REVELL 1:72 SPITFIRE MK.Vb
'In The Box Review'

 

Reviewer: Simon Skinner  (rec.models.scale)
- A Built up review of this kit exists on this site - see the respective fully built kit review index to locate review

Kit:  REVELL 1:72 Supermarine Sptifire Mk.V - kit number 04164 (same boxart as above)

The box is not very big but it doesn't need to be, and houses two main sprues containing about 40 light grey injection parts.  The new tooling Revell finish is apparent as the surface detail is really nice and panel lines are nicely engraved.  The clear canopy, however, is only one-piece and I question how accurate the mold will have been poured on this one.  There are two Spitfire Vb decal options in grey/green camouflage scheme over Europe in the early 40's.  

Parts are broken down on two main sprues with the wings, tailplanes and cockpit front/rear bulkheads essentially on one sprue and the rest of the parts on the other.  The cockpit is reasonably well detailed with seat attached to the rear bulkhead and instrument panel and rudder pedals molded to effectively make up the front one.  The wings come in the clipped form with one long underpiece and two upper halves provided and some detail for the main wheel wells.  The underwing radiator is already molded on and if you want non-clipped wings, you need to glue the outer panels.  As a young modeller I use to hate this because I could never get those tiny outer panels to stick straight!  Engine exhaust stacks are added separately and the nose already has the propeller shaft molded on.  The level of detail on the model is excellent.

Options are limited in this kit and really only come down to the clipped wings and moveable propeller.  The rudder is a separate piece but the breakdown suggests it is affixed and not able to be positioned. The canopy is one piece and I am not sure if I like it or not, and suspect the accuracy of the shape will suffer as a result.

The decal sheet is in good register and is big enough to be adequate for this scale of model.  Both versions are covered on the sheet with some stencilling and wing walks that are common, and then separate roundels as only the upper wing red/blue roundels are shared.  They are printed in Italy and seem thin and look good.

These new tooling line of Revell kits of these WW2 fighters are just little gems when you view them in the box and later build them.  My experiences with the Hurricane, Mustang and Me-262 kits were nothing short of pleasurable and I am inclined to think that this kit will be no different.  There are possibly better Spitfire Vb's on the market but they would be from the looks of things hard pressed to beat this one.

Additional comments supplied by Dave Godden and Paul Bradley respectively
- I have built this kit and he is right about the transparency as when completed it looks like the angle of the windscreen is too shallow. The overall quality of the kit v. price is excellent although on the decals the codes are meant to be sky and are too green in hue which has been commented on in magazine reviews

- All the other reviews I have seen of this kit have mentioned the lack of the gull-wing effect on the underside of the fuselage/wing blending. This is a serious error which is difficult to correct and really rules out this kit to the serious modeller, and is why I have never considered buying this kit. In many ways, it's easier to convert the Airfix Mk.1!

 

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