Spitfire Mk.21 Conversion
for
Airfix Seafire 46/47
Aeroclub, 1/48 scale
S u m m a r
y |
Catalogue Number, Description and Price |
Aeroclub
Models K833 - Spitfire Mk.21 Conversion
for Airfix Seafire 46/47
Price
£13.83 (ex VAT) or £16.85; Price (inc VAT) available online from Aeroclub's website |
Scale: |
1/48 |
Contents and Media: |
|
Review
Type: |
FirstLook |
Advantages: |
The best and
easiest way to build a 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk.21; crisp surface
features; high level of detail; makes use of the excellent left over
wing from the Airfix Seafire Mk.46/47 kit; crystal clear vacuum
formed canopy; may be adapted for use as a PR.XIX conversion. |
Disadvantages: |
A few minor
blemishes on plastic parts; only one vacform canopy supplied (so be
careful!) |
Recommendation: |
Highly Recommended
|
Reviewed by
Brett Green
HyperScale is proudly supported by
Squadron.com
If the Mk.22/24
represented the pinnacle of Spitfire development, then the 1/48 scale
Spitfire Mk.22/24 and Seafire Mk.46/47 kits equally embodied the peak of
Airfix's plastic kit production powers. These two kits featured a high
level of detail, many useful options, beautifully crisp surface features
and luxuriously smooth plastic. Ten years after their release, these
kits remain the best injection-moulded Spitfires of any mark available
in any scale.
Aeroclub has obviously
paid attention to some of the spare parts in the Airfix 1/48 scale
Seafire Mk.46/47 kit.
If the modeller chooses
to build a Seafire Mk.47, he will have a complete set of Mk.46 wings
left over. These wings were common to the Seafire Mk.46 and also the
Spitfire Mk.21.
Click the thumbnails below to view larger images of Airfix Seafire
Mk.46 wings:
There is no mainstream
1/48 scale kit of this attractive late Spitfire variant, so it is very
pleasing that Aeroclub has delivered a Mk.21 conversion that will use
the excellent leftover wings from the Airfix Seafire kit.
Aeroclub's 1/48 scale
Spitfire Mk.21 conversion comprises 29 parts in low-pressure injection
moulded plastic, 35 parts in white metal and a clear vacuum formed
canopy.
Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:
The plastic parts are
quite smooth and crisply detailed with recessed panel lines. Surface
features are not quite as crisp as the Airfix wings, but they should
match up well under a coat of paint. There are just a few blemishes on
my sample (on the rudder and the spinner), but this will not present any
great challenge. A few minutes sanding and polishing will do the trick.
Plastic parts cover the fuselage halves, tailplanes, wheels, radiator
housings, propeller assembly, undercarriage doors, flaps and instrument
panel.
Smaller details,
including cockpit parts, exhausts, radiator faces and exterior airframe
details, are supplied in white metal.
The vacform canopy is
thin and crystal clear. It is protected inside its own clear plastic
walls. There is only one canopy supplied however, so take special care
when cutting it from its backing sheet.
As far as I can tell
Aeroclub has supplied all the parts necessary to build a Spitfire Mk.21
except the three small navigation lights under the fuselage. These can
easily be punched from clear plastic, or added using membranes of
Krystal Kleer or white glue.
Instructions are
supplied on a single sheet. The main direction is to refer to Airfix's
instructions for placement of parts. This supplementary sheet lists the
variations from the standard instructions when using Aeroclub's
replacement parts.
In addition to a Mk.21,
this conversion could be adapted to build a PR. Mk.XIX using the wings
of either Hasegawa's or Academy's Spitfire kits. Some extra work would
be required to the fuselage (adding the camera positions plus some other
details) and the wings, but it will be easier than the limited options
available until now.
I have always thought
that the Mk.21 was the toughest looking of all the Spitfire variants.
The "razorback" lines of the rear fuselage maintained that Supermarine
familiarity, but the extra bulk of the Griffon nose, larger tailplanes
and the revised wing created the impression of a Spitfire on steroids.
Aeroclub's 1/48 scale
Spitfire Mk.21 conversion is comprehensive and makes excellent use of
the spare wing in the Airfix Seafire Mk.46.47 kit. Some experience
working with limited run plastic kits and white metal parts will be
helpful but this is essentially quite a simple project. What's more, you
won't have to sacrifice a full kit to build this attractive, late-war
fighter.
Highly Recommended.
Thanks to
Aeroclub Models for the review sample
Text and Images Copyright © 2006 by
Brett Green
Page Created 10 July, 2006
Last updated 11 July, 2006
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