matto21

The painting looks excellent, especially considering it's a two tone scheme. Looking forward to seeing more. Matt

Yep, annoying isn't it. For me the vague attachment of some cockpit parts like the rudder pedals is as disappointing as the overall fit.

Hi all, Managed to get the painting started last night. Slow but steady progress... Matt

Thanks @woody37, definitely agree with your comments about ease of build. Managed to get the underside finished and gloss coated last night so hopefully might get a chance to start the camo tonight...if I'm lucky!

Superb finish on both. If my Spit looks half as good I'll be happy!

Thank you for the very informative response. I get that these profiles are not the most accurate (the fact he has it as a Vb and the airhistory website as a Vc highlights this), I just like the scheme with the filter part painted in dark earth as opposed to other schemes I've seen. I'm not at the stage of painting the upper camo yet so I have time to think about it some more. Matt

On the same website https://www.markstyling.com/spitfiresmkv5.htm Profile 47 (which is actually a Vb! Obviously can't read based on my initial choice!) 601Sqn TZ AB535. In your opinion are the code letters sea gray? Really difficult to tell. Matt

Thanks for the reply. I actually noticed, immediately after posting, that it was a Vc. At first glance, as the majority of the previous profiles were Vb's, I didn't look at the captions properly! Useful information about the sizes etc so thank you, this is an area that always confuses me.

Aaaand painted... Still a few touch ups to do here and there. A quick question for those more knowledgeable than I - if I were contemplating the scheme below: Can anyone advise me what the roundel, code and serial number sizes are likely to be please? Matt

Thanks for your interest Alex. Painting of the undersides in Azure Blue has commenced and should be completed tonight with a bit of luck. I'm using Vallejo Model Air for the first time and it's been an interesting experience so far. Matt

Hi all, I'm nearly ready to start painting. The cannons need a bit of work to blend them into the leading edges, but they actually fit reasonably well. I made the effort to drill out the ends which makes a difference. I took this photo before adding the second cannon. I don't find the plastic that Airfix use particularly easy to sand, or maybe it's more to do with my technique (or lack of!). Matt

Looking good, you'll never know the decals were damaged once you've applied a flat coat. Matt

Wing to fuselage fit is not the best, around a 1mm gap at the port wing root. This has been plugged with some plastic strip and the gaps filled with superglue. I went to bed last night frustrated with it but have woken and decided to just accept the less than perfect join. I lack the time and sanding finesse to improve it much more anyway. Matt

Hmmm, you can imagine my disappointment/frustration at finding this moulding defect on the lower wing... There's a corresponding ejector pin mark on the inner surface. Very annoying... Matt

Hi all, Continued slow progress. I finally finished off painting and weathering the cockpit elements. And the rather nice IP... The main focus of my time and effort however has been the upper cowling and the well documented poor fit. Try as I might (and I really tried), I could not get the correct part (D33) to fit well at all despite sanding, scraping and more sanding. When I tried the alternate part (B16), it fit much better and I surrendered. Life is too short to fight with parts that just won't fit! In these pics, only the nose section has been glued together, the rest of the fuselage is just taped. Although there is a clearly visible gap, I'm confident this will reduce once glued. I could not get the correct cowling to fit anywhere near this well. Matt

Little bit of progress in terms of cockpit painting. Matt

These are looking superb! Agree with what you say about the decals, had similar issues on the Eduard Bf-109 I'm building. I use Mr Mark Softer, and found that by putting it underneath the decal first, they conform better. The downside of this is you have to place it accurately straight off because its super difficult to move. After that I applied it on top too. Not perfect, but does help to allow some of the recessed detail to show. Matt

Looking great! How do you find the Hakata Acrylics to use? I'm looking for an Azure Blue as my preferred brand - Mr Hobby Aqueous - don't make one and I struggle with Vallejo Model Air for some reason.

I'm with you on that @woody37 - been working on the cockpit tonight and fit of some parts has been vague to say the least. Also very over-engineered, especially around the seat and rudder pedals. I didn't like the seat armour, much too thick, so I made my own. I also sanded the headrest part down to reduce the thickness. I also made my own belts - not totally accurate, but I really don't like the flatness of etched parts. It'll look OK once painted and hidden in the cockpit. Matt

Hi all, I've made my choice and it's to be the Airfix Mk Vb. I've read various build threads and am aware of potential fit issues so I'm prepared for a fight!* I've cleared and tidied the bench tonight. Here's the kit: I'm going to build it out of the box, the only extra will be canopy masks. In terms of markings, I'm not sure yet but I doubt it'll be either of the supplied schemes. My preference is to build it with the larger air filter - I just prefer the look. Thanks Matt *if it all goes wrong, I'll revert to the Tamiya Spit!

I also had issues with the gun troughs in mine - fit was OK but nothing special. Good job with the belts, you could have also applied the decals to foil then they'd bend and fold more easily. I did this on my F-4 build but didn't use the decals at all. Sorry about the hijack, but a picture is worth a thousand words and all... Matt

Now completed! Thanks for following the build. Matt

Here's my completed entry, intended to represent the P-40 captured by the Finnish Airforce on 27th December 1943 when it landed on a frozen lake. The original aircraft was in Russian service at the time. My model uses the 1:48 Hasegawa P-40E. The real aircraft was a P-40M, however I don't have one and I'm trying to reduce my stash! I used a couple of extras including replacement wheels and decals from SBS Models. The model was painted and weathered with a combination of Tamiya and Mr Hobby Aqueous paints. The finished model is missing a pitot tube - I destroyed it when attempting to refine it! Thanks Matt

OK, I'm nearly finished! Apart from a flat coat, all that remains is the add the gear doors, spray some exhaust stains underneath and do some final bits of weathering. It took me two full evenings to paint and weather those tyres! Bah! Matt

I know where you mean and have been to both. I must look harder next time I'm there!