Trumpeter's big 1/24 scale Spitfire Mk.Vb is a nice kit, with good detail and a generally accurate outline.

Reviews of this kit have pointed to a few areas that would benefit from further attention. These include the kit seat, which was apparently based on an unauthentic replacement item; the lack of harness; and not capturing the subtle contours of the top cowl. In addition, the kit only supplied de Havilland propeller blades (that were not quite correct in profile), when a Rotol spinner and propeller assembly might have been more representative of the type.

Meteor productions has now released four new accessories that address these specific issues:

CEC24001 Spitfire V Superdetailed Seat & Armor Plate

This is a simple replacement for the kit seat. Detail is superb in this big scale. The one-piece seat is cast with the backrest cushion in place. This item features beautiful and subtle creasing, and stands slightly off the back of the seat. Detail is also evident on the rear of the seat. The shape of the moulded bakelite seat, including the lip around the edge, really does look great.

The casting block is attached with multiple thin strips of resin that will be very easy to remove.

The armour plate missing from the kit is included in this set.

CEC24002 Spitfire V Rotol Propeller Blades and Spinner

Hurrah! The Cutting Edge Rotol spinner and propeller assembly greatly increases the versatility of Trumpeter's Spitfire Vb. Many interesting aircraft were fitted with this propeller.

Casting is, once again, perfect. The propeller blades are connected to each block at the base and will quickly be removed with a razor saw. The spinner is cast onto a stout block which is thankfully recessed from the edge of the spinner base plate. I used a razor saw to remove the block. Despite its intimidating appearance, I needed less than 10 minutes to free the propeller from the chunk of resin waste.

A nice touch is the inclusion of a jig to drill the centre hole for the propeller shaft. The steps below describe how the jig is used:

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

First, drill out the hole inside the jig as indicated by the recessed mark	Now place the spinner securely in the "tub"	Holding the spinner securely in place so that it remains centred, drill through the hole in the jig. You will now be drilling into the spinner.	You will have a small hole drilled into the centre of the baseplate. Now you can drill a larger hole to accept the kit's propeller shaft

CEC24003 Spitfire V Upper Cowling Correction for Trumpeter

Cutting Edge's upper cowling replacement is a simple accessory that will improve the contours of the Trumpeter kit nose. The top is flatter, resulting in a smoother line for the forward fuselage; and the bulges accommodating the Merlin cylinder heads look better than the kit part too.

CEC24004 RAF WW II Sutton Harness Posable Belts Set.

The harness will be a big feature in the open cockpit of your 1/24 scale Spitfire Vb. Cutting Edge's flexible harnesses are ideal in the larger scales of 1/32 and 1/24. They will drape convincingly and no two installations will look exactly the same.

Cutting the belts from their backing sheet takes a little practice, but I have been pleased with the results when I have used this material in other kits.

All four of these new accessories will be worthwhile additions to Trumpeter's 1/24 scale Spitfire.

Now we can only hope that decal manufacturers get cracking with some alternate marking options!

All Recommended.

Thanks to Cutting Edge Modelworks for the preview information

Images and Review Text Copyright © 2003 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 27 August, 2003
Last updated 27 August, 2003

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