Best 1/48 Spitfire Vc Tropical kit

[scotthldr]

Not my usual area of interest so please forgive my ignorance,

 

What is the best 1/48 Spitfire Vb/Vc Tropical kit available and what are the differences between the two marks, I’m led to believe it’s something to do with the gun set up within the wings.

 

Thanks in advance

Edited June 13, 2021 by scotthldr

[gingerbob]

The 'c' wing is a new and improved design, with different armament bays (including one re-positioned machine gun), gear legs mounted at a different angle, and different gear doors.  So you need to know beforehand whether you intend to do a Vb or a Vc.

 

I'll let others argue the merits of kits.

[scotthldr]

Thanks for the reply gingerbob, with that information it will therefore be the Vc that will be required. The kit also has to come with the Rotol prop/spinner

 

I think my choices are between 

Revell (old kit, rereleased several times)

Airfix hybrid with Seafire IIIc

Italeri (rerelease of SH/CA kit but doesn’t come with the Rotol prop/spinner)

SH kit which seems to tick all the boxes and although available as aftermarket parts on their own it comes with both types of exhaust. However is the Rotol spinner the pointed or blunt version?

[Troy Smith]

14 minutes ago, scotthldr said:

Revell (old kit, rereleased several times)

the only revell Vc kit I know is again, the SH kit reboxed.

 

Scott, since you seem a bit vague about Spitfire details,  but interested in getting them right,  you may well find it easier to ask what about your intended subject is specifically, preferably with a reference photo, and take it from there,  as that will allow the fine details to be pinned down.

23 minutes ago, scotthldr said:

However is the Rotol spinner the pointed or blunt version?

On the V,  the pointed one. but the II has a blunt one....  Spitfire props and spinner can get complex

the first is a DH prop, the 2nd is a Rotol, not also different blade shapes.

this may help

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235052956-spitfire-v-b-vs-c-wing-and-uc-details-and-prop-variants/

 

 

 

Kit wise, 

The SH kit is really your only choice for a Vc OOB,  though Eduard will probably do one in time.  The SH kit get a lot of grief for being a little short, but unless you are a really Spit buff, you'd not notice (I've seen some right tosh written about the SH kit as well) 

Airfix missed a trick by not tooling up a C wing for their new tool kit as well.   It's not tha hard to convert one.

this is worth a read, as it deals with differences

 

HTH

 

 

 

[Graham Boak]

Conversion from a B is not that hard, as long as you remember to change the rake on the undercarriage legs and check that the kit does provide the windscreen with the integral armoured pane, universal on the VC but only on late VBs.  Plus check whether the aircraft you want has the common wide cannon bulge or the rarer single bulge, neither in the same place as the bulges on the Vb.  You can see the revised elevator with extended horn on the Mk.V but rare to very rare.  I think you are better sticking to a kit that comes with the C wing.  There are other subtleties in the production run but perhaps best ignored for now.

 

There are a few Mk.Vs with the blunt Rotol spinner as seen on the Mk.II but only very early (but including VBs).  See examples in Wojtek Matusiak's Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V Vol.2 from Stratus: possibly in vol.1 too but I don't have it to hand to check.  

[scotthldr]

Thanks Troy and Graham for the advice and info. 
 

The intended subject is a Spitfire Vc of the Royal Hellenic Air Force circa 1945/46 maybe later. I’d more than likely be using the LM decal sheet. https://www.lmdecals.gr/index.php/en/1-48-scale-decals/186-royal-hellenic-air-force-spitfire-mkv-greek-lm-48003

 

 

The build would be either JK809, JK652 or JK982 in the later distressed scheme, if you open the link at the bottom of the page I linked to above you can see some photographs of the subjects.

 

I don’t mind having to get resin/etch am goodies but don’t want to start having to cut and shut a kit and rescribing etc ..... I’ve seen reference on here by yourself Troy that minor surgery has to be done on the SH kit to get the trailing wing root into the correct position, that I don’t mind doing.

Edited June 12, 2021 by scotthldr

[Seawinder]

Apparently Eduard has announced they're releasing a Mk. Vc this August, initially as part of a dual combo Vb/Vc. I'm sure individual boxings will follow shortly thereafter. If it were I, I'd wait for them to arrive based on my enjoyment of their Mk. IX kits.

[Rolls-Royce]

1 hour ago, Seawinder said:

Apparently Eduard has announced they're releasing a Mk. Vc this August, initially as part of a dual combo Vb/Vc. I'm sure individual boxings will follow shortly thereafter. If it were I, I'd wait for them to arrive based on my enjoyment of their Mk. IX kits.

Here's a thread on HS: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/eduard-will-release-a-spitfire-vc-that-s-right-a-f-t524317.html

[Tbolt]

2 hours ago, Rolls-Royce said:

Here's a thread on HS: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/eduard-will-release-a-spitfire-vc-that-s-right-a-f-t524317.html

You can't says HS here! 🤣

 

More appropriately the thread here - 

 

[scotthldr]

Thanks all for your invaluable information, the Eduard kit sounds very promising so I'll hold on until it hits the shelves.

[alt-92]

If I'm not mistaken the Vc is further away, they'll start with Vb 

[gingerbob]

Vb is pretty much already done, considering the IIb.

[Phoenix44]

On 16/06/2021 at 10:07, alt-92 said:

If I'm not mistaken the Vc is further away, they'll start with Vb 

No, the Vc is in the August dual package. 

 

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/EDK11149?result-token=R4M2W