Hi Chaps,
With the P51 due shortly (and looking at the photos I have seen then It is on my to get list) I wondered if Tamiya will go back to the Spitfire and then do a Mk 22/24 with the Griffon engine and 5 blade prop to (more or less) complete the main marks of this iconic aircraft (only the Mk1a left).
It does seem that this P51 has actual stuff in the gun bays… Why didn’t the three spits they put out and THAT is the only beef I have over the VIII IX and XVI kits they have done. Apart from that These kits, despite their price are the best I have seen in 1/32 yet and certainly set a standard.
So, Come on Tamiya, Let’s see A Mk22/24 Spitfire with the huge Griffon engine AND cannon etc.
What do you chaps out there think?
Its a possibility as the Spitfire kit is designed with the real motor mount panel lines used.
If you look there is resin conversion kits to make this modification. I would NOT use the Tamiya kit as a lot of the expense is the motor & fancy mounts w magnetic fasteners etc. Buy a kit that does not include the motor as the front of the aircraft is cut off to accommodate the resin conversion.
There is a finished picture of one done in Great Scale Modeling, also a article a year or so back in FSM. Check the archives for the exact issue.
The way the kit’s designed, it’s entirely possible to graft a new front end onto it. Now…I don’t know enough about the Spits to know if that was the main difference with the Mk. 22. Or, going backward, between the V and the IX/VIII. Because I think in the other direction the Vb and Vb Trop would be other logical choices.
Whatever the case and engineering challenges, I have to imagine there’s a bit of “Spitfire fatigue” in reaction to Spitfire’s latest releases. Jumping gears to the Mustang for awhile, then hitting with a few more Spits, may not be a bad idea.
Like I said in another thread, I think the next 1/32 a/c (after the P-51B?) will be something from the Luftwaffe - a BF-109 or FW-190 more than likely. They have several different versions of the 190 in 1/48, it would seem logical (to me anyways) for them to expand one of those to 1/32 as well.