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Building the Spitfire (9781916100558) Model Aircraft (Extra) Special #6 MA Publications Whilst you may not be familiar with the name MA Publications, you’ll surely know some of their magazines, such as Model Aircraft Monthly, Scale Aviation Modeller International, and Scale Military Modeller International. This book from their Model Aircraft Special range is the sixth in the series of course, and arrives as a perfect-bound A4+ portrait formatted book, with 112 pages of genuine content within, covering a massive 24 builds of the illustrious Supermarine Spitfire in great detail. It is printed in full colour on glossy paper with masses of large photos throughout, accompanied by a lot of text to keep you busy reading, while assimilating a gamut of modelling techniques, some of which you might have heard of, others you might not. The book begins with an index of the builds so that you can flip to any particular build if you’re so minded, after which there is a not-so-brief history of the Spitfire that stretches across eight pages with some interesting photos of various types mixed in. Then the builds begin, in the following order: Photo Fighter - Airfix 1:48 Spitfire FR.XIV by Jezz Colman Jungle Shark! – Tamiya 1:32 Spitfire Mk.VIII by Andrew Root Black Spitfire in Egypt – Hasegawa 1:32 Spitfire Mk.Va by Andrew Root Silver Spitfire – Pacific Coast Models 1:32 Spitfire FR.18 (using conversion) by Chad Summers Step By Step Spitfire – Trumpeter 1:24 Spitfire Mk.Vb by Olivier Soulleys Janetka – Tamiya 1:32 Spitfire Mk.XVIe by Mark Casiglia PRU Blue Thai Spitfire – Airfix Spitfire PR.XIX by Gerry Doyle African Ace – Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc Early by Jay Blakemore Doodle-Bug Destroyer – Pacific Coast Models 1:32 Spitfire Mk.XIV by Andrew Root Spitfire Over the Sphinx – Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.IXc by Alex Roughsedge Invasion Striped Spitfire – Revell 1:48 Spitfire Mk.XIc by Gerry Doyle American Spitfire – Ari 1:48 Spitfire Mk.VIII by Angel Exposito Tropical Times – Airfix 1:48 Spitfire Mk.Vb by James Ashton Maltese Mask – Tamiya Spitfire Mk.IXc by James Ashton Amphibious Spitfire – Airfix 1:48 Spitfire Mk.Vb with conversion by Gerry Doyle A Super-Detailed Spitfire – Airfix 1:72 Spitfire Mk.IX by Andy Bannister In the Pink – Revell 1:32 Spitfire Mk.IX as an FR.IX by Andrew Root Super Size Spitfire – Revell 1:32 Spitfire Mk.IIa by Alan Kelley Black Panther Spitfire – Pacific Coast Models 1:32 Spitfire Mk.XIVc by Andrew Root Seafire! – Revell 1:32 Spitfire Mk.22/24 with conversion by Andrew Root Fleet Air Arm Fighter – Airfix 1:48 Spitfire F.XVII by Chris McDowell A Civilian Spitfire – Tamiya 1:32 Spitfire Mk.XIc by Andrew Root Supermarine Bomber – Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.XVI by Dirk Schmitz Spitfire Specifics – Airfix 1:48 Spitfire Mk.XIV by Alan Price I think I detect a possible theme here. Spitfires, maybe? Each build spans several pages and has good sized pictures so that you can see the detail in… detail! There are a few too many red crowbars on the entry door for the purists, but don’t let that put you off. I think they look rather nice personally. The builds use a variety of techniques to achieve their effects, so if you’re still learning (aren’t we all?) then you might pick up some new things to try, and even if you think the schemes depicted are over- or underdone, your next model can use a modulation of those techniques to achieve the effect that you want. I’d love to know if Andrew Root ever builds anything that’s not a spitfire! In jest of course. It’s nice to see the use of older kits with a variable quantity of aftermarket, as well as some unusual conversions from various companies. Conclusion If Spitfires are your thing, and for plenty of people they are (self included), there’s a lot of Spitfire action to be had in this book, and we can all learn a little bit more about modelling this thoroughbred fighter from our Darkest Hour. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of