NeilZR

Nicely done, I built one a few years ago, one of Airfixs best. But I too noticed the seeming short legs. Is this because the XII were conversions of Mark 5s, and we compare them to the later Spit 9s, where the legs were extended. That is also the first time that I have heard of no wing lights, oh well easy to fix. Finally Troy Smith can you link to the full story. Neil

Really nice, well finished, like the full Sutton harness. Only suggestion would be to replace the exhausts with Ultracast resin ones. This is such a lovely kit, I purchased another after completing one. If only Airfix had produced an Mk ix to this standard.

An excellently documented and presented project. Sets a standard for other modellers. I am not going to comment on any colour issues, as there are so many subtle issues. Eric Lock was one of many talented fliers, where luck eventually took its toll. Look forward to seeing more of your work.

Very nice. I have a full set of Hobbycraft Vampires, that I am determined to build. A recently acquired Classic Airframes kit will be used as a pattern. The Vampire seems a challenge as the sit of the main gear, the nose gear and the tail booms, must be right on, or the result just does not look right.

Very nicely done, much better than mine, finished about a year ago. You could think about weathering, these aircraft were typically very heavily used in frontline airfields. The fins on the rockets are orientated wrongly, thanks Monogram. I just left mine off, may go back and cut the tails off and reposition them.

Faultless assembly and finishing, and absolutely clean. No motes of dust or what have you, bound up in the paint finish. Not the kind of thing that my finished products are known for.

Superb job, beautifully done, you should be very pleased. Nice restraint with the airbrush on the overspray, looks just right. Too many times there have been large oversprays, making the aircraft look like a freehand art piece (lost for words). RAF painting was done to the spec, and if not, then the Sergeant is looking for you!

You have made a nice job, of a mediocre kit. Just finishing up 2 of these, to work on my own finishing skills. The fuselage looks good, the canopy not so good. Almost everything about the wing, from fit at the wing root to shape and form is not so good. Did I mention the wingtips, and the cannon covers, if my aircraft was full size it would never fly straight! Enough of the rant. I think you are ready for one of the newer production kits, as a canvas for your finishing skills. I am just working through the oldest kits in my stash, and I wouldn't build another early Airfix Spit.

Wonderful shots, thanks for the posting. A not to be missed opportunity, which I will miss as I am a long way away!

Thanks Troy, great pictures. The Spitfire, a true racehorse, what a beautiful, elegant aircraft. Which is why, I have about 20 Spitfires to build!

I am just about to apply markings to a Spitfire Mk1, K9797 19 Sqn at Duxford in 1938. How much stenciling was applied to the early production airframes ie trestle here, do not tread w/t etc? From pictures, it would appear very little, if any (it can be hard to see), so when did the full treatment come in to play? The only thing I note is the placard next to the crank starter.

What is the colour of the special air race markings, yellow (Revell, Alleycat), or blue (Eduard)? I would think perhaps trainer yellow would have been readily available. Eduard's research seems a little better than Revell, they got the code letter position correct. I have found only one picture showing the aircraft, black and white, can't interpret the colour.

Excellent work. Weathering is spot on, and I would say typical for the period, early 1941 for Brown/Green Spits. It could actually stand a little more weathering! Wing leading edges could be darkly discoloured, from repainting, and grime from airmen manhandling the aircraft around. Good example is P7895 pictured in "British Aircraft of World War II", by J F Turner. Aircraft in the Battle of Britain time period, seem to be pretty clean, many being new production (and sometimes they didn't last long), once into the winter, and the early spring of 41, a lot of aircraft looked very worn, and some quite filthy.

I don't know what to say, you have done a superb assembly and finishing of a really bad kit. The kit is undeserving of your skill and efforts. I have several of these unbuilt, to which I am planning to take razor saw and filler to. I hope I can finish them off as well as you have done.

Thanks, nothing about a Spitfire is ever off topic!