I have re-enetered plastic modeling after many years (remember when the first Monogram Aveneger hit my 5 & 10 Store) and want to build a 1/72 Spitfire. Searched the net for opinions but could not find a definitive “best kit”. I like the Tamiya 1/72 collection but the review for the Spitfire wasn’t very good.
Would appreciate any feedback.
“Best” in kind of hard to define. Since the Spitfire is one of the most popular aircraft subjects of all time, there are a ton of options.
The Airfix 1/72 Spits are very popular. The Mk. I and V are very well shaped, and look very good. Their interior detail is sparse to none. The Mk. IX, the old mold, is a bit mishapen, and dates back many years. I have heard they will be releasing a new tool IX, but I don’t have details on that. Their Mk. XVI is the Heller kit actually… not a bad kit, not the greatest. Decals on most Airfix kits are fair to medium quality. All of the ones I mentioned above have raised panel lines. I’ve built them all, and enjoyed them. Good, simple builds.
The Hasegawa kits are quite nice. I built their Mk. IX. It has parts that allow you to make a Mk. VIII (which is what I did), or a Mk. IX c or e wing. Interior detail is good, as is the exterior look.
I have not built the Tamiya kits, or seen them. Still, I’d not base things on one review. Depending on your preferences as a modeler, your style and likes/dislikes amy be quite differernt from a reviewer. I’ve found some reviewers finding on a kit in no way match my experience, while others may be spot on with how I personally assess it.
Czech Master Resin makes some of the most well-regarded Spitfire kits around, though they tend to be quite expensive, in the $50-$70 range, IIRC. And they are all resin kits, with photoetch and vacform canopies, so they could be a challenge just getting back into the hobby.
Maybe doing a search of the this aircraft forum could help you in judging different ones, as well as checks over on Hyperscale and ARC.
Also- check your PMs. Message inbound. [:D]
What Jon said. Looking at injecton-moulded Spitfires from mainstream manufacturers, such as you might find in your LHS, the Airfix 1/72 Spitfire Ia and Vb (not the Vc) are /more accurate, and much cheaper, than the Tamiya kits, but not as well detailed, and have raised panel lines and much worse decals. By the time you’ve factored in the cost of replacement decals, in fact, the price advantage is mostly eroded, especailly as Airfix have just put their prices up by about 10%.
The Tamiya I/Ia and Vb kits have some accuracy issues, mostly around the wing planform, but otherwise they’re very good kits. I suspect that you’d only notice the accuracy issues if you knew exactly what you were looking for (I do, so I do. Do you:
?)
The Hasegawa VIII and XI are nice, accurately-detailed kits, but not especially cheap, and the Heller XVI is surprisingly adequate. Italeri do a Vb and a IX, but there are serious fit and accuracy issues around the nose. They’re cheap, though, and I’ve heard of people using them as sources of detail parts and decals for the Airfix Vb. Hasegawa do an early Mk.I, which, while cheap, is also a bit crude. It does come with a twin-bladed prop, which is good to use on the Tamiya Spit I/Ia for a very early bird.
The Revell Germany and Hobbyboss Vbs are crude, inaccurate, and worth avoiding.
The Fujimi XIV is nice. The Academy XIV isn’t. Nor is any XIV emanating from Eastern Europe or Russia.
The Airfix IX, dating from 1958, is worth not just avoiding, but running away from. Fast, very fast. It remains to be seen how much of an improvement the proposed new Airfix kit is, or, indeed, whether, with so many Daleks and Shaun the Sheeps taking priority, we’ll ever actually see it at all.
To conclude - If I were just starting in the hobby, with maybe half-a-dozen kits under my belt,and looking for a 1/72 Spitfire, I’d go for either the Tamiya 1/72 Spit Vb, because of its good detail, adequate level of accuracy, interesting colour schemes and good decals, or the Hasegawa VIII or IX, because of its overall niceness. If I wanted a simple, inexpensive build, I’d go for the Airfix I/Ia.
Cheers,
Chris.
[#ditto] Chris pretty much nailed it on the head. [tup]
never built anything 1/72, but the hobbyboss Spitfire might be good, but it is an easy kit.
Avoid the Hobbyboss 1/72 Spitfire Vb. While the basic shape is accurate enough, it’s cheap and easy to build, detail is basic at best, and non-existant at worst. There are much better Spitfires (Airfix, Italeri, even) available for the same price.
Cheers,
Chris.
Hi there Zapper,
Welcome back to the mad mad world of modelling [#welcome]
This might be a touch of overkill, but have a look here,
http://www.72scale.com/aircraft/Supermarine/Spitfire.htm
Just about all there is out there in the way of 1:72 Spittys.
Whatever you decide on, have fun, take LOTS of pics and show us all LOL.
All the very best,
Mick C.
Hey Zapper, here is a opinion from someone in a very similar situation. I re entered this great hobby a few months ago and have already but enjoyably spent a fortune. I had tons of models as a kid but isn’t this really more of a adult gig? Hence I have bought way more than I thought. My first re purchases were a 1/72 scale Spitfire and P-47. For fighters go with 1/48, so much better. I buy 1/72 but only in bombers. My 2 cents.