Silver Spitfire 1/32

[Bigfoot57]

[ATTACH]428078[/ATTACH]Silver Spitfire Part 2 Cockpit tub assembly

So here we go with the assembly of the cockpit tub which comprises of side walls various pieces of equipment the seat the harness a real pia still not happy with it and instrument panel
So 1st off as this is the Silver Spitfire there are no gunsights etc these are replaced by a LCD navigation panel next there are additional fuel tanks installed so I’ve added the 2 extra gauges on the lower right hand side of the instrument panel
After that it was a case of adding the seat and other pieces to make up the remainder of the cockpit which despite what I’ve read and seen written about this model as to how good it is to my opinion as a pretty lousy fit and no internal labels etc which I will make myself as to my way of thinking this kit cost £109.00 and the difference so far is the £30 Revell kit which I have built is just as good and includes all the internal decals missing from the Tamiya kit but unlike the Tamiya kit it doesn’t include an engine that being said the engine supplied in the Tamiya kit doesn’t have a lot of detail including missing the Rolls Royce logo on the top of the engine which again for its cost is not good
Anyway we are where we are so next stage will be buttoning up the fuselage and fitting the rudder and tailplane and more foiling

Regards

Colin

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[colin m]

lousy fit

What doesn't fit Colin ? I've built one of these with no problems at all, in fact, I don't think I've seen anyone complain about this kit. I wonder what is up with this one.

[Bigfoot57]

What doesn't fit Colin ? I've built one of these with no problems at all, in fact, I don't think I've seen anyone complain about this kit. I wonder what is up with this one.

I had issues with wheel wells with gaps all round so I’ve used filler to close those gaps but it’s still not perfect and there’s a large gap underneath the fuselage where the tail wheel mounts as you can see from the enclosed photo[ATTACH]428386[/ATTACH]

[colin m]

you can see from the enclosed photo

I do indeed see the problem, but can offer no explanation. It's a strange one.

[BarryW]

I am not sure what is happening there.

I have built three of these and had no real fit issues.

The only fit ‘criticism’ in build reviews was around engine panels. Often it has been said of this kit that if something does not fit then you need to ask what you did wrong and I have to concur with this.

In my case, my first build did have some minor engine panel fit issues, I adjusted my approach in the second build and it was almost perfect, another change and it was perfect in the third build.

It is interesting to see your approach using metal foil. Something I have never done myself, preferring to spray metalisers. Do you use different foils to get panel differentiation?

[Bigfoot57]

To All
I have been forced to move due to my landlady passing away last year it was hoped that I could stay where I was but that has not been possible so I’m now in the process of moving when I have settled into my new place I will endeavour to restart this post up again & continue with the silver spitfire until then keep building & displaying your creations as I look at them at least weekly

Regards

Colin

[scottie3158]

Colin
Good luck with the move, we will be here waiting.

[yak face]

Good luck with the move colin , cheers tony

[Bigfoot57]

Silver Spitfire the return

Hello everybody well my move was as stressful as ever took about a week to find where everything had been packed into and another week sorting through it but that’s in the past now so here’s whereI got to with the Silver Spitfire
Finished the main fuselage wings tail and tail fins using silver leaf foil which was a lot more difficult to work with as it sticks to any surface due to static and then subsequently tears when you try to remove anyway the look of the model is not what I wanted as I had to use multiple layers to achieve the finish I have this has obscured most of the exquisite detail that Tamiya had included never mind will press on regardless
I’m now working on the engine which is one of the last pieces to fit onto the model along with the canopy etc
As you can see I have removed the guns /cannons and the gunsight and replaced with a representation of the lcd panel that was installed I’ve also added some extra fuel gauges in the lower right of the instrument panel so next should be the engine finalisation section followed by the finish and my next project which could well be the 4.5 Supercharged Bentley Blower

Regards

Colin

[Bigfoot57]

End of the line for the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire

I finally flipped with this model which has been a pia from the word go I know a lot of you rate this highly but for my opinion it’s overhyped & overpriced unless you want to display an engine which to do so costs you an additional £70 compared to say the revel kit which I have just ordered for £32 whereas the Tamiya retails at around the £107 area
The fit from the start was terrible necessitating the use of filler ok so I can live with that what cannot live with is the engine assembly which again didn’t fit and in honesty would be covered up for my purposes there was no way following the instructions that that engine was going to fit into the frame maybe it’s just me or a bad moulding anyway tonight the model got my fist it is now languishing in its box to be used as spares in needed in the future and I will not be purchasing another Tamiya model
Sorry guys you may have different opinions but that’s my experience from this kit and I will not waste those special decals on this type of kit so when the revel kit arrives I will start a new thread

Regards

Colin

[minitnkr]

Sometimes it's just not worth the stress.

[adt70hk]

Sorry to hear it's not worked out.

Andrew

[Tim Marlow]

That’s a shame after all the effort, but as Paul says, sometimes the game’s not worth the candle!

[BarryW]

End of the line for the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire

I finally flipped with this model which has been a pia from the word go I know a lot of you rate this highly but for my opinion it’s overhyped & overpriced unless you want to display an engine which to do so costs you an additional £70 compared to say the revel kit which I have just ordered for £32 whereas the Tamiya retails at around the £107 area
The fit from the start was terrible necessitating the use of filler ok so I can live with that what cannot live with is the engine assembly which again didn’t fit and in honesty would be covered up for my purposes there was no way following the instructions that that engine was going to fit into the frame maybe it’s just me or a bad moulding anyway tonight the model got my fist it is now languishing in its box to be used as spares in needed in the future and I will not be purchasing another Tamiya model
Sorry guys you may have different opinions but that’s my experience from this kit and I will not waste those special decals on this type of kit so when the revel kit arrives I will start a new thread

Regards

Colin
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1158578[/ATTACH]

Sorry to hear that you have had these issues. I really cannot understand what happened.

I have built three of these Tamiya kits and found them all fitting perfectly, a total joy to build start to finish. The first two had some minor issues with the engine panels but with my third they fit perfectly demonstrating that the problem was all me with the first two.

I have also built one of the Revells and I would always prefer to spend over £100 on the Tamiya than less than £30 on the Revell any day.

[Charlie Delta Foxtrot]

The double whammy of the foil plus a troubled kit isn’t worth the hassle for sure. Best foil work i’ve seen is a Japanese modeller on IG called t.Yoshimoto88. He uses the Hasegawa foil and a riveting tool. Does big b-17s in it, absolutely stunning. I think you should be proud to have given it a go, the foil alone would have scared me silly. I have also seen some great results from people using a silver paint pen. Amazing what people do.