MODEL

AIRCRAFT
EXTRA

No.6

BUILDING THE

Spitfire
Compiled by Andy Evans
 1

MA PUBLICATIONS LTD

Model Aircraft Extra #6

Building the Spitfire
Compiled by Andy Evans

Produced under licence by:

MA Publications Ltd
PO Box 1592, Bedford, MK40 9FD | UK
Telephone: +44 (0) 1234 331431
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© 2020 MA Publications Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or
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publishers.
ISBN: 978-1-9161005-5-8
Complied by: Andy Evans
Design & Layout: Andy Folds,
Jonathan Phillips
Printed and bound in the United Kingdom

The Supermarine Spitfire

Contents American Spitfire – 1:48 Ari Spitfire Mk.VIII 54
Introduction – The Supermarine Spitfire 2 Tropical Times – 1:48 Spitfire Mk.Vb 58
Photo Fighter – 1:48 Airfix Spitfire FR.XIV 10 Maltese Mask – 1:32 Spitfire Mk.IXc 62
Jungle Shark – 1:32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.VII 14 Amphibious Spitfire – 1:48 Airfix Spitfire Vb 66
Black Spitfire In Egypt – 1:32 Hasegawa Spitfire Mk.Va 18 Super Detailed Spitfire – 1:72 Airfix Spitfire Mk.IX 70
Silver Spitfire – 1:32 Pacific Coast Models Spitfire FR.18 21 In The Pink – 1:32 Revell Spitfire FR.IX Conversion 76
Step by Step Spitfire – 1:24 Trumpeter Spitfire Mk.Vb 26 Super Size Spitfire – 1:32 Revell Spitfire Mk.IIa 81
Janetka Spitfire – 1:32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.XVIe 30 Black Panther Spitfire – 1:32 Pacific Coast Models Mk.XIVc 86
PRU Blue Thai Spitfire – 1:48 Airfix Spitfire PR.XIX 34 Seafire – 1:32 Revell Spitfire Mk.22 Conversion 90
African Ace – 1:48 Eduard Spitfire Mk.IXc 37 Fleet Air Arm Fighter – 1:38 Airfix Seafire F.XVII 94
Doodlebug Destroyer – 1:32 Pacific Coast Models Spitfire Mk.XIV 42 Civilian Spitfire – 1:32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.XIc 98
Spitfire Over The Sphinx – 1:48 Eduard Spitfire Mk.XIc 46 Spitfire Bomber – 1:72 Eduard Spitfire Mk.XIV 102
Invasion Striped Spitfire – 1:48 Revell Spitfire Mk.XIc 50 Spitfire Specifics – Airfix 1:48 Spitfire Mk.XIV 106
2
The Supermarine
Spitfire
T
he iconic Supermarine is possibly one of the
most recognisable and famous aircraft of all time.
Many variants of the Spitfire were built, using
several wing configurations, and it was produced
in greater numbers than any other British aircraft. It
was also the only British fighter produced continuously
throughout the War. The Spitfire was designed as a
short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R.
J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation
Works, which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-
Armstrong from 1928. Mitchell pushed the Spitfire’s
distinctive elliptical wing with cutting-edge sunken
rivets to have the thinnest possible cross-section,
helping give the aircraft a higher top speed than
several contemporary fighters, including the Hawker
Hurricane. Mitchell continued to refine the design until
his death in 1937, whereupon his colleague Joseph
Smith took over as chief designer, overseeing the
Spitfire’s development through its multitude of
variants. During the Battle of Britain, from July to
October 1940, the public perceived the Spitfire to be
INTRODUCTION – SPITFIRE
the main RAF fighter, though the more numerous
Hurricane shouldered a greater proportion of the
burden against Nazi Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe.
However, Spitfire units had a lower attrition rate
and a higher victory-to-loss ratio than those flying
Hurricanes because of the Spitfire’s higher performance.
During the battle, Spitfires were generally tasked with
engaging Luftwaffe fighters, mainly Messerschmitt Bf
109E-series aircraft, which were a close match for them.
Background
After the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire superseded
the Hurricane to become the backbone
of RAF Fighter Command, and saw action in
the European, Mediterranean, Pacific, and South-East
Asian theatres. Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire
served in several roles, including interceptor, photo-
reconnaissance, fighter-bomber, and trainer, and
it continued to serve in these roles until the 1950s.
The Seafire was a carrier-based adaptation of the Spitfire
that served in the Fleet Air Arm from 1942 through

to the mid-1950s. Although the original airframe was
designed to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine
producing 1,030 hp, it was strong enough and
adaptable enough to use increasingly powerful
Merlin’s and, in later marks, Rolls-Royce Griffon engines
producing up to 2,340hp. As a result, the Spitfire’s
performance and capabilities improved over the
course of its service life. In 1931, the Air Ministry
released specification F7/30, calling for a modern fighter
capable of a flying speed of 250mph. Mitchell designed
the Supermarine Type 224 to fill this role. The Type 224
was an open-cockpit monoplane with bulky gull-wings
and a large, fixed, spatted undercarriage powered
by the 600-horsepower, evaporatively cooled Rolls-
Royce Goshawk engine. It made its first flight in
February 1934. Of the seven designs tendered to F7/30,
the Gloster Gladiator biplane was accepted for service.
The Type 224 was a big disappointment to Mitchell
and his design team, who immediately embarked on
a series of ‘cleaned-up’ designs, using their experience
with the Schneider Trophy seaplanes as a starting
point. This led to the Type 300, with retractable
undercarriage and a wingspan reduced by 6ft. This
design was submitted to the Air Ministry in July 1934
but was not accepted. It then went through a series
of changes, including the incorporation of a faired,
enclosed cockpit, oxygen-breathing apparatus, smaller
and thinner wings, and the newly developed, more
powerful Rolls-Royce PV-XII V-12 engine, later named the
‘Merlin’. In November 1934, Mitchell, with the backing
of Supermarine’s owner Vickers-Armstrong, started
detailed design work on this refined version of the
3
Type 300. On 1 December 1934, the Air Ministry issued
contract AM 361140/34, and on 3 January 1935, they
formalised the contract with a new specification, F10/35,
written around the aircraft. In April 1935, the armament
was changed from two .303in Vickers machine guns in
each wing to four .303 in Browning’s, following a
recommendation by Squadron Leader Ralph Sorley of
the Operational Requirements section at the Air
Ministry. On 5 March 1936, the prototype (K5054) took
off on its first flight from Eastleigh Aerodrome. At the
controls was Captain Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers, chief test
pilot for Vickers, who is quoted as saying “Don’t touch
anything” on landing. This eight-minute flight came four
months after the maiden flight of the Hawker Hurricane.
The British public first saw the Spitfire at the RAF
Hendon air display on Saturday 27 June 1936.
Although full-scale production was supposed to
begin immediately, numerous problems could not
be overcome for some time, and the first production
Spitfire, K9787, did not roll off the Woolston,
Southampton assembly line until mid-1938. On 3 June
1936, the Air Ministry placed an order for 310 aircraft,
and full-scale production of the Spitfire began at
Supermarine’s facility in Woolston but order clearly
could not be completed in the fifteen months promised.
Supermarine was a small company, already busy
building Walrus and Stranraer flying boats, and Vickers
was busy building Wellington bombers. The initial
solution was to subcontract the work, and although
outside contractors were supposed to be involved in
manufacturing many important Spitfire components,
especially the wings, Vickers-Armstrong (the parent
4
company) was reluctant to see the Spitfire being
manufactured by outside concerns, and was slow to
release the necessary blueprints and subcomponents.
As a result of the delays in getting the Spitfire into
full production, the Air Ministry put forward a plan
that its production be stopped after the initial order
for 310, after which Supermarine would build Bristol
Beaufighters. The management of Supermarine and
Vickers were able to convince the Air Ministry that
production problems could be overcome, and a further
order was placed for 200 Spitfires on 24 March 1938,
and in mid-, the first production Spitfire rolled off the
INTRODUCTION – SPITFIRE
assembly line  and was flown by Jeffrey Quill on 15 May
1938, almost twenty-four months after the initial order.
Design and the Merlin Engine
Mitchell’s design aims were to create a well-balanced,
high-performance fighter aircraft capable of fully
exploiting the power of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine,
while being relatively easy to fly, however, Spitfire’s
airframe was complex. The streamlined, semi-
monocoque, duralumin-skinned fuselage featured a
number of compounds, with vertical curves built-up
from a skeleton of nineteen formers, also known as
frames, starting from frame number one, immediately
behind the propeller unit, to the tail unit attachment
frame. The first four frames supported the glycol
header tank and engine cowlings. Frame five, to which
the engine bearers were secured, supported the
weight of the engine and its accessories. This was a
strengthened double frame which also incorporated
the fireproof bulkhead, and in later versions of the
Spitfire, the oil tank. This frame also tied the four main
fuselage longerons to the rest of the airframe. Behind
the bulkhead were five U-shaped half-frames which
accommodated the fuel tanks and cockpit. The rear
fuselage started at the 11th frame, to which the pilot’s
seat and (later) armour plating were attached, and
ended at the 19th, which was mounted at a slight
forward angle just forward of the fin. Each of these

nine frames was oval, reducing in size towards the tail,
and incorporated several lightening holes to reduce
their weight as much as possible without weakening
them. The U-shaped frame 20 was the last frame of the
fuselage proper and the frame to which the tail unit was
attached. Frames 21, 22 and 23 formed the fin; frame
22 incorporated the tailwheel opening and frame 23
was the rudder post. Before being attached to the main
fuselage, the tail unit frames were held in a jig and the
eight horizontal tail formers were riveted to them.
A combination of fourteen longitudinal stringers
and four main longerons attached to the frames
helped form a light, but rigid structure to which
sheets of alclad stressed skinning were attached. The
fuselage plating was 24, 20, and 18 gauge in order of
thickness towards the tail, while the fin structure was
completed using short longerons from frames 20 to 23,
before being covered in 22-gauge plating. The skins
of the fuselage, wings, and tail plane were secured by
dome-headed rivets, and in critical areas such as the
wing forward of the main spar where an uninterrupted
airflow was required, with flush rivets. From February
1943 flush riveting was used on the fuselage, affecting
all Spitfire variants. In some areas, such as at the rear
5
of the wing and the lower tail plane skins, the top was
riveted, and the bottom fixed by brass screws which
tapped into strips of spruce bolted to the lower ribs.
The removable wing tips were made up of duralumin-
skinned spruce formers. At first, the ailerons, elevators,
and rudder were fabric-covered, but combat experience
showed that fabric-covered ailerons were impossible
to use at high speeds, a light alloy replaced the fabric,
enhancing control throughout the speed range
Armament
Due to a shortage of Browning’s, which had been
selected as the new standard rifle calibre machine
gun for the RAF in 1934, early Spitfires were fitted
with only four guns, with the other four fitted later.
Early tests showed that, while the guns worked
perfectly on the ground and at low altitudes, they
tended to freeze at high altitude, especially the
outer wing guns, because the RAF’s Browning’s had
been modified to fire from an open bolt. While this
prevented overheating of the cordite used in British
ammunition, it allowed cold air to flow through the
barrel unhindered, and Supermarine didn’t fix the
problem until October 1938, when they added hot air
6
ducts from the rear of the wing-mounted radiators
to the guns, and bulkheads around the gun bays
to trap the hot air in the wing. Red fabric patches
were doped over the gun ports to protect the guns
from cold, dirt, and moisture until they were fired. Even
if the eight Browning’s worked perfectly, pilots soon
discovered that they were not sufficient to destroy
larger aircraft. Combat reports showed that an average
of 4,500 rounds were needed to shoot down an enemy
aircraft. In November 1938, tests against armoured and
unarmoured targets had already indicated that the
introduction of a weapon with a calibre of at least 20mm
was urgently needed. A variant on the Spitfire design
with four 2 mm Oerlikon cannon had been tendered
to specification F37/35, but the order for prototypes
had gone to the Westland Whirlwind in January 1939.
In June 1939, a Spitfire was fitted with a drum-
fed Hispano in each wing, an installation that required
large blisters on the wing to cover the sixty-round
drum. The cannon suffered frequent stoppages,
mostly because the guns were mounted on their
sides to fit as much of the magazine as possible within
the wing. In January 1940, P/O George Proudman
INTRODUCTION – SPITFIRE
flew this prototype in combat, but the starboard gun
stopped after firing a single round, while the port
gun fired thirty rounds before seizing. If one cannon
seized, the recoil of the other threw the aircraft off
aim. Nevertheless, thirty more cannon-armed Spitfires
were ordered for operational trials, and they were
soon known as the Mk.IB, to distinguish them from
the Browning-armed Mk.IA; they were delivered to
No.19 Squadron beginning in June 1940. The Hispanos
were found to be so unreliable that the squadron
requested an exchange of its aircraft with the older
Browning-armed aircraft of an operational training
unit. By August, Supermarine had perfected a more
reliable installation with an improved feed mechanism
and four .303s in the outer wing panels. The modified
fighters were then delivered to No.19 Squadron.
Into Operation
The operational history of the Spitfire with the RAF
began with the first Mk.I K9789, which entered service
with 19 Squadron at RAF Duxford on 4 August 1938. The
Spitfire achieved legendary status during the Battle
of Britain, a reputation aided by the ‘Spitfire Fund’
organised and run by Lord Beaverbrook, the Minister of
Aircraft Production. In fact, the Hurricane outnumbered
the Spitfire throughout the battle, and shouldered the
burden of the defence against the Luftwaffe; however,
because of its higher performance, the overall attrition
rate of the Spitfire squadrons was lower than that of
the Hurricane units, and the Spitfire units had a higher
victory-to-loss ratio. The key aim of Fighter Command
was to stop the Luftwaffe’s bombers; in practice,
whenever possible, the tactic was to use Spitfires to
counter German escort fighters, by then based in
northern France, particularly the Bf 109s, while the
Hurricane squadrons attacked the bombers. Well-known
Spitfire pilots included ‘Johnnie’ Johnson, Douglas
Bader and Robert Stanford Tuck flew Spitfires and
Hurricanes during the major air battles of 1940. Both

Bader and Tuck were shot down and became prisoners
of war, while flying Spitfires over France in 1941 and
1942. Paddy Finucane scored all his successes in the
fighter before disappearing over the English Channel in
July 1942. Some notable Commonwealth pilots
were George Beurling from Canada, ‘Sailor’ Malan from
South Africa, New Zealanders Alan Deere and CF
Gray and Australian Hugo Armstrong. The Spitfire
continued to play increasingly diverse roles throughout
the Second World War and beyond, often in air forces
other than the RAF. For example, the Spitfire became
the first high-speed photo-reconnaissance aircraft to
be operated by the RAF. Sometimes unarmed, they
flew at high, medium, and low altitudes, often ranging
far into enemy territory to closely observe the Axis
powers and provide an almost continual flow of
valuable intelligence information throughout the War.
Spitfires Overseas
In the Mediterranean, the Spitfire blunted the heavy
attacks on Malta by the Regia Aeronautica and
Luftwaffe, and from early 1943, helped pave the way
for the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy. On 7 March
1942, 15 Mk.Vs carrying ninety-gallon fuel tanks under
their bellies took off from HMS Eagle off the coast of
Algeria on a 600-mile flight to Malta, and were the first
7
Spitfires to see service outside Britain. The Spitfire also
served on the Eastern Front with the Soviet Air Force
(VVS). The first deliveries of the Spitfire Mk.VB variant
took place at the start of 1943, with the first batch of
thirty-five aircraft delivered via sea to the city of Basra,
Iraq. In 1944, the USSR received the substantially
improved Mk.IX variant, with the first aircraft delivered
in February. Initially, these were refurbished aircraft, but
subsequent shipments were factory new. A total of 1,185
aircraft of this model were delivered through Iran, Iraq
and the Arctic to northern Soviet ports. Two of these
were the Spitfire HF Mk.IX (high-altitude modification)
while the remainder were the low-altitude LF Mk.IX.
The last Lend-Lease shipment carrying the Mk.IX
arrived at the port of Severodvinsk on 12 June 1945.
The Spitfire also served in the Pacific Theatre,
meeting its match in the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M
Zero. Although not as fast as the Spitfire, the Zero
could out-turn the Spitfire with ease, could sustain a
climb at a very steep angle, and could stay in the air
for three times as long. To counter the Zero, Spitfire
pilots had to adopt a ‘slash and run’ policy and use
their faster speed and diving superiority to fight,
while avoiding classic dogfights. Over the Northern
Territory of Australia, Royal Australian Air Force and
RAF Spitfires assigned to No.1 Wing RAAF helped
8

defend the port town of Darwin against air attack by

the Japanese Naval Air Force, suffering heavy losses
largely due to the type’s limited fuel capacity. Spitfire
Mk.VIIIs took part in the last battle of World War II
involving the Western allies in Burma, in the ground
attack role, helping defeat a Japanese break-out
attempt. Also, Spitfires were used by the United States
Army Air Forces in the 4th Fighter Group until they were
replaced by Republic P-47 Thunderbolts in March 1943.

Griffon Engine Spitfires

The first Rolls-Royce Griffon-engined Mk.XII flew in
August 1942 and was operational with No.41 Squadron
in April 1943. This mark could nudge 400mph in level
flight and climb to an altitude of 33,000ft in under nine
minutes. As American fighters took over the long-range
escorting of United States Army Air Forces (USAAF)
daylight bombing raids, the Griffon-engined Spitfires
progressively took up the tactical air superiority role,
and played a major role in intercepting V-1 flying
bombs, while the Merlin-engined variants (mainly the
Mk.IX and the Packard-engined Mk.XVI) were adapted
to the fighter-bomber role. Although the later Griffon-
engined marks lost some of the favourable handling
characteristics of their Merlin-powered predecessors,
they could still outmanoeuvre their main German foes
and other, later American and British-designed fighter.
The final version of the Spitfire, the Mk.24, first flew
at South Marston on 13 April 1946. On 20 February
1948, almost twelve years from the prototype’s first
flight, the last production Spitfire, VN496, left the
production line. Spitfire Mk.24s were used by only
INTRODUCTION – SPITFIRE

one regular RAF unit, with No.80 Squadron replacing

their Hawker Tempests with F Mk.24s in 1947. No.80
Squadron undertook patrol and reconnaissance
duties from Wunstorf in Germany as part of the
occupation forces, until it relocated to Kai Tak Airport,
Hong Kong in July 1949. During the Chinese Civil War,
No.80 Squadron’s main duty was to defend Hong
Kong from perceived Communist threats. Operation

‘Firedog’ during the Malayan Emergency saw the
Spitfire fly over 1,800 operational sorties against the
Malaysian Communists. The last operational sortie
of an RAF Spitfire was flown on 1 April 1954, by PR
Mk.19 PS888, flying from RAF Seletar, in Singapore.
The Seafire
The Seafire was a naval version of the Spitfire specially
adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. Although
the Spitfire was not designed for the rough-and-tumble
of carrier-deck operations, it was considered the best
available fighter at the time. The basic Spitfire design
did impose some limitations on the use of the aircraft
as a carrier-based fighter; poor visibility over the nose,
for example, meant that pilots had to be trained to
land with their heads out of the cockpit and looking
along the port cowling of their Seafire. Like the Spitfire,
9
the Seafire also had a relatively narrow undercarriage
track, which meant that it was not ideally suited to
deck operations. Early Seafire marks had relatively few
modifications to the standard Spitfire airframe, however,
cumulative front-line experience meant that most of the
later versions of the Seafire had strengthened airframes,
folding wings, arrestor hooks and other modifications,
culminating in the purpose-built Seafire F/FR Mk.47.
The Seafire II was able to outperform the A6M5 Zero at
low altitudes when the two types were tested against
each other during wartime mock combat exercises.
However, contemporary Allied carrier fighters such as
the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair were considerably more
robust and so more practical for carrier operations.
Performance was greatly increased when later versions
of the Seafire were fitted with the Griffon engines,
however, were too late to see service in World War II.
10
Photo-Fighter
Jezz Colman builds the recent 1:48 Spitfire FR.XIV
A
irfix kits have always had a place in my heart from
the very first model I ever built as a young child
to present day, and I have mostly had at least
one or two Airfix kits in my stash. So, when the
Airfix Spitfire Mk.XIV was announced I was quite intrigued
to see if this offering cut the mustard as I had heard
people giving somewhat mixed reviews on this kit. On
opening the box, I was presented with three large sprues
and a rather nice crystal-clear sprue
containing the canopy, some wing tips
ends, and a rather nicely printed decal
sheet with two available options.
So, with tools at the ready I began.
First up was the assembly of the
cockpit, which was made up of two
sides with nicely moulded details,
a seat and associated bulkheads,
which were assembled as per the
BUILD 1 – SPITFIRE
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIV
MANUFACTURER: AIRFIX
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: A05135
instructions. All of the components were then painted
using Tamiya Cockpit Green and all the smaller details,
like the instrument panels and sidewall controls were
all hand-painted in their particular colours. A panel
wash was then applied just to enhance the details
to finish off. The completed cockpit was then simply
slotted into place between the two fuselage halves,
and a few elastic bands were wrapped around the
fuselage to hold it firmly while the glue was drying. 
Next up was to install the cover directly over the fuel
tank area, and this was the only part I feel let the kit
down, as it was not the best fitting piece, but with some
carful gluing and a little persuasion I got a reasonable fit.
11
12

I then attached that, along with the lower wing portion, various panels with a highly thinned
followed by the starboard and port upper wing halves. lightened version of Tamiya Dark
Care should be taken, and I did several dry fit runs before Green 1. I then used Blu-Tac to mask off
committing to gluing the upper wing sections into place. the airframe for second colour Tamiya
You will also need to do some careful sanding to get both XF-82 RAF Ocean Grey 2, which was also
surfaces to meet up at the wing root. Next, was the rear highlighted. The upper areas were masked
elevators and rudder, which fitted like a glove with just a up ready for application of Tamiya XF-19 Sky Grey
small amount of Tamiya Extra Thin run along the mating undersides, and again suitably highlighted. With the
surfaces. All the other parts that adorned the airframe were main paintwork complete it was onto the finer details
attached as necessary prior to painting. I left of the slipper which were painted in their respective colours, the
tank off to be attached at the final stages of the build, to canopy was also masked up and painted to be
ensure ease of painting later on. Once all the various joints attached at the final stages of the build. 
and seams have been sanded smooth, just a few I also masked up and painted
panel lines needed to be rescribed back in.  the yellow stripes on
The entire model and a number of smaller
parts, such as the undercarriage legs,
wheels and gear doors were given
a coat of Black Primer, which also
served as the basis for the ‘black
basing’ technique I was going
to use. I then followed that with
a ‘marble coat’ of White, applied
BUILD 1 – SPITFIRE

to the entire airframe. This would

then give me a more tonal finish.
Once dry, I applied freehand with
my airbrush some Tamiya XF-81 RAF
Dark Green 2, and following that I
made a few more passes, picking out
 13

the leading edges of the wings, and the nose cone also
received a coat of yellow. Everything was then given
coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss prior to applying the
decals, which went down very nicely with a little
decal solution. A second coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss
was then added to protect the decals from the panel
wash to come, and here I used my trusty home-made
oil paint panel mix. This was them applied along the
many engraved panel lines, left to dry for a short while
and then any excess was removed using cotton buds

and some paper towels. The model

was now in its final stages, but first various other
parts like the undercarriage legs, wheels, gear doors and
the slipper tank needed to be glued into place. I did this
using a small amount of superglue. I finally applied a coat
of Matt to the airframe to seal everything in, then glued
on the spinner and propeller, removed the masking and
attached the canopy with some PVA to complete the
model. I really enjoyed this build and despite some reviews
all I can say is that you get out of a kit what you put into it!
14

Jungle
Shark!

Andrew Root builds the 1:32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.VIII

Spitfire Mk.VIII

H
aving previously built Tamiya’s superb Spitfire
Mk.XVIe, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I had no MANUFACTURER: TAMIYA
hesitation in ordering their Mk.VIII. As with most SCALE: 1:32
kits, the interior came first, and this is built as KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
a separate section, with several bulkheads and a floor INJECTION MOULDED
pan. Everything was then given a coat of Tamiya XF-71 KIT NUMBER: 60320
Interior Green, then Eduard’s #333085 Interior Set
was used to enhance the cockpit. This set
comes with lots of etched parts, including
the harness, which was very good.
The interior was then given a dark wings followed, again with
wash to it give a well-used look. minimal problems, with just a
Next came the fuselage, and here bit of Tamiya was tape needed
the two halves joined together to hold the correct dihedral.
BUILD 2 – SPITFIRE

really well, with only a tiny seem, The engine was the next item
which was easily sanded with no and again this has some great
problems. The tailfin, elevators and detailing. On the Mk.XVIe I had
rudder were next, and these all have the cowling removed to show off
metal hinges, so the flight controls the engine, but here I decided to
can be shown deflected if desired. The leave the cowling fixed to show off the

iconic ‘Sharksmouth’. Another great feature is that the
cowling can be held in place with the supplied magnets,
to enable quick removal. As an aircraft engineer myself,
it was great to see the level of surface detail on this
kit, and all the panel lines and rivets look so good.  really easy. The rest of the markings were from the
I was soon ready for painting, and I decided I wanted
a very weathered look on this build, as the real aircraft
were operated from primitive airbases in the jungle,
and didn’t get much in the way of TLC. I began with
a coat of Tamiya Grey Primer, and then all the panel
lines pre-shaded with Black. The wing walk area was
then given a coat of Alclad Aluminium, with a layer of
Johnson’s ‘Future’ on top, and then some chipping
fluid was applied. The camouflage colours of Tamiya
XF-81 and XF-82 were then added with a coat of XF-
83 for the undersides. The wing walk area was then
rubbed back to reveal the aluminium underneath.  detailed and fitted were the undercarriage legs, which
15
To get the weathered effect I wanted on the roundels,
I decided to paint them, instead of using the supplied
decals, this was done with the Insignia Series Paint
Mask set #32019, and these masks made the process
kits decals, with a light coat of the camouflage colour
sprayed over the top, to give them a faded look. The
model was again sprayed another coat of ‘Future’ to
seal the decals, then some AK Interactive Panel Line
was added and streaked backwards in the direction
of the airflow to achieve the dirty look I was after. 
The exhaust marks were done with a well-diluted
spray of XF-57 Buff, and the guns cordite staining
was a mix of XF-1 Matt Black and X-19 Smoke, and for
the scuffed metallic areas around the cockpit door I
used Citadel Necron Compound. The last items to be
come as two halves with a metal pin sandwiched
in the middle to hold the weight of the model. 
BUILD 2 – SPITFIRE
16
 17

A final coat of Matt varnish was then

applied, which toned down and balanced
colours, and I must say I was I was very
pleased with the final appearance. No
aerial wire was fitted, as the airfields these
aircraft operated from had no radios, so the
radio set had been removed from the aircraft. 
This really is a great kit, which I can heartily
recommend to all interested modellers. I know the
Tamiya offering is relatively expensive compared
to others, but you certainly get what you pay
for! and I enjoyed the experience so much that
much that I have started the Tamiya Mk.IX.
18

Black
Spitfire in Egypt
Andrew Root builds the 1:32 Hasegawa Mk.Va of the 73rd Operational Training
Unit, based at RAF Fayid in 1944
Spitfire Mk.Va

T
he Spitfire is, of course, most famous for the
Battle of Britain, but it saw service in every theatre MANUFACTURER:
of the war, with many marks and variants. One HASEGAWA
of my many projects has been to build twelve SCALE: 1:32
1:32 Spitfires, in order to show just some of the marks KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
and markings worn by this iconic aircraft throughout
KIT NUMBER: 08129
its life. So here is another of these builds, a gloss Black
Mk.V in the markings of the Officer Commanding
the 73rd Operational Training Unit, based in Egypt
at RAF Fayid in the summer of 1944. Having seen a detail are excellent, with lots of surface panel lines and
BUILD 3 – SPITFIRE

profile picture of this aircraft, I thought it would be rivets. The interior was rather basic, fortunately, I had
a lovely one to build, and having already built the a few etched spares from previous builds, and these
HobbyBoss Mk.V, I decided to go for the Hasegawa kit.  included a full harness, which I think was a must. The
This being the first Hasegawa kit I’ve built, I was a interior was painted with Tamiya Cockpit Green, a
little unsure, but several friends were full of praise for great deal of time was taken with the instrument
them, and of course, they were correct. The fit and panel, painting all the details and switches. 
19
20
The wings and tail sections were fitted with no
real problem, other than the normal sanding. 
For the paint, it seemed
logical to use a Gloss
Black Primer, I here
used Alclad Gloss Black
Base, which I must say,
gives a superb finish. For
the paint, I decided to use
a Tamiya Gloss Black rattle-can,
which was first warmed in water before
use, just to reduce the chance of paint runs. A light
coat was applied first, with a thicker gloss coat applied
to get a high shine. The lightening flash was masked
and painted with Tamiya White. As a gloss paint was
used, there was no need for a ‘Future’ coat before
applying the decals, which in this case came via my
‘spares-box’. I decided not to weather this build, as I
was really pleased with the gloss finish, and didn’t want
to ruin it! This was a great kit, the fit was excellent,
and I’d recommend a few aftermarket upgrades
for the interior, but other than that, it’s a great kit.
BUILD 3 – SPITFIRE
 21

Weathering applied
using various oil
applications and
washes

Silver Spitfire
Chad Summers builds a Far East based 1:32 FR.18 of No.28 Squadron

T
he Supermarine Spitfire is arguably one of the and etched details. The only issue with their Spitfire
best looking fighters of all time and to me, the series is that included resin seat is way over scale, so I
later marks with the Griffon engine represent the substituted this for one from Barracuda Studios. The Grey
marriage of design beauty and performance. For Matters conversion comes with a new Griffon engine
some reason, though, the Griffon engined Spitfire has nose section that is moulded with the upper portion
not received much attention from mainstream model of the wing leading edge. This makes fitting to the
manufacturers, especially in 1:32. However, Pacific Coast
Models released an excellent Mk. XIVc a few years back Spitfire Mk.IXc
and the Matchbox Mk.22 has been around for some time. MANUFACTURER:
I was really wanting to build a bubble top late model Spit PACIFIC COAST MODELS
and when I came across the Grey Matters 1:32 Mk.XVIII SCALE: 1:32
conversion, I knew I’d found the one. The Grey Matters KIT TYPE: MULTI-MEDIA
set is advertised to convert the 1:32 Hasegawa Mk.V but KIT NUMBERS: 32005
it works great with the Pacific Coast Models kits as well.
Given the extra detail in the Pacific Coast Models kit, I GREY MATTERS MK.XVIII
RESIN CONVERSION SET
determined this to be a better base for the conversion.
BARRACUDA STUDIOS RESIN SEAT
Grey Matters sell individual resin pieces separately if
RESIN 2 DETAIL THREE-SPOKE RESIN WHEELS
the modeller wishes to use the Mk.XIV as the base kit,
MASTER BRASS GUN BARRELS
but as I already had a spare Mk.IX, I decided just to use
SCALE AIRCRAFT CONVERSIONS METAL LANDING GEAR
that one along with the full conversion set. I really like
the Pacific Coast Models kits with the inclusion of resin
22
Pacific Coast Models kit extremely easy. The
set also includes new spinner, props,
rear spine, radiators, gun barrels,
exhaust, vertical stab, rudder,
and wheels. It also includes
new tail wheel with new gear
doors as well as main wheels.
The tail wheel is moulded
with the gear so that’s one
downside. The other is that
the included resin mains are
the four-spoke variety and my
reference material indicates that
the Mk.XVIII was fitted with the three-
spoke variety. To fix this problem, I used
the excellent resin wheels produced by Resin
2 Detail. The other extras I decided to use were
turned brass barrels from Master Modeller and the
metal landing gear from Scale Aircraft Conversions.
Both of these sets are marked improvements over
the ones included in the kit and conversion set.

Working on
the cockpit

the cockpit at this point provides

Adding the Grey
Matters Conversion set
Since this is a relatively extensive
conversion, construction gets rolling with
some major surgery instead of the typical
cockpit area. The Grey Matters instructions
provide clear illustrations of the required
cuts in the Mk.IX fuse. These include cuts
for the new nose, removal of the rear turtle
deck, removal of the vertical stab, and cut Master barrels are
outs for the retractable tail wheel. When all just superb
this is done, there’s not a whole lot left of the
original kit fuse pieces. Test fits of all the parts
showed relatively good fit despite the extensive
nature of the surgery. The only extra work was a
little thinning of the rear fuselage halves
to get a good joint with the new
rear fuse resin cap. Building
necessary support and aids
in alignment of all the kit and
Grey Matters resin pieces. While
I could have used the Hasegawa
kit as the base, the Pacific Coast Models
kit provides extra detail in the cockpit area.
The kit seat brace/support structure needs
some slight modification to fit the Barracuda
seat. Everything was painted with Tamiya and
Vallejo acrylics and then installed in the fuse
halves. The oblique camera ports were drilled out
on both fuse halves. I scratchbuilt a camera and
fitted it to the starboard side. Since the FR’s only
flew with one oblique camera either in the port
or starboard position, I put a backing plate
in the port side and then fashioned
a camera cover using a

Ready for
painting!
BUILD 4 – SPITFIRE

A little work was

necessary on the
wings to get the
correct look for
the type
 23

I used Alclad Metallic’s for the main

colour and a custom Tamiya mix for
the camouflage

The aircraft is marked as

belonging to RAF’s No.28
Squadron flying out of Kai Tak
in Hong Kong

A look at the
undersides

circular tin cutout.

The fit of all the
cockpit parts is good
and with the fuselage
closed-up, and the new inlet and exhaust screens so
resin nose was then they would fit properly. Grey
installed. It’s a rather heavy, Matters does not provide radiator
single chunk of resin but it louvers so these have to be created
ends up being adequately from sheet styrene as well. Pacific
supported by the lower Coast Models provide some nice
portion of the main wing. resin inserts for the gear bays
The FR.18 flew with the ‘E’ that close out the area and
wing, so some modifications add nice detail for internal
to the ‘C’ wing included in gear bay structure and
my Pacific Coast Models kit were needed. actuation mechanisms.
This included installing new under wing radiators The Pacific Coast
(provided in the Grey Matters conversions set) as well as Models kit provides the
filling in some panel lines and sanding down some of the aft wing to fuselage
‘C’ wing bumps and bulges. The biggest difference was transition as a separate
in the armament and I didn’t like the look of the Pacific piece and before
Coast Models or Grey Matters gun barrels. Neither is bad, attaching it, I drilled out
they just don’t provide the level of finesse compared to the camera ports and
the brass barrels available from Master. The Grey Matters installed the scratchbuilt ventral cameras. The wing to
radiators are a good bit narrower than those on the fuselage joint was a little less than perfect, especially
Pacific Coast Models kit so to fix this issue; I cut the kit around the moulded in wing root areas on the Grey
radiators off at the base and used those base pieces to fill Matters nose section. There were small gaps as well
in the recessed areas in the wing. I added a little filler and as some minor height differences that had to be filled,
sanded these areas to create a smooth base for attaching faired, and sanded smooth. The oil cooler inlet was added
the new resin radiators. The new radiators are not only and small gaps filled and sanded smooth. Grey Matters
narrower they are also deeper, so new inlet and outlet provides new, larger resin elevators so the Pacific Coast
close-outs have to be created to prevent the dreaded Models parts have to have their elevators removed. I
‘see through’ look. I created these with sheet styrene and added small wire rod to each elevator to allow for later
then trimmed the Pacific Coast Models provided etched positioning of the elevators. The horizontal stabs are
24

I used the kit provided

windscreen with the
Grey Matters provided
bubble canopy

butt joined so I added plastic rods for more positive and

strong joints. Attaching the rudder follows the same
process as the elevators. The retractable tail wheel is
provided as a single piece with the wheel moulded into
the strut. This is inserted into a single piece tail wheel
door assembly that attaches to the rear fuselage. I wanted
a little more strength in this area so I epoxied a small
hollow aluminium tube to accept the tailwheel into the
rear fuselage and slid the tail gear in place. There’s no
positive location marks or pins for the spinner to attach
to the fuselage, so I marked the centre and drilled out
the nose and spinner and inserted a hollow brass tube
BUILD 4 – SPITFIRE

into the fuse and a telescoping tube into the spinner.
I wanted something unique in terms of markings and
came across an interesting article on the RAF’s No.28
Squadron FR.18’s flying out of Kai Tak in Hong Kong. The
squadron was known to strip their mounts in between
missions with different aircraft showing a variety of
natural metal, natural metal and camouflage, and all
camouflaged finishes. I thought that TP455 with its
stripped fuselage and camouflage wings would provide
the unique finish I was looking for. The natural metal
areas were primed and painted using Alclad Metallic’s
and camouflage was painted with custom mixed Tamiya
acrylics. Markings were all masked and airbrushed,
using the Montex Mask set for the Revell 1:24 Mk.24
and custom made serials. The Korean ID bands were
masked and airbrushed on, as were the yellow leading
edge stripes. No.28 Squadron arrived in Korea with their
spinners painted in sectioned red and white or blue and
white pattern but in some cases these were overpainted
with all red or all blue. I chose to section the spinner in
red/white. Weathering was applied using various oil
applications and washes as well as AK Interactive’s Panel
Line Wash. The fuselage was sealed with a semi-gloss
clear and the camouflaged wing areas with a flat clear.
I replaced the landing gear with metal ones from
Scale Aircraft Conversions. The ones I used were
intended for the Tamiya Mk.VIII and as such, they
25
needed to have the actuation arms cut off and metal
inserts installed to allow the gear to be inserted into
the mounting lugs in the Pacific Coast Models wheel
bays, and I added some brake line detail using fine
solder. The new Resin2 Detail three-spoke wheels
were then painted and installed. Grey Matters provide
a replacement set of tubular exhaust and those were
painted, weathered, and attached. Some exhaust
staining was airbrushed on with highly some thinned
tones of black, brown, and grey. I used the kit provided
windscreen with the Grey Matters provided bubble
canopy. Only issue here is that just one is included, so
be careful when trimming it. The whip aerial was made
using stretched sprue and installed on the fuse spine.
If you want to add a late model Spitfire to your
collection, pick up one of these conversions and
get out you razor saw and super glue. With a little
extra work, you’ll have a unique model while
honing your modelling skills along the way.
26

Step by Step
Spitfire
Olivier Soulleys builds the 1:24 Trumpeter Mk.Vb
Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb

D
espite being released in 2003 the Trumpeter
Spitfire is still a very nice kit. The level of MANUFACTURER:
detail and the panel lines are very accurate, TRUMPETER
even so I wanted to add even more interest SCALE: 1:24
so I decided to open up the right wing gun bay, do a KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
lot of work in the cockpit and canopy and spend time
BUILD 5 – SPITFIRE

KIT NUMBER: 02403

on the painting a weathering stage for an authentic
finish. One thing I do need to mention though is
the decal sheet has incorrect colours and colour
callouts. So I decided to hand paint the main marking
for this aircraft from an RAF Polish Squadron.
 27

The right side of cockpit with a completely scratchbuilt seat and guitar string oxygen hose and other wiring

The control panel

was rubbed with SNJ
Aluminium Powder and
the details were picked
out with a fine brush

The left side of cockpit

showing the pilot’s
detailed armour plate
28

The harness was made from fine strips of tin and Trumpeter buckles

One of the reasons I like the larger scale kits is the ability to Working on the insides of the gun bay with Evergreen strip
introduce some very fine detailing

Adding a super-detailed gun into the wing Master barrels are a must!
BUILD 5 – SPITFIRE

I scratchbuilt the markings for the fusealge….. ….and for the wings
 29

Adding the camouflage and wing

leading edge colours

Working on some subtle weathering on the undersides using diluted I used a marker pen for some defined fluid streaks and pigments for
ink is spread with a wet brush other stains of around the armament ejection chutes

I used five different watercolour pencils on the upper surfaces to Here you can see of how you can create realistic weathering on older
complete the look aircraft using a combination of oil paints and pencils

A look at the pilot’s access door

30
‘Janetka’
Mark Casiglia builds the 1:32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.XVIe in the markings of Squadron
Leader Boleslaw Kaczmarek from No.302 Squadron during 1945
T
amiya’s 1:32 aircraft range are regarded amongst
the best plastic models available, and the joy
of a perfect fit and sensible design is worth the
premium paid. The Spitfire Mk.XVIe was a late
war aircraft and characterised by its square wing tips and
bubble top canopy. I try to choose a scheme not provided
in the box, and seldom seen so I decided on Polish RAF
variant, TD240 WX-V ‘Janetka’. This was from No.302
Squadron, Varrelbusch, Germany in summer 1945, and
was flown by Squadron Leader Boleslaw Kaczmarek.
As with most aircraft models, the first step was building
the cockpit and inner fuselage details. The kit provides
some beautiful detail and I chose to substitute the seat
for a Barracuda resin version because it comes with a
backrest cushion. I also utilised the kit’s etched harnesses
and chose not to place the flare rack on the front of the
seat, because my references show that they were absent
on the Mk XVIe. I deviated from the instructions again
by gluing the cockpit sidewalls to the fuselage rather
than creating an entire cockpit unit as I found this made
BUILD 6 – SPITFIRE
painting and assembly easier. The cockpit and sidewalls
were painted-on over a Black primer coat of Ammo by
MIG One-Shot and then Tamiya acrylics. A weathering
wash was done with heavily thinned Ammo by MIG Dark
Brown Oil Brusher, over a clear coat of Micro Satin thinned
with Mr Hobby thinner. Dry brushing was done using a
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVIe
MANUFACTURER: TAMIYA
SCALE: 1:32
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: 21
Silver Mig Oil Brusher and light chipping was applied using
both a Prismacolour silver pencil and more oil paint.
Once the fuselage halves were joined, I used very small
amount of Mr Surfacer 500 to tidy up seams. The tail went
on uneventfully and assembling the wing components
such as wheel wells and radiators was next. The various
parts were primed at painted at this stage. as they would
be inaccessible later. Tamiya has engineered a novel system
for mounting flaps, stabilisers and ailerons utilising etch
and metal rods. The result is movable parts which fit into
place beautifully. The next step was to attach the wing
assembly to the fuselage. I find that the fit at the wing
root is the sign of a good or bad kit. Needless to say, the
fit was exceptional with not even a hint of filler needed.
The next step was to build the engine, and again, this
was beautifully detailed and a kit within the kit. I was

The cockpit……
undecided about whether to show the engine or not.
This aircraft will be usually be displayed fully closed, so
as a compromise I decided to bond the upper and
lower cowlings and have the side panels removable.
The kit is designed for every cowl panel to click
in and out of place with magnets and pins.
Having built the Mk.VIII previously, I was very
familiar with the extremely thin margin for error
in getting the cowl components to fit properly.
There is obviously a position where they will fall
into place neatly but finding it and making sure
the engine is mounted to the fuselage in just
the right way for that to happen is tricky to say
the least. My job was made easier having glued
the upper and lower cowl covers in, but I still needed
to bond some stretched sprue to the lower cowling to
eliminate a small gap behind the spinner. The engine
was painted and weathered much the same way as the
cockpit. The copper pipes were brush painted using Vallejo
Metal, as this lends itself beautifully to brush painting. I
decided to use brass canons from Master Model simply
to increase the crispness of these parts, and in fairness
there’s not a lot wrong with the plastic canons in the kit.
For painting I chose the ‘black-basing’ method, using
Ammo by MIG One-Shot to coat the entire model, with
the cockpit, silver portion of the wheel wells, clear parts
and exhaust area masked-off. I elected to use Mr Color
lacquer paints C361 Dark Green, C362
I started the painting off
with ‘Black Basing’……
31
Ocean Grey and C363 Medium Sea
Grey thinned to around 50:50 with Mr
Levelling Thinner. They went down as
smooth as silk. I started by painting the
underside in Medium Sea Grey, after
which I masked-off the demarcation
lines and any areas that may have been
affected by overspray. I then proceeded
to apply a coat of AK Xtreme Metal 488
Matte Aluminium onto the wing roots and
leading edges, where I intended to show
chipping. Then I applied some very small chips
using Mr Masking Sol Neo, followed by a coat of
hairspray in those areas. Next, I drew a light pencil
outline of the camouflage pattern
before commencing
….and the engine are little kits in themselves
the upper paintwork. I started with the Dark Green, and
then used Tamiya tape to outline the camouflage pattern.
After filling the gaps with 50mm masking tape cut along
the vinyl tape edges, I finally applied the Ocean Grey. At
that point I removed the liquid mask chips and began
further chipping in the hairsprayed areas. The next step
was to paint the yellow leading edges of the wings, and
the black ‘no-step’ lines. There are decals provided for
this, but honestly, it’s so easy and looks so much better
painted, that I can’t imagine why they’d ever be used.
…..then continued on with the
upper surface camouflage….
32

…masking off….

….the
demarcation
lines…..

…and here is the

….with Tamiya tape…. finished result

Painting in the RAF

roundels…..

…and codes…
BUILD 6 – SPITFIRE

…then applying the

insignia decals
 33

After a Gloss coat I then applied all the stencils,

insignias and code numbers. The model was
then coated in a 50:50 mix of Micro Flat and Micro
Satin, thinned with Mr Hobby thinner. I find this gives
me a flat enough surface for oil washes to adhere but
with the slight amount of forgiveness to be able to
remove excess wash as needed.
The wash was a 3:1 mix of Burnt
Umber and Black, thinned with
odourless solvent until very
runny. The entire model was
then coated, and after a couple of was subtle enough not to call attention to itself. Further
hours the excess was removed with to this, dots of Buff Oil Brusher were applied all over the
a soft cotton rag to reveal panel lines. In some upper surfaces and streaked in the direction of airflow
areas such as the wing roots, some of the wash was with odourless thinner and well blended-in. Exhaust
less completely removed to replicate grime buildup. stains were added with a dry brushed mix of mostly Black
The next weathering step involved lighter colours oil paint mixed with a little Burnt Umber, overlaid with
to mimic paint fading. White oil paint was dry brushed White in the more forward areas adjacent to the exhaust
randomly onto upward facing surfaces in a patchy outlets. The underside grime and stains were produced
manner and wiped with a cotton cloth, until the effect with oil paints and again using varying ratios of black and
Burnt Umber. The model was finished by removing all
the masks, adding the bubble top canopy and applying
breakable loose parts. The open cockpit door, a beautiful
resin version from Quickboost, was bonded into place, and
small aerial was made from stretched sprue. That was that!
34

PRU Blue
Thai Spitfire
Gerry Doyle adds Aeromaster decals to the 1:48 Airfix Spitfire PR.XIX
Supermarine Spitfire PR.XIX

I
f like me you browse around model shops, shows
and swap meets to pick up odds and ends with an MANUFACTURER: AIRFIX
‘that’ll come in handy’ attitude, you end up with SCALE: 1:48
a ‘spares-box’ full of forgotten goodies. Such was KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
my pleasure when I got the 1:48 Airfix Spitfire PR.XIX INJECTION MOULDED
as soon as it was released a few years back, and didn’t KIT NUMBER: A05119
really know what I wanted to do with it until when
BUILD 7 – SPITFIRE

flicking through my ‘decal bank’
I found an old Aeromaster set
‘Last of the Legend - Late
Far East Spitfires Part 2’. A
Royal Thai Air Force machine
from 1954 fitted the bill nicely,
with a multi-coloured roundel
and a PRU Blue/Medium Sea
Grey scheme. I also wanted to
open up the engine as I had an
Aires set. This was designed to fit
the Airfix 22/24 but I was fairly confident that I could
get it to fit the XIX. I also had Barracudacast’s Wheels,
Propellers and Cameras, along with Eduard fabric seat
belts and a few resin left overs from other projects.
The first job was to separate all the resin from the
blocks and clean them. Next I carefully cut off the nose
section following the panel lines. There then followed
a fair amount of test fitting and
adjusting with needle files to
get the firewall to nestle in
properly. Eventually all fitted
to my satisfaction and it was
35
time to open up the hatches for the
camera ports. I also drilled around inside
of the panel line and filed it flush. I also sanded
the inside surface to give the opening more of a scale
thickness. It was then time to turn my attention to the
cockpit. Airfix actually provide a fairly good ‘office’
so all I added were the Eduard Fabric harnesses and
a spare throttle quadrant from Baracuddacast I had
in my aforementioned ‘spares-box’. I painted the
cockpit with Xtracrylix Interior Beige/Green and dry
brushed it with light grey and a pin-wash of Brown/
Black oil paint. I then picked out the detail with various
Citadel shades, and the instrument faces as well as the
camera lenses were given a drop of PVA to give them
a glazed look. All the internal parts were then glued
into place and the fuselage halves brought together.
I found a couple of moulding errors on the lower
wing surfaces but these were quickly dealt with quickly
using Milliput, and I then started on the engine. I
assembled the main block up and gave it a few light
coats of Alclad II Gloss Black Primer and polished up
the rocker covers using Uschi Van Der Rosten Metal
Powder. I also dry brushed this over the rest of the
36

block to highlight the details. The firewall and bearers

were painted Interior Green and dry brushed and
washed. I also added some plumbing using various gave the whole model
sizes of Albion Alloys brass tubing. I then masked-off a coat of Alclad Semi
the canopy and fitted the windshield in place. Now it Matt and the added
was time to add some colour, and I first gave the mode the engine and all the
a primer coat of Tamiya White and any blemishes were other sub-assemblies.
treated and another coat of primer added. The upper The Baracuddacast
surfaces were given several thin coats of Vallejo Model wheels and propellers finished the build. Note to self for
Air Medium Sea Grey, and once dry this was masked-off future reference ‘I must have another look in my ‘spares-
and Vallejo PRU Blue applied. I also masked and painted box’ for inspiration’. You never know what I might find!
the walkway lines. The entire model was given several
coats of Alclad II Aqua Gloss in preparation for the
decals. The Aeromaster decals performed very well for
their age, and as there weren’t that many this process
went quickly. I then gave it the model another coat of
Aqua Gloss to protect the decals from the weathering.
I post shaded all the panel lines with well-diluted
Tamiya Smoke, and the added a pin-wash of Brown/
Black oil paint. When I was happy with the weathering I
BUILD 7 – SPITFIRE
 37

African Ace
Jay Blakemore takes a retrospective look at Eduard’s Spitfire Mk.IXc (Early Version)
Spitfire Mk.IXc (Early Version)

H
aving first appeared in 2013, Eduard’s highly
acclaimed 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc has at last been MANUFACTURER: EDUARD
re-issued by the Czech manufacturer. Eduard’s SCALE: 1:48
range of mid-War Spitfires have been praised KIT TYPE: MULTI-MEDIA
by modellers the world-over as being the most accurate KIT NUMBER: 8282
models of the type available in any scale, and with a fit
and build quality that surpasses expectation the return
of the early version MK.IXc has been welcomed by fans
of the iconic fighter – myself amongst them – and I felt it
was the opportune time to re-visit my build of the original was clearly laid-out and easy to follow, segmented into
release. Contained within the now familiar orange-topped approximately fifty assembly stages with five pages of
ProfiPack box were five grey runners, a circular clear colour profiles to assist painting and decal placement.
runner featuring the crisply moulded transparencies, Construction naturally begins with the interior, and
a canopy mask and the now obligatory colour-etched although the cockpit supplied in the ProfiPack was
fret featuring an additional multi-piece control panel perfectly adequate, I was tempted by the resin alternative
and head-armour to supplement the plastic versions,
a multi-part harness and an assortment of other small
details. The sixteen-page, glossy instruction booklet
38

available as an aftermarket set from the same manufacturer

in their Brassin range of accessories. Cockpit set #648100
contained around thirty resin and twenty brass parts,
and copies exactly the breakdown of the kit components
meaning no modifications were required to the kit
fuselage halves. The very nature of the Spitfire cockpit with
its assortment of exposed formers and spars means that
the job of replicating a small-scale version is always going
to be a chore, and so it proved. The resin parts feature
a feast of fine detail and are far more refined than their
plastic counterparts. In particular, the structural formers are
wonderfully thin and despite utmost care being required
when handling the fragile resin, the in-scale appearance
when compared to those supplied in the kit makes a vast
difference to the appearance of the cockpit. The interior
remains highly visible once the kit is assembled, especially
when the crystal-clear canopy and access hatch are posed
in their open positions, making any extra effort spent
BUILD 8 – SPITFIRE

modifying and painting this area well worth the effort.
The wings were a marvel of model engineering
featuring wrap-around trailing edges that were razorblade-
thin with join-lines that followed the flap edges, meaning
no unsightly gaps to sand away after assembly. Internally,
the wheel bay break-down into fourteen individual curved
components initially seemed overly complex, though
the parts literally snapped together and would doubtless
have stayed in place even without cement. The under-
slung oil-cooler assemblies too slotted positively together,
although I took the precaution in both instances of small
amounts of liquid cement. Parts are provided for the
cooling flaps to be posed in the open or closed positions.
Before cementing the port wing together, however, it was
39
modified by chain-drilling and cutting-away the cannon
access panels to expose the wing interior in readiness
for the Brassin Gun Bay set #ED648113. The set contains
two fully-formed bay-wall sections though only enough
resin and metal components to complete a single bay.
This can be built in either the ‘E’ or ‘C-type’ layouts, the
latter featuring the solitary cannon instillation being that
required for the aircraft being built. The resin components
fitted comfortably within the confinements of the port
wing, though it was noted that when assembling the
multi-part wheel-well kit-part G-18, which was a curved
section of the wheel-bay wall, needed to be omitted as it
was replicated as an integrally moulded section of the resin
gun bay insert. A beautifully sculpted cannon, ammunition
boxes and access hatches were included in the accessory
set as were etched metal floor panel sections.
The slim fuselage wrapped around the resin cockpit
with little fuss and the rest of the kit simply fell together.
40
The only troublesome seam was that running the
length of the very prominent two-piece engine cowl.
This took some time to sand away fully and resulted
in the loss of the much of the surface detail along the
cowl which required re-scribing. Primer filler and further
wet sanding was required before the seam totally
disappeared. Though resin alternatives were available
from several manufacturers, I decided against the
additional expense and settled for the extra work instead.
It transpired that two different shades of blue were
given similar names which has led to some confusion
amongst modellers and paint manufacturers alike: RAF
Azure was a dark, rich blue with a purple hue possibly
used to paint the national insignia on aircraft serving in the
Far East, whilst RAF Azure Blue was a lighter and brighter
blue used on the underside of African and Mediterranean
based machines. After much searching, the appropriate
colour was found amongst the range of authentic enamels
produced by Sovereign Hobbies in their Colourcoats range
(ACRN34). Initially, the airframe received an over-all dark
brown basecoat followed by an application of RAF Dark
Earth roughly following the camouflage pattern described
in the instructions, allowing the darker basecoat to remain
partially visible along panel lines to create depth and
shadows. Once dry, Blu Tac ‘sausages’ were positioned
along the fuselage and upper wings to create a soft-edged
mask against which the lighter of the two camouflage
colours was airbrushed. Those areas that were to remain
Dark Earth were further masked with decorators masking
tape before RAF Middle Stone was applied using the same
method as described above. Finally, the upper surfaces
were masked with tape and Azure Blue was applied to
the undersides, once again leaving the darker basecoat
visible in selected areas. This technique gave the model
an instant weathered appearance which was further
enhanced by brush-applied rust streaks and staining. All
moving parts, such as the elevators and ailerons, were
edged in black and rust brown, as were
the edges of removable panels and
filler caps. The remainder of the panel
lines were not emphasised in this
way to avoid the model appearing
BUILD 8 – SPITFIRE
overly toy-like when finished. Several coats of gloss enamel
varnish were then applied which when hard would be
flatted-back and polished using dampened 3,200 grit
sanding cloths and 12,000 grit cloths respectively.
In the original release the decal sheet was printed by
Cartograf, though this has been replaced in the recent
re-issue by a home-produced sheet featuring the same
five colour-scheme options. These include: EN133 of 611
squadron, Biggin Hill 1943. BS392, flown by Squadron
Leader Bernard Duperier, CO of 340 Squadron, Biggin
Hill, 1942. And EN568, flown by Wing Commander Alan
Deere, CO of the Biggin Hill Wing in June 1943, all of which
are finished in the standard grey and green camouflage.
Finished in the Dark Earth and Middle Stone scheme were
EN315, Flown by Squadron Leader Stanislav Skalski of the
Polish Combat Team, Northern Africa 1943 and which
features here and on the box-top, and finally, EN354,
flown by 1st Lt. Leonrad Helton, 52nd FG, 4th FS, Tunisia
1943, which aircraft was adorned with U.S. insignia. As
anticipated the Cartograf decals performed faultlessly and
once settled, were sealed under several generous coats of
Humbrol satin enamel varnish airbrushed over the entire
airframe. The model’s surface was then once again wet-
sanded as described above to eradicated the ‘steps’ caused
by the decal carrier film and which is the unavoidable
consequence of the decaling process, and to remove any
lingering imperfections before the final, quick-drying
coat was applied. The final steps were to add the delicate
protuberances such as the aerial mast, under-carriage,
access hatch, the canopy and the etched emergency
release handle. Research suggested that there was no
aerial wire required and so the final,
heavily thinned and therefore rapidly
drying, coat of varnish was applied. This
gave the model a uniform appearance
that dried before any further debris could
settle on the surface and so spoil the
finish. Once thoroughly dry the propeller
was pressed-home and my desert
Spit’ was complete.
 41

Eduard’s quarter-scale Spitfire Mk.IXc (Early

Version) proved to be a very satisfying build and
it makes a welcome return: It was an
impressively engineered kit being
straightforward to assemble and
featuring sublime surface detail. It will
come as no surprise then that soon
after building this model I was tempted
by a second, that one being a Mk.VIII,
and I will soon be building a third which
I’ll be converting to an all pink photographic
reconnaissance machine. I can only hope that in
the not too distant future, Eduard will be adding the
MK.V the MK.II and the Mk.I to their impressive range.
42

Doodle-Bug
Destroyer
Andrew Root builds the 1:32 Pacific Coast Models Spitfire Mk.XIV
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIV

D
uring the summer of 1944, a new weapon
appeared over the skies of Southeast England, MANUFACTURER: PACIFIC
and this was the first of Hitler’s ‘vengeance COAST MODELS
weapons’, the V1 ‘Doodlebug’. With a cruising SCALE: 1:32
speed of around 350mph, only the latest and fastest RAF KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
fighters would have a sustained chance of destroying
KIT NUMBER: 32015
such a weapon. Several aircraft were returned from
Normandy to counter this threat, and these included
BUILD 9 – SPITFIRE

Hawker Tempests, Mosquitos and of course the Mk.XIV

Spitfire, with their new Rolls Royce Griffin engines,
which allowed them to chase and destroy the ‘buzz
bombs’. In all, Allied aircraft destroyed around 1000
V1’s, with many more hit by anti-aircraft artillery.
This was the second Pacific Coast Models Spitfire
I’ve built, so I knew what to expect. The interior was
well detailed, with resin side panels and etched parts
to be set, and the fit was very good for a relatively
small manufacturer. The airframe assembly was pretty
straightforward, with the wings and tail going together
 43
without any issue, but be sure to fit the cockpit floor
correctly, as it can easily catch on the wing assembly.
When deciding on a colour scheme for this
aircraft, from the six options given, I chose a Spitfire
of No.91 Squadron, based at West Malling, who
were responsible for 189 ‘Doodlebugs’ destroyed. I
usually use Tamiya Grey Primer, but decided to
try a Gloss Black Primer for this build, which I
think improved the paint tone. The tried and
tested method of Blu-Tac was used for the
camouflage, and having been impressed
with the Hataka paint used on my previous
build, I decided to use them again,
employing HTK-AS07, as these paint sets
are a great way of buying colours for a specific build. 
The invasion stripes came next, and the real stripes
were eighteen inches wide, so the 1:32 equivalent
is 14.38mm, this was measured and masked with
BUILD 9 – SPITFIRE
44
 45

Tamiya tape, with the White section being painted

first, and then the two Black stripes were painted
on top. There is a constant debate over the painting
of invasion stripes, with most modellers including
myself using masking tape, but in reality,
the ground crews used brooms and
brushes, with the stripes having
very rough edges. A few modellers
paint them this way, but I didn’t want
to tarnish a well painted build. 
The kit decals went on very well,
after a coat of future, with a little Micro Sol used
to pull the decals over the rivets. Alclad Matt
varnish was then used to finish the paint job.
The propeller and landing gear were last to be
fitted, followed by the removal of canopy masking. I
was really pleased with this build, and the kit is very
good indeed, with excellent interior and surface
detail. There are very few options that exist for a 1:32
five-bladed Spitfire, but this is one of the best.
46

Spitfire
Over the Sphinx
Alex Roughsedge builds the 1:48 Eduard Mk.IXc Early Version in Egyptian colours
Spitfire Mk.IXc Early Version

I
t’s not very often a kit lives up to its hype, as there
is always that annoying ejector pin mark, sink hole, MANUFACTURER: EDUARD
dodgy seam, or some minor part that just doesn’t fit, SCALE: 1:48
no matter how many times you try it upside down, KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
back to front and inside out! But, the Eduard Spitfire INJECTION MOULDED
comes about as close as it’s possible to get. I picked KIT NUMBER: 84137
up the Weekend Edition of the Mk.IXc Early Version for
an absolute steal, as this kit had been pretty high on
BUILD 10 – SPITFIRE

my wish-list for a while. The two-piece cowling seems

to be the only real issue with the kit, and I can only
presume it was moulded that way to get the correct
curve down the sides. Eduard obviously realised this,
as they promptly released a Brassin one-piece version,
which is a ‘drop fit’ and an absolute must have, as for
not much money, an awful lot of filling and sanding
can be avoided. In addition, I also went for the basic
Eduard Etch set, a Canopy Mask, a Quickboost resin
seat (I really don’t enjoy etched seatbelts), a Yahu pre-
painted Instrument Panel, and a set of Techmod decals.

Construction began, predictably, with the cockpit,
which is perfectly acceptable out of the box, as you
would imagine with an Eduard kit. I glued the cockpit
sidewalls to the fuselage halves first, rather than to the
bulkheads as the instructions suggest, before gluing
the bulkheads to the starboard fuselage half as well. I
then primed in Black and hit the entire thing with Vallejo
Interior Green. After picking out a few bits and pieces
in with more black, and popping the etched throttle
in place, a light wash of Citadel Reikland Fleshshade,
plus some chipping of Tamiya Brown (applied with a
sponge), and a final coat of Ammo by MIG Dark Wash
completed the simple, but rather effective weathering.
The seat was then hand painted and given the
same weathering treatment. Finally, the
excellent Yahu Instrument panel
was glued into place, before
closing-up the fuselage.
The rest of the
build is about as
47
difficult as building Lego. The parts for the wheel wells
were sandwiched between the upper and lower wings,
before the wing tips – in this case full-length ones –
slotted satisfyingly into the ends. The whole assembly
then clicked into the bottom of the fuselage, followed
by the ailerons, horizontal stabilisers, elevators and
rudder. The Brassin top cowl and the underside kit part
were then added after the exhausts which pretty much
completed the build. Wonderful! Moving on to the
important stuff then - painting. Before doing anything,
I primed the model in AK Interactive Black Primer and
Microfiller. I’ve only used this stuff on a couple of builds
but I rather like it, as it sprays beautifully, and being
lacquer based it gives a lovely smooth finish. The only
downside is that it does remain tacky for a little longer
than other lacquer based paints, and for this reason
alone it has no real advantage over the MRP primer
I’d been using previously, but it’s certainly not bad.
Now I elected to try something a little different
48
regarding pre-shading. I’m often quite the advocate for
‘Black Basing’ technique, but as this build was depicting
a post-War ex-RAF aircraft, I really wanted something
to pick out more individual panels and sections to give
a more worn appearance. So, I turned to the ‘Black and
White’ method, which is somewhat of a hybrid between
Black Basing and your classic pre-shading technique,
and tends to be favoured more by armour modellers.
It essentially involves completing all your shading and
colour modulation before you even start to apply the
final colours. I sprayed Light Grey in a grid pattern,
in between the rows of rivets on the surface of the
aircraft, before masking off individual panels and lightly
mottling them to create areas of quite stark contrast.
The trick to making this technique work is to apply your
final colours in incredibly thin coats. You are essentially
‘tinting’ the Black and Grey, and too much paint, or too
thick a coat will simply obliterate all your careful hard
work. Mr Color Azure Blue, Dark Earth, and Dark Yellow
(a slightly iffy substitute for Mid-Stone) were used for the
main camouflage colours. I also masked and sprayed the
BUILD 10 – SPITFIRE
black and white stripes on the wings and the fuselage
band at this point, before the paintwork was sealed
down in preparation for decals with Mr Color Gloss Clear.
The Royal Egyptian Air Force markings came from
Techmod sheet #48064, perfectly in register, but very
stubborn when it came to decal solutions. In the end,
the best method
I found for applying
them was to use
fairly-hot water
and to push them
down onto the
model, by rolling
over them firmly
with a cotton bud. I
resorted to using Tamiya X-20A after Micro Set/Sol, and
both Tamiya’s normal and strong decal solutions failed
to have much of an effect. One application, followed by
a sharp knife along the panel lines, and then a further
two applications of X-20A just about got them to a
point I was happy with. Another coat of gloss ensured
the decals were sealed down for the weathering stage.
The weathering process was deceptively simple. I
plastered the model with Flory Models Dark Dirt
wash before wiping away the excess
once dry, leaving some nicely

highlighted panel lines and rivets. Once sealed in
with a misted coat of Gloss, I added some into my
airbrush, and sprayed this in the direction of airflow
along the underside of the aircraft and around the
fuel filler cap. When allowed to flood the surface
slightly, it gets blown backwards leaving pleasing oil/
fuel stains. The exhausts were painted with various
Red and Brown oils, and a little was used as a base
49
for the exhaust staining before a very light overspray
of black. Final assembly consisted of unmasking and
gluing the canopy in place, along with the pitot tube,
aerial, propellor, cockpit door, and the landing gear, all
of which had been painted and weathered in largely
the same way as the rest of the airframe. A final coat
of 50:50 thinned Testors Dullcote gives a realistic
finish, somewhere between Matt and Satin. This was
a thoroughly enjoyable build, and Eduard’s
Spitfire Mk.IX is simply extraordinary, with an
excellent fit and some of the best surface
detail you’ll find on any model out there.
50

Invasion Striped
Spitfire

Gerry Doyle builds the 1:48 Revell Revell Mk.XIc in the colours of Greek pilot S/L
John Plagis, of No.126 Squadron, Royal Air Force, 1944
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIc

T
his kit came a pleasant surprise, and having the
chance to build it was a real treat. This is a new MANUFACTURER: REVELL
tool kit from Revell, albeit some sprues have been SCALE: 1:48
used from their Mk.II kit from a few years back. KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
As soon as it landed on my bench I got cracking, and INJECTION MOULDED
started with the cockpit. Before starting I decided that I KIT NUMBER: 03947
would add as little to the original kit as possible so with
that in mind I removed the components of the office
and assembled it all up in preparation for painting.
I primed the assemblies with Halfords Grey Primer,
and once I added coat of Vallejo Model Air Interior RB Productions
Grey Green. I then masked-off for the instrument panel Sutton harnesses
adds a touch of
and sprayed it Black. All this in turn was given a coat of finess
Alclad Aqua gloss to protect the
base coat from the subsequent
stages. I then dry brushed
with the base colour mixed
BUILD 11 – SPITFIRE

with White and Silver. I then

punched the instrument dials out
and added the decals to their corresponding
positions. I flooded each decal with Mr Softer and they
bedded down really well. I then popped a drop of PVA
onto each face to glaze it. All other details were then
 51
picked out with various colours of Citadel acrylics.
Another coat of Aqua Gloss and it was time to give
the lot a wash with my Black/Brown oil mix. I must say
the cockpit as provided is quite adequate and should
satisfy most. One thing I did add was RB Productions
Sutton harnesses, as this really adds a touch of finess.
Before I knew it I had the cockpit
assembled and the fuselage halves
together. On little thing that was a
slight irritation to me was the mating
surfaces all seemed to be slightly
bevelled, which necessitated each
joint be given a smear or two of filler. No
big deal but a job that slowed down the
building a bit. I finished the rest of the major
assemblies in two sessions and when all
the joints were filled and sanded flush, I then
tackled the rivets, which to my eye were a bit
heavy. I gave then whole model three coats of Mr
Surfacer, rubbing down in between coats. I then
pushed on with the painting. I really liked The cockpit buit up very well
the two options in the box, but wanted
a machine with ‘Invasion Stripes’ so I fancied the machine finished in the colours of Greek
had just the scheme in my decal pilot S/L John Plagis, of No.126 Squadron, Royal Air
bank. I really Force, 1944. This was a very ‘busy looking’ aircraft and
would look good in 1:32. I also decided to mask all
national insignia as it’s always difficult to get those
large wing roundels to hug down to the surface.
I started by pre-shading all panel lines
with RLM 66 Grey, and then I mottled with
White paying close attention to the areas
that would ultimately be finished in White. I
started the layers of colour with the Yellow,
fuselage roundel and leading edge. I cut the
masks myself with Tamyia Kabuki sheet and
a compass cutter, using the decals as a guide.

I decided to mask all national insignia as

it’s always difficult to get those large wing
roundels to hug down to the surface. First
I added Yellow…..

A coat of grey primer

and a pre-shade was
first to be applied
52

…followed by more
masking…..

…then some masking and

Red was applied……

And once dry the masking

was removed….

The ‘Invasion Stripes’ were

then maked off and the
camouflage applied….

….and the decals added….

BUILD 11 – SPITFIRE

….settling down very well
I masked the yellow areas and the applied the Red
which I mixed using Citadel Blood Red and Black.
This in turn was masked and I applied a mix of Tamyia
Flat Blue and German Grey. I then post-shaded both
the Red and Blue with various shades of the base
colours to add a bit of depth to the areas. I also
used Wilder Quick Mask where the masks
met, to avoid any bleed. I then turned
my attention to the ‘Invasion Stripes’,
firstly by adding the White, masking
that, and then adding the Black. I then
mixed some Tamyia Dark Earth into
the black to tone it down a bit. I then
applied the Sky stripe too using MRP
53
Sky Type S. This in turn was masked and it was time
to start the camouflage scheme proper. I then used
Vallejo Model Air Medium Sea Grey for the undersides.
When this was cured I applied Alclad Ocean Grey. I
masked the demarcation line with Panzer Putty and
sprayed the final colour which was Tamyia Dark Green.
It was then time to remove all the masking. It’s always
a very satisfying task when all goes well, and this was no
exception I’m glad to say. I literally had no touching up
to do at all. I then gave the entire model several coats of
Aqua Gloss and left to cure overnight. The decals came
from Zoltz and performed very well, settling down after
a few applications of Mr Softener. I also used the Revell
sheet for the few stencils. They required extra attention
as there was a bit of silvering but a few dabs of the decal
solvent did the trick. Another few coats of Aqua Gloss to
seal everything and it was time to weather. I started by
post-shading with well diluted Tamyia Smoke, I added
the exhaust stains with this too. I then pin-washed with
a mix of Brown and Black oil paint diluted with good
quality White Spirit. Oil streaks were added using the
same paint undiluted, streaking with a large soft round
brush (and my finger) This was all left to cure before final
assembly which was completed in one session. I gave
the whole model a coat of Alclad Semi Matt, removed
the canopy masks and Tah Dah - I had a 1:32 Spitfire
with invasion stripes on the bench.
I have to say this was a very
enjoyable build. It has a few
little niggles, but overall its
a great looking model.
54

American Spitfire
Angel Exposito builds the 1:48 Ari Mk.VIII
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VIII

A
rii always produced some great kits, with
accurate details and crisp moulding, however, MANUFACTURER: ARI
they are quite outdated by to days standards! SCALE: 1:48
However, I wanted to have a go at a venerable KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
old kit and see what I could produce. Despite being INJECTION MOULDED
this kit being quite old and lacking in some areas such KIT NUMBER: 333-800
as the cockpit, its still a very nice example. So, for the

interior, I decided to use a cockpit section from Tamiya

Mk.V, the exhaust and landing gear from ICM, part of
the canopy from a Falcon vacuform and decals from
Barracuda, which were simply exquisite. The build went
without any issues and I was soon ready to paint!
I started working the lower surfaces with Vallejo Model
BUILD 12 – SPITFIRE

Air Azure 71.108, and then I added some fading effects.

The main colour scheme was painted freehand using
Gunze H71 and H72 and adding various highlights. It was
important to repaint the area of the roundels, as these
aircraft are painted with the American ‘Stars and Bars’
over their former. So, I simply painted on a different Brown
 55

The main colour

scheme was painted
freehand using Gunze
H71 and H72

The undersides were

painted with Vallejo Model
Air Azure 71.108

Preparing the
undercarriage
56

Adding the decals

and washes

Starting to add some

exhaust staining
BUILD 12 – SPITFIRE
 57

tone to these areas, to represent the marks left by the

RAF roundels. Once the painting was complete I added
a couple of coats of Gloss and then added the decals
and stencils. A further Gloss coat then sealed them in.
Aside from painting the panel lines with oil colours,
this was also my first time I did the painting in the
exhaust staining just using grey oils paint shades,
and I added further oil washes over the airframe
to show wear and tear. Once I had finished this
stage, I sealed the model a misting of Alclad Clear
Coat. Then all of the smaller parts were fixed,
such as the wheels, propeller, and canopy. In
American colours, this is quite a striking model!
58
Tropical Times
James Ashton adds the 1:48 Airfix Spitfire Mk.Vb onto a temperate base
I
n recent years Airfix have really upped their game
with some excellent tooling of both their old and
newer kits. Nowhere is this more apparent than
with the staple Spitfire and Messerschmitt Bf 109
offerings. This particular kit of the Spitfire Mk.Vb is a kit
worthy of note among the wonder kits that are available
these days. When it comes to native British subjects
Airfix have often been very accurate in regard to shape,
and this model kit is no exception. Inside you get a
comprehensively detailed cockpit although you will
have to construct it carefully to get a good snug fit. The
clear parts are superb and you get a number of canopy
variants be sure to add the correct decking for the
variant that you are making. One notoriously difficult
BUILD 13 – SPITFIRE
area that manufacturers seem to struggle with is the
subtle curve between the fuselage and trailing edge of
the wing. Often some will mould it as a straight ninety-
degree angle, following from the initial curve. However,
Airfix have got it spot on with the curve following
through along the rear of wing all the way to the tip. It
Spitfire Mk.Vb
MANUFACTURER: AIRFIX
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: A05125
surprised me how quickly this kit goes together I can
remember using only a small amount filler on the tail
planes and where the wing section joins the fuselage. I
stress though that this was a minimal amount of filler.
The surface details are excellent with fine recessed
panel lines and raised fasteners where appropriate. The
sprues are loaded with optional extras such as slipper
tank, air filters, exhausts and ordnance. I imagine you
could build pretty much any variant of the Spitfire Mk.Vb
made, with decal options being the only restriction.
Speaking of the decals they are in good register and
have good colour saturation, they do eventually

respond to decal setting solution though I find multiple
applications may be necessary. For me the joy of
modelling is the finishing and weathering, as this is
what turns a piece of plastic into a scale replica, evoking
the wear and tear of the life of the machine. Certainly
a tropical environment more than others puts a lot of
stress on the paintwork and airframe not to mention
the men maintaining the machine. I have often admired
the creative bases and settings that other modellers
display their masterpieces on. Sadly I am often remiss
in this area, for two reasons. One, I keep
convincing myself I do not have the
time and two, I keep frightening
myself off with the thought that
I will not be able to do it.
So using some scrap laminate
board and picture rail I had
in the shed, I set about
59
making a small square base. Half an hour later voila,
I was on my way! Next came the scary part! I had
collected a number of packets of grass, sand and ballast
that railway modellers use and the secret to getting the
finish you are aiming for, is firstly select the materials
that match the environment you wish to simulate, and
secondly have a rough idea of the layout such as flat
and rough areas. Also are you going to add any scenery
such as plants, grasses, tools, people and the like? The
most basic base is just a case of randomly scattering
the ballast until you are happy with it. This all needs to
be fixed into place with a gentle spray of PVA solution,
do not forget this step or a stiff breeze is all it will take
to destroy your creation. In the case of my old base I
spruced it up with fresh sandy coloured scatter material
BUILD 13 – SPITFIRE
60
 61

and added some Etched Palms from Eduard. The

discarded tarpaulin was made using three-ply tissue
wet with a PVA solution shaped and left to dry before
painting. One final thing to keep in mind when making
a base for your models is a handy artist’s technique.
Try to set the subject off centre rather than in the
middle it gives more depth and interest to
the setting. Keep in mind that making
a base is very subjective and not a
precise science it is after all an art
form somewhat like wreathing.
There are certain principles that
you should keep in mind a few of
which I have hopefully shared with
you from my own experience. If like
myself you have reservations about trying to
make a base it really is not all that difficult and is
great fun. Now I have a tropical base I think I might
try something a bit larger and more adventurous?
62

Maltese Mask
James Ashton builds the 1:32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.IXc based in Malta
SPITFIRE MK.IXC

T
amiya never cease to amaze, with every new
release they seem to raise the bar, and although MANUFACTURER: TAMIYA
they had been releasing outstanding kits in this SCALE: 1:32
scale for some time now, their Spitfire kit set KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
new standards when released some years ago. This has INJECTION MOULDED
been followed by several fantastic Second World War KIT NUMBER: TA60319
subjects that have become a benchmark for others to
BUILD 14 – SPITFIRE

try and follow. Personally, I could never tire of building

these kits even if they were in the same box markings,
however, I am always on the lookout for that interesting
option that is often provided by the aftermarket folk.
In this case, I wanted to do a Spitfire Mk.IXc that served
in Malta, not an easy task, as most manufacturers focus
on the Spitfire Mk.V’s that came to Malta’s aid during
the critical period of the conflict. I came across a set of
Montex Masks that I had for this aircraft from 1943. If

I can, I prefer to use masks rather than decals as they
are like the real thing painted on. A secondary benefit
to this is that the markings can be weathered more
effectively than decals, meaning that they blend in with
the overall patina created by the techniques used. Masks
can seem quite a daunting way of adding markings and
yes, they do require more time and effort, however, as
with most things this does yield a far superior result.  that has not adhered to the under surface. Multi-layer
Mostly, as is the case with Montex Masks they are
made from vinyl rather than the yellow masking tape
we are all familiar with. Generally, you get two types
in the packet, one for the markings which are a cloudy
grey, and the canopy masks which are usually black. The
main advantages of these type of masks are that they
63
can be reused several times if removed carefully, and
you get masks for the inside as well as the outside of
the canopy. Some of the smaller stencils are provided as
decals as well as masks to save time and breakages as
complex masks can be very fragile. Make sure that your
base coat of paint is completely dry and cured, as these
masks are very tacky and will lift and peel any paint
masks such as the RAF roundels can be worked from
the inside out or vice versa, depending on whether
you are putting them on before the camouflage or on
top of the camouflage. I prefer to do them over the
camouflage so I can weather them at the same time
as the rest of the airframe. The grey masks are more
64
flexible and adhere better to compound curves than
the more rigid black ones, so make sure you get a good
seal around the edges so as to avoid bleeding of the
different colours. Take your time and use the panel lines
as a handy reference when positioning the mask as
there is nothing more frustrating than finding you are
out of position or the port roundel is not symmetrical
with the starboard one. It may be necessary to cut the
masks if there are any raised details such as aileron
actuators to get a good seal. Also
BUILD 14 – SPITFIRE
add a dab of masking solution to fill any potential gaps
between the masks. Finally, ‘Post It’ notes are very
handy and quick for protecting the rest of the model
from overspray. If you are careful and use low pressure
when airbrushing, then there is no need to cover the
entire model. I start by laying down the outer part of the
mask first, and then placed the outer (blue part) of the
roundel down, next came the white, and then the red
working outward. In the case of the fuselage roundel
it also has a yellow border to consider. When spraying
 65

red, blue or yellow, it is always advisable to

put down a white undercoat first. There is no
need to remove the white mask throughout
the entire process until the end. Weathering of
the markings can start when you are applying
them, for example, you can use post-shading
to add fading effects. I must say that there is
no better feeling of fulfilment than the first
time you peel the mask off and look at your
efforts. It is the moment you realise all that
effort has been worth it. Hopefully, I have
passed on some useful tips and advice that has
inspired those of you who may be considering
using masks instead of decals to take the
plunge. Go on you know you want to……!
66

Amphibious
Spitfire
Gerry Doyle builds the 1:48 Airfix Mk.Vb as a Floatplane
SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.VB

F
or the past few years Airfix have gone from
strength to strength with new releases and MANUFACTURER: AIRFIX
new-tooled versions of their old classic kits. So SCALE: 1:48
when the Spitfire Mk V was released as a new KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
mould it sent hearts a flutter and it did not disappoint. INJECTION MOULDED
I decided that I would really like to do something KIT NUMBER: A05125
different, using Silver Cloud’s Floatplane conversion,
and I immediately got on the Freightdog site and
BUILD 15 – SPITFIRE

ordered a copy as the type’s Slate Grey and Extra Dark SPITFIRE FLOATPLANE CONVERSION
Sea Grey scheme really appealed to me. The conversion MANUFACTURER: SILVER CLOUD
itself comes as fourteen beautifully moulded grey SCALE: 1:48
resin parts. The floats themselves are quite big and KIT TYPE: CAST RESIN
have some very nice surface detail, and their rudders KIT NUMBER: SCC4801
come as separate pieces. Also included are the float

The components of the Silver Cloud conversion set
A little tail ‘surgery’
supports, a new larger tail, a tropical intake, blanks
for the wheel wells, a four-bladed propeller and a
spinner. All of the parts literally pop into place with the
tail section being the only place where surgery was
required. You also get an A4 sheet with instructions on
one side and a well-printed four-view painting guide
on the reverse. You do have to source your own decals
but that should be no problem for most modellers.
I started the build by removing, cleaning up and
washing all the resin components, and while these were
drying I started to make up the cockpit. Here I used
Xtracrylix RAF Interior Green and Alclad II Duraluminium
for behind the bulkhead. This was then dry brushed
with Tamiya XF-66 and all of the controls were picked
out using Citadel acrylics. The entire model was then
sealed with Alclad Aqua Gloss before I gave it a brown/
67
An Eduard Sutton Harness added detail to the cockpit
Removing the strengthening ribs from the wing
black pin-wash. I used the decal provided by Airfix
for the instrument panel and painted in a few extra
details that had been omitted, and I must say I was
happy with the result. I used an Eduard pre-painted
Sutton Harness and a Baracudacast gunsight from
my spares box to add some extra detail, and before
I knew it, it was time to close up the fuselage.
When the glue had dried and the seams were
cleaned up, I cut the tail off at the panel line and
popped in the resin replacement, which fitted like a
glove. The strengthening ribs on top of the wing were
then removed as per Silver Cloud instructions, and
here I scraped them down with a No.10 blade and
68

Adding the resin wheel well blanks

Primed and ready to paint

When the primer had dried I rubbed the surfaces

Adding the Chromate Yellow stripe
sanded them flush with sanding sticks. I also fitted
the wheel well blanks at this stage. The float supports
have some big tabs that provide a solid joint to the
floats. These supports also have tabs at their topsides
to provide a positive joint to the wheel well blanks.
I then masked the canopy and fixed it in place, and
primed the entire model with Halfords Grey Primer.
BUILD 15 – SPITFIRE
down with Micro-Mesh to give a nice uniform finish.
I very rarely pre-shade nowadays, however, I decided
to give this project a rough shading as my references
showed that these aircraft were fairly grubby, even
though they only had a short operational life. The
undersides were given a coat of Lifecolor Sky and
masked off once dry. The instructions show a yellow
stripe on the port side wing root walkway, which was in
Yellow Chromate, so I gave the area a coat of Humbrol
81. I then sprayed a mix of Tamiya XF-22 RLM Grey with
a drop of red and black for the Dark Slate Grey, and
 69

this was then masked off with Panzer Putty for a nice
tight feathered line between the camouflage colours.
I then used Xtracrylix Extra Dark Sea Grey to complete
the scheme. The entire model was given several coats
of Alclad II Aqua Gloss in preparation for the decals.
The decals themselves came from several sources.
I did however use the kit decals for the walkway
stripes and the few stencils that appear on the
aircraft. I left the model for twenty-four hours
before giving it another coat of Aqua Gloss to seal
the decals and prepare for weathering.
I started the weathering
process with a little post-
shading using well-diluted
Tamiya Smoke. I then gave all panel
lines a pin-wash of my own brown/black oil The decals are now on, and it’s time for final assembly
paint mix. I then started to filter blobs of the same
mix with a soft flat brush following the airflow. I then final assembly. Because of the weight of the floats I
turned my attention to the floats. They became very decided to drill and pin both float supports onto the
grubby indeed and famously suffered from erosion, so wheel well blanks. Ideally I should have thought of this
I used Wilder Old Rust and Orange Rust Effects, filtered before painting, so be warned! When final assembly was
down with good quality white spirit. I added other small complete I applied a coat of Alclad II Klear Coat Semi
pin-washes until I was happy, with subtlety being my Matt. It was then time to take off all the canopy masking
aim. I sponged a dab of AK Interactive Chipping Effect and….tah dah!! The Airfix kit is a little gem and the
on the wing leading edges, and used the same method Silver Cloud Conversion is a great addition, and would
on the propellers with Tamiya XF-66. It was then time make an ideal subject for the first-time resin builder.
to give the aircraft another coat of Aqua Gloss before I have to say I was very pleased with the final result.
70

A Super-Detailed
Spitfire
Andy Bannister builds the 1:72 Airfix Mk.IX
SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.IX

A
rguably one of the most aesthetically pleasing
aircraft designs of all time, the Spitfire really MANUFACTURER: AIRFIX
needs no introduction in these pages. I think SCALE: 1:72
even my cats have heard of Reginald Mitchell’s KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
finest! I’ve waited a long time for a good mainstream INJECTION MOULDED
kit in the manly scale of my favourite mark of Spitfire. KIT NUMBER: A02065
Compared to the plethora of kits of its main adversaries,
the Bf 109 and the Fw 190, the Mk.X has been relatively
BUILD 16 – SPITFIRE

under-represented in 1:72. Of the kits available over the
years, Hasegawa’s was the best of a bad bunch, though
it still had some significant outline errors: a rear fuselage
too slender in plan and side view, shallow radiators and
exaggerated oval wheel wells. While there have been
decent limited run and resin kits, we still didn’t have
a good mainstream Mk.IX - until the release of Airfix’s
new tool in 2009. By no means perfect, offering no more
detail than Hasegawa and nowhere near as much as
Airfix’s newer kits, but the shape is much better and it
is, in my opinion, the best 1:72 Spitfire Mk.IX available.
Out of the box the kit represents a mid to late

production Mk.IXc. There are no optional parts included
other than early or late style carburettor intakes.
Moulding quality is generally very good, though the
panel lines may be a bit deep for some tastes. Now at
this point I must make a confession, I suffer from chronic
AMS (Advanced Modeller Syndrome). Now normally
I‘ll add just enough extra detail to keep the monster
quiet, however, I let my guard down and allowed the
monster to run amuck. I had three criteria: 1) I didn’t
want to do Johnny Johnson’s aircraft. I certainly have
nothing against him, but Spitfire models with ‘JE J’
are pretty ubiquitous. 2) I didn’t want to model a Spit
in invasion stripes. 3) I wanted to model an RCAF
aircraft, or at least an aircraft flown by a Canadian pilot,
and having spent most of my life in Canada before
moving to the UK it is perhaps no surprise that my
main interest lies here! And having in my possession
an IPMS Canada decal sheet that included two of
Buzz Beurling’s Mk.IXs, the decision was soon made.
For any project involving extra detail, research is
paramount, both before and during construction.
Fortunately the Spitfire Mk.IX is rather better served
in the reference section than it has been by the kit
manufacturers, though I could only find one fairly poor
photograph in Robert Bracken’s ‘Spitfire, the Canadians’
of this particular aircraft. A certain amount of guesswork
was necessary regarding such things as the style of the
gun blisters and armament fit as it just wasn’t clear from
the picture. Cockpit detail as supplied in the kit is pretty
much non-existent; a seat that looks like it came out of a
71
miniature fast food restaurant, an attempt at the armour
plate and a decidedly non-standard floor is all there is,
therefore everything had to be made from scratch or
whatever aftermarket parts I could get my hands on.
Construction began by thinning down the cockpit sides
as much as I dared using a grinding bit in my Dremel
and finishing off with sandpaper. The cockpit door was
cut out so it could be replaced later with an etched item.
Once I was happy with the cockpit sides, frames and
longerons were added from .010” x .010” and .010” x
.020” plastic strip. A generic etched set from ‘Fotocut’
was used for items such as the seat, instrument panel,
armour plate, throttle and some of the framework.
This set was not designed for any specific Spitfire kit
so the frames required a bit of fettling to get them to
fit, but it was well worth the effort. All etched parts
were primed with Gunze Mr. Metal Primer, a thin and
fast drying clear coating that can be brushed on and
greatly improves the adhesion of paint on metal parts.
Additional frames were cut from .020” plasticard.
The control surfaces were removed so they could be
reworked and then reinstated later in something other
than a neutral position. This also involved hollowing out
their positions on the wings, stabilisers and vertical fin to
allow the control surfaces to be inset as they should be.
The pilot’s oxygen bottle was fabricated from the
head of a rocket from a Frog Sea Fury and the two air
tanks behind the seat were from thick plastic rod with
the ends rounded off. The spade grip is .020” brass
rod formed into a ring with the lower section from
72
the etched set, laminated to .015” plastic sheet and
detailed with thin wire for the brake and gun trigger
cables. The rudder pedal guides are stainless steel
tubing and the control cables are fine wire. The basic
interior colour was Polly Scale British Cockpit Green with
various bits and pieces picked out in black, aluminium
and red. Reheat instrument decals were utilised for the
instrument panel and compass and the same company’s
placards were used in several places. The etched seat
was further detailed with aluminium foil seat belts with
Reheat buckles and an adjustment lever from .015”
plastic rod. The ratchet mechanism for the latter is a
quarter section of a watch gear, which was gently bent
inside out so the teeth were on the inside. The seat
belts were done in Humbrol Khaki and the seat itself
was painted tan and then oversprayed with a thin coat
of darker brown to simulate the composite material.
With all the bits and pieces in place the cockpit
was taking on a decidedly cluttered – not to mention
fragile – appearance. When I felt I had crammed in
as much detail as it was practical to do, the fuselage
halves were finally put together. Some of the details
such as the pipework coming from the landing gear /
flap control unit and some wiring were routed through
the cockpit frames, therefore these had to be carefully
BUILD 16 – SPITFIRE
fitted in from the bottom after the fuselage halves
were joined. Both the cockpit bottom and the inside of
the bottom wing half had to be drastically thinned to
get the wing to fit, in fact the wing is so thin that the
white plastic of the cockpit bottom was clearly visible
through it. There are two gaping holes for wheel wells
so these need to be boxed in and some detail added.
Fortunately the Spitfire has very simple wheel wells so
this was a refreshingly easy job using .020” sheet. The
large sockets moulded to the upper wing halves to
locate the gear legs were removed and smaller holes
drilled into the top wing halves to accept brass rod
glued into the top of the gear legs. The ribs in each well
were added from strips cut from .005” sheet and then
the wings were assembled and fitted to the fuselage.
A small circular cover over the external power socket
is present on the rear of both wing root fillets when
there should only be one on the left side, similarly the
D-shaped oil filler access panel is on both sides of the
nose when it should be on the left side only. There is
however a small round panel on the right side of the
nose, positioned further back than the oil filler. This is
missing from the kit so a template was made up from
.010” sheet and the missing panel scribed in using a
sewing needle chucked in a pin-vice, the redundant
oil filler access being filled and sanded smooth. I
also made up a template for the small panels over
the flap linkages on the wings, which pop up when
the flaps are down, and these too are absent from
the mouldings. I chose not to drop the flaps as they
were rarely, if ever, left down on parked Spitfires.
The filler cap for the upper fuselage tank was also
missing. Being placed smack
in the middle of a major
seam, I decided not to
attempt to scribe this
in for fear of it all going

horribly wrong. Instead I drilled a hole to accept a short
length of plastic rod, which was then pushed in until it
was flush with the upper. Once the scribing was out of
the way I tackled the control surfaces. As I mentioned
previously, the positions for the rudder and ailerons had
been thinned down in the fin and wings respectively
to allow them to be inset properly. This was a bit more
problematic with regards the elevators as the stabilisers
were single-piece mouldings. For these I used a fine
round file to cut a groove in the rear of the stabilisers
where the elevators seat and added hinges from
scraps of .010” sheet and sanded to shape once dry.
Strips of .030” plastic were glued to the leading edges
of the control surfaces, which were shaped with files
and sandpaper once dry and small slots cut for the
hinges. The fairly prominent fairing for the rudder trim
tab actuator is missing; this was added from a bit of
scrap stretched plastic tubing. The radiator housings
lacked detail and were incorrectly shaped, so these
were reworked and then cast in resin for use on future
projects. The radiator faces are also not deep enough,
therefore I scraped and filed inlet and outlet ramps into
the lower wing surfaces and extended the radiator and
oil cooler faces to suit. A hole was drilled in the starboard
radiator inlet ramp for the water spray tube, which
would be added from fine wire after the painting stage.
Navigation lights were only vague ‘lumps’ on the
wingtips so these were rebuilt up with a mix of super
73
glue and talcum powder, sanded to shape and their
tiny quarter sections filed out with the edge of a cutting
file. The lights themselves were added during the
final stages of the build, these being represented with
tiny blobs of Testors Clear Parts Cement and painted
Gunze Clear Red and Green. The clear teardrop shaped
position light behind the cockpit was from a CMK set
of resin lights. The 20mm cannons are from Master
and were a simple and inexpensive addition, and a big
improvement over those supplied in the kit. I also used
a Pavla vacuform canopy intended specifically for this
kit, and prior to adding the windscreen, a Quickboost
British reflector sight glued to the top of the instrument
panel. The cockpit door was made up from parts from
the Fotocut set and consisted of two very fragile frames,
which are laminated together and added to the back.
All of these need carefully bending to match the shape
of the fuselage. The door locking mechanism was also
included in the set along with a spare. The ‘crowbar’ is
fuse wire, with one end flattened under a knife blade.
For the painting stage I used Humbrol Ocean Grey
enamel for the upper surface before masking with Blu
Tack for the Dark Green. The fuselage band and spinner
74
are Model Master Sky Type S, and the leading edge
stripes were masked using thin strips of Tamiya tape and
then sprayed with Model Master Insignia Yellow. Once
all painting and touch-ups were complete a couple of
coats of Gunze clear gloss were applied in preparation
for the decals. IPMS Canada’s decals provide markings
for several Canadian aces flying various aircraft, though
there are some errors on the instruction sheet to be
aware of. The upper wing type B roundels are noted as
being 50”, these should actually be the 56” roundels,
which are provided. Based on pictures of other RCAF
412 squadron Spitfires, I think the rear code letter on
the starboard side should go over top of the serial
number and not in front of it as the instructions state,
BUILD 16 – SPITFIRE
however as there is no picture of VZ B from the right
that I know of this is only conjecture on my part.
I sliced each decal along the panel lines, doused
them with Daco Strong Decal Setting Solution and
pressed them down with a soft cloth to get them to
conform. The kill markings were on a small ALPS printed
addendum sheet to replace those on the main sheet.
They should be applied at a slight angle to the centre
line, roughly parallel to the upper wing surface rather
than the top of the cowling as the instructions show
them. The code letters were replaced with some from
an Arrow Graphics sheet, which looked better and were
also a closer match to the Model Master Sky paint, and
the stencils also came from an Arrow Graphics ‘Spitfire
Scribbles’ sheet. After the decals had dried overnight
I gave the model a quick wash to remove any excess
adhesive and solvent. Final finish was Gunze Clear
Flat after most of the weathering had been applied.
I’m not a big fan of some of the current weathering
fads, and I don’t use any pre-shading techniques,
preferring only to accentuate the panel lines with a
medium-dark grey wash with chalk pastels used for
general dirt and grime. I decided to give Humbrol’s
line of washes a go, Blue/Grey in this case, and was
very pleased with the results. For the exhaust stains, I
airbrushed on a few drops of a pale grimy grey colour
mixed with clear flat, which allows the stain to be built
up slowly and gives it a translucent finish. On top of
this I used pastels in brown and dark grey, ensuring
that the stains curve downward as they tend to do
on the real aircraft. Quickboost exhausts were used,
 75

the handle and miniscule etched latching mechanism

from the Fotocut set. The final additions were the pitot
tube, rear view mirror and the landing gear indicators
these were finished in Testors Metalizer Burnt Metal that protrude through the upper wing when the
and dry brushed with rust, brown and black. A thin gear is down, these are from fine wire painted red.
wash of semi-gloss black with a touch of brown in I’ve never had much interest in counting the hours
was brushed on for the characteristic oil stains on or number of parts invested in a project, suffice to
the underside. Paint chips were done with Testors say there are a lot of both in this! The time and effort
Metalizer Aluminium applied with a 00000 brush. I spent were far in excess of what I had originally
Airfix’s landing gear was not one of the highlights intended, and it may be a long time before I again
of the kit as the gear legs and covers are moulded as a go to such lengths on another model. But in the
single part. I therefore robbed some from an Academy end I was pleased with the outcome, and I think I’ve
Mk.XIV along with the wheels. The legs had to be discovered a cure, or at least a control for AMS!
lengthened slightly with plastic tubing to make up for
the obtrusive sockets I had earlier removed from the
wings. The landing gear covers came from another
Fotocut set which had various styles of Spitfire covers
and wheel hubs on as well as the tiny uplock rings to go
on the upper part of the legs. Brake lines were fashioned
from fine wire painted black. Wheels were black with
a touch of light grey, with the hubs in aluminium. Tiny
lengths of brass wire simulated the valves. The kit
propeller blades were worked and modified to suit and
then reshaped by scraping with a hobby knife, finishing
off with fine sandpaper until the backs were more or
less flat and the fronts were an airfoil
shape as they should be. The tips
were reshaped then painted Insignia
Yellow with the blades in semi-gloss
black. The brass leading edge strips
were carefully hand painted with
Gunze Mr. Metal Colour Brass and
stencils from Airfix’s Mk.22 Spitfire
kit were applied to the spinner. The
sliding canopy was glued on after adding
76

In the Pink
Andrew Root builds the 1:32 Revell Spitfire Mk.IX
as an FR.IX

T
he Spitfire Mk.IX began life as a stop gap
aircraft, as the introduction of the formidable
Fw 190 saw the Royal Air Forces Spitfire Mk.V’s
very much outclassed. The Mk.IX’s had a
much uprated engine, fitted to the Mk.V airframe, so
the performance jump was so great, and when the
Mk.IX went into full production it became one of the
most produced of all the Spitfire types. The aircraft
depicted in this build is an FR.IX, and these Spitfires
were fitted with a port side fuselage camera, and
unlike other photo-reconnaissance types, the FR.IX
retained it guns and armour, as it was more likely to
meet enemy aircraft at low level. The aircraft’s unique
‘pink’ camouflage was designed to be used on low
BUILD 17 – SPITFIRE

to medium level photographic missions, in low cloud

and haze at sunrise and sunset, and it proved a very
effective scheme, indeed many years later the RAF
employed a similar scheme in Operation ‘Desert Storm’.
The new tooled 1:32 Revell kit was released early
in 2017, I believe it was developed in conjunction
 77

SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.IX

MANUFACTURER: REVELL
SCALE: 1:32
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: 03927

with the Mk.II, which was released a few years earlier.

Having built the Mk.II in the past, I did notice some of
the same sprues. My initial unboxing revealed some
common problems on the fuselage, as the panel lines
and rivets did seem very harsh, and I am sure some
experts on the Spitfire will correct this, but most
won’t notice. The wings however, did seem much
better for some reason, as did the tail section and
flight controls, and the clear sprue was nice, with the
windshield and canopy looking very fine. As with most
kits, the interior was first, and here you have very basic
sidewall details, but good bulkheads and instrument
panels, with the lightening holes in place, which
saves a lot of drilling! The instruments are provided
in the form of decals, which unless you plan on using
a whole bottle of Microsol, I’d cut out the individual
gauges, or get some aftermarket instruments. 
The fuselage was joined without any issues, and the
tail controls came together quickly. I believe the test of
any kit is how well the fuselage attaches to the wings,
here this was not perfect, but I’d say acceptable, with
a little filler needed. With the bulk of the aircraft now
built, my attention turned to the smaller items, such
as the radiators and landing gear. The radiators are
a little incorrect, in that they should have a slight lip
on the front and back, but again, most people would
never know. The landing gear is a very basic moulding,
with a horrible seam down the middle, which is a pain
to remove. The wheel bays are also void of any detail,
and the wheels don’t look quite right in my opinion. 
BUILD 17 – SPITFIRE
78
 79

One point I must mention, were the errors in the

manual, as several part numbers were incorrect, with
the wrong sprue letters given for parts, so be careful!
The painting of the aircraft was done with the
Hataka Photo Reconnaissance set HTK-AS23. The PR
Pink was very thin, and needed around eight to ten
coats to build up the colour. The D-Day stripes were
added and the red ‘X’ was masked and hand painted. 
80
The decals were applied but looked a little
too bright to my eye, so, a very light coat of the
PR Pink was applied just too dull them down a
little. The exhaust staining was done with Tamiya
Smoke, with some Tamiya Buff on top. A light dirt
wash was then applied and the wing walkways
were given some earth pigments, and
the entire build was completed
with a Alclad Matt coat.  but if the Revell price tag is
Not a perfect model, but you
must consider the price point
of here, as you can pick this kit
up for around a third of the price
of the Tamiya Mk.IX. If I were to build
BUILD 17 – SPITFIRE
this kit again, however, I would want to buy new
wheels, landing gear, and perhaps an interior
upgrade, which would put the total cost near
that of the Tamiya equivalent. Unfortunately, it
boils down to price, as the kit looks great to all but
the most expert eyes, but the details are lacking.
If you can afford the Tamiya offering,
then it’s still the benchmark,
more to your liking, it does
make a good looking Mk.IX.

Super Size
Spitfire
Alan Kelley tackles the 1:32 Revell Mk.IIa
O
ver the past few years many model companies
have delivered various marks of Spitfire to
us in 1:32 scale. We have had the HobbyBoss
and Trumpeter Mk.V family, the older Revell &
Hasegawa offerings, and the wonderful late Mk.VIII,
Mk.IX and M XVI from Tamiya. However, no one has
really taken on an early Mk.I or Mk.II, so when Revell
announced their intention to release a Mk.IIa, I eagerly
awaited a copy. However, when I got the kit I was rather
81
SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.IIA
MANUFACTURER: REVELL
SCALE: 1:32
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: 03986
disappointed, as there were numerous corrections
that would need to be made, such as the propeller
and spinner being completely the wrong shape and
type for a Mk.IIa, and the ailerons depicted were metal
instead of the fabric covered affair that would have
used on this Mark. The oil cooler is that of the Mk.V,
and there are some very heavy panel lines and rivets
that adorn the fuselage. Finally the level of detail in
82
the cockpit is spartan to say the least, however, that
said, the kit gives you a great starting block for some
extra detailing. Thankfully, some companies have been
quick off the mark to get detail sets out there and I have
used quite a few in the completion of this project.
I used the Barracuda Studios Cockpit upgrade
set, replacement seat with armoured plate, cockpit
access door, replacement ailerons and oil cooler and
some replacement tyres. I added an RB Productions
BUILD 18 – SPITFIRE
Sutton harnesses, Quick Boost Exhausts and after
deliberating somewhat decided to use an Eagle
Editions resin replacement Rotol Propeller and Spinner.
This reasonably priced kit was not looking so cheap
any more! So, as with all my builds, construction
began in the cockpit. Revell, inexplicably, have left
a lot of detail out in this area. I added the Barracuda
Snapshot cockpit upgrade which contains new
throttle controls, a three-piece control stick, retraction
quadrant, gunsight, compass, fuel control switch,
spare gunsight bulbs, morse key and canopy release
mechanism, complemented by decals, and the decals
really do help to bring the cockpit to life. On top of
that I scratchbuilt the windscreen de-icing controls,
the pilot’s map case and all the armour plating found
on the port side of the cockpit. I also added all the
relevant wiring. For doing this detailing the SAM
Publications Modellers Datafile ‘Supermarine Spitfire
Part 1 Merlin Engined’ proved absolutely invaluable.
The seat was next to be disposed of and replaced
with the Barracuda resin offering. This also comes
with the pilot’s protective armour plate that Revell
have, mysteriously, left out. I have used one of RB
Productions’ excellent paper and etch Sutton harnesses.
The cockpit was painted using a primer coat of Mr
 83

Surfacer 1200, then given a base coat of Tamiya XF-71.

Vallejo acrylics were used for the detail painting, then
it was all weathered using Ammo of MIG washes and
pigments. The fuselage went together without any real
issues although if you are using the replacement resin
gunsight from Barracuda you will have to check your
fit before adding the front windshield. The bulletproof
glass plate is a separate part for some reason but the fit
is poor and you will need to use filler. I wanted to add a and drop the elevators, and as no Spitfires had dropped
bit of interest to the build so chose to angle the rudder flaps on the ground, I would be keeping them closed.
When it comes to doing the wings you will need to
do quite a bit of work to make the Barracuda resin oil
coolers and radiator fit - I had to cut out and remove
84
the location for the original kit part and also had to
skim down the top of the radiator as it is not possible
to get the wings joined unless it is thinned down
somewhat. Once this work was done the parts were
glued in using CA glue. When fitting the resin ailerons I
had to do quite a bit of sanding to the mating surfaces
of the wings, as there was quite a gap. I drilled locating
holes in both the ailerons and wings and added
Albion Alloys tubing for addition support, and I chose
to model the ailerons in a slightly offset position.
It was time to get prepped ready for paint. There
were quite a few seams that needed filling, and here
I used Mr Surfacer 500, which was then sanded and
checked for flaws. The entire model was then primed
BUILD 18 – SPITFIRE
with Mr Surfacer 1200, thinned with a drop of Mr Color
Self Levelling thinner. This was sprayed at 15 psi with
an Iwata Revolution CR airbrush; I use this for covering
large areas and an Iwata HP-C Plus for detail painting.
I wanted this aircraft to look different to the norm - I
came across a photograph of a very worn looking 72
Squadron machine RN-N P7895, and the decision was
made to complete my build in these markings. As I
was going to weather the aircraft quite heavily I also
made the decision to paint all the markings. Most of the
masks were homemade using a circle cutter but Mal
Mayfield of Miracle Masks came to the rescue and very
kindly donated a set of squadron codes and serials. I
pre-shaded the panels using a very dark green, and then
added the camouflage. The green was Tamiya XF-81
RAF Dark Green. For the demarcation I used the new
Tamiya bendable masking tape then added the Earth
shade, which was Tamiya XF-52. I then masked the top
and painted the bottom in Mr Hobby Duck Egg Green.
I wanted to weather this model as realistically as
possible and for this I used several Ammo of MIG and
AK Interactive weathering products. Firstly I sealed
the paintwork by spraying a coat of Jonson’s Klear
over the model, then shaded the panel lines using AK
Interactive Panel Line Wash. The exhaust staining was
adding using AK Interactive Streaking Grime, first in

small amounts blending it with a dry brush. This was
then built up in layers. Next I added Ammo of MIG
Rainmarks Effects to fade the paint, then AK Interactive
Fuel Stains. The worn areas on the wing roots were
created with a Prismacolor silver pencil, and then
Streaking Grime and Earth effects were applied over
it. I added pigment to these areas and blended them
in using a dry brush. Again this was built up in layers. I
faded the paint by overspraying random areas in Tamiya
XF-57 Buff and blending pigment into it also. The gun
stains were red brown paint and Tamiya XF-19 Smoke.
The underside would present a different challenge,
as I had no photographs of the actual aircraft. I knew
from seeing different photos of early Spitfires that
their Merlin engines were very prone to oil leaks
and the underneath of these aircraft would get very
dirty. This was accomplished using Streaking Grime
blended with a dry brush and Earth Effects paint to
mimic the effect of the airfield surface. The oil stains
were again AK Interactive Fuel Stains and Kerosene
Wash. I added small amounts of Streaking Grime to
the edges of the control surfaces and dragged it back
to show the rust and weathered streaks. Once I had
made, painted and marked up the airframe I turned
to the detail areas - the wheels, exhaust and wheels.
The kit propeller is completely the wrong shape so I
added the Eagle Editions resin replacement propeller
and spinner. I painted this using very Dark Grey, which
I then faded using a thinned down lighter grey paint,
then Rainmarks effect blended back. The spinner was
painted in Tamiya Sky, and I replaced the kit exhausts
85
with Quickboost items. These were painted using red-
brown then weathered using pigments and the Ammo
weathering products. The wheels were resin, again from
Barracuda, and I painted them using Tamiya Tyre Black
and then added some Ammo by MIG Airfield Dust to
weather them. The only decals used in this build were
the walkway stencils on the upper wings and various
stencils underneath. The finishing touches such as aerial
wires were added and the build was complete. All in all
this took about two months to complete and was a very
rewarding project. I would like to thank Mal Mayfield for
donating the masks to complete the stencils used for
the codes - these really are fantastic and are very easy to
use - the markings look more realistic when painted on
and I will definitely be using this method in the future.
The Revell kit gives a good sound basis for an
accurate Spitfire but plenty of alterations will
need to be made, and ultimately this will add
cost to the build, but in my view, it’s worth it.
86

Black Panther
Spitfire
Andrew Root builds the 1:32 Pacific
Coast Models Mk.XIVc

B
eing a bit of a Spitfire nut, I’ve always wanted
to build a ‘five-blader’ for some time, and then
I discovered the 1:32 Pacific Coast Models
Mk.XIVc! To be honest, I feared it would be
BUILD 19 – SPITFIRE

a limited run kit, and therefore the fit would be

questionable, but I found some very positive reviews
and I decided to go for it, and I was not disappointed! 
On opening the box, I was faced with a large number
of resin parts, a very nice colour paint chart and nicely
detailed injection moulded fuselage and wings. 
 87

SPITFIRE MK.XIVC
MANUFACTURER: PACIFIC
COAST MODELS
SCALE: 1:32
KIT TYPE: MULTI-MEDIA
KIT NUMBER: 32015

As always, the build started with the interior,

which was very well detailed with resin side walls
and seat, and an etched brass seat harnesses, which
was a nice touch. Once it was airbrushed with Tamiya
Cockpit Green and a few knobs and levers were
applied I was ready for the next stage. I choose the
two-main camouflage colours, from the Mr
Hobby range, these being Mr Hobby 72 and
73 over a pre-shaded Grey Primer coat. 
Following an application of Johnson’s
‘Klear’, I added the decals, which were all kit
standard, with the exception of the ‘Panthers’,
and these came from the Barracuda Studio Set
#BC32008. The whole build was then finished with a
88

coat of Alclad Matt Clear, which toned

down the paint and blended the decals.
What I take from this build is, don’t always
stick to the big-name brands! I was very concerned
about this build, being from a small manufacturer,
BUILD 19 – SPITFIRE

but my fears where totally unfounded. This was

a great fitting kit, and I enjoyed it so much, that
I’ve already purchased two more to build, and
with so many earlier marks of Spitfire available
in 1:32, Pacific Coast Models have filled the
massive void for Griffin powered examples.
89
90

Seafire!
SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.22/24
MANUFACTURER: REVELL
SCALE: 1:32
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
Andrew Root adds the Freightdog KIT NUMBER: 04704

Conversion Set to the 1:32 Revell

Spitfire Mk.22

D
uring the course of the Spitfire/Seafire program,
Supermarine produced around 22,000 aircraft,
in many marks and variants. The final type to
roll of the production line was the FR.47 Seafire.
These aircraft saw active service into the Korean conflict
in 1950, and were a glorious end to the Supermarine
thoroughbred. All Seafire’s were retired from frontline
service in 1951. The most obvious addition to the FR.47,
was of course the Rotol contra-rotating propeller,
BUILD 20 – SPITFIRE

powered by the might Rolls Royce Griffon Mk.87 or

Mk.88 engine. Many more alterations had been made
to the aircraft, and these included a modified canopy,
wider track undercarriage, a hydraulically operated
folding wing system and a longer supercharger intake. 
For this build I’m using the 1:32 Revell Spitfire
 91

SUPERMARINE SEAFIRE FR.47 CONVERSION SET

MANUFACTURER:
FREIGHTDOG MODELS
SCALE: 1:32
KIT TYPE: CAST RESIN
KIT NUMBER: FSD32002
92
Mk.22 and the Freightdog Seafire Conversion Set
and an Iconicair Cowling Correction kit. I opened the
boxes, to reveal a worrying amount of resin parts in
the Freightdog conversion, far more then I imagined,
and these included, new cannon blister panels, lower
rudder, wheels, canopy, cannon barrels, propellers
and spinner, then the Iconicair cowling. It was quite
BUILD 20 – SPITFIRE
clear this was going to be my hardest build to date.
The Revell Mk.22 kit was not that good, and was one
of the reasons it was so inexpensive! It has little interior
detail, and the surface detail was almost non-existent.
The first tools I needed were a drill and razor saw,
and taking a careful approach, I measured each piece
twice before cutting, and once a few pieces had been
fitted, I gained confidence for the rest of the work.
HAKATA HTK-AS49 RAF
COASTAL COMMAND AND
RN FAA PAINT SET
 93

Once the build was complete, it was painting

next, and the Freightdog conversion contains
decals for No.800 Squadron NAS, with its was
a pretty simple paint scheme, for which I used
the Hakata HTK-AS49 ‘RAF Coastal Command
and RN FAA’ Paint Set. To complete the build, I
was left with the propellers and landing gear.
The propellers were painted and fitted with
no problem, the landing gear however, was
not so easy. I placed the aircraft on its wheels
for the first time, and it sat fine, so off I went
to work, happy in the knowledge the build
was finished. However, when I returned home,
the landing gear had buckled, due to the added
weight of all the added resin parts! So, an Eduard
metal landing gear set was ordered and installed!
To make this conversion work takes some time
and patience. The base kit is, as noted not that
brilliant, however, the Freightdog conversion
kit is beautifully moulded, and well
worth the effort, as is the Iconicair
cowling, and I would recommend this
conversion if you are a Seafire fan. But please
remember - metal landing gear is a must!!
94

Fleet Air
Arm Fighter
Chis McDowell builds the 1:48 Airfix Seafire F.XVII
SUPERMARINE SEAFIRE F.XVII

T
he Seafire was a navalised version of the iconic
Spitfire, and Airfix have done a nice job recreating MANUFACTURER: AIRFIX
the aircraft lines in plastic. As with most builds, SCALE: 1:48
BUILD 21 – SPITFIRE

work began with the front office, and this is KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
certainly good enough to not need an aftermarket INJECTION MOULDED
replacements, or a lot of added etch. That said, there KIT NUMBER: A06102
are definitely enhancements that could be made if you
wanted to go to town with your build, but to be honest,
the only thing I added was a set of Eduard etched seat

belts. I did cut out the access door on the side of the
fuselage with a razor saw as this had been moulded shut,
but Airfix have supplied a rather nice replacement door
as a separate piece if you want to show it open as I did.
Once the cockpit was finished, the two fuselage halves
were joined together, trapping the cockpit tub between
them. The front half of the cockpit that includes the
instrument panel, rudder pedals, and control stick are
glued to one half of the fuselage. While the rear bulkhead
and seat are glued to the other half. The fit between the
fuselage halves is pretty good, and only required a little
sanding to remove the seam line. The instructions would
have you fit the propellers at this stage of the build,
but of course I left them off for now to ease in painting,
and to ensure the propellers weren’t damaged through
handling. Unfortunately, attaching them later means
you’ll not be able to have a rotating propeller. Seeing
as I’m not making a toy, but a model, I’m happy to just
glue the propeller into position when it suits me later.
The wing assemby was next and this is when you
need to start making a few choices about which scheme
you want to do. If you want to display the model with
the wings folded or left down, or if you want to display
your model with the landing flaps extended. There are
95
different under wing stores depending on your scheme
of choice. There are rockets, or fuel tanks that can be
used, and their respective holes need to be drilled using
a pin vice depending on which one you are using. Airfix
have kindly supplied both sets of wings for the folded
option, or for the standard wings down configuration. Of
course I had to be difficult and decided to do one wing
folded, and one wing locked in the flight position. This
is one of those aircraft that the wing folding was done
by hand to reduce weight, unlike the corsair that was
hydraulically controlled so both wings were folded, or
unfolded at the same time. This isn’t an option straight
out of the box, but it isn’t too difficult a task to convert
the parts to do this. I took the top and bottom parts of
the full wing, and using a new blade began to remove
the section of wing by continually scoring along the
panel line that marked the wing fold. Once this was
96
done to both parts, the inner surfaces were thinned with White and highlights were added before misting
so I could add the wing fold mechanism parts. I also on a light coat of the original colour heavily thinned with
decided to ensure the landing flaps were glued in the lacquer thinners to blend the two shades. I decided to
retracted position. I’m certainly not an expert on the try and airbrush as much of the markings as possible. So
spitfire or the Seafire, but I believe that the flaps were I began with the roundels and tail flash using Maketars
always retracted after landing and before take off. So Mask set for Spitfire aircraft. I was also able to use their
it would be unlikely to see one sitting on the ground generic numbers and letters to make up the correct
with the flaps down! Of course if you wanted to add identification numbers for the side of the fuselage, and
them dropped, just check your references first. for the underside of the wings. I just used normal Tamiya
Once all of the wing sections had been cut, sanded tape to mask up the wing walkways, and no walk lines.
and drilled where required, they were glued together Once the masks were removed there was a bit of touch
and held in place using small clamps and Tamiya tape. up to do, but in general I was very happy with how the
The fit was again very good and required very little filler masking had gone. Once everything had time to dry, I
or sanding to finish the job. The horizontal stabilizers sealed everything in with a coat of Alclads Aqua Gloss.
were attached next, and Airfix have moulded them I added a panel line wash using Flory Models Dark Dirt
so the control surfaces are separate parts and can be Clay Wash and any excess was removed with a damp
glued at an angled position. It is the same with the cotton bud. Using various heavily diluted dark shades
vertical stabilizer’s control surface. This had also been and my airbrush, I highlight some of the panel lines and
molded separately and can be attached and glued at created the exhausts stains on the sides of the fuselage.
an offset angle to create a more dramatic look. Another Using a slightly different shade I also created the staining
option is the arrestor hook. You can have the hook caused on the wings by the machine guns. Once this first
deployed or retracted, and again the kind people at stage of weathering was completed, I airbrush a coat of
Airfix have supplied both parts. Finishing off the main Vallejo’s matt varnish. Using various AK Interactive and
airframe, the air intake is glued together before being Ammo of MIG products, including Streaking Grime and
attached to the underside of the nose. Additionally Fuel Stains. Using a Prismacolor pencil I finally added
the oil coolers are assembled and attached to the some scratches and scrapes across the airframe. With
underside of the wings. The fronts of the grills were
painted and weathered first though as they would
be very difficult to get to once assembled. Finally the
windscreen was masked and attached using Krystal
klear. The remaining open section of the cockpit
was masked in preparation for painting. 
The airframe was primed with Mr
Surfacer 1000 thinned with their self-
leveling thinner. Once everything was
checked over for errors the painting
could begin. The lower surface was
painted with Vallejo 71009 Duck
Egg Green, and I highlighted this
with a mix of the original colour and
with Flat White. Once the lower surface
was dry, it was masked off and the
upper surface was airbrushed with
Tamiya XF-82 Ocean Sea Grey.
Again this was lightened
BUILD 21 – SPITFIRE
 97
the painting and weathering finished, it was time to put
together all of the separate components that had been
completed separately. I had taken the time using a pin
vice to drill out the exhausts, which in my opinion adds a
great deal to the look of the finished model. In this
case it was made easier by the fact that the
Seafire F.XVII exhausts were circular, so there
was no further sanding or scraping was
required after they had been drilled. Finally
the canopy masks were removed and
the bubble top section of the canopy
was attached using canopy glue.
I have to say that the finished
model is quite impressive
sitting next to me on my
bench. I was very pleased
with how everything went
together, and the different options
you have are fantastic. So hats of
to Airfix on this one, but they still
haven’t got it quite right for me just
yet. The more detailed mouldings
are a little soft at times, and the
panel lines are a little big for the
scale, however, their new kits are looking much better.
I’d definitely recommend this kit to anyone who’s
looking for a break from that aftermarket-ridden
masterpiece you’re building. Most importantly
though, it looks great sitting on my shelf!
98

A Civilian Spitfire
Andrew Root builds the 1:32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.XIc in a colourful post-War scheme
SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.XIC

W
hat is there to say about the 1:32 Tamiya
Spitfire range that hasn’t already been said? MANUFACTURER: TAMIYA
This is yet another Spitfire build, having SCALE: 1:32
already built the Mk.VIII and Mk.XVI, I can KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
honestly say that these are the best-manufactured kits INJECTION MOULDED
I have built to date, it’s not just a great product, it’s a
superb package! It’s looks a quality product, from the
second you open the box, its really well put together
with a photo-reference booklet inside to the metal parts
and tools. That’s enough love for now, so onto the build.
I was by now pretty clued up with the build process, With the airframe complete, my attention turned
so the cockpit and interior went together really well, to the mighty Merlin engine, and this a little kit in
and I used an Eduard interior set to enhance the look itself, really well detailed and a pleasure to build,
BUILD 22 – SPITFIRE

of the cockpit. The fuselage was soon ready to be
joined together, and you can start to see the classic
shape of Spitfire emerging, from this point on. Its it’s a
fairly speedy process, with the wings and tail section
going on with no fitting issues at all, and I think these
are the first kits that I have used no filler of any kind.
however, having built my Mk.IVX with the cowling off,
I decided to cover this Merlin up, and put the cowling
on, as I wanted to show the clean lines of the paint
job. Tamiya provide magnets to remove the cowlings
with ease if needed, but I glued the cowling in place. 
Now on to the paint job, I really wanted to do
 99

something different, and came across an image of an

eye-catching civil paint scheme, which is provided by
Ram models on their RAM32-002 sheet The aircraft
in question was Spitfire G-ASJV, and is still airworthy
today, as some readers will undoubtedly know, and is
one of the most famous Spitfires still flying, and is better
known as MH434. The aircraft scored several kills in
World War II, while serving with 222 Squadron, and later
saw active service with the Dutch and Belgium air forces
after the war. In 1963 the new owner, Tim Davies, had
the aircraft painted in civil markings you see here, this
was a fairly short lived scheme, as in 1967 the aircraft
was purchased for the movie ‘The Battle of Britain’ ‘ and
100

was returned to a more traditional camouflage scheme.

The paint job was a relatively simple one, with just
three main colours, the Silver and White both came from
Tamiya rattle cans. The Blue was Tamiya X-3 Royal Blue.
Masking proved to be a bit of a challenge, but a bit of
patience prevailed, and I was pleased with final look. A
coat of Johnson’s ‘Klear’ was then added and the decals
fitted. When I posted this on social media, the owner of
Ram decals got in touch and expressed his pleasure at
seeing his decals put to such good use, which is always
nice to hear. To finish the model off, it was given three
coats of Alclad Clear and the undercarriage fitted. 
There are people, who say Tamiya kits are expensive,
and of course they are right, but as has been said
before - you really do get what you pay for.
BUILD 22 – SPITFIRE
101
102

Supermarine
Bomber
SPITFIRE MK.XVI
MANUFACTURER: EDUARD
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED WITH
ETCH
KIT NUMBER: 1198
Dirk Schmitz builds the 1:48 Eduard Dual
Combo Limited Edition Spitfire Mk.XVI

T
his build features the Eduard 1:48 Dual Combo
Spitfire Mk.XVI in the markings of Squadron
Leader Otto Smik the OC of No.127 Squadron,
BUILD 23 – SPITFIRE

stationed at Grimbergen Airfield, Belgium

November 1944. He was one of the last three
Czechoslovak pilots who commanded British squadrons
in World War II. He was sadly killed by AA fire during
an attack on a railway station in Zwolle, Belgium on
November 2, 1945. The Eduard Dual Combo Limited
 103

Edition kit allows you build two complete Spitfires, a

‘bubbletop’ and a ‘high back’, and there are decal
options for eight versions, three high back and five
bubble tops. Beside the Eduard paint masks, the kit
includes also etched detail parts, but overall the kit was
very impressive. As usual the build began with the pilot’s
office, and here a number of etched parts were used,
especially on the instrument panels, and added a touch
of realism to the cockpit. The cockpit was then painted
in Aircraft Green and I added some scratches along
the bottom and on the sidewalls. This was followed by
some thin layers of Mr Metal Primer and a Dark Wash
from Ammo by MIG. The next step was the installation
of the nicely detailed etched seat belts, which
completed the look. The rest of the assembly went
together without any issues and I was ready to paint.
I pre-shaded all panel lines with Mr Hobby H12
Flat Black and followed this with the Mr Color World
War II paint set # CS684. I sprayed the three-tone
104
camouflage freehand and then added some worn
effects with some light grey paint by using a little
sponge fixed in a pair of tweezers. Once dry the
paint was sealed Gloss coat followed by the decals.
These were then sealed with another Gloss coat, and
I then began to accent the panel lines with an Ammo
by MIG Dark Wash. The landing gear some bombs
were then painted, weathered and installed as the
final step. The completed model was then sealed
with Alclad II Klear Kote Semi Matte. This was a really
fun build and not the last Eduard kit I will build!
BUILD 23 – SPITFIRE
105
106
Spitfire Specifics
Alan Price builds the Airfix 1:48 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIV as MV249 the mount
of RAF pilot John Wilkinson
I
have been fortunate in the pursuit of this hobby to
come into contact with many interesting people and
been able to work on a lot of fascinating projects.
One of these people is John Mollison who runs the
website www.oldguysandtheirairplanes.com. John
and I have collaborated on a number of projects over
recent years, John interviews retired pilots, puts the
interview on the website and also does a colour profile
BUILD 24 – SPITFIRE
of their aircraft. I help John with the research and
build a model of the aircraft. When John interviewed
former RAF pilot John Wilkinson, we really wanted
to build a model of the aircraft, MV249. At the time
the only available option was the Sword 1:72 kit. I did
manage to build it – only just in time as John Wilkinson
sadly passed away just after it was completed. With
the new Airfix kit on the market I really wanted to
build one to represent John Wilkinson’s aircraft, this
was the kit I always wanted to build for this project
John Wilkinson was with No.41 Squadron and in
March 1945 they were based in Holland. Spitfire Mk.XIV
MV249 was almost brand new when it was assigned
to the Squadron in early March and John used this
aircraft on a number of sorties from Eindhoven and
Twente before moving to Celle in northwest Germany.
This was not far from the Bergen-Belsen concentration
camp, which John saw after it was liberated. On
the 16th of April, John shot down an Fw 190 which
exploded, badly damaging MV249. He managed to

Some copper wire and a Yahu
instrument panel help to improve the
cockpit detail as does an Eduard seat
harness. Note that the holed in the
bulkheads have been drilled out.
land back safely, and the aircraft was sent for repair
but with the end of the war it was no longer needed
so it was struck of charge on the 19th of May.
Having picked up one of the new Airfix kits, the next
issue was how to back date this to an early Mk.XIV?
I had had the opportunity to email John Wilkinson
during the original project and he was able to give
me a lot of details over the course of the original
build. Most Mk.XIVs were built as FR.XIVs, that is with
the reconnaissance capability built in, in the form of
the camera ports. This is how the Airfix kit is. John’s
aircraft had full span wings, not clipped ones, and did
not have the fuel tank behind the pilot. Fortunately,
the kit comes with full span wings so that was not
an issue. Markings were straightforward, the kit has
the correct roundels already so I just needed the
Sky squadron code letters and Xtradecals provide
107
The camera ports have to go. Several rounds of filling and
sanding were required to erase the evidence of these.
Cockpit detail is very good and repays careful painting. A light green
dry brush and dark wash help to bring out the details in the cockpit.
The fit of the fuselage halves is very
good and little work was required to
eliminate the seams. Here the camera
ports have been painted to test the
effectiveness of the filler.
a sheet with late war style code letters in 24 and 36
inch sizes, just what I needed. Time to get building!
For once, I didn’t start with the cockpit but the
fuselage sides. I had to remove all trace of the camera
windows, to do this the kit windows were first glued
into the fuselage halves. Next I filled over the windows
completely and sanded back to ensure the fuselage
shape was kept correct. This took three rounds of
filling and sanding back before the windows were
erased completely. The fuselage had to then be re-
engraved. On the port side, the window was fitted to
the radio compartment opening so the panel lines
were correct and just needed tidying up. On the
starboard side this was not the case and I consulted
108
The port wing root needed filling as the fit was not too good, some
detail was lost and had to be re-engraved. The filled in fuel filler
opening can also be seen aft of the cockpit.
Construction almost complete –
the propeller has been test fitted,
this would not be glued in place
until the end of the build.
photos to check how the panel lines appeared.
Work then moved on to the cockpit. Airfix supply a
very nice cockpit out of the box but I added a bit of
extra detail in the form of copper piping made from
fine copper wire and a Yahu instrument panel. The
seat was improved with the addition of an Eduard
Steel seat harness. Tamiya XF-71 Cockpit Green was
used for the basic interior colour, dry brushed with
a lighter shade then given a thin black wash.
I had noticed comments online suggesting that
fixing the saddle ahead of the cockpit seemed to be
BUILD 24 – SPITFIRE
The wing radiators are a good fit as is the carburettor intake
however a little filling and sanding was required along the centre
seams as can be seen here.
Eduard cannon barrels were a simple improvement to the kit parts.
Note the filler applied around the cam covers to help blend them in.
a problem so I carefully dry fitted the cockpit and
fuselage to test this and found that it all seemed to
fit fine and once everything was glued I found that
the saddle still fitted just fine. The kit has raised
detail for the engine cowling fasteners, I was not keen
on these, so they were all removed and replaced with
engraved detail. This was done with a beading tool,
carefully pressed into the plastic. The fit of the fuselage
halves was good, and I filled and sanded the seams,
re-engraving any lost detail as I
went along. The wings were
dealt with next; these have
to have the undercarriage
bays assembled into them first
and then they were airbrushed
with Alclad II ALC-101 Aluminium.
I found the fit of the wings to the fuselage
to be not so good, the starboard wing root was ok but
on the port side there was a bit of a gap. This had to
be filled in and then the lost detail re-engraved. The
fuel filler aft of the cockpit was also filled and sanded
back. The bulged cam covers in the engine cowling
needed a bit of attention too, these were blended
into the fuselage with some Deluxe Materials Perfect
Plastic Putty. I wasn’t too keen on the kit cannon barrels
so I sourced a pair of Eduard ones from my ‘spares
box’, these fitted well and looked much better.
At the tail, the missing
rudder actuator
was replaced with a
length of brass rod.
An unsightly ejector
pin marking had
to be erased from
inside the tail wheel
undercarriage bay too.

The tail surfaces were attached without issue as
were the ailerons. No actuator was provided for the
rudder so one was fashioned form a small length of
brass rod. Under the wings, the large radiators were
assembled. The radiator faces were painted with Alclad
Ready for paint – all masked
and the canopy framing painted
interior green.
109
II Aluminium ALC-101 then given
a black wash, the interior of the
radiator assembly was painted with
Mr. Hobby H335 Medium Sea Grey.
The completed radiator assembly was then glued in
place. The carburettor intake was then assembled and
attached, this needed a little filling and sanding
to tidy up the seam. The prop was painted
with Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black while the
hub and backing plate were painted with Mr.
Hobby H-12 Flat Black. These were then glued
together into a complete assembly that could
be fixed in place at the end of the build process.
I next prepared the undercarriage parts. The block
tread tyres were chosen, photos of other early Mk.XIVs
suggested that these were in use at the time.
Before painting could begin, the cockpit and
canopy were first masked as
were the undercarriage bays
and radiators. The first stage
was to apply a primer, and
for this I used my usual Mr.
Hobby Mr. Surfacer 1000,
110
A coat of Mr Surfacer was
applied as a primer before
painting the camouflage.
applied from an aerosol tin. This was cut back with
3600 grit Micromesh to remove any defects. The panel
lines were then pre-shaded with black. The underside
was painted first using Mr Hobby H335 Medium Sea
Grey. Once dry this was masked and the upper surface
camouflage was applied using first Tamiya XF-82
Ocean Grey and then Mr Hobby H73 Dark Green, these
were applied freehand to give a soft edge between
the colours as seen on the real aircraft. I left the model
overnight before assessing the camouflage and I wasn’t
too happy with the pattern on the starboard wing, so
this received some corrective work. I then masked the
wing walkway markings and airbrushed these back.
This was followed by the wing leading edge yellow
identification markings. These were carefully masked
along the length of the wing leading edge, outboard
of the canon barrel up to the wing tip navigation
light. The area was painted white first followed by
several coats of yellow. A coat of Microscale Gloss was
then applied to prepare the model for the decals.
The mix of Airfix and Xtradecals were applied easily
with Microscale setting solutions used for both. After
After painting and masking the
underside, the upper camouflage
colours were applied freehand
BUILD 24 – SPITFIRE
A pre-shade was applied to the panel
lines using black before the camouflage
colours were airbrushed on.
a further coat of gloss, a wash was applied using Flory
Models Dark Dirt. Next the exhaust stains were applied
using different shades of grey, mixed in the airbrush
cup. This aircraft was almost new when John Wilkinson
was flying it and he used it for just a few short weeks.
With that in mind, weathering needed to be restrained.
These aircraft were in a lot of use,
during the early part of the year
so did get dirty but being
almost new, showed little
signs of wear and tear. An
Artool mask was used with a
number of different shades
of green, grey and brown
to tone down the paintwork
 111

Wing walkways and leading-

edge identifications strips were
masked and painted.
Painting complete – a coat of gloss
was airbrushed on ready for the
decals to be applied.

and create some staining. Some light chipping was

applied using grey Humbrol enamels around the wing
root. Oils were used to create stains on the underside.
Finally, Mig Productions Pigments were used to create
dirt effects on the wheels and around the wing root. The
final finish was applied using MRP Super Clear Semimatt
MRP-126 and then a light coat of Microscale Flat. The
whip aerial on the fuselage was made using a length of

The decals were a

straightforward job, applied
over two evenings.
112
Nylon thread and the wingtip navigation lights
were cut to shape then filled with Microscale
Kristal Klear, once dry these were painted with
Tamiya clear colours. The square style exhausts
were used on MV249 and these were first painted
with Alclad II Aluminium ALC-101 then given a
light coat of Jet Exhaust ALC-113. The completed
exhausts were then fixed in place.
The last job was to remove the canopy
masking and attach the pilot’s door
and canopy in the open position.
This was a very enjoyable build,
the Airfix kit is excellent and A dark wash was applied over
I’m just sorry that John Wilkinson the entire model to bring out
the engraved detail.
never got to see his old Spitfire built from this kit.

An Artool mask was used to help fade the paint, several colours were Oil paints were used to create the typical staining seen under the
used to tone down and apply dirt to the paint. fuselage of Spitfires.
BUILD 24 – SPITFIRE
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