Corrections for the 1/48th Academy Spitfire Mk.XIV kit. Initial research and suggestions.

[Troy Smith]

Been meaning to do this properly, but having just typed a PM response,  it still has the Flickr links as text, so i can just cut and paste in.

 

I have posted on this before, and this is a partial set of fixes, which need some further tweaks, clarifications and additions.  

The  Airfix XIV low back makes correcting the Academy XIV low back a bit pointless unless you like fixing kits, but since there is not a Airfix XIV high back, and they say they won't do one (stupid IMO, as just needs a new tree for fuselage and some interior, and a a canopy, bundles this in with a low back, and people will buy it for the high back to kit bash with the Airfix 22/24 kit....but I digress) 

 

Reams and reams of vitriol and  tosh have been written about the Academy kits,    along with two 'correction' sets, by Daco and KMC, neither of which really 'fix' the kit anyway.    They also don't  list what is wrong, and is it fixable.   As most of the mistakes are due being oversize, it's mostly about doing some surgery to reduce this. 

The following is really a 'recipe' for the fixes. 

Doing the lot is long project,  just fixing the nose and wing thickness really helps. 

 

Now, there are other ways to do a highback XIV,  the most detail is to graft the Airfix nose, tail and radiators onto an Eduard Mk.VIII, great result if you have both kits.

A cheaper option is to make or graft a  new spine to the Airfix low back.

 

the long gone Hobbycraft XIV kit (which was available really cheaply 10-12 years ago in a Kitech box)  is actually very good shapewise, but feels like a 80's 72nd kit scaled up to 1/48th. 

I mention this as even as is, it could be the basis of a decent shelf model, or with 'some modelling skill' something surprisingly good. 

 

Anyway, as John Adams once pointed out, the only accurate bit of the Academy kit is the tail.  

The problems with the Academy XIV stems from poor drawings (as does their 48th Hunter kit) 

classic garbage in-garbage out....  

So, what are the problems?

Most obvious is the nose, it's too deep, and the nose ring is too big, making the spinner too big.  This is what the correction kits 'fix'

In fact, the entire fuselage is a bit deep, and the wing is too thick. It's also too far back, and too broad in chord (shared with the old tool Tamiya Mk.I/Vb BTW) 

There are other problems, but these are smaller.  the fuselage is OK in plan view. 

 

Correcting the Academy kit is not really difficult,  but there are a load of corrections to make, using mostly just the base kit parts, and there are suggestions for alternate parts from other kits which can be utilised as well.

 

One saving grace, most of the panel lines are in the right place and are finely engraved.  

 

You will find a beading tool to re-do the fasteners on the cowl is a handy tool to have 

they used to be cheaper https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185308062546  

but metal tube of the right size can be used instead.  

 

I have done the preliminaries of the fixes,  this is on the Academy XIV lowback, but most apply to the high back as well.  This is a 'work in progress'  

 

Academy vs Aeroclub.   Note they are lined up on the cutting mat lines

top left, Aeroclub, top right  Corrected Academy.  The rocker bulges needs work.  Note the exhaust slot is too low and has been raised, cut out at top and plastic strip at lower edge, by 1mm IIRC.

BL uncorrected Acad vs Aeroclub.

this shows the too deep nose well, 

 

50620904 by losethekibble, on Flickr

 

fixing the nose ring and depth,  cuts allow the nose ring to be squeezed to right size,  cut in cowl brings up lower cowl line.  Wing need thinning by approx 1mm as well

Spit academy nose mod DSCF0709_zpssziaklh8 by losethekibble, on Flickr

 

lowback Acad , the back half is uncorrected, note the orange pen on the edges, both upper/lower rear have been back with plastic and sanded down. Y0ou can see the reduction in the nose ring, and the exhaust riser strip.

50620907 by losethekibble, on Flickr

 

wings

L is as is Acad, R is corrected, that is an ICM wing.  Wings is too broad at centre chord.   Remove ailerons and reshape, mpre at rear than front. Flap lines will need filling and rescribing on lower wing. 

50620909 by losethekibble, on Flickr

 

lower wing

as is left, corrected right.  You can see the difference. 

50620911 by losethekibble, on Flickr

notre the wells are too shallow, and need cutting out, and the wheel part is litle large.  Partly done.  Can't remember aileron details. 

 

50620909 by losethekibble, on Flickr

 

the wing is too far back. pencil lines from cockpit door is the bulkhead the rear of the wing joins too.   Note how far the wing is moved forward.   The wing needs thinning at the front to bring it up to meet the new lower cowl lines.

50620908 by losethekibble, on Flickr

 

Note, the 1/48th Airfix Spitfire XII and Seafire XVII have the same too deep fuselage wing shape and position problems as well.  The same fixes apply to these.

 

the spinner is unfixable.   A spare is the leftover spinner from the Airfix Seafire 46/47, if you do the 47 with the contra prop. The Academy blades are not too bad.

 

To do, the Radiators, which also need work..

 

Various leftover Eduard Spitfire bits can be used as well, as all their kits come with multiple options of UC legs, wheels and various other useful bits.  

 

This, is, a part done project,  I do have an untouched Academy XIV high back,  which I may as well lack up to see if this is easier second time around,  as the hard bit is defining the faults, and working out the fixes I think.

 

If you have got this far, why bother?

Well, perhaps you might want to expand your modelling skill, and you have one of these in the stash doing nothing else, and there is a degree of satisfaction to be gained by fixing up a kit. 

 

Not sure when this will get added too, (ad likely need some edits)  as I'm not always in the right frame of mind for this kind of project,  but if you have questions, or suggestions,  post away.

 

 

 

 

[ilj]

Brilliant summary of why the 1/48 Academy XIV high back kit looks so odd.  Thanks for posting!

 

I would advise, if you want an easy route to a 1/48 scale high back XIVe and/or a high back XIVc, go with Paul Budzik's advice in his videos.  The high back XIVe is simple as the Airfix XIVe low back has the appropriate wing, so all you need to do is add the spine (wood or plastic).  The Eduard VIII conversion is more complicated and it gives you an XIVc.  I recently completed both, with my moderate skills, and neither conversion was very difficult.

 

ilj

 

[Lusitanian]

I too have been frustrated with the Academy kit.  I live in the hope that Eduard will someday produce a splendid kit of the Mk.XIV, but they seem to have moved on to other subjects and have stopped giving the Spitfire their attention.

[GiampieroSilvestri]

Combining the complete Airfix Spitfire MkXIV with the spine of an Eduard model would be the cheapest option as a weekend edition kit is available for around 15 Euro here in Germany.

 

Saluti

 

Giampiero

[Bozothenutter]

I love it when people hack up kits like this!

Doing something similar with two Mustangs and mulling over two more....