Crimea_River
Marshal
The sporadic progress on my Gladiator for GB 45 as I waited for putty to dry caused me to look for something in my stash that would keep me busy and motivated. Yeah, I have lots of unfinished kits on the naughty shelf but, frankly, these certainly don't appeal to me as alternatives at this point. Anson and Fairey Battle? Too ugly and challenging. Wellington? Too complex. USS Princeton? Too much research and stock-taking to get back into it at this time. Not to mention my CF-5A and CF-18 aborted efforts. It was time for something new and exciting!!!!
Introducing Airfix's 1/48 Spitfire FR Mk XIV, the long-awaited new tool kit of this under-represented Spitfire mark. The hype is now long over and many builds and reviews have already taken place so this kit is not so new any more. The kit has its warts but has some decent detail and seems dimensionally accurate so it will hopefully be a welcome fall-back to the more challenging Gladiator, which I will continue to work on of course. I will build it using the kit's decals for the 414 Squadron RCAF scheme "Lazy Lady V" flown by James Pendergast.
My pocket book has taken a beating with the recent stock market fiasco so my wish to maybe buy and use some of the really nice EXITO decals for this kit will remain as just that - a wish. Also, the kit being a bit of a fallback to my more complex builds, I will be building it with the canopy closed so will not spend a lot of time upgrading the cockpit except for items that will be quite visible. Anyway, let's get on with the show. The first impression when looking at the large parts on the sprues is that the details look quite nice, though Airfix's penchant for wide and deep panel lines is well represented here.
The plastic is a bit weird, being somewhat soft and "springy" but the moulded details do come out crisp and neat. I tried using a piece of the sprue for heat-stretching and it broke easily so it definitely is a compound that I'm not used to. Close inspection of the smaller parts shows an annoying amount of flash - somewhat disappointing for a new tool kit but not a show stopper.
Construction starts in the cockpit (wow, really!?) and here we have a unique take on this area. Airfix provides a complete tub that includes bottom framing that would be visible through the "floor". Below we have both tub halves with the trim wheel, throttle, and undercarriage selector glued in place.
The seat comes in 4 parts and is secured to the armoured plate, something that not all manufacturers include. The all-important frame 11 is nicely detailed though the lightening holes need to be drilled out as is the case for every other Spitfire that I've built. The slot in the head armour is also moulded shut so I drilled this out too.
My understanding is that the Mk XIV seat went back to the brown resin material so I'll be painting it that way unless someone has info to the contrary.
I'll post some updates periodically and appreciate your interest and support.
Introducing Airfix's 1/48 Spitfire FR Mk XIV, the long-awaited new tool kit of this under-represented Spitfire mark. The hype is now long over and many builds and reviews have already taken place so this kit is not so new any more. The kit has its warts but has some decent detail and seems dimensionally accurate so it will hopefully be a welcome fall-back to the more challenging Gladiator, which I will continue to work on of course. I will build it using the kit's decals for the 414 Squadron RCAF scheme "Lazy Lady V" flown by James Pendergast.
My pocket book has taken a beating with the recent stock market fiasco so my wish to maybe buy and use some of the really nice EXITO decals for this kit will remain as just that - a wish. Also, the kit being a bit of a fallback to my more complex builds, I will be building it with the canopy closed so will not spend a lot of time upgrading the cockpit except for items that will be quite visible. Anyway, let's get on with the show. The first impression when looking at the large parts on the sprues is that the details look quite nice, though Airfix's penchant for wide and deep panel lines is well represented here.
The plastic is a bit weird, being somewhat soft and "springy" but the moulded details do come out crisp and neat. I tried using a piece of the sprue for heat-stretching and it broke easily so it definitely is a compound that I'm not used to. Close inspection of the smaller parts shows an annoying amount of flash - somewhat disappointing for a new tool kit but not a show stopper.
Construction starts in the cockpit (wow, really!?) and here we have a unique take on this area. Airfix provides a complete tub that includes bottom framing that would be visible through the "floor". Below we have both tub halves with the trim wheel, throttle, and undercarriage selector glued in place.
The seat comes in 4 parts and is secured to the armoured plate, something that not all manufacturers include. The all-important frame 11 is nicely detailed though the lightening holes need to be drilled out as is the case for every other Spitfire that I've built. The slot in the head armour is also moulded shut so I drilled this out too.
My understanding is that the Mk XIV seat went back to the brown resin material so I'll be painting it that way unless someone has info to the contrary.
I'll post some updates periodically and appreciate your interest and support.
Kevin
