AIRES 1/48 - Spitfire MK. V Resin Cockpit Set

[PlasticUtopia]

Recently, I spied this on ebay for and decided to buy it for my build that I will be starting very soon.

 

 

 

describing it as...

 

AIRES (4458) 1/48 - Spitfire MK. V Resin Cockpit Set

 

For Tamiya MK.V Spitfire kit.

Still sealed.

 

UK bidders only.

Please see my other listings.

 

Now, it's description was as a...

I have looked for a video on youtube to see the tutorial conversion of said cockpit to my Spitfire Mk V Tamiya, but to no avail.

Have I purchased just a cockpit build or a cockpit that I can actually convert into the build mentioned above? Does the side panels fit over the existing instrumentation or do i have to remove the whole panel and replace with the Airies kit?

 

It was fairly cheap at 4.99...

Edited April 6, 2022 by PlasticUtopia
Spelling Correction

[gingerbob]

Aires is infamous for needing to thin the kit plastic to a vanishing point in order to (hopefully) make it fit.  This would most likely apply to the sidewalls in particular.  I would recommend a pre-emptive dose of patience, and a great deal of careful test-fitting not just of each component, but of how one component fits in relation to things around it- for this I'm particularly envisioning the bottom part, and how it meets the sidewalls and wing underneath it.  Remember, too, that even if you can force the fuselage around the cockpit, if that makes it end up wider than God (aka Tamiya) intended, that will affect the fit of the wing and possibly its dihedral.

[Troy Smith]

3 hours ago, PlasticUtopia said:

or a cockpit that I can actually convert into the build mentioned above? Does the side panels fit over the existing instrumentation or do i have to remove the whole panel and replace with the Airies kit?

You could just build it as a stand alone cockpit.... but, not you remove most of the Tamiya deatil, and replace it.

As @gingerbob notes, Aires are not famous for  fitting well.

Given you said you are a beginner,  I suspect this may end up as an exercise in frustration.  

 

If you really want to start down this pathway of detail and accuracy (and as both I and bob will attest) you can often find you end doing awful lot of research and inconsequential twiddling with not a lot to show for it...... I mean, you learn things, and can pass on your experiences,  but it's not great for getting a finished model.....

 

 

3 hours ago, PlasticUtopia said:

 

It was fairly cheap at 4.99...

You could just use some of it,   you can even just remove parts of resin details.....

 

If you really want a detailed and accurate Spitfire Vb,  (or any of the Merlin engine family they do) buy an  Eduard kit, the level of detail out the box is close to the cockpit set above, a profipack will add etch parts like seatbelts and the instrument panel, and they include masks for the canopy  and it should all fit, though they are fiddly and require care, with that you can make a really stunning model straight out the box...

 

As I suggested in your Spitfire Vb thread,  to start, keep it simple,  work on the basics,  a super detailed cockpit is fab, but it's only really visible close up with a torch or a macro lens,  

Out the box the Tamiya kit is a really well fitting cleverly engineered kit,  though has some shape accuracy issues (which I think are dealt with in a build Iinked for you, including my fixes) ,  as I said in my OOB Hurricane build,  aim to got the darn thing finished, with everything done as well as you can, adding layer of aftermarket complexity can just be paralysing,  as the more you invest in build  in time effort and money, the more you get worried about messing it up..... and that will before you have even painted or decalled the thing.....

 

Modelling is partly about the journey,  but you can get lost and forget about the destination....

 

cheers

T

 

 

[Seawinder]

To add to Troy's excellent post, IMHO you have to ask yourself how much of all that detail will be readily visible once the model is completed and whether it will be worth the large amount of work necessary to get it installed. I generally like to replace the seats in my Spitfire models, so that might be a good part of the Airies set to use, although they haven't made it particularly easy to remove it from its casting block. I've also used Eduard PE instrument panels, although it's surprisingly hard to see without craning one's neck once everything's closed up. The Airies stick certainly looks better than the kit part and would be pretty uncomplicated to substitute.