fa ac tamiya supermarinespitfiremk.viii 1.32scale

© www.scalemodellingnow.com 2011

Feature Article

FA

Tamiya

Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIII

1:32nd

scale

Reviewed by Dave Coward

(92 images, 39 A4 pages, 3,624 words)


Background info…

The Mk.VIII was the true successor to the Mk.V but due to the delays in the production line

due to the line retooling the MKIX was brought into service first initially as a stop gap. It

proved incredibly successful even so and continued to serve through the second world war

in the western European theatre of operations.

To reap the maximum benefit of the Merlin 60 series engine the Mk.VIII`s nose was

lengthened to accommodate the new engine, it’s fuselage and wing were strengthened and

a 4 bladed propeller was adapted. The larger radiator was split and housed in two fairings

under the wing whilst a filter was fitted to the air intake. Fuel tanks were added to the

wings for greater range and a retractable tail to reduce drag. The rudder and horn balances

on the elevators were enlarged to enhance stability and the ailerons were shortened. Three

models were produced, Low altitude (LF), Medium altitude (MF) and High altitude (HF) each

with different versions of the Merlin 60engine. Compared to the Mk V, which had a top

speed of 370 mph at an altitude of 20000ft the Mk VIII was capable of 405mph whilst also

possessing a better rate of climb and a ceiling of over 40,000ft.Range was also increased to

680 miles and this could be further increased to 1180 miles with the use of a 90 Gallon

external fuel tank.


Mass production of the Mk VIII did not begin in earnest until then later half of 1943 due to

the Mk.IX having higher priority. As the war developed, the Mk VIIIs were sent to the

Mediterranean and Pacific Theatres as their longer ranges and air filters made them suitable

for operations in these areas. They were first deployed to No. 145 Sqn on Malta in June

1943 and saw service with the RAF, RCAF, and USAAF units in Italy. Early Mk.VIII`s featured

the same extended wingtips as the Mk.V and VII while later production aircraft had normal

wing tips and the larger rudder.

References used:

• Kit reference book

• Tamiya`s Spitfire Mk.IX by Brett Green (now updated to include the Mk.VIII)

• SMN’s Photo Reference Library for the Mk.VIII and IX Spitfire


• The internet

• Several old magazines

Extras used: Mastercasters weighted resin wheels

Mastercasters RAAF Tropical Pilot Figure

Eduard Mk IX Interior

Eduard Mk IX Exterior

Eduard Mk IX Seat Belts

Barracuda Resin Seat

Barracuda Interior detail set

Barracuda engine rocker covers

Barracuda resin cockpit door

Montex mask K32181 for the Tamiya Mk.VIII Spitfire


The Kit…

This kit is a direct follow on from Tamiya`s excellent Mk.IX. As a Mk.VIII the actual

differences in the airframe are minimal, the most noticeable being the retractable tail

wheel, and as such this kit did not receive the hype that the Mk.IX`s release did. I initially

did not intend to buy this kit but isn’t it amazing what a set of decals/masks can be

responsible for!! In this case the offending item was a set of Montex masks that I picked up

through A2zee models that covered a RAAF aircraft with a leaping Jaguar through the


fuselage roundel – I was sold!! I had already been gathering a lot of aftermarket bits for a

future detailed Mk.IX build (see above) after my out of the box build for SMN so these were

side tracked into this build as they were common – well I hope they are !!!

Well on with the build. I will not go into the same detail as the two MK.IX builds as much of

the build sequence is the same for obvious reasons but will concentrate on those areas that

differ.

My plan for this build was to go that bit extra from that provided in the box, not that a build

from the box is not impressive in its own right but there is so much opportunity to do that

little bit extra to really make this kit stand out even more than it does already.

The Build…

In this case I decided to start with the engine and the cockpit as these two areas offer the

modeller the most opportunities to add extra detail. The engine goes together like a dream

and I added the Barracuda engine rockers with the `Rolls Royce` markings on them – a

Merlin just needs that Rolls Royce marking on it !! I also used the Eduard detail set

combined with a lot of wire to get that busy feeling to the engine and mount – it’s not

strictly accurate as it was quite difficult to pick out were all the pipes run but I’m reasonably

happy with the result. As this was to be a well worn aircraft I `dirtied` up the engine area

with a combination of washes and Mig pigments along with chipping of the frame and

propeller assembly.


Next was the cockpit...

Out of the box this is very good but the one thing that I felt was missing from the `basic` kit

was cockpit stencilling, but how can you compete with Eduard’s Colour Photo etch? The kit

instrument panel builds up excellently out of the box but it has one glaring error; the blue

artificial horizon – all I can think is that Tamiya based theirs kit on a post-war restored

aircraft that had a replacement instrument. I used a combination of the Eduard PE;

Barracuda resin detail and a bit of scratch building to detail up the cockpit. It was painted

with Tamiya`s XF-71 and dirtied up with washes and pigments to get that used look I

wanted. I also added some Lycra thread for the control cables but these can hardly be seen

when the fuselage is buttoned up.


With the cockpit and engine done it was time to dry fit these into the fuselage sides. The

engine fit was perfect but the cabling on the cockpit sides needed a little `adjustment` to get

the cockpit tub to fit as some of it interferes with the ribs. When doing this kit, keep reading

the instructions as there are some differences to the Mk.IX build – I found this out the hard

way!! Firstly make sure you drill the hole out in the lower fuselage, which I did notice but


what I didn’t notice was I put the retractable tail wheel unit in upside down and this caused

some problems later on but more about that further on.

I next turned to the wing and once again take note of the instructions. Depending on which

version you do you need to cut out a small area from the wheel wells and all versions need

the light holes drilled out before you join the wing halves. If you intend to use the bomb

racks drill the locating holes for these at the same time. There are also different gun cover

inserts so be careful as the Mk.IX`s are still included in the kit and if you don’t read the

instruction there is a recipe for disaster here.


Once the wings were dry a quick fit to the fuselage showed an excellent gap free fit along

the wing root – don’t you just wish all kits fitted this well !!


Now a word of warning from the bitten… and I should heed what I preach – read the

instructions!!! In my haste I saw a set of forward wing root inserts on a sprue, assumed they

were the only set and glued them in place – WRONG!!! As note earlier there are a lot of

MK.IX parts on the sprues and I used the wrong ones, fortunately they had not set properly

and I managed to prise them off without any damage and replace them with the correct

ones – will I ever learn – probably not!!


The gun inserts are the only weak fitting areas that need a little sanding down and filling –

not excessive I grant you but strange as the rest of the kit fit is so good.

The tail fit is perfect but once again I slightly mucked up and managed to get some glue into

the elevator/tailplane join which glued them in place rather than letting them move up and

down – not an issue for me as I’m not a great fan of moving surfaces and I intended to fix

them in position later on in the build – it just happened earlier than I planned. I purposely

left them with a downwards angle to add some interest and I will set the rudder at an angle

later as well to add some interest.


As I said earlier I put the tail wheel fixing unit in upside down and it was now that I realised

this was the option tail wheel unit (you have an extended and retracted option) and would

not fit. A few anxious moments with a sharp knife allowed me to remove the unit and

replace it the right way round- be warned!!


I also realised that at this point I had forgotten to fit the PE flap side panels to the cockpit

side – I feel like this build is turning into a comedy of errors at the moment and its all my

fault I may add - not the kits – I must read the instructions!! Fortunately this was easily

fixed but cutting them down in size and slotting them in place before using superglue to

secure them.

What else can go wrong I ask myself? Well here we go. On removing the masking tape that

had held the front fuselage parts together I noticed quite a lip between the two sides and

when I sanded them flush I managed to obliterate the raised area just in front of the

canopy- unfortunately there was no way round this as the lip was on this raised area as well

and it was too late to split the fuselage and start again. I’ll just have to replace this later in

the build with some thin plastic card.


It may seem that everything is going wrong with this build but to be honest I’m only

highlighting the areas that I’ve had problems with and the majority of the build has been

trouble free – honest!!

One thing I’ve noticed with a lot of builds is you think you have a seamless joint and you do

for a day or two then a fine hairline joint appears along the seam. I think this is due to the

glue/filler contracting so I now leave the kit for a day or two before I get on with the

painting to ensure the seam has gone. (Check out your Techniques Bank for how to get rid

of these hairline seams).

In the meantime I’ve gotten on with all those little bits that always seem to be left to the

end. These are the ones you end up rushing and invariably muck up so doing them now is

not such a bad thing. I sorted the PE in the radiators, cleaned up the resin wheels (the

Tamiya ones are fine but aren’t weighted and there is a thought that the soft plastic will

perish in time), made the undercarriage legs and the auxiliary fuel tanks. I also cleaned up

the figure and prepared it for painting.

That’s it for this instalment. I’ll leave everything to dry for a day or two before I start on it

again so keep an eye out for the next instalment in the near future.

Here’s the second part of this build and I’ve got to say the kit doesn’t disappoint, it is

expensive but as they say ` you get what you pay for`.

So on with the build... I tackled the clear parts next and the Montex masks give you masks

for both the inside and outside of the canopy parts. Once masked they were sprayed with

Alclad Aluminium and Maskol was carefully dabbed along all the high wear areas. Once this

was dry the inside of the canopy was sprayed Interior Green (XF-71) and put to one side.


It was now back to the airframe...

I cut some very thin Evergreen card to shape and glued it to the area in front on the canopy

to replace the sanded away raised area previously mentioned. Once this was dry I very

carefully sanded this area down until the front canopy fitted perfectly in place – easy as

that!! Also don’t forget to mask off all those lights such as the one under the fuselage and

the two under the wing tips – you’ll be very annoyed if you forget and you spray over them

– trust me I’ve done it before!!


The engine assembly is left off until the very end but this means that there is nothing to

attach the engine covers too. You could paint them separately but you will lose the

continuity to the camouflage scheme so the best way round this is to tape the covers

together and then attach it to the engine bulkhead with more tape or Blu-Tac. Everything

can now be painted together.

First stage is to apply a primer layer of Tamiya extra fine primer and then a layer of Alclad

Aluminium. Next, high wear areas were dabbed with Maskol such as the wing root area and

the lower surfaces only were pre-shaded. Shading on the upper surfaces will be achieved

through post shading later.


With this left to dry I turned my attention to the Mastercasters figure. The kit does contain

a seated and a standing figure but it is dressed in a European battle dress which is not really

appropriate for this scheme so... I do like a figure with an aircraft, I just find they give it a

sense of scale and if painted well can really bring it to life.


Masking...

Personally I don’t really enjoy this part of the build but it is critical to get a good finish so

time spent on this stage will pay off later. Firstly grey was sprayed on the lower surfaces in

several very thin layers building up the depth of colour but stopping before the pre shading

is lost. The pre-shading can be quite stark as it will tone down after the Klear and matt

coats. Once the grey was dry (not that long – I do like acrylic paints!!) the lower surface was

masked off and the brown was applied. Once the base brown was down some white was

added to the remaining brown in the airbrush cup and this was sprayed into the centre of

the panels. Further white can be added to give more shades and when this was done I

sprayed a much thinned coat over the entire surface to both blend the shades together and

to give a `sun bleached` effect. The camouflage pattern was then masked off using the Blu-

Tac method and the green was post shaded using the same method as for the brown. Once

the masking was removed I also rubbed away the Maskol on the wing roots to expose the

metal underneath – it looks well worn which was the effect I wanted.

Now I normally advocate always starting with the lightest colour first when spraying but in

this case I’ve made an exception for the white identification stripes. White is normally a

very difficult colour to spray and get good coverage but there is a way round this. Tamiya

White primer gives excellent cover and when decanted into an airbrush its coverage can be

controlled a lot better than spraying from the can. You can also get some variation in the

white to break it up.


As well as the ID stripes the Montex Masks provide mask for the fuselage identification

codes and aircraft serial numbers. You can’t beat masks for this job as decals always leave

at the best a very faint carrier film that can be seen a t certain angles – painted numbers

look great, just try it and you will be converted.

Next came the painting of that `Leaping Panther` that attracted me to this kit in the first

place. Montex once again provide masks for this but you really have to understand the


masking sequence to get this right. Firstly the black was applied and when dry the inner

mask was put in place – this took several attempts to get right as I suspect the outer mask

was slightly distorted. My advice for anyone doing this in the future would be to put the

inner mask down first and then use it to line up the outer mask before removing it again and

applying the black.


Final parts of the masking process were the roundels. The dark blue is Gunze Sangyo Cobalt

Blue and the light blue is a custom mix of the cobalt blue and white – I’m not quite sure if it

is the correct shade and I tried several attempts at it and this was the best I could get – bear

in mind though that this light blue was mixed in theatre and would vary in shade along with

the natural bleaching by the sun – well that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!! At this point I

also masked off the radiator interior and the flap interior for a coating of aluminium.

With all the masking done the whole model was given a coat of Klear to seal the paint and

then it was the stencilling. Montex don’t provide masks for the stencils so the original plan

was to use the kit decals but whilst walking around Telford this year I spied some dry

transfers for Spitfires that were manufactured by Hobbydecal. There is an art to using these

as my first attempt proved – firstly use tape to hold them in position before you rub them –

this is critical to get good placement. When you rub them, I used the end of a paint brush


you will see the shade of black get lighter as they affix to the kit – don’t remove the backing

paper until you are sure they are down. Sounds awkward compared to decals but the results

are outstanding as there is no carrier film and they are so thin they are as good as painting

them on – my only complaint is I wish I had bought more sets they are that good!!!! With all

the markings on, a panel wash of Promodeller wash was applied to the whole airframe. (Yes

I know the door is on the wrong way round – I fixed this later!!).

Some research on the internet and an article I found on Australian Spitfires showed these

aircraft were absolutely filthy and well worn. If you like weathering this is the scheme for

you. Exhaust stains and gun stains were added using a mixture of black brown and light

grey. In order to `dirty things up a wash of Mig Productions Mud pigment and fixer was

mixed up and liberally applied across the airframe before wiping it off in the airflow

direction. Chipping was applied randomly using a dark grey paint to high ware areas

especially on the underside were stone chipping would be common.


Time to start fitting all the bits...

Engine slots into place – does that look good or what!! Flaps fit into place, radiators fixed in

place and auxiliary fuel tank fitted.


Nearly there now, time to look at the aerials. I’ve used EZ fine line for these as its coloured

black and resists being knocked unlike stretched sprue. In order to fit these in place I used a

very small drill to drill out holes in the desired positions before locating the line in the

wholes and dabbing superglue to fix them in position. Another bit of advice is to fit the

antennae into its base but don’t glue this in place – the reason for this is you can them

remove it when you transport the model and thus stopping it being broken off. A coating of

matt varnish was also applied and the door was put the right way up!!


Time to fit the undercarriage...

Once again very straightforward but I did replace the main wheels with weighted resin

replacements and filed a flat on the tail wheel. The pitot tube was replaced with a piece of

hypodermic needle and the bomb sway braces were fitted, I didn’t want to fit the bombs as

they wouldn’t look right fitted with the engine exposed.


Final job was to give everything another coat of matt varnish, remove all the masking and fit

the canopy in place and that was it done.


Summary...

The kit out of the box is an absolute triumph of engineering and although it is expensive my

personal opinion is it is worth every penny. I built the Mk IX previously for the magazine

and always said I wanted to go to town on this kit and with all the aftermarket parts now

available and the Montex masks I couldn’t resist this Mk VIII. The kit goes together flawlessly

and is a pleasure to build but the extras just make the difference. If you can only afford the

kit you won’t be disappointed but if you can get the extras that I used go for it – the result is

just stunning – I just can’t believe how kits have come on in the last couple of years – they

now truly are miniature engineering feats and this kit is the pinnacle of this industry, well for

now anyway!!

Plus Points:

• General quality and fit is excellent

• Engine and interior detail

• Instructions, decals and colour options

Watch out for:

• The price but this is subjective as I think it is worth it

• The plastic wheels are not everyone’s cup of tea

fa ac tamiya supermarinespitfiremk.viii 1.32scale

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