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Hobby Boss 1/32 Spitfire Vb Trop with Tamiya Merlin engine


Alan P

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Hi all,

 

Trying something new with this tried and tested Hobby Boss kit of the tropicalised Spitfire Vb. This model is intended to complement the 1/32 Spitfire Vc I'm also planning to build over the winter!

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The box! Nice artwork of Wg Cdr Ian Gleed's clipped and cropped Vb with the Aboukir filter.

 

My intention is to build it with an interchangeable nose section so I can swap out the exposed full engine nose for the streamlined covered version using magnets. Quite ambitious, but technically possible! I'll be building it as AB502, Ian Gleed's Vb of 244 Wing.

 

All the best,

Alan

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On 8/31/2023 at 9:44 PM, modelling minion said:

Welcome to the GB Alan, can't fault your choice of Spit Vb Trop as I think the big Vokes filter under the nose makes the Spit look mean and purposeful.

Thank you Craig 🙂 Looking forward to getting started. It'll be a smaller Aboukir filter, I'm nicking the Vokes filter for an Aussie Vc described HERE

 

21 hours ago, 81-er said:

This should be a fine build with your skills, Alan :)

That's very kind James, and not piling on the pressure, not at all! :lol:

 

On 8/31/2023 at 11:19 PM, stevej60 said:

Look forward to this one Alan I really like this kit built one a year or two back.

Cheers Steve, looks like a nice kit by all accounts - I'll be replacing the windscreen with a Revell one but apart from that this'll make a nice Vb - planning to do the Ian Gleed clipped wing version from the box decals.

 

Alan

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Looks like I'm starting a bit later than planned, but hopefully this won't be a long build!

 

But I have started! Here's the kit intro, it's not one you see very often:

 

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Looks like a nicely presented, detailed kit in this big scale.

 

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Finely moulded detail on the firewall - the kit includes an engine, but more on that later!

 

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Sidewall detail is reasonable, even though much of it isn't very visible in the Spitfire's tight cockpit.

 

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Most of the cockpit controls are represented, if not to Tamiya standards then at least there's something to see. The perforated bulkheads are nice too. The seat and controls are very nicely presented with some intricate construction.

 

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Superfluous rib detail on the control surfaces, but I'm not really fussing about peak accuracy on this build.

 

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Five-spoke wheels are interesting with the big heart shapes! Vinyl tyres are provided and I will probably use them rather than adding aftermarket.

 

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All the gun bays are provided with gun details and ammo belts, but I won't be using them. The kit provides clear gun bay covers for these, for whatever reason :hmmm:

 

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Hispano barrels are integrated with the cannon fairings, which is a good option in my opinion - very much reduces the chance of knocking them off once fitted!

 

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One of the really great features of this kit is the inclusion of both types of tropical filter and what looks like a 90-gal slipper tank. Though not used for this build, they will be very useful spares for other Spit builds.

 

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Surface detail is...generous. I won't be filling in all these rivets, but I certainly won't be highlighting them with washes etc either. 

 

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It does look very nice on the fuselage though:

 

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Again, I won't be highlighting these, but they'll add a bit of texture to the finished model.

 

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Instrument panel is interesting again, the kit provides a decal for the instrument faces.

 

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The one proper mistake with the kit as presented is the front canopy - it has the bulbous side windows and separate external armour plating of the earlier marks.

 

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I will be replacing this with a canopy section stolen from the Revell Mk.IX.

 

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Seat harness and armour plate is provided as photoetch parts (only the top half of the armour though :hmmm:)

 

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Instructions look well-presented again, with clear directions for parts placement, colour callouts (given as Mr Color numbers) and where to drill holes.

 

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Big A3 size painting chart with the two decal options on each side.

 

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Of course, the obligatory TrumpyBoss typo errors are included!

 

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The other colour option has the big Vokes filter attached. I'll be using that for a future Australian Vc project.

 

Well, that's a big intro for what looks to be a nice, straightforward build! This Hobby Boss kit is pretty reasonable in price (about £35 for a detailed 1/32 Spitfire!) but not without its faults - purists don't like the cross-sectional shape of the fuselage behind the cockpit, but it got the Edgar Brooks seal of approval for the profile shape, so that's good enough for me! Generally it gets unfavourably compared to the much older Hasegawa Vb Trop, but try finding one of those for the same price.

 

So, I'll be working on this throughout the week when I get time, look forward to joining in!

 

Alan

 

 

 

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Okay, there's one thing I deliberately left out of the intro, and that's the engine.

 

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As seen in the instructions in the last post, there is a 'full' engine option provided in the kit but it's quite a clumsy affair. The engine bearers are provided along with some nice wiring, but to facilitate using the cover panels, there is this weird framework around the engine.

 

So I came up with a plan, referenced in the original intro post...

 

I recently took possession of a beautiful GWH P-40 kit, This incredible kit features probably the most genius design for displaying the engine I've ever seen (and I hope everyone copies it!) The whole front of the engine from the firewall forward is attached to the airframe by a large magnet, enabling a full nose section or the fully exposed engine to be interchanged in their entirety, thus dispensing with engine covers or little magnets like Tamiya. I reckon this kit provides enough scope to replicate that technique, so this will be a test bed for that.

 

For the engine I have decided to use one of the extraordinary Eduard Brassin engines from their set for the Tamiya Mosquito (if it doesn't work, I can always use one of the Tamiya engines to complete the task!)

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This engine has over sixty parts, so that should keep me busy! 

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So...if I can get this to work, it should end up a really interesting build! And if I do chicken out halfway through, I can always just glue the covered up nose straight back on and be done with it.

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Build starts soon....

 

Alan

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Started in the cockpit as is customary!

 

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Just to give you something to look at! It's a pleasingly patient build up with some nice details on the seat and cockpit 'floor' (wisely, it doesn't have one). The seat looks a bit oversized, but it'll do.

 

Alan

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  • Alan P changed the title to Hobby Boss 1/32 Spitfire Vb Trop Started at last!
4 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

Great to see your build underway Alan.

Thanks Craig, good to see you pounce on this straightaway :lol: your tireless and exemplary encouragement is a key positive of any BM groupbuild :thumbsup2:

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1 minute ago, Alan P said:

Thanks Craig, good to see you pounce on this straightaway :lol: your tireless and exemplary encouragement is a key positive of any BM groupbuild :thumbsup2:

Thats very kind of you to say Alan, and much appreciated. I try to keep on top of peoples updates ans always leave a reply to an update as it is what I would like a host to do when I take part in a GB, not too tricky on a smaller STGB but this one is very popular and certainly keeping me on my toes!

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Jumped over from the F-35 build with you.

That’s a very impressive engine, it would take me longer than the entire GB period just to build that, I’m assuming that you will leave it exposed.

 

John 

PS watch out for the flimsy seat attachments.

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I'm not sure if it bothers you too much, but to make Ian Gleed's aircraft, not only was it fitted with the Aboukir filter but the clipped wing end covers were also manufactured by 103 MU.  Slightly more rounded and made of wood, they did not have any position lights fitted in them like the standard LF clipped wing end covers.

Eduard supply these as a 3D printed option in their Spitfire Southern Star kit to make a Mark Vb or Vc as modified by 103 MU at Aboukir.

Not sure if they are available in 1/32nd scale but I thought I should inform you of this difference.

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1 hour ago, Retired Bob said:

I'm not sure if it bothers you too much...but I thought I should inform you of this difference.

Thanks for the info, Rob. I checked some photos and it appears to be the case with several 244 Wing aircraft, so it might be worth considering. I generally put aesthetics before historical accuracy but that sounds like quite a unique feature worth reproducing 👍

 

Something else I noticed in the famous photo of Gleed shortly before his last sortie was that his aircraft appears to have no headrest and possibly additional armour plate:

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205209069

This is a bit of a bummer as the Hobby Boss kit has a very chunky headrest and removing it now it's assembled would be quite a headache!

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15 minutes ago, Alan P said:

 but that sounds like quite a unique feature worth reproducing 👍

It was a new fact for me as well Alan, I only found out about the wing tips when I bought the Eduard Southern Star kit, confirmed in the WingLeader Spitfire Mk.V book.

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The other thing I forgot to mention was the lower nose cowling panel which is slightly bulged similar to PR Spitfires. I tried to amend mine but was not satisfied with the result and invested in one from Grey Matters which also includes the Aboukir filter.

 

John

PS also forgot to mention that I made a little ‘step’  ( which won’t be seen ) on the back armour to support the seat and take some of the strain off the lower attachments.

 

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4 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

The other thing I forgot to mention was the lower nose cowling panel which is slightly bulged similar to PR Spitfires. I tried to amend mine but was not satisfied with the result and invested in one from Grey Matters which also includes the Aboukir filter.

Good call John, Eduard missed that one and only give the standard lower nose cowling panel.  I had another look at the photos and profile of Gleed's aircraft in the WingLeader book, his and other sqn Spitfires show no headrests fitted (but the profile does??) the modellers notes point out that the camouflage pattern was "more flowing" than standard pattern and the serial number was 6 inches high not the normal 8 inches, indicating a sqn re-paint, probably when they applied his personal, blue, IR-G codes.

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That looks like a decent kit for the money, Alan, even if it has the odd issue. I really like your idea about the magnetic front ends too, hopefully it works out as it'll be a great addition. 

 

James

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5 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

I made a little ‘step’  ( which won’t be seen ) on the back armour to support the seat and take some of the strain off the lower attachments

I'm not really sure what you mean here, John...the seat seems to attach very neatly to the three 'prongs' sticking out from the rear frame and they locate securely in the three holes on the back of the seat 🤔

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Progress continued despite a weekend of drama at home (don't ask!)

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Deleted the headrest. The slot for the seatbelts is missing, but I have a plan for that!

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Used these snazzy Lion Roar hex bolt heads, applied on a wet coat of Klear. This quickly evaporates leaving a tidy and invisible bond.

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Basic painting of the interior completed, I used MRP Interior Grey Green for the base colour.

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Detail colours were all Vallejo Model Colour and Mr Metal Color metalizers.

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Not going fully detailed with this build because the F-35 I did for the Go Large GB completely drained my enthusiasm for wiring :hypnotised:

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Paper seat and oxygen bottle are works in progress but coming along well.

 

Still kind of hoping this will be a nice relaxing build. I may well shelve my plan for the engine and just build this more or less OOB with a few tweaks. I have a lot more Spitfires on my build list for the next year, so this could just end up being an amuse-bouche. Then again, why miss a good opportunity to try something new/different?

 

Cheers,

Alan

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  • Alan P changed the title to Hobby Boss 1/32 Spitfire Vb Trop with Brassin Merlin engine

Thats nice work on the cockpit Alan, those bolt heads are really nice and certainly make a difference to the look of the headrest. Very neat job on the main painting too and the details are coming along very well too.

There's no pressure for super detailing here, if you want a nice hassle free OOTB build then thats fine, its your model so you build it how you want.

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