Have Airfix introduced a new 1/72 Spitfire Mk.IX?

[Doug]

Hi All,

Can anyone tell me if Airfix have produced a new Spitfire Mk.IX to replace that god awful kit they have been producing for years, if so how do you know if your buying the new mould or the old mould?

Doug.

[Richard M]

Yes, but the new tool hasn't been released yet, so anything you can buy at the moment will be the old one. The new kit is numbered A02065 and will be in a snazzy new red box when it is released.

http://www.airfix.com/airfix-products/new-...ixc-172-a02065/

Best

Rich

[Ken]

Hi All,

Can anyone tell me if Airfix have produced a new Spitfire Mk.IX to replace that god awful kit they have been producing for years, if so how do you know if your buying the new mould or the old mould?

Doug.

The "new" Spitfire IX was pulled by Airfix because of numerous errors so it may be next year sometime

Ken

[AnonymousA667]

The "new" Spitfire IX was pulled by Airfix because of numerous errors so it may be next year sometime

Numerous errors? Oh well, it's Airfix, so it must be fair game.

Trevor Snowden told me the other day that in fact it could be available next month.

peebeep

[AnonymousAA72]

The "new" Spitfire IX was pulled by Airfix because of numerous errors so it may be next year sometime

Ken

What "numerous errors" Ken? The ONLY error I was aware of was the duplication of the radio hatch on the starboard side. THATS the reason it was sent back.

[Bazza]

Numerous errors? Oh well, it's Airfix, so it must be fair game.

Trevor Snowden told me the other day that in fact it could be available next month.

peebeep

Amen,to that.

That's exactly wot 'e told me,as well....

Now let's wait,'n'see........True,or False??

Here's hoping,Bazza.

[AnonymousFO98]

Not a hard fix anyway

the prop looked a tad dodgy to me which was more of a concern.

to e fair it may just need a wipe with wet n dry to correct the tips but the shape could be correct- just seemed to have an oddly shaped tip unusual for the period.

Any ways, based on the enjoyment factor of the PRXIX i'm going for one or two

[tonyot]

Hello Folks,

I`m currently building a couple of test shots of the new Airfix Spitfire IX for a magazine article and apart from having no cockpit or wheel well detail it looks absolutely great!!! True there are extra panel lines on the right hand side of the fuslege which should not be there, but these were filled within 5 minutes and the propeller blades look a bit wrong but I think that these are the reasons for pulling it from release alongside the Spit PR.19, so that they can put these faults right. The decal sheet was also a bit wrong by mixing up the black and white stripes on a D-Day option (Johnny Johnstons JE-J, I think?) by having 3 x black stripes and 2 x white.....don`t know whether this will be put right or the stripe decals will be left off the re printed sheets? The other decal option was a desert finished a/c coded ZX-6? and with Polish insignia on the nose from Skalskis Circus which was attached to 145 Sqn.

Once its built up the Airfix Spitfire IX looks very much like the die cast Corgi Spits.....wonder if the same masters etc were used...and here is one of mine built up just before the painting stage and before the guns and stubs were fitted;

Notice the lack of filler needed, the wing to fuselage joint is particularly sweet!! The undercarriage is one piece as per the Spitfire 19 kit but it still looks OK to me and the canopy is well shaped, although it can only be fitted in the closed position, which is good really considering the lack of interior detail.

Hope this helps

Tony O

Edited September 9, 2009 by tonyot

[The wooksta V2.0]

Looking good, Tony. Can you confirm that the wing can be swapped with the PRXIX?

Wonder if Airfix will do a new sprue for an interior or leave it to the aftermarket?

[airjiml2]

Tony,

When you say lack of cockpit detail, do you mean a seat only like the -109, or just something sparse like the XIX?

Thanks,

Jim

[The wooksta V2.0]

IIRC from the test shots on displayu at Telford, we'll be lucky if we get a seat!

For what it's worth, I thought the interior in the PRXIX was quite reasonable given the price of the kit.

[tonyot]

Hiya Fellas,

To answer some of your questions...here is the bog standard cockpit interior for the Spit IX kit with some of my spares box extras below ready to bodge up an interior;

The wings of the Spit IX and PR.19 both match each other very well at the wing roots, so a merlin PR.XI or Griffon F/FR.XIV are possible but the section under the rear fuselage is not the same, so some sawing and filling will be required there....its because the camera bay on the PR.19 is longer.

Hope this helps, all the best

Tony O

[AnonymousA667]

Wonder if Airfix will do a new sprue for an interior or leave it to the aftermarket?

My information is that they won't (along with decalised panels). It is not within the perceived philosophy for what are considered 'entry level' kits.

peebeep

[The wooksta V2.0]

Thanks Tony. Doesn't look any less than we get with the Vb/Vc kit so I think we can live with it.

[Doug]

Thanks all for this info, will hang off buying one till it's released then.

Doug.

[Test Graham]

I'm looking forward to getting this one, but....

1. Didn't the Polish Fighting Team have early aircraft with the broad gun blister and small carburettor intake?

2. Didn't JE-J have the e wing mods for D-Day? The colour photo taken on French soil shows that, but I haven't seen a precise date. You can do it earlier in its existence without the stripes, so that Airfix have got those wrong may be no problem.

3. Other than that all it needs is a new prop and a better undercarriage, incorrect panel lines filled, and (though I can't get too upset) wouldn't it be nice to have a cockpit at least as detailed as the equally "entry level" Italeri one?

I've seen it said that it was the transfers that caused Airfix to return it, rather than the prop or panel lines. Given the length of the delay, that seems more likely but is anyone who actually knows in a position to say?

[AnonymousA667]

I've seen it said that it was the transfers that caused Airfix to return it, rather than the prop or panel lines.

That is not the case, further to the discussion I had with Trevor last weekend.

peebeep

[Dave Fleming]

It looks very nice, it's just a pity Airfix see it as an 'entry level' kit, but the if it keeps the price down.....

But it does look like you can only build a mid production IXc from the kit

[Miggers]

It seems a shame that they've not offered the broad chord rudder option or even left the rudder as a separate item as with the XIX.

Would have made the conversion to Merlin PR's or high back XVI's a bit easier.

Tony it looks like you'll have a market for resin cast parts from those spares you've got.

Mark

[The wooksta V2.0]

I've got a mould ready to go for the broad chord rudder. 50p a throw if anyone is interested.

[Ken]

Numerous errors? Oh well, it's Airfix, so it must be fair game.

Trevor Snowden told me the other day that in fact it could be available next month.

peebeep

"Numerous errors ?" Well, see below for that and the much earlier thread about this kit. "..Airfix. so it must be fair game" A simple question was answered by a simple answer which itself was based on info I had from somebody closely connected with Airfix. As far as Airfix themselves are concerned, if they produced the inserts for a box of Cadbury's Dairy Box, I'd still buy it.

I have never been one of those "Grey Anoraks" as another friend calls them, who produce a micrometer at the first opportunity to complain about this or that or that there should be 3 Duz fastners on the starboard wing and not 4 even before the model has hit the shelves. Enjoy the model, build it from the box or tart it up if you want

Ken

[CockneyCol]

I have to agree with Ken, as a group modellers complain for years that they want a kit of item X,Y,Z and then when it arrives complain even more when it's 16th of an inch out of scale or a little bit out of shape according to a set of plans they happen to have.

Point 1 - Plans are a one dimentional representation of a 3D object and as such cannot be 100% accurate, it's all subjective. if you measured every "real" spitfire they would all come out different due to manufacturing tolerances.

Point 2 - The hobby is called modelling, not assembling - if you feel a kit is wrong then either don't buy it or build it incorporating the changes you feel are needed to make it correct in your opinion. If you just want to assemble things go to IKEA and buy yourself a wardrobe!

I would want to point out that this is in defence of all manufacturers, not just the "Holy Grail of British Modelling".

Okay, i'm off to my padded cell now!!!!

Cheers

Col'

[Doug]

Hi All,

I don't really care if it's .4 of a mm out or even it the cockpit is not that cleaver, I don't even care if some of the panel lines are incorrect, it's got to be better than their present offering and as an ex Londoner, cockney Col, I can live with "Cor Blimey", " Me Ol'e Cock Sparra" and even "Gawd bless ya Gov'na", but I an sure you can be arrested and imprisoned for many years for "Luvin' a Duck", so just watch it matey. Lol

Doug.

Edited September 10, 2009 by Doug

[Dave Fleming]

I have to agree with Ken, as a group modellers complain for years that they want a kit of item X,Y,Z and then when it arrives complain even more when it's 16th of an inch out of scale or a little bit out of shape according to a set of plans they happen to have.

Point 1 - Plans are a one dimentional representation of a 3D object and as such cannot be 100% accurate, it's all subjective. if you measured every "real" spitfire they would all come out different due to manufacturing tolerances.

Point 2 - The hobby is called modelling, not assembling - if you feel a kit is wrong then either don't buy it or build it incorporating the changes you feel are needed to make it correct in your opinion. If you just want to assemble things go to IKEA and buy yourself a wardrobe!

So they aren't allowed to enjoy their hobby in their way, only yours?

[Test Graham]

Aircraft are not made of meccano, or built relying on hand and eye alone. Manufacturing tolerances are of the order of a few thousands of an inch. Major parts are built on jigs to ensure effectively identical dimensions over considerable lengths. The total sum of such tolerances and deviations will not be visible in 1/72 scale. Rigging errors may introduce other small differences, as may the in-service process of bending and bodging, but the likeliest cause of different measurements is error in the measurement, recording or transmission processes.

There may have been differences between aircraft built at different factories, on different sets of jigs. For example, P-51B and P-51C, or perhaps in Spitfire terms Supermarine and Castle Bromwich (although I have never seen this stated openly....). This was enough to deny interchangeability of parts, but not to produce significant differences in overall dimensions.

The point about mentioning errors in outline or shape or detail is so those who do care about such things know what to adjust using their modelling skill. Or to leave alone as insignificant. Plus, often, to distinguish between different offerings, for we are not short of Spitfire kits to choose from. We could do with a good accurate Mk.IX to modern kit standards. Hence the hope, and curiosity, about this new Airfix offering.

If you don't care about these things, it's no skin off your nose so why get upset? If some choose simply to build anything a manufacturer cares to throw out, regardless of its relationship to the original, than that clearly is fun for them. Me, I'll go for information over ignorance, judgement over blind faith, and looking before leaping.