1/24 Airfix Spitfire MkVb £18 at Debenhams

I managed to pick up the repro BT-K Spitfire Ia a week or so ago. I like the old school Airfix Spit Ia! Sure, it’s maybe outdated, and a bit sparse, but it makes for a nice wee model given very little effort.

Ebay is dangerous, go on to look at the spits and ended up with another Harrier. Did get 4 1/72 Mk1a for Christmas and luckily the new tooling to add to the stash. Just glad I’ve got two kids so plenty of ceiling space, just when they get to the teenage years and want all the models down which could be a problem.

Thanks for that.

However, as I don’t do ebay, I guess I’d better keep looking around for another solution.

Regards,

kev35

Mount them to a frame and hang on the wall, the finished models, not SWMBO!

Don’t suppose anyone knows where I can get a set of decals for a 1/24th Mk 1 at all?

Regards,

kev35

Ebay, just type in 1/24 Spitfire, about £9 though 😮

Only one problem with that Kev. I neglected to mention all the other 1/72 and 1/48 aircraft filling the walls in bookshelves!

Mount them to a frame and hang on the wall, the finished models, not SWMBO!

Don’t suppose anyone knows where I can get a set of decals for a 1/24th Mk 1 at all?

Regards,

kev35

I am glad they ran out of them while I was dithering about getting one. I love bargains but sense said where would I put it! The only two places were occupied by a 1/72 Connie and a Nimrod. My 1/32 hurricane lives on my printer.
SWMBO says on pain of death these things must remain in my office(small bedroom) and I still have a 1/72 KC97 and a 1/32 spit to go! I think I will be selling my Mi-26 on!
Hanging them from the ceiling was met with a withering look so thats out then!

…

…..GOT MINE TODAY NER NER NAH NER NER :diablo: ….

The kit does seem to have the bits for a MK1 still within. Ive not opened the acket but from what i can tell the moulding does not look that bad. Its made in grey rather than white plastic.. Thought i would drop an original box next to the new one. Everything still fits into the old box so i dont see the need for the bigger one.. There seems hardly enough paint to do the job also. the paint tubs are thimble sized :confused:

,,,

I did once see a conversion of a Mk.I into a Mk.IX many moons ago. It was a nice piece of work – but waaaay beyond my skill/patience level, I think!

Apparently the Vb kit contained the full sprue set to make a mk1, can anyone confirm?

Hi all;

Kev is indeed right. The old Mk I moulds are getting a bit worn now and are certainly showing their age. This seemed to be very apparent to me with the Mk Vb releases, however, having picked up the most recent Mk I boxing, it looked as though the moulds may have been cleaned up a bit.

I tend to pick up early releases of this kit as the detail is nice and crisp. These can be picked up easily on Ebay or at model shows for a fairly cheap price. The Airfix 1/24 Spitfire, with a bit of extra work, builds up into a very nice model. Of course, there is the more recent Trumpeter offering, but the shape of this kit is very suspect in a lot of areas. The Airfix offering looks every inch a Spit!

The major issues with the Airfix kit are the complete lack of wheel wells and the wing dihedral problem that affected all of the big “Super Kits”. I find that the best fix is to do just what the real aeroplane had….a wing spar! I make one up out of Evergreen hollow plastic rods and a bit of plastic card. Add the necessary 6 degree angle, glue to the bottom part of the wing and voila! No droopy wings! The wheel wells can be addressed with some plastic card too…no great headache as Spitfire wheel wells are not to complex. One other point is the kit’s oleo legs, which because of the model’s gimmicky retractable undercarriage, means that the oleos are in the fully extended position. This makes the kit look a bit odd when sitting on it’s gear as it has the appearance of being on tip toes! Of course, the kit still looks great built out of the box too! The Airfix 1/24 Spitfire is also a great basis for conversion to other marks! I’ve have a few on the go at the moment, with a Mk I nearing the paint stage…

Regards;
Steve

Ok! Problems with the new Photobucket obviously!

Having managed to get one I can confirm that the old Mk. 1 moulds on which this is based are pretty poor now. The conversion to Vb relies on marking and cutting the wing so that a new panel for the cannon blister can be fitted. The kit of course represents AB910 in BBMF guise and therefore has only the one decal option, that of Jan Zumbach’s aircraft with the Donald Duck artwork.

Still, for £18 you can’t really grumble. I suppose the harder it is to put together then the longer it will take. More enjoyment? if you like a challenge…..

Regards,

kev35

sad, they now appear to be out of stock, should have quicker

I’ve always thought £4.99 was about the right price for the 1/72 scale kits in the past, add another couple of quid on top for the ones with the paint etc.

W gets me is that the small kits are overpriced from what ive seen elsewhere. Even Aldis had the 1/72 kits with paint etc for £4.99 in the shop before crimbo!!!

Ordered two last night, just had an email “Unable to fulfil”… 😡

I did the Mk.I about a decade ago – took me three weeks, and I don’t even think I did that good a job of it! Had to bin it as it was beyond repair.

Still, I’ve got a 1/32 Revell Mk.I to build….!

Just ordered 2, greedy or what :D. Probably stick them in the loft with all my other junk ER!! I mean aviation memorabilia 😉

Customer Review says:

“The model looks great but the mouldings are poor.
This was bought for my 11 year old and he hasn’t a hope of making a good job of it.
I have spent many hours cleaning up the parts and trying to make them fit.
I now remember why I moved from Airfix models to Tamiya however, this model seems worse than I remember.”

Not something I would buy for the average 11 year old – but I would have loved it at that age.

I am trying to persuade them to post to me – they normally don´t do Denmark. For that price, it surely must be worth the extra work needed if the mouldings are not the very best.

Jon

That is very tempting, will look into details of the kit.

Also, 1/24 fw190 revell for £30 in model zone.