Dereknf

I've not long finished this kit myself and I painted it as you suggest. My own research seemed to confirm the kit instructions. I also used Sky for the interior of the flaps. The Sky bits I dirtied up a bit with Tamiya smoke. I painted the bit aft of the cockpit black but I don't know if that is correct. A few things I noted. If you are making the wings folded, you should be OK but if you are making them unfolded (deployed) the fit isn't great. The sliding cockpit part is a poor fit in the open slid back position. The kit decals in my copy were very opaque but I decided not to put on black and white stripes. Don't know about the seat though. Mine is here 1/48 Seafires Hope this helps.

Thanks for the comments folks. Here is the next one. The Academy FR.XIVe in SEAF colours. The serial and code are sort of fictitious and the propeller and spinner are from Quickboost. The Academy kit is very nice to build with no filler required at all. The wing/fuselage join, often a problem on Spitfires is excellent. The decals are a mixture of kit decals and Aeromaster roundels. I even had a go removing a mould line from the canopy and polishing it with toothpaste - I was amazed when it actually worked. A polish of Klear and all was good. Next up is the Italeri FR.IX in PRU pink.

Latest Spitfire after a brief Seafire foray, is the Revell/Hasegawa MkIX, made as MkVIII with the bigger rudder and retractable tailwheel. Finished in the markings of RAAF ace Wing Commander Bobby Gibbes. The kit itself was a very easy build with no fit issues at all except for the usual Spitfire underside, wing fuselage join. I think all Spitfire models need filler here. Apparently there are accuracy issues with the fuselage length and it is short compared with the Italeri MkIX. Having said that, it looks fine to me. Finished with Xtracrylix and used Victory decals Aces of the Empire sheet. Varnished using Revell Aquacolor flat varnish which produces a nice finish. Sorry about the slightly pants pictures

Absolutely beautiful. One to be proud of.

Latest is the Hobbycraft Seafire XV. The Hobbycraft kit wasn't the best but as far as the XV goes it is the only one available. There is some lack of detail on the gear and on the cockpit but the buid was OK. The model is finished in the markings of 803 Squadron based at Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland in 1945. The decals are from Aeromaster 48-698 and Xtracrylix paints were used to finish it. First go with Revell aquacolor matt varnish and I was quite impressed. The three Seafires together.

Do you break seals and open cellophane then? - conversely I wouldn't buy a kit where the seal had been broken. Returning the items to where you bought them from isn't always easy and I for one was disappointed with Revell's attitude - it was very much a tough s**t mate attitude - not great.

I had a similar problem with Revell using the same excuse. I bought a 1/144 Emirates A380 from Modelzone. The fuselage halves were missing and after many weeks of ignored e-mails, I eventually got a response and an address to send proof of puchase, a bit of the box and a cheque. Revell wrote back saying that kit was out of production and they wouldn't send any bits. WHAT! So does anyone want some A380 wings?

The Tamiya tropical MkV would be the one to go for. Here is one I made earlier If you want an adversary how about the ICM Bf109F?

Here is the Airfix FR.47. Much better than the older Spitfire/Seafire kits. Still some issues though. The decals are poor and opaque. The cockpit doesn't fit properly and the wings are a swine if you want to show them in the down position. I chickened out of the Korean war "D-day" stripes. I've added some photos of the two extremes of Spitfire development for comparison. The other kit is the Airfix Mk.I

Starting with this one for now. This the Airfix Seafire LIIIc. Looks like their original Mk.V with bits added which were even in different coloured plastics. Typical Airfix:- chunky, fit OK but not brilliant. Decals were from the kit and were fine. Finished in Xtracrylix Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey with Sky undersides with a hairy stick. Next up is the Airfix FR.47 which is at the decals stage and then a Hobbycraft Seafire XV.

Is there an official source for this? 50 Typhoons seems plenty against .......er...er.... what is it again?

That's very nice. I have that one (non-contraprop version) to do myself. I've got the FR.46 wings from the Airfix Seafire kit to use with the Aeroclub conversion.

I tried some recently from the Spitfire MKVII and whether it was clumsiness or general muppetry they seemed to disintegrate while I tried to remove them from the backing paper. I gave up after several attempts and used some from the spares box. My advice would be - make sure you have a Plan B! I might try the liquid decal fim trick though.

Yes, let's see the Seafire - I'm building one myself at the moment - Nice MkV by the way.

Matt I have a set of Hasegawa instructions if that's any good. PM me if you like and I can scan them for you. Derek

I don't know if my thread is any help to you. I've built many that you mention, Let me know if there is anything else I can help with. I've just finished the Airfix Seafire LIIIc and in the process of building the FR.47. 1/48 Spitfire builds

That's very nice - I've started the Airfix 1/48 version myself - if it comes out half as decent as that I'll be chuffed.

Very nice - just completed the same one myself.

The latest one. ICM MK VII in the markings of Wing Commander Pete Brothers who sadly died just last December. Not a particularly easy build but if tackled with care and forward planning it looks OK. The ICM kits come with a complete engine which I fitted just to give the propeller and the exhausts something to stick to. The firewall also forces the fuselage to be too wide for a sensible dihedral so the kit required lots of drying fitting. Anyway , here it is.

Apparently true. From UKAR

Latest addition. The Tamiya Vb Trop. This one finished in the markings of ER220, Neville Duke's 92 squadron aircraft. Decals from the Victory decals "Aces of the Empire" sheet.

Some new additions The Airfix Mk. IX. Not very impressed with this kit. I had read good things about it but I’m afraid it struck me as typical Airfix. Could have been great but failed on simple things. Fit quality was poor at times and need lots of “fettling” to get things to fit. The wings are far too thick which means the wing tips don’t fit properly. Anyway here it is. Finished as EN398, Johnnie Johnson’s JE-J from the Victory Production “Aces of the Empire” decals sheet. Next the Airfix F.24 Not too bad as a kit, apart from the cockpit canopy but decals were poor so I finished it with Eagle strike decals from sheet 48-160 as VN309 from 80 Sqn at Hong Kong. Thanks for looking. Next up is the Tamiiya MkVb trop and the ICM MkVII

I've just finished the Airfix MkIX and I have to say I was disappointed. I had heard good things about this kit but the wings are too thick, which I discovered when I tried to fit the standard wing tips. There were also a lot of small annoying fit problems. Again as in the Airfix Mk I, I had to glue a spacer to hold the fusleage at the correct width to make the wings fit. Dimensionally I believe it is OK. I've only built bits of the Hasegawa kit - I used the wings and interior in a MkXII conversion and they were fine. The fuselage of the Hasegawa kit is definitely a few mm shorter than the Airfix fuselage though. The Revell MkIX is the same kit as the Hasegawa I think. I've built the Italeri as a MK XVI and I was quite impressed. Looks OK too. I have the ICM in the stash so I can't comment on the build but I believe it is pretty accurate.

Thanks for the kind comments folks. I'll update the thread when I get the Airfix MkIX and F.24 finished. ICM MKVII and Tamiya VB trop next as I am getting fed up with Ocean grey and dark green.

That is a very fine Spitfire indeed.