Seafire L.IIIc, 887 NAS, HMS Indefatigable Group Build

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A fiver!? Great price - it's supposed to be around £12. Although the original parts date from 1978/79, the 'Seafire' bits are new-tooling, from China I believe. The original MkV kit, and the Mk1 Hurricane, were, at the time of first release, the most accurate in any scale, although the Hurricane had a slight issue with the rear decking behind the canopy which, in truth, wasn't really noticeable.
Might get myself one to do a straight Spit from.
 
It was a fiver because Hobbycraft were flogging them off cheap, I think they were selling Airfix 1/48 Hawks and 1/72 Hudsons for half price at the time as well, it was some time ago. The Hurricane looks pretty accurate, my main beef with it was having to attach the pit to the lower wing then put the fueslage on over the top, rather than having the pit built into the fuselage like in the Seafire. My Hurri was a bit of a tight fit in that area, although I did manage to get it to go together without breaking anything.

In terms of variants in the kit, I don't think there is a 'straight' MkV, beside the Seafirethere is an Aussie one with tropical filters, an SAAF version with very odd pointed wingtips and 4-cannon armament, and an RAF a/c based in Egypt, therefore with tropical filters again. Very interesting subject in their own right though.
 
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Thanks Cory, might get one then, to go with the rest of the Spit collection. So far, built or about to be, in 1/48th there's a MkVB, Mk19, Mk22, with a MkIX and MkXIV to come, and in 1/32nd there's a Mk1, MkIX and a MkV, MkXIV and Mk22/24 to come! I wonder just how many Spits I must have built over the years? Must be at least 25, in all scales.
 
Can never have enough Spits! I once saw a collection, in 1/48th scale, of every type of Spit ever built, from prototype through to the Spiteful, including sub-marks, such as MkIXB, C, E etc. Fantastic models!
 
Quick update, I am still working on theis and it's looking good for an end of month finish. Camo is on, I'll take some piccies and post 'em tomorrow. I was a bit worried about the Slate Grey when it first went on - I used BS638 rather than 640 as the research pointed me that way. Having seen the FAA Avenger in the GB, I am much reassured that I've got it right

Like I say, pics tomorrow, I'm off to do a bit more on it 8)
 
It is going well, I've just got to take the pics 8) I would like to devote a lot more time to it, my shift pattern is a pig for getting anything done in the day, most of my modelling happens between midnight and 2am, which probably isn't the best of times Update by day's end chaps 8)
 
Better late than never, here are some pics of the base camo applied. Next job is to get Sky on the underside (wings already done, just tips and fuselage to do). Then gear, guns, spinner, radiators and canopy go on and I can go buy myself some Future and get on to the fun part - decals! 8)









Cheers

BT
 
I'm rapidly discovering the whole thing is not a good fit Wayne I'm not too confident with filler ATM though, I'm concerned I'll make a worse mess trying to fill and sand it.
 
It is quite a step, BT, but if you fill the join to about a 1cm width, you should be able to achieve a smooth, even join. If the trailing edge hangs lower than the fues, it can sanded back and any gaps filled.

Another option would be to split the wings from the fues (if they're not too strongly glued), clean up the surfaces and reglue them...


Nice camo work, btw!
 
I agree with Wayne and Evan. It seems that most Spit kits, in all scales, can sometimes be a bit tricky to get that joint right. It's often a good idea to hold the wings in place with tape, from tip to tip, across the fuselge, whilst the glue sets. This will hold the dihedral angle (hopefully!), and help to set the faces of the wing to the root. As Evan has suggested, if you are able to split the joint, and re-glue, then it should work out well. If not, then just put this one down to the long, long learning curve!
The paintwork looks good so far, and what I could see of the cockpit also looks fine. Well done mate.
 
Cheers guys. I think I will try to patch it up a bit, I have since put on the lower part of the nose and also started fitted the filters and there will be some issues in that area as well, so I might as well try to get the best I can out of it. You're right though Terry, it is a very long curve - I had blithely assumed that it wouldn't be when I got back into the hobby Just as well it's a very enjoyable curve
 
I used to be a non-confident either BT. Here is a great link for you to follow with putty (if you use putty). Its a very easy and fast process, you'll be like wow.. that was quick and look at my filled in area!

Seam Repair

Here is their tools / tips page, everything from weathering to masking your canopy!

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Tools.html
 
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