A Tale of Two Fires

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

I've taken a bit of a battering in the mojo stakes lately, so I wanted something uncomplicated for my next build. I was perusing the stash and eyed up Airfix' 1:48 Mk.Ia Spitfire, and thought 'nah, boring'. I then happened to catch sight of Special Hobby's 1:48 Seafire F Mk. XV, and the germ of an idea was born. 💡 What about a build which spanned the wartime service of this iconic aircraft? As I thought about this, more interesting juxtapositions came to mind:

 

- Special Hobby vs. Airfix

- RAF vs. FAA

- Merlin vs. Griffon

- Cannon vs. machine gun
 

So, here we go. Here's the box art of the Spit:

 

 

Now I've never particularly been a fan of early Spit schemes, but my self-imposed bookending of WW2 directs me towards this scheme:

 

 

FY*Q of 611 (West Lancashire) Sqn RAF based at Duxford in Autumn 1939 - perfect! Here's a photo of the aircraft:

 

 

It's difficult to tell from the photo the shape of the canopy, but the kit shows a bulged version so I'll go with that unless I see some definitive evidence to the contrary. This aircraft also has the early windscreen armour, a lack of seatback armour, and the early pole-style antenna. Along with the distinctive lighter fuselage roundels, the aluminium & white/black undersides will surely add some visual interest - I'm liking it the more I look at it! Here's the sprue shots:

 

 

 

You can see a selection of canopy options here:

 

 

The decals look lovely:

 

 

I have a couple of extras to add to the build, which will otherwise be OOB:

 

 

My second subject will be Seafire F Mk.XV 13-9/T of 806 Sqn FAA, based at Trincomalee, Ceylon in Summer 1945 - perfect again! Here's the box art:

 

 

I cannot find a photo of 13-9/T, but here's another aircraft from 806 aboard HMS Implacable, which clearly came to an ignominious end in early1946:

 

 

Here's the scheme:

 

 

In a bizarre twist of fate, NEITHER AIRCRAFT HAS A VISIBLE SERIAL NUMBER!!!! The comparisons in this build are going to be endless (and possibly tiresome).

 

Here's the sprue shots (3 for SH vs. 5 for Airfix):

 

 

 

 

There's a small PE fret:

 

 

The decals look straightforward enough:

 

 

That instrument panel looks distinctly dodgy - will avoid it, methinks. I may need to spray the wingwalk lines - did Seafires even have these? 

 

Anyway, off we toddle on A Tale of Two Fires - please feel welcome to join me on the quest!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

 

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2021 by Dunny
Seafire boxart added

[neil5208]

Interesting build, is the Special Hobby kit a recent issue?

[Dunny]

12 minutes ago, neil5208 said:

Interesting build, is the Special Hobby kit a recent issue?

Hi Neil,

 

According to the instructions it's 2012 - the 'Far East Service' boxing,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

Very nice choices Roger, love the Airfix Spitfires and a  SH Seafire too  like the Ferrero Roche ambassador,  you are really spoiling us here😃  will definitely follow with much interest fella.  

Have you thought about the undercarriage legs of the Airfix kit , due to the way they go together. Might be worth getting them sorted early on for strength . 

Good luck with your builds

Chris 

[Dunny]

5 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Very nice choices Roger, love the Airfix Spitfires and a  SH Seafire too  like the Ferrero Roche ambassador,  you are really spoiling us here😃  will definitely follow with much interest fella.  

Have you thought about the undercarriage legs of the Airfix kit , due to the way they go together. Might be worth getting them sorted early on for strength . 

Good luck with your builds

Chris 

Thanks Chris! I know the Airfix u/c legs are problematic so I may well look at them early on. Looking forward to this one,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

1 minute ago, Dunny said:

Thanks Chris! I know the Airfix u/c legs are problematic so I may well look at them early on. Looking forward to this one,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

No worries Fella, the Airfix kits,  I think are lovely and with care go together very well.  Not built a SH one yet , but have a few in the Stash. Looking forward to this too.

Chris

 

[Grey Beema]

I’m in.  You gotta love a Spitfire and Seafire build.  

 

I’ve built two of the Airfix Spitfires both as BoB aircraft flown by FAA pilots and four SH Seafires (MkII & 3 x MkIII) but never a MkXV (though I have 2 x MkXVII and a Mk47 in the stash) so interested on how this one goes.

 

Drill and pin the Airfix U/C, make up some tabs to align the SH Fuselage (and watch out for the ghost seam on the cowling), oh and enjoy.  That’s my advice for what it’s worth..

 

[Dunny]

5 minutes ago, Grey Beema said:

I’m in.  You gotta love a Spitfire and Seafire build.  

 

I’ve built two of the Airfix Spitfires both as BoB aircraft flown by FAA pilots and four SH Seafires (MkII & 3 x MkIII) but never a MkXV (though I have 2 x MkXVII and a Mk47 in the stash) so interested on how this one goes.

 

Drill and pin the Airfix U/C, make up some tabs to align the SH Fuselage (and watch out for the ghost seam on the cowling), oh and enjoy.  That’s my advice for what it’s worth..

 

Thanks GB - sage advice I shall surely heed,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[stevehnz]

Hi Roger, while this may not be my scale it is definitely my subject(s) so I'll be popping in from time to time. I'm keen to do a Seafire in those colours too.

Steve.

[Dunny]

38 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

Hi Roger, while this may not be my scale it is definitely my subject(s) so I'll be popping in from time to time. I'm keen to do. Seafire in those colours too.

Steve.

Welcome aboard Steve! The Seafire scheme is most attractive I agree,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[jackroadkill]

These look very cool, and could be the kick up the backside I need to start my own very early mk1 Spitfire build (well, once I've finished the Beaufighter, and the Tempest and got an armoured car [I don't even do armour; it's a long story] and the Me262 started, anyway).  What's the plan for the builds - will you do them simultaneously or one before the other?

[Dunny]

8 hours ago, jackroadkill said:

These look very cool, and could be the kick up the backside I need to start my own very early mk1 Spitfire build (well, once I've finished the Beaufighter, and the Tempest and got an armoured car [I don't even do armour; it's a long story] and the Me262 started, anyway).  What's the plan for the builds - will you do them simultaneously or one before the other?

Welcome aboard jrk - sounds like you've over-committed 🤣

 

I'll build them simultaneously, as it will be interesting to compare the engineering of the 2 kits. Along with the well-known weakness in Airfix' u/c, and any SH kit, what could possibly go wrong?!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

Some progress on both 'fires today. First up I couldn't resist doing a quick fuselage comparison:

 

 

The SH plastic is much harder than Auntie's, whose panel lines are also deeper. Otherwise both have a perfectly acceptable level of surface detail to my eye, and you can clearly see the extra fuselage length to accommodate the Griffon.

 

Next I drilled out the exhausts - here's the Seafire's before & after:

 

 

And here's the Mk.I's:

 

 

I achieved the ovality just by rolling the drill bit around in the original hole - doesn't look too bad to my eye!

 

Next I drilled out the cockpit bulkheads:

 

 

You can see that I broke through on the left hand side - proceed with caution with the very hard plastic. Next I addressed the major flaw with the Mk.I - the undercarriage legs. Here's the locating lugs for the oleos as presented in the kit:

 

 

You can see on the right hand one I've removed the location lug in preparation for drilling. Here's both with the pins fitted (I used 0.5mm brass rod):

 

 

Finally, here's the legs drilled and shown assembled:

 

 

It's frankly laughable that you have to do this on a recently tooled mainstream kit to get a workable u/c - rant over 🤬

 

I'm off to start priming - may update again later,

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

Excellent start Roger, exhausts look great fella and at least the UC legs will be stronger. I can see why Airfix have done it as you have to add the mounts early on and the legs will be vulnerable to breaking .  

Looking forward to seeing some paint go on .

Chris

 

[Dunny]

3 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Excellent start Roger, exhausts look great fella and at least the UC legs will be stronger. I can see why Airfix have done it as you have to add the mounts early on and the legs will be vulnerable to breaking .  

Looking forward to seeing some paint go on .

Chris

 

Thanks Chris - that was about the extent of progress as life got in the way!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

5 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Thanks Chris - that was about the extent of progress as life got in the way!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Ah yes, I know what you mean, I was hoping to get some modelling done yesterday, but thought I had better finish painting the hallway first and it took longer than I anticipated thanks to all the door frames!!! Still brownie points earned will be useful!!!

Chris

[Dunny]

4 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Ah yes, I know what you mean, I was hoping to get some modelling done yesterday, but thought I had better finish painting the hallway first and it took longer than I anticipated thanks to all the door frames!!! Still brownie points earned will be useful!!!

Chris

Never underestimate the value of brownie points in a tense stash enhancement negotiation 🤣

[jackroadkill]

7 hours ago, Dunny said:

Welcome aboard jrk - sounds like you've over-committed 🤣

 

I'll build them simultaneously, as it will be interesting to compare the engineering of the 2 kits. Along with the well-known weakness in Airfix' u/c, and any SH kit, what could possibly go wrong?!

 

 

 

Definitely over-committed - I've only been doing this eighteen months and am at a completion rate of just under one per month; my stash is in the mid thirties and the buying rate is about one kit per month too.  However, I seem to add about three per month to the list of kits to build next; I suspect all of this will end in tears, or at least wails of frustration!

 

4 hours ago, Dunny said:

You can see on the right hand one I've removed the location lug in preparation for drilling. Here's both with the pins fitted (I used 0.5mm brass rod)

 

 

4 hours ago, Dunny said:

It's frankly laughable that you have to do this on a recently tooled mainstream kit to get a workable u/c - rant over 🤬

 

This is a bugbear of mine, but I suppose the undercarriage is inherently one of the weakest parts of any kit, as well as one of the fiddliest and noticeable.  I'm at the point now where I assume I'm going to have to drill and pin at least some components of the undercarriage in order to succeed.  Very soon I'll have to fit my Beaufighter's landing gear, which looks like it was made from anaemic vermicelli...

[Dunny]

23 minutes ago, jackroadkill said:

 

Definitely over-committed - I've only been doing this eighteen months and am at a completion rate of just under one per month; my stash is in the mid thirties and the buying rate is about one kit per month too.  However, I seem to add about three per month to the list of kits to build next; I suspect all of this will end in tears, or at least wails of frustration!

 

 

 

 

This is a bugbear of mine, but I suppose the undercarriage is inherently one of the weakest parts of any kit, as well as one of the fiddliest and noticeable.  I'm at the point now where I assume I'm going to have to drill and pin at least some components of the undercarriage in order to succeed.  Very soon I'll have to fit my Beaufighter's landing gear, which looks like it was made from anaemic vermicelli...

You need a graph! I agree that it's frustrating. I don't mind doing it but you would think Auntie would know better. Is that the Revell Beau with the vermicelli u/c? I've only ever built the Tamiya 1:48, which is pretty solid IIRC...

[jackroadkill]

8 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Is that the Revell Beau with the vermicelli u/c?

 

Yeah, you're spot on.  I mean, it's accurate, scale-wise, but it could do with being made from steel or brass so that the strength matches the dimensions.

[Biggles87]

I’m watching also, I keep telling myself to get a SH Seafire.

Good start with the U/C leg.

 

John

[Dunny]

50 minutes ago, Biggles87 said:

I’m watching also, I keep telling myself to get a SH Seafire.

Good start with the U/C leg.

 

John

Welcome aboard John - I have to say the Seafire looks good so far. Will be sure to advise of any pitfalls,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Nickthebrief]

Great subjects for a dual build...

I haven't built the Spitfire but have done the Seafire. I think Special Hobby forgot to delete the external fuselage reinforcing strips - the raised strip that runs along the fuselage just beneath the cockpit door and at the same height on the other side too - which are correct for a Mk III but not a XV....

So a little sanding might be in order, but otherwise I think it went together quite well - and I agree that the scheme looks very smart.

Good luck with the builds and I shall try to follow along.

Cheers,

Nick. 

[Dunny]

On 27/09/2021 at 21:06, Nickthebrief said:

Great subjects for a dual build...

I haven't built the Spitfire but have done the Seafire. I think Special Hobby forgot to delete the external fuselage reinforcing strips - the raised strip that runs along the fuselage just beneath the cockpit door and at the same height on the other side too - which are correct for a Mk III but not a XV....

So a little sanding might be in order, but otherwise I think it went together quite well - and I agree that the scheme looks very smart.

Good luck with the builds and I shall try to follow along.

Cheers,

Nick. 

Thanks Nick,

 

A good tip - will have to look into that a little more. Welcome aboard!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Wlad]

Hello Roger,

 

Nick is correct. Only the prototype Mk XV had the reinforcing strips, so you'll have to sand them off unfortunately.

 

I've built two SH Seafire XVs simultaneously so I have some more tips for you:

1. The propeller blades are too wide. I sanded mine down to size. Luckily I could check out the dimensions on a real Seafire XV. I don't have the size at hand now, though it seems to be the same width as the blades on a 5 blade setup.
2. The seat attachment to the rest of the cockpit is challenging. Be careful with the fine pieces holding the seat.
3. The landing gear is firm, though I could not get one of them to fit properly, so the wheel was toeing out. Happened on both kits.
4. Have fun with the torque links. They need to be carefully filed to fit together and have a lightening hole drilled.
5. The fuselage nose tip isn't perfectly round, and the spinner axle isn't perfectly centred, so I decided to glue the spinner on the fuselage rather than have the whole thing look wonky.
6. The canopy on mine was slightly narrower than the fuselage on both kits. 
7. I used the photo etched instrument panel, with the transparent film provided. I liked the effect. Just paint the back of the film white before attaching it to the photo etch, which should be painted beforehand as well.
8. The light which normally goes behind the antenna mast on a Spitfire, goes on the belly on a Seafire XV, slightly offset to one side. This is from observation of a full size airplane.

All and all, I enjoyed the builds and I'm happy on how they turned out. Not shake and bake, though definitely worth the effort.

 

Cheers,

Wlad