Spitfire Vb

[Ian]

 

Extras - None.

Kit - Airfix 1:48

Paint - All enamels

Decals - Kit, Aeromaster, Eagle Strike

 

Spitfire Vb

302 (Polish) Squadron

'Operation Rutter' (Dieppe rehearsal)

Croydon, July 1942

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yep this is my take on the Airfix 1:48 Spitfire …and from the outset, have to say I didn't enjoy 'the build', but before you all head down to Wilkinsons (US = Walmart) for blazing torches and pitchforks, let me explain…

I found the cockpit assembly and installation is far to fiddly and intricate – it takes so much time building-up and test fitting that all the joy of the frankly superb detail is simply lost – also locating/gluing some of the details in to the floor area then the floor to the fuselage is down to luck more than skill, I was lucky.

 

The attachment of the main gears is an absolute horror – the ‘L’ shaped cut at the pivot point just inside the well simply doesn’t have any residual strength to allow you to later attach the wheels on to the axles and is too thin to drill’n pin – go-on ask me how I know !. The plastic is a little too soft (reminiscent of old Heller kits) and lack ‘sharpness’.

 

Good points outweigh the bad it has to be said – Superb details, crystal clear canopies (and so many of them), excellent fit of all the main parts and once you’ve wrestled the cockpit in to the fuselage it looks magnificent.

 

I’ve harboured the decals for over twenty years and unfortunately they have suffered – they were produced for one of the Hasegawa boxings of their Spit Vb by Aeromaster in the 1990’s and despite very careful storage in the meantime, one squadron code disintegrated completely and had to make it up from spares. Stripes are all painted & masked, as are the yellow ID panels. The camo is extensively pre & post shaded as a painting experiment, and has come-out quite well, but I still need to work at it.

So that’s it – a three-week build and a half-decent model at the end of it, far too many errors to be a ‘winner’ but looks fine on my 1:48 WWII shelf.

 

As a conclusion, as a 'build'  I prefer the Tamiya 1:48 Spits they are a whole degree more enjoyable - I've built both kits so feel comfortable saying this. The Airfix kit is fine and well priced and beautifully detailed, more so than the Tamiya one, but as a 'build', I prefer the Tamiya kits. Thanks for taking the time to look, please feel free to make any criticism or comment or ask any questions.

 

Ian.

[keefr22]

Blimey, you're really cranking them out at the mo. Ian! And despite the trials you had with it, they certainly don't show in the finished model as it's another cracker, & in a scheme you don't see every day!

 

Great stuff!

 

Keith

[stevej60]

Have to agree with your build point's Ian having a few of these kits under my belt now,it's still turned out a magnificent looking 

Spitfire though.great job!

[Ian]

Thanks both, appreciate it.

 

Ian.