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I brought some of my older Spitfire builds out of storage recently to find that the had suffered quite a bit of hangar rash! I therefore decided to give them new paint schemes and decals. First up is the Special Hobby Vc, formerly in malta markings now in 54 Squadron RAF colours based in Australia during 1943. Next is the Hasegawa IXe using the Aeroclub fuselage, repainted in a different iteration of its previous Czech AF scheme. Last up is the Airfix/Aeroclub Mk.21, previously overall Silver CAACU and now in 41 Squadron markings at Lubeck, 1946. Hope you enjoyed my efforts and model recyling and thanks for looking! Chris

[NOTE: For some reason in this post my images keep getting un-linked from their source and disappearing. If you see a bunch of such missing images please message me and I'll re-link them - this only applies to posts authored by me originally.] If you want to see a clean view of this build, without missing images, then go to my website... Vexillum Militaris 1/48 Airfix Supermarine Type 356: As a kid it was impossible to find a Griffon-engined Spitfire model: my local newsagent only stocked Airfix kits! It is not surprising then to find I am having some sort of throw back desire to add that sleek nosed airframe to my collection. In fact, almost every Spitfire I've built of late has been a Griffon version. [Actually just finished an Airfix new-tool Mk Vb - see here] My desire to build more has not lessened and I've now accumulated a collection of Spitfire spare parts for my spares box, the most notable 'spare' components being a set of Seafire 46 wings - suitable for any late mark Spitfire! These wings can't be wasted so the time has come to build that hybrid throw-back which is the Spitfire F.21. The Spitfire F.21 retained the high-back fuselage of the mark XIVc and combined the newest stiff wing design featured in the last Spitfire and Seafire versions. My intent is to build an F.21 from these left over '46 wings and combine them with Airfix's new Spitfire Mk XIX release. The resultant model will be 100% Airfix!! My goal: Most operational airframes I see when studying WWII photos, those long-in-the-tooth, drab grey/green, piston fighters - and who wouldn't rather fly a nice new shiny silver jet with bright red white and blue markings?- seem faded, stained and very worn. As well as trying to recreate one of the last RAuxAF's Spitfire Mk 21s, just prior to their conversion to sleek high-speed-silver Meteors, I'll be attempting to recreate that same time-worn, faded and blotchy look of a well used operational machine. In particularly, I intend to focus on two specific modelling aspects; keeping my chipping down and, practising my airbrushing to create that very faded and blotchy appearance. This thread: I am sure most, if not all of you, have built a Spitfire before so you don't need me to write a detailed and fully sequenced account of the build. I'm just going to focus on what steps I took to create my F.21. The kits: Having made a couple of Spitfire XIX kits already, I have to admit, I've fallen in love with this kit - for the price! It is not a perfect kit. It does suffer from some sink marks and ejector pin issues, its detail is a soft around the cockpit walls and the panel lines may be considered too deep. But oh; oh what a lovely profile! It becomes obvious quickly that this kit has a smashing 'Mk XIV' or 'late 2-stage Griffon' profile, ripe for use elsewhere. The relatively low cost of this kit makes it a useful donor for any 2-stage Griffon 'fire airframe: given that the Acadamy kit has such a poor profile and the Aeroclub conversion kit seem hard to come by and expensive. Airfix 1/48 scale Spitfire PR XIX... Since the Mk XIX was basically an Mk XIV airframe the kit lends itself for any early high-back Mk XIVc or XIVe and, if you fancy wielding the razor saw, the front and tail ends would provide the best parts for a nice low-back MkXIV or even a contribution toward a Mk XVIII. In my case, I will use the whole fuselage for my F.21. The Seafire kit is older and unlike the Airfix XII, XVII and XIX it does not seem to share the same base dimensions. The XII, XVII and XIX fuselages all match up dimensionally together and the XII and XVII are almost a perfect fit. The Seafire 46/47 doesn't fit these other kits as well. Anything used from the 46/47 kit will require some fettling as if one was using a kit from another manufacturer. Anyway, it is a fair kit and most importantly, it leaves you with a spare pair of Seafire 46 (or Spitfire MK 22/24) wings. Airfix Seafire Mk 46/47

Been working on this for about a week... Converted from Airfix's XIX and F.22, sporting a very striking scheme which makes the "new wing" Spitfires look very nice! IMG_5807_zps69903331 by Ben Standen, on Flickr IMG_5806_zpsa0b7d909 by Ben Standen, on Flickr IMG_5805_zps999da7b3 by Ben Standen, on Flickr IMG_5803_zps0a25d766 by Ben Standen, on Flickr IMG_5802_zps0e9c332e by Ben Standen, on Flickr IMG_5801_zpsc1e5a256 by Ben Standen, on Flickr IMG_5799_zpsa699a006 by Ben Standen, on Flickr All comments welcome Regards, Ben.