time of at least an hour.  It would 6 of one, half dozen of the other.  Maybe I'll do both and pick the best one.   I saw in your build thread that you'd sliced off the carb intake and re-installed it.

[opus999]

  

19 hours ago, 72modeler said:

For the magneto cover, you can pencil the outline of the cover on the upper cowling. Then  using the white PVA glue of your choice, paint the outline of the cover, starting from the narrow back end to the wider front end. This may take a couple of coats, as the glue tends to shrink when it's drying. If you practice on a scrap fuselage or wing, it won't take long to get the hang of it. The surface of the cover or blister can be smoothed with a paintbrush dipped in hot water. When you get it like you want it, hit it with some primer, and you're done! Works great for nav and position lights, too- you can add a drop of red, green, yellow or orange  food coloring to the glue to simulate colored light lenses- dries clear with the color of food coloring used. Neat thing is if you make a mistake, just wet it, wipe it off, and try again! Makes great flap fairings, too! Replaced the  misaligned ones on my 1/72 Hasegawa Corsairs and they looked great! Hope this helps.

Mike

Now, that's a nice technique to have in the "toolbox"!  I've never thought of that approach before.  I think I'll give that a try and see if I can get the hang of it.

[Chuck1945]

I’ve probably got the circular oil filter in my spares from when I did a Spit I. PM and I’ll check, since I live just down (or up 😉) the road from you, postage isn’t an issue.

 

Chuck

 

Cripes, I thought I posted this yesterday, apparently forgot to click “submit”

[opus999]

14 hours ago, Chuck1945 said:

I’ve probably got the circular oil filter in my spares from when I did a Spit I. PM and I’ll check, since I live just down (or up 😉) the road from you, postage isn’t an issue.

 

Chuck

 

Cripes, I thought I posted this yesterday, apparently forgot to click “submit”

PM sent!  Thank you!