Revell Spitfire Mk IX 1/32

[Stikpusher]

Whatever you do... don't judge Hasegawa on the basis of this Mustang kit. They produce MUCH better kits now. In many ways, even preferable over Tamiya, from my perspective.

I’ll second John on this one. The Hasegawa Mustang is not a bad kit, just well aged. In its time it was the best 1/32 P-51 kit out there... and for many years. I think where Hasegawa beats Tamiya in 1/32 today is that they only cost an arm instead of an arm and a leg. Just kidding. They make beautiful kits in 1/32, and if you shop around, you can find them at far better prices than MSRP. And do they look impressive when built!

[KSaarni]

Hey Kari... just curious? Did you not crumple the HGW harnesses prior to assembly per the instructions? I've done the crumpling routine myself but I find that it sometimes has an adverse effect on the fine printing that can be found on the newer HGW harnesses and can also cause the micro fibers to unravel. Without the crumpling, they are too straight and uniform for my tastes but crumpling can be damaging.

I choosed not to crumbled it, partially because the belt in my Fw190 was a little bit damaged (tiny pieces started to break off) but also because I had big problems with the tiny PE parts using a "crumbled" textile.

But I have been thinking of different options how to make the textile more "softer", wornout etc. The current condition is not the final one.

- Kari

[KSaarni]

Testfitting the wing...

I think here you start to see the difference between cheap Revell quality and Tamiya quality.

Pretty big gap... Same on the other side..

Will need some structure inside the fuselage to spread out the fuselage halves in total about 4-5 mm






- Kari

[KennyX]

I’m looking forward to seeing how you handle that!

At the same time, it’s really nice seeing the bird with wings on her. I love when it gets to that stage.

[KSaarni]

I’m looking forward to seeing how you handle that!

At the same time, it’s really nice seeing the bird with wings on her. I love when it gets to that stage.

Thanks Kenny!

I wish I would be in that stage, but unfortunately still just dry fitting... I just need to finalise the cockpit... and that I can finalise after I have finalised the seat belts... which I can only do when I have made the belts look used... :-)

But getting closer!

- Kari

[KennyX]

Ah, gotcha!

[jkim]

Check the dihedral of the wings too. You don't want to unintentionally flatten the angle of the wings by spreading out the fuselage too much!

[KSaarni]

Check the dihedral of the wings too. You don't want to unintentionally flatten the angle of the wings by spreading out the fuselage too much!

Thanks John for the headsup! Indeed, the dihedral is perhaps not that big as it should be, but couple of challenges here:

The wing construction is very stiff, there is no flexibility at all.

Also, there is no gap in the front part, only in the back part, meanig the wings would be turned a little bit like a corkscrew..

Might of course be, that when the cockpit construction is squeezed into the fuselage, it will automatically close the gaps.
This I hope it will, have not been able to testfit that yet, too many loose parts still due to the seat-belt process..



- Kari

[speedgraflex]

I sense the challenges that are happening, Kari, and send you best wishes. I wonder if a sprue spreader is viable in 1/32 or not? I know two sections of sprue acting as cross-braces will work wonders in 1/48, but I am not sure what will happen in 1/32—especially with thick plastic. This reminds me of the Hasegawa beast which is made from very thick and unyielding plastic in its wings and roots. I wonder if this common to the scale or not?

Heat, perhaps in moderation... I also feel that some "training of the pieces" will help. Sometimes I will use a small travel steamer to secure pieces in an assembly... I don't know what you will do here.

I think I would make a spreader for the rear section to see how the wings behave. Perhaps this is a research area to see how others are handling this issue.

[KSaarni]

I wonder too...

What is a little "disturbing", is that the fuselage halves have a wonderful fit, like in a snap-on kit and the same applies for the wing sections.
This would indicate that the fit of those two constructions would also be very good.

But let's see, the finald "verdict" comes when I can fit the cockpit module in the fuselage...

To be continued....

- Kari