Tizzy

The weathering is spot on for a well used F16. I also love the reallistic fur effect on the model dog.

A nice result from a rubbish kit.You should be proud to have done such a good job.I had a couple of their kits and gave up on the first and consigned both to the airbrush practice pile.

Looking good.

I love it.Very subtle weathering.

Very nice.Weathering is spot on.

Nice Mossies.

Very nice.I love the Wessex.

Considering that only 2 squadrons had these Spits it does seem rather stupid to produce 4 options but all for one sqdn.Maybe it was because of a lack of photos or details for the 91 sqdn planes.The research for 41 squadron would have been made a lot easier because of the photo of 6 of this sqdn in formation.It may be lazy research which is a shame as it would be nice to have choice of squadrons.

Overall quality of the plastic parts is good.A nice shiny poly that is not too soft,nicely recessed panel lines and well moulded details.It really does compare well with the quality of the Japanese mass production kits.As for fit I don't think it's going to be all plain sailing if the engine cowlings are anything to go by.These were well moulded and detailed but were not symetrical and further sanding will be needed.This is a limited run kit however and that comes with the territory.

The progress made so far is i have made up the cockpit interior.Like many Spit interiors it is the type that you insert from the bottom after the fuselage halves are joined.I used Humbrol enamels and dry brushed the instrument panel.floor and seat with silver to bring out the dials and wear and tear.I added Eduard pre painted belts. These parts were quite nicely detailed and the fit was very good. Next i turned my attentions to the fuslage halves and engine cowlings.The top engine cowling covers are seperate from the fuselage halves and whilst well detailed they are not symetrical.I decided the best way to fit the cowls is to fit them to the fuelage halves to create two complete sides to fit together.This proved tricky but i got around it by joining the cowl to the fuselage with Blu-tack. I then laid the fuselage half on a flat surface and i was able to carefully line up the panel lines and get the best possible fit. Dry fitting the fuselage halves together it is clear that i will have to sand a bit off the inside of the cowlings to get a good fit but the fit on the outside is fine.The cowlings were attached to the fuslage halves using Tamiya extra thin cement.I am going to run some super glue along the inside of the joins to strengthen them so that i can sand the cowls without snapping them off the fuelage halves.

I am just starting the Xtrakit Spitfire MK.XII.This is a version that has not been easily available as an injection moulded kit and yet it is quite iconic as it is the first Spit to use the Griffon engine.The boxart looks like this. Opening the box and inspecting the contents reveals two sprues,one clear and one poly.The moulding looks very good with fine well defined panel lines and details.The poly has a medium grey shiny finish to it and is not too soft.There is very little flash and the only obvious faults are the pitot tube which is mismoulded and a couple of marks on the port fuelage which need to be scaped off.In fact the quality of the moulding loooks as good as anything Tamiya or Hasegawa produce. The decals look good and are of good register.My only gripe is the red on the upper wing roundel is slightly too big.There are decal options for four aircraft.All of these are 41 squadron.The Mk.XII only equiped two squadrons and it would have been nice for at least one version of the other squadron,which was 91,to be included.Of the four options the instructions state that option B,MB794,EB-H is the only version to be made with a fixed tailwheel.This has prompted some discussion on the web and in SAMI about the accuracy of this info.My research has thrown up an anomaly.Mk.XII were originally produced from Mk.IV airframes that had fixed tailwheels.These had an airframe number starting EN.Option C in this kit lists EN237,EB-V.as having a retractable tailwheel.This version should have the fixed tailwheel as it is one of the Mk IV conversions.Now we come to the anomaly in my research.The airframes that started with serial number MB were produced as Mk.XII on the production line and as such should have the retractable wheel.However in the book 'The Spitfire Story' by Peter R.March there is a picture of six 41 sqdn Mk.XII including three of the versions in the kit.These are option A,MB882,EB-B.Option B MB794,EB-H.Option C MB858,EB-D.In this picture all of the aircraft have retractable tailwheels except option B MB794 EB-H which clearly shows the fixed wheel.This means that both option B and D in the kit should have the fixed tailwheel fitted.

Some supurb models in this group build.It's gonna be tough picking one to vote for.My fave changes each time I look. to all.

Nice Spits.Im on a Spitfire roll myself at the moment an i hope my collection ends up as good as yours.

Very nice.

Excellent.A very different cat.

Very nice.I love the paint finish.

Wow.That is some lineup.There is something about a group of well built variations of a type diplayed together that always looks impressive and this is no exception.

Some excellent models there.Love the weathering on all of them..

Some excellent models there.Love the weathering on all of them..

Love it. One of my fave jets in colours you dont see too often.

That is definate silk purse from a sows ear.

Excellent.The Hurrie looks great and the figure is very realistic

Very realistic.

Nice Flanker collection.

Very nice Gripen.