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1/72 Airfix Spitfire Mk.Is in Sextuplicate - Pic Heavy


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Gentlemen,

As a result of a combination of circumstances I am going to build a section of Spitfires, the Mk.I of course, which as eny fule no is the most perfectly beautiful of all the Spitfires and I will brook no argument on this.

The aforementioned circumstances, on the offchance that you are interested, include (but are probably not limited to) the following:

  1. The BoB 75 Anniversary Group Build is looming large on the horizon and I have about 30 more suitable kits in the stash than I can reasonably expect to build in the allocated time period, so need to do some deck clearing;

  2. The Heller Bloch MB210 I am supposed to be building for the French Fancies Group Build is an unpleasant clunky sink-marked flashed monstrosity made out of plastic that does not so much separate from the sprue as explosively disconnect and frankly I need some displacement activity to avoid working on it;

  3. Although I built a fair number of the old-tool Airfix Spitfire Mk.I I have never built the 'new' tool one, and this is a bit of an oversight as it can barely be described as a 'new' tooling any more;

  4. The new Xtradecals BoB Spitfires sheet arrived yesterday and I am very nearly bursting to build some of the options on it, in the knowledge that there is a second set on the way and I will want to build a few of those as well...

So with my intentions adequately justified - to myself at least - I selected these from the stash:

DSCN3101.jpg

... along with the Xtradecals set and Eduard canopy masks:

DSCN3102.jpg

... and these are the options I have chosen...

DSCN3104.jpg

P9323 ZDoF of 222 Squadron, RAF Hornchurch...

DSCN3107.jpg

... X4593 UOoA of 266 Squadron, RAF Wittering, and RNoN (serial presumably overpainted) of 72 Squadron, RAF Leconfield, which was flown by Australian ace Des Sheen.

I hope to build these in parallel and save myself a certain amount of work and will make a start later today.

Cheers,

Stew

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Look forwards to the work, see you chosen one that isn't sky type S, interested to see if you do go for a different colour

got my copy of the sheet yesterday as well and started my first spit as well just now, probably will just use airfix decs on it, save the xtradecals for future attempts

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Nice one Stew, building in multiples a man after my own heart! As someone with a few of these under my belt I can tell you you will love them,no

Heller type vices at all,the canopies are a tight fit if but once "tweaked" click into place beautifully,the panel line police will no doubt come calling

and to be fair they are heavy for the scale but I,m sure you will deal with them.I,m watching

:popcorn:

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One trick I learnt was to trim the rear of the canopy a fraction, it then virtually clicks into place. I overdid it on mine and had to add some framing back in, so a few passes with a sanding stick should be enough.

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I've made about a dozen of the 'new' mold Airfix Spitfire Mk I/ II. It's a great little kit.

As other's have said, the canopy is a tight fit. Also, it can be a good idea to enlarge the alignment holes on the fuselage, or cut the pins off, as they're a little tight-fitting too. Likewise, the ones on the wing.

One thing that's an easy improvement is the rudder actuator (that clearly isn't spelt right). It can be made from a bit of stretched sprue or thin metal rod.

Regarding the panel lines, you can always do what I do... fill them with paint.

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Very much looking forward to this stew!

Rob

Thanks very much Rob, I am keen to get on with it too :D

Got to love a good spitfire thread! Looking forward to this :)

Thanks very much Val, I'll try to make it worth your attention :)

Coo, Stew and Spitfires, what more could a man want? *

:popcorn:

* answers on a postcard please to...

Aw thanks Ced, where are you going to get a postcard big enough? :lol:

Look forwards to the work, see you chosen one that isn't sky type S, interested to see if you do go for a different colour

got my copy of the sheet yesterday as well and started my first spit as well just now, probably will just use airfix decs on it, save the xtradecals for future attempts

Thanks Stu; yes the 222 Sqn aircraft is listed as having Eau-de-Nil undersides... it so happens that I have a tin of White Ensign Models Eau-de-Nil and I actually think it's a really nice colour (despite the alleged RAF nickname of 'Puke Green'). From what Graham (Boak) was saying on your query post it sounds like there is at least a possibility that it was used on this aircraft... so perhaps I will, I'll decide nearer the time I think :)

For the others, one is a black/white divided underside and the other Sky.

Cheers,

Stew

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Nice one Stew, building in multiples a man after my own heart! As someone with a few of these under my belt I can tell you you will love them,no

Heller type vices at all,the canopies are a tight fit if but once "tweaked" click into place beautifully,the panel line police will no doubt come calling

and to be fair they are heavy for the scale but I,m sure you will deal with them.I,m watching :popcorn:

Thanks very much Steve - and thanks for the info :) - I usually cut the Heller kits a bit of slack, much as I would for an Airfix kit of the same age, but that one... oof, it doesn't like me and it is entirely mutual :fight:

One trick I learnt was to trim the rear of the canopy a fraction, it then virtually clicks into place. I overdid it on mine and had to add some framing back in, so a few passes with a sanding stick should be enough.

Thanks Jon, I will go easy on it :)

I've made about a dozen of the 'new' mold Airfix Spitfire Mk I/ II. It's a great little kit.

As other's have said, the canopy is a tight fit. Also, it can be a good idea to enlarge the alignment holes on the fuselage, or cut the pins off, as they're a little tight-fitting too. Likewise, the ones on the wing.

One thing that's an easy improvement is the rudder actuator (that clearly isn't spelt right). It can be made from a bit of stretched sprue or thin metal rod.

Regarding the panel lines, you can always do what I do... fill them with paint.

Thanks for that Beard, I'll keep your advice and recommendations in mind. I think the panel lines ought to be 'not too bad' so long as I don't do anything to accentuate them :lol: - incidentally that is how you spell 'actuator'

I made some good progress today, de-sprueing the cockpit parts, cleaning them up where necessary - only a little bit of flash and mould-lines - masking the canopies and spraying the lot with an old tin of Humbrol 90 Biege Green cut with some 78 Cockpit Green, as early Spitfires (and maybe later ones too, I can't remember for certain) were painted with a much lighter interior green than Aircraft Grey-Green:

DSCN3108.jpg

Thanks to the resident expert knowledge on Britmodeller regarding Spitfire seats and the dates provided by the Aviation Directory I was able to work out that the 72 and 222 Sqn Spitfires probably had painted-metal seats and the 266 Sqn aircraft probably had the Synthetic Resin Bonded Paper seat (often incorrectly referred to as 'Bakelite' because of the colour), so they will be painted accordingly.

I filed the top of the rectangular angled glass plate of the gunsight (which is moulded in grey plastic) into a semi-circle, as the GM-2 gunsight fitted to Mk.I and II Spitfires had a circular glass reflector and the GM-2* gunsight introduced in 1941 had the rectangular reflector plate :pipe:

So that's me for the day, tomorrow there will probably be some detail painting done, but I ought to 'revise' for an interview on Thursday which will be one of those competency-based things and really does require a bit of forward planning, especially if you are, as I undoubtedly am from time to time, an idiot :huh:

Cheers,

Stew

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Great start Stew - and we're off! Good luck with the interview on Thursday. If they don't take you on, then we'll take them on!

Idiot, you? I don't think so...

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Love a good competancy base interview... I say that but when I worked for m&s I used to do their assessment days, 4 hour interviews ending in a comp assessment, rather enjoyed it then.... But I wasn't being interviewed. That probably didn't help you actually... I love them! Knock em dead! And if you don't you still have three Spitfire's on the go and as Ced said.... What MORE could you want!!

Good luck with your interview prep! And great start on your spitfire feast.

Rob

P.s. bring the shark mouth defiant along, I would give you a job based on that....

Edited by rob85
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Has to be one of if not my favourite kit. Easy to build and good detail for the low price.

My observations when building were the need for a masking set, especially for the main wheels as the hub isn't quite 4mm so couldn't punch out an exact circle. The tail wheel hub is about 2mm wide so easier. I just found this set (link below) which would be a great help:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Model-Maker-1-72-SUPERMARINE-SPITFIRE-Mk-I-Mk-II-Paint-Mask-Set-/381226408804?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58c2dd5b64#ht_1928wt_1347

Canopy nees 0.5mm shimmed off to easy the fit but needs no adhesive otherwise. I replaced the chunky aerial with a Quickboost set and also the mounting for it, though the latter was personal choice. Seat belts were the only things I added to the pit.

Best A/M exhausts are the SBS ones though they're the only ones made for the Airfix kit.

Look forward to seeing them Stew.

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I love the new Airfix Spitfire kit. Based on a very appreciated recommendation from Procopius, it was my first prop build since my return to the hobby. I can't wait to see what you'll do with it.

Thanks are due to you already for the information on the cockpit color.

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Well you knew I'd be interested in this one!! :popcorn:

You're in for a treat - if these are anything like the couple I made they are a thoroughly enjoyable build.

Kind regards,

Stix

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Great start Stew - and we're off! Good luck with the interview on Thursday. If they don't take you on, then we'll take them on!

Idiot, you? I don't think so...

Thanks very much Ced; I am not claiming to be stupid, but I have proven in the past to be easily capable of idiocy :ike: - sadly this has only ever been retroactively apparent facepalm-smiley-emoticon.gif

Love a good competancy base interview... I say that but when I worked for m&s I used to do their assessment days, 4 hour interviews ending in a comp assessment, rather enjoyed it then.... But I wasn't being interviewed. That probably didn't help you actually... I love them! Knock em dead! And if you don't you still have three Spitfire's on the go and as Ced said.... What MORE could you want!!

Good luck with your interview prep! And great start on your spitfire feast.

Rob

P.s. bring the shark mouth defiant along, I would give you a job based on that....

:lol: Thanks Rob, I wouldn't mind them so much if I was not on the receiving end. I don't think the Defiant would help either except to prove that I am a more-or-less competent modeller :D

Has to be one of if not my favourite kit. Easy to build and good detail for the low price.

My observations when building were the need for a masking set, especially for the main wheels as the hub isn't quite 4mm so couldn't punch out an exact circle. The tail wheel hub is about 2mm wide so easier. I just found this set (link below) which would be a great help:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Model-Maker-1-72-SUPERMARINE-SPITFIRE-Mk-I-Mk-II-Paint-Mask-Set-/381226408804?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58c2dd5b64#ht_1928wt_1347

Canopy nees 0.5mm shimmed off to easy the fit but needs no adhesive otherwise. I replaced the chunky aerial with a Quickboost set and also the mounting for it, though the latter was personal choice. Seat belts were the only things I added to the pit.

Best A/M exhausts are the SBS ones though they're the only ones made for the Airfix kit.

Look forward to seeing them Stew.

Thanks very much for that mate, I've got the Eduard mask set which does include hub masks for the mainwheels, the tailwheel I'll have to wing but should be okay. There seems to be a consensus on the canopy being at best a very tight fit, so I will approach those with due caution. I think the aerial mast will be okay with a little scraping down... can I ask why you changed out the exhausts for the SBS ones? The kit ones look okay to me, was it just for the hollowed exhaust outlets?

I love the new Airfix Spitfire kit. Based on a very appreciated recommendation from Procopius, it was my first prop build since my return to the hobby. I can't wait to see what you'll do with it.

Thanks are due to you already for the information on the cockpit color.

Hey Cookie, thank you, I will do my best, it looks like a nice kit for the money. I think Airfix/Humbrol have modified H90 Beige Green since I bought that pot to better resemble Sky, but it should still mix okay with H78 Cockpit Green to make the correct shade, just might need a bit more 78... to get this sort of colour

Well you knew I'd be interested in this one!! :popcorn:

You're in for a treat - if these are anything like the couple I made they are a thoroughly enjoyable build.

Kind regards,

Stix

Thanks Stix, I think I have been spoilt by Airfix of late and I am happy to let them continue with that :lol:

Well a couple of interesting things have transpired since I last wrote, the first being that I realised that I had drilled the harness slot in the pilot's seat in the wrong place, which is pretty annoying since all I had to do was google 'Spitfire seat' to see hundreds of images all showing that the slot was just beneath the cushioned part and not roughly where the shoulder-blades would be like on the Hurricane seat :shrug: ... so I have to refill those. The second thing is that I noticed there is no armour plate for the pilot, which should go behind the seat and up to the top of the head-rest... my folder containing plastic card and stuff seems to have gone missing in my last move, so I have ordered a couple of sheets and will hopefully receive those in the next couple of days so I can fabricate the armour. I'll still have plenty to keep myself busy until then :D

Cheers,

Stew

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Not my scale, too small for me but I can't resist a Spitfire thread. Does three in 1/72 equal one in 1/32 scale?

I am researching for my B of B GB 1/32 Revell/ Hasegawa Spitfire which will almost certainly be a 222 sqdn machine in mid 1940 and you have already answered my question about the seat. According to SAM' Camouflage & Markings Vol 2 both Eau de Nil and Sky blue may have been used by 222 sqdn in mid 1940 so I will have a choice, but how do I find out which aircraft where painted what colour?

Cheers

John

PS

Like the cockpit colour.

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Right, I'll be following this one. Good luck!

... the Mk.I of course, which as eny fule no is the most perfectly beautiful of all the Spitfires and I will brook no argument on this.

No argument needed, I think everyone here is in agreement!

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...I am researching for my B of B GB 1/32 Revell/ Hasegawa Spitfire which will almost certainly be a 222 sqdn machine in mid 1940 and you have already answered my question about the seat. According to SAM' Camouflage & Markings Vol 2 both Eau de Nil and Sky blue may have been used by 222 sqdn in mid 1940 so I will have a choice, but how do I find out which aircraft where painted what colour?...

Hi John, as you have probably established if it was on the squadron in mid-1940 it was most likely a painted metal seat. As for the underside colour, basically you can't find out for sure, but on the plus side it is very unlikely indeed that anyone else can either, so the ball is in your court. I'm not sure if I will go with Sky or Eau-de-Nil, but only because the latter would mean I have to clean the airbrush one more time than if I choose the former :lol:

Right, I'll be following this one. Good luck!

No argument needed, I think everyone here is in agreement!

Thank you James, and yes, of course, I should have realised you are all gentlemen of discernment :D

Cheers,

Stew

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I swapped out the exhausts because I like hollow ones and resin exhausts fill my 'minimal' extra detail.

Ah, got that, understood and thanks TW, I'll have a look at those and weigh the merits against the cost... :hmmm:

Right, so I was back to business and one thing I nearly forgot to do was a bit of filling here:

DSCN3111.jpg

... no, not the bit where I clumsily hacked the plastic from the kit part in removing it from the sprue, but to the right of it, where there is a small panel line and a hole, which Airfix advise that you stick a small decal like the gunport cover on. I believe that this represents a combat-damage repair on whatever Spitfire that Airfix measured up; if no internal parts were damaged rather than take the aircraft out of service to replace the bullet-holed panel the ground crew would just stick a patch on it, and often this would be either very similar or identical to the gunport patches. In short (and you can either trust me on this or not as you choose) this should not appear on every single Spitfire or really on any of them except the one which Airfix used for their reference, and I don't know which one that was :D

Then, courtesy of Messrs Hannant's Emporium in Lowestoft, my plastic card arrived - it was a little thicker than I intended (I have no real way of visualising what '20-thou' looks like beyond a vague idea that if it is twenty-thousandths of an inch it must be quite thin) but adequate, so I made up the seat armour parts using a couple of Eduard etched parts as my guide, first the seat armour:

DSCN3113.jpg

... and then the head armour - I first tried to drill a hole in this to fit it over the headrest (see exhibit one to the left, the failed example) before reasoning that it would be quicker and infinitely easier to cut off the headrest, fit the armour and glue the headrest back on, which is what I ended up doing:

DSCN3115.jpg

Oh, I also cut off the top section of the rudder pedals for the two earlier Spitfires, as the two-level rudder pedals were not fitted on the early Spits... but I understand they were fitted before the start of the Battle of Britain and if that is the case the third Spitfire can keep hers ^_^ - I still need to round off the cut-off tops or might just replace them with a bit of plastic strip, as I believe they looked a bit like leather stirrups.

So more fiddling and detail painting today, very little of which will be visible on the completed kit, but it keeps me amused, occupied and busy, cheaply :lol:

Cheers,

Stew

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Right, so I was back to business and one thing I nearly forgot to do was a bit of filling here:

DSCN3111.jpg

... no, not the bit where I clumsily hacked the plastic from the kit part in removing it from the sprue, but to the right of it, where there is a small panel line and a hole, which Airfix advise that you stick a small decal like the gunport cover on. I believe that this represents a combat-damage repair on whatever Spitfire that Airfix measured up; if no internal parts were damaged rather than take the aircraft out of service to replace the bullet-holed panel the ground crew would just stick a patch on it, and often this would be either very similar or identical to the gunport patches. In short (and you can either trust me on this or not as you choose) this should not appear on every single Spitfire or really on any of them except the one which Airfix used for their reference, and I don't know which one that was :D

I may be entirely wrong but I had assumed this was the signal flare chute that was usually taped over like the gun ports. I think it was deleted on some later marks.

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I may be entirely wrong but I had assumed this was the signal flare chute that was usually taped over like the gun ports. I think it was deleted on some later marks.

Ah Mark, you could well be right, it would make much more sense for that to be the case - and this chap certainly thought it appropriate for his early Spitfire, although I confess I cannot see it on his reference photograph :hmmm:

However unless I misread it, this post from Edgar indicates that the earlier Spitfires had this feature on the underside ahead of the tailwheel and there is indeed a small indentation on the underside of the kit which could be intended to represent this... I would say that whether the modeller feels the 'hole' on the upper fuselage is correctly placed or not, if such things do bother you enough to do anything about it, the panel line should be filled as there is no panel join there :)

TempestWulf - by the way, thanks again, I have ordered the SBS exhausts (I ordered the Hurricane ones as they only had one Spitfire set in stock, but they ought to be the same, I believe the Airfix exhausts are interchangeable between kits so here's hoping :lol:)

Cheers,

Stew

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