New Airfix

[@robbo1068]

Happy that you received such positive feedback for the first episode....so justly deserved, MN. You are obviously enjoying this build as we are watching it.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Robbo - I sure am!

[@iandone5926]

Enjoying the Spitfire build , nicly filmed and modeled.. looking forward to the engine build.. as an ex RR employee, it's always the best bit ;0)

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you, Ian. I'll do my best with it!

[@scottseary2276]

Nice to see lots of the actual building and not just lots of painting and weathering like many others 👍

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Scott - glad you liked it.

[@ianallan8005]

This modern trend for reliance on weathering slightly annoys me. It’s almost as if the model is secondary, but look at how cool I am with the oily wash

[@scottseary2276]

@@ianallan8005 thanks for the like minded back up👍

[@rolfgall9495]

Very nice work and very detailed explanations! Thank you very much!

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you for watching!

[@ralphford4302]

Excellent build of an excellent kit, thanks for sharing this update

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you Ralph

[@andygorman858]

Very cool! Loving the stressed effects of the panels on the wings. For the size of the kit and the infamous Airfix lineage of variable kits quality the fit problems are far less than I thought! Looking forward to the next episode!

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Andy. Yes, I think it is very decent overall. I suspect some of the (admittedly, minor) issues are more to do with manufacturing than design. I think this might be a new plastic they're using and I know it is a new company.

[@foreverplastickits138]

*A big scale with huge details, this Airfix kit is marvelous! I hope you'll have all the fun you desire building it. 😉😉*

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you - I am so far 😁

[@nielsvc7525]

Keep up the awesome work!

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you Niels, I'll try

[@TotallyScaleModels]

Looking Good.

[@ModelNerd]

Cheers mate

[@Deadmau5l]

been a few months since ive done a model and i think watching this little series so far is making me want to purchase the spitfire. Great work mate looking forward to the rest of the build.

[@Deadmau5l]

For the small amount of metal effect your doing maybe buy some Ak extreme metal its not good to breath in but for small amounts it might be worth it. I'd avoid the tamiya xf16 etc your better using the Model air metallic over the tamiya metals. Tamiya are my go to for normal colours but metal finishes are hit and miss.

[@FredWilbury]

Go get it it’s a great looking bit of kit 😊

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks mate. Yes - in the next part I've moved to Vallejo Metal Colours (which I used for the Sea Fury) which are very nice, and I've gone over the initial XF-16 paintwork.

[@ianallan8005]

Must admit that while it’s the wrong scale for me, I might be tempted when the next boxing/variant comes out

[@lindseykempert3385]

I love your model’s

[@danwilliams1686]

Thanks for the review videos it will be an enormous help when this kit becomes available here. Cool story, when I was about to turn 12 in 1976 a friend came to my birthday party with a MPC (airfix) 1/24 P-51D model kit for me. If I remember correctly I damn near fell to the ground having never seen a model kit so big in my life! I then told my friend after seeing pictures of the other 1/24 kits on the side of the box I said why didn't you get the spitfire?!

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks mate, glad you liked it. That would be a cool kit get when you were 12!

[@davidharrington1133]

Building this at the moment, it's a fabulous kit

[@ModelNerd]

It really is! Enjoy the build :)

[@lesthiele4921]

Greetings my friend, the Spitfire is coming together very nicely, I did have their original 1/24th Spitfire Airfix produced way back in the early 1970's, looking forward to the next update, best regards from a Kiwi living in Australia.

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you, Les - much appreciated

[@BillHalliwell]

G'day MN, Thank you so much for the detail you've taken the trouble to point out regarding the minute misalignment of some of the wing panels as they come off the sprues. As I'm still waiting on my pre-order, down here in Australia; I've taken the liberty of recording these episodes so that I can refer to them without having to go through KZbin every time. I also hope I've not infringed any KZbin/Airfix copyright conditions. One would be unrealistic to expect perfection in the moulding of these small panels, despite the significant cost, in AUD, of this kit. I do feel, however, that given the large scale and the time that Airfix have spent on getting the 'engineering' of the parts to a high standard; that we should expect a slightly more accurate set of fits with these smaller parts. Your cockpit assembly, for instance, seemed to be nicely straightforward and the level of detail was impressive. Pointing out obvious confusion in the printed instructions is also valuable for all modellers, especially those not used to kits in this scale. Here again, Airfix staff that work on the instruction sheets should, I think, work closer with the model engineers and in-house test builders in the planning stages so that inconsistencies like these do not crop up. Given that the Spitfire was one of the foundation models of the Airfix company, I really do think that this 1/24 kit should be, as close as possible, free from minute fitment issues. It's an important kit and certainly Airfix knew they would be creating a model that would be highly sought after and built by thousands of customers around the world. A kit with as little problems as possible would go a long way to making this model a true Airfix landmark and, most importantly, a kit that is truly fun to build despite its complexity and retail price. Perhaps I'm 'jumping the gun' here, as we've not yet seen the rest of your build. It may be that the rest of the build is unusually free from further fitment issues. As to Airfix instructions, I've always had slight problems deciphering them which has only increased as the models themselves have grown more complex. Still, compared to other model companies, Airfix, generally, do a good job. I eagerly await your future videos on this kit. Regrettably, I might have the complete set of your build videos before I actually receive my kit through the post. Thanks again for the vital assistance your build is, and will be, providing. Cheers, Bill H.

[@ModelNerd]

Hi Bill, thank you for your kind comments. The next step will be building the engine, so I'll really get to see how the fit is! Those things are crammed so tight in 1:1 scale that it'll be interesting to see how it is on the model.

[@anthonywallace8534]

Love it so far keep them coming

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you mate, glad you liked it

[@BrushQuill]

Its coming along a treat.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks mate

[@lindseykempert3385]

It looks nice

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Lindsey, glad you liked it

[@llamedosr7843]

The rivets look great at this scale

[@ModelNerd]

Yeah, they really do. Airfix have really improved in this area - on their older 1/72 kits some of the panel lines were like trenches, but despite the larger scale here they are (correctly) much finer.

[@ScaleMilitaryModels]

Looking good!

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks! Glad you liked it :)

[@ReliablePug7610]

Amazing video and love your channel! Came across your channel when researching the spitfire Model as i want to make it for my Grandad as a present but… I have only ever made one previous model which was not the best! Keep up the good work and can’t wait to see the end result !

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you Jacob. It's a great kit - I'm making slow progress but I am getting there. There'll be a new video soon too. Good luck with your build!

[@rc-fannl7364]

1:27, around the wheel opening, there seems like a curved recessed line that shouldn't be there? Could that be a sink-mark some viewers mentioned? Not being able to fit the cannon bulge covers when the feeder is installed feels a bit sloppy. Maybe they should have done that part in photo-etched material, to make it thinner. Now you can't keep the covers loose and just put them on because then you have to leave out part of the cannon's feeder detail. Not what you would expect on a 1/24 scale kit, where there is more space to fit extra detail, right?

[@ModelNerd]

Yes, I think that is the type of mark people are referring to. It doesn't seem to affect the surface texture though. For the feeders - yes, I did wonder why PE wasn't used. Cost reasons perhaps. But if the feeders are currently the correct size it wouldn't make a difference. The issue is more with the thickness of the wing (lower and upper) - it's probably thicker in 1:24 scale plastic than it is in real 1:1 metal before scaling down. So it greatly reduces the available interior space.

[@FredWilbury]

Nice work again I’m sure everyone will appreciate your advice 👌😎 unfortunately my wife has wrapped mine up, I’ll have to wait till Xmas lol so for now building the revell Mandalorian razor crest 😉

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you mate! Something to look forward to at least. I'd love a crack at that Razor crest kit myself.

[@markfergerson2145]

Glad the first video in this series went over so well. May it continue. Can't imagine why the instructions call for everything inside the wings to be the same aluminum color. Steel guns (and their mounting brackets I believe) and brass cased ammunition at the very least, and was there no yellow green zinc chromate protective paint on those planes?

[@ModelNerd]

I think the RAF used grey primer for most things (zc was the US) but then they painted parts aluminium for some reason.

[@TheMassivemuscles]

Looking nice. Any idea when this kit will get wide release? Cant find it anywhere in the U.S.

[@ModelNerd]

I think it is on general sale now in the UK - but most places have sold out as far as I can tell. I hope they don't neglect the US market as I'm sure it will be popular there too. Do you generally find Airfix kits fairly easily in the US?

[@TheMassivemuscles]

Yes, my local shop has airfix kits but they cant find this one yet.

[@ModelNerd]

Hopefully it will arrive in the US soon. A few viewers have said they don't have access to it in areas like South Africa, Canada, and Australia yet.

[@stephengilmore2741]

Hi! Thanks for making your video so early on and letting us all see how it's done ;-) I know you're not at that stage of the build yet, but just wondering... based on what you can see of the parts/instructions - do you think it's possible to 'place' the engine cowling and have it be removable rather than permanently fix it? I'd love to get the kit, but just planning whether it's possible to display the engine detail at will or not. I built the 1/24 Hellcat and I was able to show left half open, and right half closed. But with the Spitfire, I'm guessing the top cowling is one piece which covers both sides.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks for watching, Stephen. I've started filming the engine build process...from what I can tell it should be possible to leave the single piece top cowl unglued and remove it as you see fit. I'm not so sure about the side panels - you will be able to leave them off, but I'm not sure they will hold in place without glue.

[@stephengilmore2741]

@@ModelNerd Interesting... well, I've preordered on Airfix's site anyway, haha. Thanks for the reply!

[@graysmodels2236]

Looking good m8, airfix have definitely upped their game a bit, did you go to telford this year 🤔😊

[@ModelNerd]

Thank you mate - yes, they have. I wasn't able to go to Telford this year unfortunately, but hope I will be able to next time.

[@tonysquires8207]

Hi, quick question, do you know if it's possible to get decals for the 303 squadron, as I believe they used this model spitfire.

[@ModelNerd]

I'd say there is a good chance, Tony. I'd recommend checking on Hannants' website (even if you can't buy from them) as they have a good range of stock. There are plenty of 1:24 Spitfire decals for Airfix's older release, which of course will work fine with the new one. If there aren't any specific for 303 squadron, you might consider generic code letter and serial number letter decal sheets. I used some of these from Kits World for my 1:72 Lancaster. If they aren't available, you could get some generic 1:24 RAF roundels and consider masking the letters (perhaps buying custom masks from the various places for the letters).

[@tonysquires8207]

Thanks, I'll give it a try

[@andyrowe6764]

Just subscribed. Really enjoy the videos. The kit looks awesome. I've got this kit and have noticed that the sink marks on the wings that you mention are quite prominent on my kit. The ejector pin marks are visible on the outer surface and also the large, strange, round inner details that are present near both wing tips. Also, ejector marks are quite visible on the wing tip parts themselves and I have bad sink marks on the upper wing gun bay cover plates. I thought it was only my kit but can see them on your parts as well. I have contacted Airfix but have not had a reply yet. I would post photos of the parts but I'm not sure if I can in this comments section. I was just wondering what your views are of these defects.

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Andy. Yes, I've noticed some on my kit and in other online reviews and builds. I'm not yet sure if they will be visible under a layer of paint - I really hope not. I would like to think that with 4 or 5 test builds done by Airfix they would have spotted some of these issues if they did affect the end result.

[@TerryHart-zb6lo]

Good afternoon, I am at present building the wings. have fitted spars F36,35, 38 and 42 on one wing and F6,5 8and 12 on the other wing.However on the bottom of page 15 we have F43,39,13 and 9. Where on earth do these go. Help!

[@ModelNerd]

They go on in future steps. So in step 69 you do part F13. But that sub-assembly isn't used until step 77 (starboard wing outer end) where it is labelled 69 to reference that step. Similar with the other parts you mention.

[@TerryHart-zb6lo]

@@ModelNerd Got it!! Thank you

[@ModelNerd]

@@TerryHart-zb6lo Glad I could help. Enjoy the build!

[@TheHateSpeechChannel]

Jeez, airfix never changes does it. Far east manufacturers wiping the floor with them in terms of detail, finesse and fit. I would never consider buying any kit from airfix. Manufactured for kids and folk that wear thick thick glasses.

[@ModelNerd]

Not sure where you get that idea from: the detail on this kit is excellent. Sure, there are a couple of fit issues but there are plenty of similar and worse issues from a lot of manufacturers.

[@c123bthunderpig]

Airfix really promoted the heck out of this kit and it seemed to be selling well. However based on the scaling problems just in this video I've decided not to purchase it because this was just a small area of problems , what other miss fits are you going to find? When it comes to scale you have to decided is a kit this size really right for your time and investment. Wouldn't it be better to enjoy building a kit rather than fix the molding problems Airfix said did not exist especially at 95 pounds?

[@ModelNerd]

To be fair the scaling issue is fundamental to any model: if the exterior dimensions of the wing are correct then the interior area has to be smaller than real life just because of the plastic thickness. I can't really think of what else Airfix could have done: made the internal parts undersized? Ultimately it is only the one ammunition feeder for the canon, so I'm happy with putting it in place on one wing but not the other.

[@c123bthunderpig]

@@ModelNerd scaling should not be an issue with today's computer programming, it appears they were cutting corners and being lazy , I'll watch the whole series and see how many scale issues you find, I'll consider buying the kit if that tallies up to zero from here on out.

[@ModelNerd]

Well it's really about the minimum plastic thickness, not computer programming. Even if the real Spitfire had a 10mm thick skin, that means the plastic would need to be (10/24 = ) 0.4mm to be scale accurate - that just isn't possible (esp for such a large piece like the wings). Realistically the Spitfire's skin was closer to 1mm thick, so you're looking at molding 0.04mm thick plastic for 1/24 scale. Sure, you can design items that thin in CAD - but you won't be able to injection mold them with plastic.

[@c123bthunderpig]

@@ModelNerd excellent review of scaling, however, based on your explanation , there will be a lot of scaling errors ahead. In reality, The real Spitfire had 24 marks and many Sub-variants and didn't have any problems . So I think based on the limitations of injection molding you are going to experience a LOT more scaling issues. If they are going to continue increasing the scale they should consider another technology of manufacturing or stick to a scale with detail that can tolerate injection molding. Shame on Airfix for releasing this kit for such a huge price knowing modelers would have difficulty. It appears as we say, we will disagree until the cows come home, on this issue. I do appreciate you're oppionions and will be anxious to follow your build out.

[@robertjensen1438]

Just a comment for the algorithm

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks Robert

[@maltonbowlsclub3103]

Airfix kits are by far the most inaccurate mouldings. Eduard and Tamiya are much better

[@ModelNerd]

I'm not sure that holds true for their more recent kits. Their quality in the last few years has been excellent. What do you think is inaccurate about this kit?

[@organicpaul]

Thanks very good!

[@ModelNerd]

Thanks!