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[admin]

It would seem that we finally have a MK. V kit with a decent "C" wing.
I wonder if anyone has built this kit and can shgare his impressions on the quality/accuracy.
And, is it more buildable than the old-new Airfix Mk. VC/Seafire III?

[NZTyphoon]

Hi Martin
 I have yet to wrap my polystyrene paws on this model but a friend of mine has shown his to me (droool!) In a lot of ways the model bears some similarity to Tamiya's 1:48 Spitfire Vb series and some parts look to be interchangable. Where the model does score is in interior detail, which is superior in some places to the Tamiya kitsets and (of course) the universal wing which looks accurate, featuring the typical Spitfire wing washout and gulled wingroots Seperate ailerons are a useful feature.
 http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/ca/images/ca_4152_parts2.jpg

There are all sorts of options available in most boxings and it should be possible to build just about any version of the VC/Seafire II/III family with this kit and the follow-up Seafires.
http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/ca/images/ca_4152_parts1.jpg
http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/ca/images/ca_4152_parts3.jpg

If I was being picky the oil cooler fairing doesn't seem to have enough of a flare to the exit's trailing edge and there is an obvious mould step on the rear fuselage halves. Otherwise it looks very promising for Spitfire modellers. About time too!
http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/ca/kit_ca_4152.shtml

Jeff

[admin]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks very much for the links. Still waiting for the build-up review to see if the "tamiya quality" impression holds when assembling the kit. Good to have a proper C wing though...

/M.

[NZTyphoon]

More on the Classic Airframes/Eduard Spitfire VC; http://www.eduard.cz/ Eduard have released this model with extra resin parts, including six stack exhaust systems which were used by some VCs in the Mediterranean, with markings options for a Free French example from GR II/33, the VC flown by New Zealander Wg Cdr Johnny Checketts leading 142 Wing 2 TAF based in England (2 options -with or without D-Day stripes) or a 40(SAAF) Sqn aircraft.

One very interesting detail about the model. When I first saw the fuselage mouldings I noticed that some of the panels on the rear fuselage and around the rear wingroots are slightly raised, leaving a slight but noticable step in the mouldings. At first I was disappointed because I took this to be a problem with the moulds themselves. It turned out that the mould makers had noticed that the fuselage panels of the real Spitfire VC they had used as a pattern were like this. Now that I have examined photos of Spitfire VCs especially this was indeed a feature; this photo by Mark Mills just shows the effect which has been captured by this kitset.