1/32 Spitfire XIVe Conversion (Tamiya/Laminar Flow Design)

[jkim]

Reporting this one near the finish line. I have completed the painting stage and have sealed the paint and pastel wash with a flat coat. Still to come... weathering and then gluing on of all the final bits and pieces.








Here is a brief background on the build... This is a conversion using the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire XVIe kit as a base.




A while back, I got alerted to someone on Facebook who was developing a 3D-printed conversion to a Griffon-powered XIVe. I've always been a fan of the Griffon-powered Spitfires, especially with that five-bladed prop, so I snatched up the conversion as soon as it was offered to the public.





Mathieu at Laminar Flow Design has produced a very high quality conversion. It is comprehensive and includes the Griffon nose, prop, two different tails, the deeper radiator boxes and appropriate camera ports for the recon version. He supplies a very detailed set of instructions too. No decals included but he does give you a set of painting masks for one marking option.





Fit of the major conversion components is very good and I had no difficulty in getting the new nose, tail and radiator boxes in place without any drama.







Mathieu also developed a cockpit detail set for the XIVe, which includes a beautiful 3D-printed instrument panel. My cockpit became a hodgepodge of Tamiya kit parts, Barracuda Studios resin, Laminar Flow Design components and scratch wiring.





Comparing the kit instrument panel (left) and Quinta Studios (right) with the LFD panel (center) populated with Airscale instrument decals.





The IP and cockpit sidewalls after painting.

[kyledehart5]

This is some seriously next level stuff John!! Looking amazing. That cockpit and IP work is just amazing.

[dupes]

Stellar stuff! With two more IPs ready to go, it looks like you have to build at least two more Spits.

Did the nose portion require any sawing? Or did it directly replace kit parts?

[jkim]

Nov 1, 2024 16:19:45 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

This is some seriously next level stuff John!! Looking amazing. That cockpit and IP work is just amazing.

Thanks Kyle! Happy with how the mixture of Tamiya, Barracuda and Laminar Flow Design parts worked out. I had to do some research into some of the specific differences the XIVe had with other late mark Spitfires.

Nov 1, 2024 16:24:11 GMT -5 dupes said:

Stellar stuff! With two more IPs ready to go, it looks like you have to build at least two more Spits.

Did the nose portion require any sawing? Or did it directly replace kit parts?

Thank you! Both the nose and tail areas required sawing but it was along panel lines and clearly explained in the LFD instructions.






The tail area also had some different panel and port configurations that needed to be made, which required some filling and re-scribing.





I tried to make the joints as clean as possible.





The prop blades were painted and dressed up with some Airscale manufacturer decals. They were lightly chipped and then given a salt weathering treatment.





The top camo demarcations were done with thin rolls of Blue-Tack.





All of the major markings were painted using custom made masks from my Silhouette Portrait craft cutter.




I ran into a snag with the fuselage markings when I experienced paint lift from the adhesive masks. It's been a recurring issue with my builds and its a bummer to have to take a few steps back.




After some careful paint repair, I was able to re-do the fuselage markings.

[handiabled]

Drop dead gorgeous John! That office looks like it was taken out of a 1:1 aircraft.

[kyledehart5]

Excellent work with the paint repairs!

[jkim]

Thanks guys! Some more random notes about this build as I try to gear up for the next steps...



HGW fabric harnesses were used on the Barracuda resin seat. I added a scratch-built armor plate under the seat and dressed it up with Archer's rivet decals.




Much of the cockpit detail gets obscured once the fuselage halves come together. The bubble canopy is designed to be moveable and I am planning to keep two versions of the pilot door on hand (Tamiya kit door for the closed position and the LFD 3D-printed version for the open position).






The 5-bladed prop is removable and attachment is via small magnets.







The fuselage bottom light configuration had to be modified. The existing light position between the wing radiator boxes needed to be erased.






And a new light position needed to be added further aft.






The kit-supplied armor plate was replaced with a simplified scratch-built version.

[docsudy]

I am new to your site and just saw your images of your Spitfire you posted. While my mouth and jaws are wide open, all I can say is simply amazing!!!!. Your technical work and painting skills are beautiful. You should ( and must be ) incredibly proud of this work. Just outstanding. WoW!!!!!
best
Docsudy (Gary)