Airfix 1:72 Spitfire Mk Vb canopy wanted

[PR19_Kit]

Backstories can adjust reality if necessary.............mine usually do!

Mine ALWAYS do! 

[The Wooksta!]

Another option is Falcon, they do a specific box of vac canopies just for Spitfires. I believe most are available separately ---

Check here;

http://www.falconmodels.co.nz/

The Falcon canopies are usually geared to go with a particular kit and IIRC none of the canopies in the dedicated Spitfire set are intended for ye olde Airfix Vb.  Tamiya's bloated kit, yes, but not Airfix.

[steelpillow]

Some of these Vb / Vc kits have two canopies, respectively with internal and external armoured glass. But I cannot find out whether this is an extra with the Vc kit or if the Vb has them as well.

Meanwhile, Airfix have announced a new-tool Vc for this autumn: https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/shop/new-for-2020/spitfire-mkvc.html

[The Wooksta!]

Trust me, the 2000s Vc canopies are utter cack and are fit only for the circular file.  The Vb kit doesn't have any of the Vc parts, not that any of the 2000s Vc parts are worth anything anyway.

[steelpillow]

Trust me, the 2000s Vc canopies are utter cack and are fit only for the circular file.  The Vb kit doesn't have any of the Vc parts, not that any of the 2000s Vc parts are worth anything anyway.

What I mean is, I am not sure if the twin-canopy moulding in the Vc originated with the Vb or was an extra for the Vc.

[The Wooksta!]

The Hornby boxings of the Vc seemed to have the extra parts by mistake, if that makes any sense. 

The twin canopy moulding in the Vc was there from the start - the two I got at easter in 2005 had them included.

If you haven't got very far with the Twinfire, I'd defer it until the new tool Airfix Vc comes out.

[steelpillow]

The twin canopy moulding in the Vc was there from the start - the two I got at easter in 2005 had them included.

By "there from the start" do you mean already in the Airfix Vb kit before the Vc appeared, or that it first appeared in the Vc kit when it first came out? This is what I am trying to find out, so a totally simple answer would be appreciated.

[The Wooksta!]

I bought two of the Vcs when they came out in 2005.  The had all of the plastic parts from the Vb APART from the canopy.  You got a different clear sprue with two canopies with the internal armour glass (this was newly tooled in 2004 and was NEVER in with the Vb kit - I have had virtually every boxing of that kit through my hands at some point) and a sprue with the wings, cannon barrels and a Vokes filter.  IIRC, the plastic of the Vb parts was a different colour to those of the Vc, so I suspect that the Vb bits were produced by the French and the Vc bits in China.

Later, the wing sprue was modified for the Airfix Club to include an arrestor hook plus the recess for the Seafire IIc.  Alternatively, and more likely, those parts were already on the sprue and just gated off on the Vc as they weren't required.

When Hornby bought the company, the kit was still available, but no one told the Indians doing the production that the Seafire parts on the wing sprue needed to be gated off, so all of the Vcs produced in India have the Seafire bits.  No one told the Indians that the Vc didn't have the canopy with the external armour, so they produced that as well and bunged it in the kit, along with the dreadful abortion that is the Vc canopy. 

The reissued kit also comes with nice shiny Cartograf decals rather than the excreble garbage that was in the later Heller produced kits.

There's one nasty snag - the boxes look identical, so how do you know what you're getting?  Heller boxed kits are marked "Made in Trun", the later Hornby ones have "Made in India" on them.

That's the full timeline.

[steelpillow]

Wow, thank you! No wonder I have been so confused, I had no idea. Glad I didn't ask for the uncut three-hour version.

So it's either an old Vc canopy set or a couple of new kits I'm after then. H'mm.

[zenrat]

Good evening and welcome to Mastermind.
Tonight's first contestant is Mr The Wooksta whose specialist subject is 1/72 Spitfire model kits.

You never fail to impress Lee.

[steelpillow]

Now have one on its way.

I should ask for stuff more often if it always turns into such interesting threads.

Thanks to all.

[Old Wombat]

It usually does. I often just come & read such threads just for the esoteric knowledge that's imparted.

[The Wooksta!]

Good evening and welcome to Mastermind.
Tonight's first contestant is Mr The Wooksta whose specialist subject is 1/72 Spitfire model kits.

You never fail to impress Lee.

I think I've had the vast majority of 72nd Spitfire kits through my hands at one point.  Not necessarily every different boxing, but the tooling.  Offhand, I have never had:

Original Airfix Spitfire - BT-K - although I do have a fuselage half that came in a random box of bits and the header card for a bagged release
Polystil did a Spitfire that apparently was a bad copy of the original Airfix
The old Airfix mk IX originally came out sans rivets and they added them later.  I've never had one of the early releases, although I did get a bagged old tool as part of a job lot of Spitfires
CMK/CMR have released a vast number of Spitfires over the years.  I'm sure I've missed some of them.
I looked at the Forces of Valour mk IX kit, and nearly couldn't back on the shelf due to laughing so hard at the sheer awfulness of it.
I got one of the PM kits as part of a job lot, but missed the others.  Thankfully.
I got the Italeri mk Vb and the mk IXc, but studiously avoided their other marks.
Legato had a couple of resin kits, but the only one I managed to get was the PR.Ig, which is very nice but given that it's a reworked Airfix mk Ia (old) it should be.
I still haven't bought the Lonewulf Spitfire Rammer project, but again, that's just a reworked old tool Airfix mk Ia.
I may have missed one of the Highplanes Spitfires.
Airkit did a one off mk XII, but I do know who has the only one in existence and it isn't me.

[steelpillow]

When I was looking for affordable Vc kits for this Twinfire I came across a Turkish tooling, Can't recall the brand, but sadly that's the kindest thing I can say about it.

[PR19_Kit]

When I was looking for affordable Vc kits for this Twinfire I came across a Turkish tooling, Can't recall the brand, but sadly that's the kindest thing I can say about it.

Most likely the PM kit that Lee mentions above. Best avoided.