Warbirds | Seafire III/XV/XVII Wing

Reviewed by Mark Proulx

This is an out of the box review of the Seafire III/XV/XVII Wing, kit No 3210, produced by Warbirds Productions. Owned and operated by Vasko Barbic in the UK, Warbirds Productions supplies a number of resin conversion kits for the 1/32nd scale Spitfire Vb by Hasegawa.

The wing for the Seafire III/XV/XVII was an adaptation of the Universal "C" Wing, incorporating a manual wing fold in the design. This was done to eliminate any weight penalty that power assisted wings offered, despite the manpower required to fold the wings.

The wings are cast as two solid resin components. Consequently, it would be difficult to depict a Seafire with the wings folded using this conversion. The modeller is required to remove the outboard wings sections from the single span item supplied by Hasegawa. Instructions clearly show where the cuts are to be made. As the replacement wings have a very fine and straight trailing edge, care should be given during construction so as not to cause damage. When reattaching the new resin wings, careful consideration will be required to achieve the necessary 6 degrees of dihedral. To install the armament, holes will have to be drilled into the leading edge of the wing.

The wings incorporate all the required modifications that were applied to the Seafire's navalized wing. The scribing detail on the top of the wing is very finely recessed with all panel lines perfectly straight. The differences in the Seafire wing from the Universal "C" Wing are all scribed into the surface. This includes the wing fold joint and the relocation of the flap actuator linkage door. The ailerons are clearly visible, as Vasko has used deeper and broader scribing to outline their shape.

The underside of the wing is similar to the top, with the wingfold line scribed into the surface. Wheel wells are detailed with their visible stringers. Warbirds has designed this kit to use the Hasegawa landing gear with no modifications. The spent shell ejection slots could be difficult to open up, due to the solid nature of the wing. Small blisters are molded onto the underside of the wing, and again, the aileron and flaps seams are clearly visible.

Radiators, armament and upper wing gun blisters do not come with the wings. These items are all available with the Spitfire Conversion sets. Hasegawa supplies two types of wingtips, so it's felt that these items would not be required.

To those modellers wishing to make a Seafire in 1/32nd scale, this set of wings should make that task a little easier. Vasko Barbic has eliminated the need to modify and rescribe the Hasegawa wings. This set will also go well with the Seafire XV conversion that is available from Warbirds. I highly recommend this and other products from Warbirds Productions to anyone contemplating a conversion of the Hasegawa Spitfire Vb.

Due to Vasko's current wish to keep his company small, products are only available from the manufacturer. At the time of this review, no website is available.

Warbirds | Seafire III/XV/XVII Wing

Reviewed by Mark Proulx

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