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Airfix 1/48 Spitfire Mk.1 & Mk.9


Doug

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Hi All,

Whilst on holiday I managed to pick up the two kits mentioned above, can anyone give me any information about them, I.e. are they Airfix toolings, are they good kits? do they make good replicas when finished?

Any information would be gratefully received, as I know nothing about them.

Doug.

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Yes, they are Airfix kits. The MkIX came first and is fairly accurate if somewhat crude in detail, the wings in particular could use a bit of sanding down vacform style to reduce thickness a little. It could also use a new prop and rudder. It can be built into a nice replica from the box though, with a bit of time and care.

The MkI is finer and builds very nicely. There are many examples on the internet if you need inspiration.

John

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I have to say that I wasn't very impressed with the Airfix MkIX. Chunky, wings are too thick, the wing tips therefore don't fit. General fit wasn't very good. Don't think it is the Otaki kit but I'm not sure.

Here's mine if it helps.

AirfixMkIX.jpg

The MkI however was much better. The cockpit canopy is too thick and cannot be displayed open though.

AirfixMkI_2.jpg

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That Otaki Spitfire MkVIII's been around. It was boxed by Arii and Matchbox as well.

Joseph

As have a lot of the good Otaki kits. The Hellcat and Corsair - both still perfectly decent kits - also came out in Arii and Airfix boxes. The Corsair also came out as a Matchbox release, not sure about the Hellcat.

Externally the Spitfire VIII is pretty decent except for the absence of a gull-wing rear centre section. We use to add in Falcon or Aeroclub corrections.

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Hi All,

Whilst on holiday I managed to pick up the two kits mentioned above, can anyone give me any information about them, I.e. are they Airfix toolings, are they good kits? do they make good replicas when finished?

Any information would be gratefully received, as I know nothing about them.

Doug.

Hi Doug:

I've built the MkI / MkIIa boxing as a MkIIa and enjoyed it. I knocked up a build article that breaks down the tweaks I threw at mine...Spitfire MkIIa

B-1.jpg

S-1.jpg

M-2.jpg

E-1.jpg

R.jpg

Best regards

Steve

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For anyone that's built both, how does the Mk.I compare to Tamiya's?

Tamiya's is a better fit and a much quicker basic build because of that, but the Airfix seems to capture the Spitfire's lines better. Certainly the elliptical wing depiction on the Airfix is better in planform. The other thing which I notice about the Tamiya is that the stance is slightly off - gives the impression it is sitting up and begging. But overall those features are barely noticeable unless you have a number of examples of each side by side as I do.

As I said I have built multiples of each and I found little to quibble about - it's all in the building and how you handle it.

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They are both substantial re-workings of the original MkVb kit issued way back when. Dimensionally they are correct but lack a certain amount of finesse IMO.

Tony :clif:

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They are both substantial re-workings of the original MkVb kit issued way back when. Dimensionally they are correct but lack a certain amount of finesse IMO.

Tony :clif:

They're not actually Tony, both the Mk I and the Mk IX were brand new toolings. The Vb was re-issued as a Vc with the addition of new "universal" wings - these were in the new "chunky" airfix plastic - associated with the Mk I and the Mk IX, so maybe thats what you are thinking about?

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Hi Doug:

I've built the MkI / MkIIa boxing as a MkIIa and enjoyed it. I knocked up a build article that breaks down the tweaks I threw at mine...Spitfire MkIIa

S-1.jpg

Lovely build - especially like the totally flat finish. Just a thought though, does the windscreen look slighttly odd? It has the rake of the internally armoured later screen, but shouldn't it be more 'sit up and beg'?

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Hi All,

Whilst on holiday I managed to pick up the two kits mentioned above, can anyone give me any information about them, I.e. are they Airfix toolings, are they good kits? do they make good replicas when finished?

Any information would be gratefully received, as I know nothing about them.

Doug.

Utilising Modelling skills can be built up into decent enough models. The MKI is imho dimensionally more accurate than the Tamiya Kit .

But like anything else in modelling , very much down to individual choice.

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