Jump to content

Tamiya's new 1/32 Spitfire pictures


Recommended Posts

That's going to make a lot of people very happy!.................until the rivet counters jump all over it :lol:

They'll have a job; they were flush-rivetted, by then.

Edgar

Link to post
Share on other sites
That's going to make a lot of people very happy!.................until the rivet counters jump all over it :lol:

The colours are all wrong too! ;)

My wallet will suffer though. Looks lovely.

Phil.

Link to post
Share on other sites
They'll have a job; they were flush-rivetted, by then.

Edgar

Hey Edgar, notice something we were talking about on another thread when I said I cannot understand why they cannot take skin joints to the next level from raised lines to inscribed lines to with the latest standards of moulding now accurate looking overlapping skins, and Blow me down, they have gone and done it, that's what lifts that external picture showing the wing root panels and tank panels as they are in real life., no raised lines or trenches.............. stunning :)

It makes it look real. the rest ain't bad either in a jaw dropping way :)

Link to post
Share on other sites
Hey Edgar, notice something we were talking about on another thread when I said I cannot understand why they cannot take skin joints to the next level from raised lines to inscribed lines to with the latest standards of moulding now accurate looking overlapping skins, and Blow me down, they have gone and done it, that's what lifts that external picture showing the wing root panels and tank panels as they are in real life., no raised lines or trenches.............. stunning :)

It makes it look real. the rest ain't bad either in a jaw dropping way :)

Apparently, there's been some waffle about a seam along the wing's leading edge, and how it should be on show. 'Fraid not; by January, 1943, the front 20% (minimum) of the wing was smoothed, which involved filling in all rivet "divots," and panel lines, especially those at right-angles to the airflow, smoothing, then painting (with "type S" paints, incidentally, not matt,) then a final smoothing. One (very) minor gaffe is the position of the oxygen bottle; on the IX there were two, and they were positioned right at the back, near the starboard inspection hatch (probably to help counterbalance the longer, heavier engine,) not just behind the pilot. It's entirely possible, of course, that one was moved back post-war.

Edgar

Edited by Edgar
Link to post
Share on other sites

I've just revisited this thread because . . .

well, bearing in mind the exquisite detail, I was wondering if (or how) Tamiya was going to protect said detail. For example, the rear spine: two conventional halves whereas I would have thought that a 'saddle' arrangement would have been far more effective and, more importantly, would not need filling and sanding thereby destroying all the detail. The same arrangement could be used on the underside aft of the wings – but the best bit about that is that one could get the 'overlapping' panel joints, as referred to by TonyT in post 16, as a bonus!

Unfortunately, looking at the pics again, we're gonna be rescribing . . .

Link to post
Share on other sites
...I cannot understand why they cannot take skin joints to the next level from raised lines to inscribed lines to with the latest standards of moulding now accurate looking overlapping skins

I hate to break this to you, but there hasn't been a whole lot of innovation in styrene injection molding technology in the past 60 years. We're pretty much still doing it the same way it's always been done. True, we now have computer controlled milling machines, but the really fine detail work in mold cavities is still (and always will be) done by hand by craftsmen. The better the craftsman, the better the mold, the better the model. We've always had the *ability* to replicate lapped skin joints, it's just that it would be fantastically expensive to do it. Nothing magic about the ability to do it though. We've got "slide mold" technology now, but that's still nothing that hasn't been around for decades.

The difference now is that we (you and I) have, just like with our automobiles, raised the bar that we expect kit manufacturers to reach. What was "wow!" 25 years go is now just so-so or average. We expect more "wow!" from every new kit, and some manufacturers (Tamiya among them) are striving to keep raising that bar. The Spit IX is a prime example. Would the car you were driving 35-40 years ago, even when shiny new, be considered "adequate" today? 40 years ago I certainly didn't have electric windows, factory cruise control, automatic climate control, etc, etc, etc. But today those things are the bog standard for 90% of cars on the road.

So, nothing new under the sun. Just new ways to exploit it, and more notes lifted out of the wallet to get it...

J

Edited by Jennings Heilig
Link to post
Share on other sites
The difference now is that we (you and I) have, just like with our automobiles, raised the bar that we expect kit manufacturers to reach. J

A fair and good point, and one which bears consideration when people reflect on the prices of modern kits. The amount of work that goes in has increased, and the size of the market has fallen considerably since the 1960s. Without fundamental changes in technology - which as you point out, we have not seen in injection-moulded plastic for a long time - there's really only one way that prices can go in the long run in such circumstances.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...