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New 1:24 Airfix Spitfire mk1a


geedubelyer

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3 hours ago, Mancunian airman said:

Talking of re-releasing 'Vintage Airfix' what about the 24th Harrier ??

I built one of these donkeys years back and have never seen any since . . . .

 

I suspect it was/Is the only large scale around at the time . . . .

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/airfix-18001-hawker-harrier--135957#

There was also the 1/32 Revell one from '72, which got a reissue last year 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-h-248-hawker-siddeley-harrier--187441

 

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4 minutes ago, wellsprop said:

I wish Airfix would release a new 1/24 Spitfire, the Mk I and Mk IX!

 

It seems odd that they made a new tool 1/24 Mosquito, Tyhpoon and Hellcat before a Spitfire.

why? They already have a 1/24th Spitfire....  And considering it was tooled up 50 years ago,  a decent kit. 

 

As is pointed out on here periodically,  'we' on here are a very small part of their market.  Of note many of 'we' already have several kits stashed,  and a common bit of advice is to look out for an older issue when the tooling was crisper, so even with this issue, I doubt many of 'us' are going to be clamouring for one.

At least now they have stuck 'vintage classic' on the box so folks may get an idea it's not a modern kit.

 

What would have been a good idea when they added some bits to do Vb, would have to have added some useful missing parts as well, like a main spar and wheel well sides.

Actually....  that maybe something you could do some 3-d printing for, though I suspect a main spar maybe better from some photo etch that folds into a rigid box....

Or, some 3-d conversion parts, given that the resin Mk.IX conversion is long gone.... Now they would be be a boon and a saleable item to the more dedicated ;) 

 

Just to be clear, I'm not very interested, I built one during xmas 1976,  now in bits in the shed, and have the main part of an old tooling, that came from the local tip in the late 70's from a family friend who used to regularly scavenge there.

If/when i do anything in this scale it'll be Hurricanes,  which I'm sure comes a wild card left field suggestion from me,  or the Typhoon I got a few years back, and I only bought that when I found one for under half the retail price.....  

 

cheers

T

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Troy Smith said:

why? They already have a 1/24th Spitfire....  And considering it was tooled up 50 years ago,  a decent kit. 

 

 

 

 

Great post Troy except for the bit above. I must campaign and get such comments banned. They just remind me of when I bought kits as a teenager and just how ancient I am getting. :clif::D  Just sayin it’s an old mould is fine to these ears ;)
 

I was wondering though what with the advent of 3D printing whether it might get cost effective to do cockpits and wheel wells plus other corrections/ upgrades more economically than might have been the case in the past?  There are now 1/32 upgrades for Revells venerable Beaufighter. 
 

I was aware the Airfix Hurri had some shape issues but I have not heard the same about the Spitfire 1. Droopy wings though. 

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Hi guys,

i can understand why Airfix would re-spawn this old kit for another go around. The argument for milking the molds for every penny is valid and i'm sure Airfix will continue to sell these venerable old favourites so why wouldn't they?

Just imagine though, a 1/24th scale Spitfire done to the same standards as their Typhoon and Hellcat. Oodles of crisp, delicate engine and interior detailling. Body surface rendering and modern engineering for things like the main spar.

Doesn't it just make your mouth water? 😃

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I've ordered it, Airfix have just taken payment, so it is on the way. I'm not expecting much, but it is accurate and will look good next to the other 1/24th models. 

 

On the topic of detailing, I took a couple of photos of the 1/1 replica that is owned by the Spitfire Society in Salisbury and is presently parked at the Boscombe Down Aircraft Collection.

The moulds were taken from a Mk IX and whilst all the surface detail is there and clear, including C/S and Roundhead rivets it all disappears at quite a short distance.

Close up....

 

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. Then at about 30 feet away....

 

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And next the upper surface of the outboard end of the elevator, note the pinked (zigzag) edges of the fabric patch.

 

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The moral of these pictures seems to be that one should not try and over emphasis pannel details if you are aiming for a realistic model, rather than a cartoon...

I know many will disagree, I'm lucky enough to be close to real aircraft and know what the real thing looks like. 

 

Modern A/C show even less detail....we have a Hawker/BAE Hawk, XX154, the first production Hawk.  

There are no visible panel lines from any distance...

 

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So, my second 1/24th Spitfire will look as much like the real thing and not a model... 

 

Flame me away!! 

 

 

 

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On 10/17/2020 at 9:45 AM, Troy Smith said:

What would have been a good idea when they added some bits to do Vb, would have to have added some useful missing parts as well, like a main spar and wheel well sides.

Actually....  that maybe something you could do some 3-d printing for, though I suspect a main spar maybe better from some photo etch that folds into a rigid box....

Or, some 3-d conversion parts, given that the resin Mk.IX conversion is long gone.... Now they would be be a boon and a saleable item to the more dedicated ;) 

 

The 1/24 Airfix P-51D/K has been getting a fair bit of love over the last couple of years from Airscale (instrument panel), Grey Matter (tires and props) and most recently ModelMonkey. The last company has been addressing the worst of the issues with 3D printed parts; the upper cowling shape, a full and stunningly detailed wheel well with a wingspar that corrects the dihedral...along with seats, exhaust pipes and shrouds, radio equipment, gunsights, and drop tanks. There is also a new set of brass landing gear which was 3D designed by a chap in the States. There are dozens of after-market decal and masking choices. That makes the cost of the final product similar to some of the state of the art kits, but it's worth it to me, and must be to the after market producers. I agree 3D printing will open up possibilities that weren't practical before. 

 

Of course, most of the above was released after I finished scratch-building all of that for my current example over a three year period (that still isn't finished 🙂 ). It has been an enormous amount of fun, and I enjoyed every minute and learned a lot (well, there was some adult language at times) For a fifty-year old kit, it is still by far the best start for a 1/24 scale Mustang, the Trumpeter attempt being a huge disappointment. It is surprising how much detail Airfix included at the time, and also surprising what was missed. They are incredibly impressive when finished. I would love Airfix to retool the Mustang to the standards of the Typhoon and Hellcat, but I suppose if they are still making money from these molds, all power to them. I am starting another one using all of the above after-market goodies.

Richard

 

Almost finished 1/24 Mustang IV, ready to start another one...

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Edited by RZP
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I've decided to splash out on one as well. It's a kit I've thought about making for years (I've actually never made a 1/24 anything) and I'm looking forward to the change of scale. One of my family was one of the Few and I had planned to do one of his aircraft with the Tamiya 1/48 kit but I suppose it might be worth going to town with this big kit and doing it as his. Does anybody do decent squadron codes and serials in 1/24 or am I going to have to try and make masks of the bally things?

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On 28/10/2020 at 07:51, Smithy said:

 . . . Does anybody do decent squadron codes and serials in 1/24 or am I going to have to try and make masks of the bally things?

Try Montex, via Hannants.

Chances are slim that they have the actual aeroplane or even squadron but the National markings masks might suit

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On 28/10/2020 at 07:51, Smithy said:

One of my family was one of the Few and I had planned to do one of his aircraft with the Tamiya 1/48 kit but I suppose it might be worth going to town with this big kit and doing it as his. 

a wee bit of advice if I may; study photos of the possible mount or of the squadron carefully.

A late friend of mine was one of the few. He joined 610 squadron about the beginning of August for a short stint, then again in late September. In August his main mount was DW-D. I was going to do a Spitfire with the well known giant over-sized code letters then I came across a photo of -D taken in late July. As an attrition replacement it had the codes in the smaller 24 inch size (or was it 20 inch ? I can't remember now)

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10 hours ago, Black Knight said:

a wee bit of advice if I may; study photos of the possible mount or of the squadron carefully.

A late friend of mine was one of the few. He joined 610 squadron about the beginning of August for a short stint, then again in late September. In August his main mount was DW-D. I was going to do a Spitfire with the well known giant over-sized code letters then I came across a photo of -D taken in late July. As an attrition replacement it had the codes in the smaller 24 inch size (or was it 20 inch ? I can't remember now)

 

 

20 hours ago, Work In Progress said:

Probably going to have to DIY, but that's easy enough in 1/24. Which aircraft is it? 

 

The one I'll do is a very "standard" late Battle of Britain period one of his from 64 Sqn. No real oddities at all. Sounds like it will be making the codes and serial masks myself and in truth this is probably better as I can hopefully make them more accurate than using one of the generic decal squadron code fonts.

 

The more I think about this, the more I really am looking forward to getting this kit, it'll make a nice diversion from the usual 1/72 and 1/48 I tend to play around with.

 

Thanks for the suggestions and advice.

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On 11/2/2020 at 7:59 AM, geedubelyer said:

I hope you'll do WIP threads 224 Peter and Smithy? 🙂

 

Me too, although I can't promise when that will be. I have several that have been on the go for an interminably long time that I really should finish first, although knowing me I can't promise that either!

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My kit arrived from Airfix. 

Very much a look back to the 1970s, when life was simple. And kits had flash...

Yes, this will require some careful sanding to remove quite large areas of flash, especially along the trailing edges.

I said it is a journey down memory lane. 

 

There are just 20 steps in the instructions and 156 parts: compare that to the more recent 1/24th Hellcat!

Rubber tyres, a pilot and a stand! 

Surface detail is good, recessed where it should be and raised where it should be.  There are a few sink marks, most obviously on the propellor blades. 

A single lower wing, with abit of a "gull wing", but I'm not sure it is pronounced enough. 

 

There are two transfer options, one is a 602 City of Glasgow Squadron, LO - B with no fin flash, blue/red roundels and black and white undersides, as 1939 whilst the other is 54 Squadron KL-B in standard 1940 markings. the Transfers look modern and are well printed. 

Unfortunately the colour sheet is printed with KL-B on both sides...

 

It should be quite a quick build as I'll do it "buttoned up", so no need to paint the guns, engine, etc. 

 

Hmm..should Airfix to a new tool 1/24th Spitfire? Id say yes, but a Mk IX.  I'd buy one. 

 

WIP to follow.  

 

 

 

 

 

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11 minutes ago, 224 Peter said:

Very much a look back to the 1970s, when life was simple. And kits had flash...

Yes, this will require some careful sanding to remove quite large areas of flash,

 

It didn't have flash in 1970 when it was new: neither the one I got that year nor the original-release example I currently have in stock. My 2005 one is pretty flashy.

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I expect the moulds have taken some wear, but no short shot parts as in some more recent Airfix kits. The plastic seems harder as well. 

 

One of the A/C is LO-B, no serial but 602 Squadron at Drem in 1939. The word BOGUS appears below the windscreen.  Does anyone know who the pilot was and why anyone would name an A/C Bogus???

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Ah, memories. 

I can still picture the happiness of getting an Airfix "Superkit" for Christmas. The overwhelming joy of seeing all of the apparent acres of plastic in the box and the urge to get stuck into it there and then. 

 

By modern standards there is little doubt that these re-pops will fall well below modern expectations but for some of us, that misses the point. As I've already mentioned I'd love a modern tooling of an early Spitty by Airfix but the shear nostalgia of this kit makes it all but irresistable.

 

Very much looking forward to seeing the work in progress threads guys. 👍

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15 hours ago, 224 Peter said:

Does anyone know who the pilot was and why anyone would name an A/C Bogus???

 

Bogus was common RAF slang used at the time and the reason for naming the aircraft such is most likely typical RAF self-deprecation. Sorry can't help with the pilot, although it was an A Flight machine and the flight commander at this time at Drem was Marcus Robinson so there's a reasonable chance he flew this machine at some point.

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2 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Bogus was common RAF slang used at the time and the reason for naming the aircraft such is most likely typical RAF self-deprecation. Sorry can't help with the pilot, although it was an A Flight machine and the flight commander at this time at Drem was Marcus Robinson so there's a reasonable chance he flew this machine at some point.

So are you saying that it is somewhat equivalent to 'Kilroy' of 'Kilroy was here' fame\notoriety ?

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A web directory of RAF Slang suggests Bogus was used to indicate something was spurious... 

This suggests a degree of self deprecating black humour...not at all uncommon in the RAF! 

 

Another point I picked up from the web: LO-B has the letter B repeated under the nose when repainted into the sky finish used in later 1940: it doesn't appear on the Airfix transfers and as it was in grey and wouldn't show up well on the Black/White scheme, so I am assuming (always dangerous) it appeared with the sky repaint... or was that a new A/C? as there are no serial numbers associated with the A/C at Drem, who knows?    

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1 hour ago, 224 Peter said:

A web directory of RAF Slang suggests Bogus was used to indicate something was spurious... 

This suggests a degree of self deprecating black humour...not at all uncommon in the RAF! 

 

Spot on Peter. One could also be "a Bogus" so a person/thing who had been caught out as a sham or a dodgy fellow or thing.

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