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Spitfire Mk.XVI Bubbletop Weekend Edition 1:48 Eduard The Spitfire XVI was a variation on the IX that were built using Packard Merlins (licence built engines from the USA). They were optimised for low level operations and some had clipped wings, with a slightly bulged cowling to accommodate the changes. They were armed with two 20mm cannon with an additional pair of .303 machine guns inboard, and a great many of them had the reduced fuselage spine or bubble-canopy. Just over a thousand were built overall. The Kit We have reviewed both the ProfiPACK and Limited edition versions of the is kit from Eduard. Now Eduard have released this excellent kit as a Weekend Edition. The modeller gets 4 sprues of grey plastic, the canopy sprue and decals for two aircraft. Construction starts with the cockpit (where else!) detail parts are added to both sidewalls, then the rear cockpit bulkhead is added. The cockpit floor is built up along with the seat, the seat is then attached to its armour plate, and then to the floor. For this kit the seatbelts are supplied as a decal. This completed part is then added into the cockpit side and the control column is added. The front cockpit bulkhead along with the instrument panel is then added. Here the instrument panel is provided as a decal. The HUD is installed into the panel before it is attached to the cockpit side panel. Once all of this is finished the other cockpit side is installed. Once all of the cockpit is finished it can be inserted into the main fuselage along with the engine firewall, tail wheel housing, and front engine plate. The main fuselage can then be closed up. Construction then moves onto the wings. They are of conventional mode type with a one part lower wing, with left & right uppers. Concentrating on the lower wing the first job is to install the wheel wells. There are 15 parts for these which while a little complicated make up this complicated area very well. Once the wheel wells are dont the upper wing panels cane be added. The completed wing can then be attached to the main fuselage. The tailplanes are also added at this stage as are the engine exhausts, and the top engine cover. The separate tailplane control surfaces and rudder are added next. Construction then moves back to the main wing. The ailerons are added, then on the underside the (5 parts each side) radiators are added, then the separate radiator flaps are attached as well. The main wheels are added to their landing gear legs and the doors are attached. The tail wheel is added to its housing. The propeller is added to its spinner, then added to the aircraft, the pilots door is added, the cannon barrels are added to the wings; and then lastly the canopy is added. Bombs and pylons are provided in the kit, though they are not used for this boxing so they will make a handy addition to the spares box. Decals As seems to be the case with the Weekend editions you get two decal options with the kit. Both are for aircraft which took part in the 1949 Cooper Air Race. RW393, No.601 Sqn RAuxAF (Overall silver) SL718, No.612 Sqn RAuxAF (Camo) Conclusion It is good to see this excellent kit released on a Weekend Boxing. Highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of

I finished this kit in December, but I've only just ventured outside to take some pictures. Vallejo Model air used for all the major colours. I really enjoyed putting this one together - thoroughly recommended. WIP is available here. I knocked up the backdrop after the sad demise of the Spad I built last year - Who will be the first to identify the airfield? WP_20160206_12_45_39_Pro by Andy Moore, on Flickr WP_20160206_12_45_26_Pro by Andy Moore, on Flickr WP_20160206_12_45_04_Pro by Andy Moore, on Flickr WP_20160206_12_44_39_Pro by Andy Moore, on Flickr WP_20160206_12_44_29_Pro by Andy Moore, on Flickr WP_20160206_12_43_59_Pro by Andy Moore, on Flickr

Hi Having followed & stolen ideas from a great number of builds over a long time, I thought it only fair to share a build of my own. As the title says, it's the 1/48 Airfix Spitfire XII with Eduard's lovely (but fiddly & 2D in places) etch set. I also have a set of Master brass cannon barrels, True details resin wheels, Rexx metal exhausts & Montex masks (I hate masking canopies!). I am no expert & I'm very much learning as I go, so any comments & advice is welcome. And so to the some pics. Taken with my work Pentax WG-III camera (great for holiday snaps, but not so good for photographing models!). So far I've removed the horrid mold mark on both ailerons, polished off the rough texture of the kit plastic & attached then to the constructed wing structure. Hopefully, the difference between the original (wing) and cleaned pieces is obvious? I've battled through with the mainly etch cockpit, which I found to be hard work. I learned that very thin superglue is the best for attaching the pieces & that nail polish remover, with acetone, unsticks things when they go wrong! I haven't fitted all of the etched pieces in there because some of them are just too small for me & to be honest the Eduard instructions are quite vague as to where some of the pieces fit. So that's it for now. Hopefully I can crack on over the next few weeks & keep adding to the thread. If nothing else it'll help keep me focused on the build! Thanks for looking. Edge

Hello all, This is the next project which should (!) Be an easy one.... For the BofB GB I did three hurricanes, these didn't get completed, which meant I also didn't even start the spitfire's! I had planned on building two from the Xtradecals 75th BofB sheet, so these are still going a had but in here.... Joining them will be a guest from the airfix bbmf that was given to me when I left my old job... what a kind bunch they are. So first up is the airfix mki spitfire boxing of DW-K This will be be oob apart from using the Xtradecals set below I wanted something a bit different so went for GR-U as it still has the old style roundels and black/white/aluminium. Next up is the bbmf mki/ii spitfire boxing, this comes with transfers for a mki kit from the BofB but again waned something different from normal sky/DE/DG so kit and transfers option below. Last up is the airfix pr mkxix spitfire from the bbmf boxing, this one is going to be a gift to my sister for my nephews room and will have his initials on the wings. Pic's below I plan to get some work done over the weekend so will post as soon as i get it done, I also plan to get these finished before Christmas. Feel free to tag along! Rob

sprue photos and more: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=525725990922456&id=367848000043590

Hello everybody, just another question that came across my mind recently: what are the reasons behind the different developments of propellers on German and British fighters in WWII? Both the Spitfire and the Bf-109 started their career with a two-bladed fixed-pitch wooden airscrew. On both aircraft, these were quickly replaced by two-bladed, then three-bladed variable-pitch propellers. With ever increasing engine power the Spitfire soon used four propeller blades (Mk. IX onwards), five blades (Mk. XIV) and eventually even a contra-rotating prop with 2x3 blades (some Mk. 21 and the last Seafires). By contrast, even the last Bf-109 K in 1945 used only three blades. The German airscrews changed in terms of increased chord and area but always remained three-bladed. This is even true for later and larger fighters, the Fw-190, Ta-152 and Do-335. I suppose that three-blade airscrews are less labor-intense and cheaper to produce than those with four or five (let alone contra-rotating designs), but somehow the propeller has to match the increasing engine output. With the rpm limited (the propeller tips shouldn’t get supersonic) and the diameter limited (problem of striking the ground), the chord/area and the number of blades seem to be only adjustable parameters. Therefore, it’s funny that the two countries followed different paths. Any ideas?

Back by popular demand, it's my modelling output for the year just past! Hot upon the heels of my prodigious 2014 modellistic endeavours (2 finished models!), I followed up that triumph by doubling, yes, you read that right, DOUBLING my output! I present for your dubious enjoyment piccies of no less than 4 models I finished in the last year! I'd like to say that I made up in quality what I lacked in quantity in my 2015 production, but my solicitor advises me not to break deceptive advertising laws, so I can't say that. However I will say that the following photographs contain a surprise - a NON-SOVIET model! And a Spitfire to boot! All right, enough of the hyperbole, down to business. In order of completion, first up was the inevitable Lavochkin fighter, in this case the La-5F by AML. Reading some reviews of this kit some reviewers made this kit out to be almost unbuildable. Just to show that you can't believe everything you read, even on the Internet, the kit wasn't very hard to build, with no more than the usual bit of fettling seemingly inevitable to all short-run kits. At any rate I'm pleased with the results, and it's the first time I've done the Soviet two-grey fighter scheme used from late 1943 to the end of the war. I rather like the scheme. Next up was the very nice Airfix Spitfire F.22. An easy build, and an easier scheme - all silver. The kit went together easily, and the decals worked out quite nicely. I only very lightly weathered the aircraft, with just a bit of exhaust stains as these aircraft were kept in good condition I'm led to believe. Thirdly was yet another Lavochkin fighter, the LaGG-3 Series 3 from Roden (nee Toko). Although this kit also took a bit of fettling, a result of Roden fitting all the bits and bobs to do every version of the LaGG-3 into one moulding, I'm fairly pleased with the results. If you look closely, you will see that like the La-5F, it has a cat on the tail, a white one in this case, whilst the La-5F features a black cat with a white outline. This is not mere coincidence as both aircraft belonged to Soviet GPW ace Leonid Akimovich Galchenko. The cats must have proved reasonably lucky, as Tovarish Galchenko ended up the war in one piece, with 24 victories to his credit. He was interesting in being one of the few advocates of the LaGG-3. Last but certainly not least, is the inevitable Il-2 (have I ever told you that I'd written a book about the Il-2 - yes? Well I have.). In this case it's a Shturmovik in a rather striking partial winter camouflage. The kit itself is the Eastern Express reboxing of the very good Dakoplast kit of the single-seater Il-2 with the wooden-covered outer wings. The scheme is particularly unusual in that most of the rear fuselage, including the underside, is finished in black. Why this was done is unclear from the record, but I've seen a photograph of one other Il-2 where this was done. At any rate, below are the models in all their questionable glory. As usual all (favourable) comments are welcome, and unfavourable comments will be treated with the derision and verbal abuse they deserve in the order they are received. Enjoy! Best Regards, Jason

Spitfire LF Mk. VC, serial no. AR501 G-AWII operated by the Shuttleworth Trust. This aircraft was acquired from Loughborough Technical College by the Shuttleworth. Trust during 1961. Initially it was stored dismantled, but become one of the Spitfires restored and flown for the Battle of Britain movie production in 1968. Put into storage again, it was once again rebuilt to airworthy condition in Duxford during 1973-1975. It has been one of the most popular attractions of the Collection's displays at Old Warden ever since. Pics thanks to Mark Mills.

well here comes my next attempt..... one1/72 revell Mk Vb & one new tool 1/48 Mk Vb Both will be built wheels up, with clipped wings & the same camouflage colours. I'll be relying heavily on Styx' build from last year to try & get this one right. so here's my first question - it regards the clipped wings on A-EA. I took some pics of her a couple of years ago at Duxford & the wings appear to be full length, then I took some more of her at Goodwood this year & they're clipped. Has the aircraft been modified, or are the tips removable ?!!! here are a couple of pics: firstly with full wings notice how the '0' of EP120 is hidden behind the 'A' ? and then this year with clipped wings: I reckon these two should keep me going till xmas.

Hi Folks, I bought this kit on an alcohol fueled ebay trip some time ago, BEFORE reading any reviews, which gave the impression that it was a swine to put-together. I'm glad to report that it wasn't as bad an experience as I expected, the worst being the two-part lower engine cowling and I think the air intake is wrong but that might be me as I hacked off the locating pin before fitting, the wingtips were not a good fit either, but hey, you pays yer money and all that...... Paint is Vallejo model air upper; Dark sea grey 048(now engine grey for dome reason) and Dark Green 012. A bit on the dark side I know Underside is Tamiya MSG Interior is a mix of VMA Zins chromate and VMA int.green and various bits. Wanted to give it a 'lived-in' look without going overboard on the weathering. On the whole I'm quite pleased.......but feel free to comment !!!! Cheers PS: Excuse the IKEA place mat

A little something I finished earlier this Fall, but struggled with since Spring of 2014. Lost interest for awhile, then ran into many problems during the paint phase. Basic kit is the ancient FROG double offering of the Spit XIV with V-1 and the special 'double stand' to display them. The Buzz was somewhat heavily modified, as what FROG offered did not match drawings of the production/armed V-1's (more the unarmed prototypes) and had some shape errors especially around the pulse jet. The Spittie was not modified much other than scratching up a pit (populated with an Airfix Johnnie) with a vac'd canopy replacement, rescribing the entire airframe, and substituting the molded exhausts for a donated spare set from I believe a newer Airfix Spitfire XIX. Paints for both were Vallejo throughout. And with a little bit of prop action haha The biggest struggles were with paint and the decals. The Spit was painted THREE TIMES. First time I used the color call-outs that Vallejo gave with their 16-bottle RAF set....these, aside from the Dark Green and Sky, were dismally inaccurate. I'm mostly satisfied with my final mix of Ocean Grey, but still don't think it is 'correct'. The kit decals were a chore to use this time, unlike with a FROG Javelin I built a few years ago, and I did end up having to create masks to spray the Sky codes on the fuselage as the first one piece code/roundel/code decal I tried to apply strenuously objected to working whatsoever though I did manage to save the actual roundel. By the time I got to weathering, I had just about reached my wits end and only wanted it to be over, so stuck with a simple wing root chipping exercise and an oil wash/filter session. While most certainly not a very accurate rendition of a Spitfire, IMHO it still looks good and has the cachet of being a good old nostalgia build. Not completely unhappy with the outcome, but not overjoyed either. Cheers, and Happy Holidays! Erik the H in sunny Florida

I recieved a surprise Christmas present from a modelling friend; an all resin 1/72 Spitfire PR.XI kit by Attack Squadron. It is a kit that I knew nothing about, nor have read anything about it in magazines or on the net. But oh what a pleasant surprise! Excellent casting, highly detaled cockpit, perfectly clear vacformed canopy (unfortunately only one) very good PE for the smallest deails, and six decal options; four American, one RAF and one Danish AF. Parts breakdown is a bit unconventional, but after having done some dry-fitting the fit seems to be near perfect.The only con I've found so far is the instructions which, although nicely drawn, seem a bit disorganised and have no colour callouts whatsoever for the interior.The latter is no problem for me since I have plenty of references to go by. Very much looking forward to build this kit.

When looking around the Britmodeller forums, I stumbled upon this Battle of Britain Group Build. As I started the new tool 1/48 Airfix Spitfire and Hurricane kits to commemorate this occasion, I thought why not enter this Group Build with these two builds, making it my first participation in such an event, also giving me some motivation to finish them within a reasonable time. I want to make the Spitfire in the markings with the underside roundels at the very end of the wing tip, and the choice was either X4474 GV-I from No 19 Squadron or X4382 LO-G from No 602 Squadron. After seeing the pictures from AndyL of this aircraft with a non standard leading edge camo in Col’s WIP http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234984685-were-in-with-a-chance-lass/ the choice was clear. Sorry Col, that I build the same aircraft. According to Spitfire Mark I/II Aces, this aircraft was flown by 11 kill ace Pilot Officer Hanbury, using it to destroy a Bf 110 near Beachy Head on 15 September 1940, half a Ju 88 over Tangmere on 21 September and a 2nd Ju 88 on 30 September near Selsey-Bembridge. In December, the aircraft was passed to No 610 Squadron for a few month before becoming an OTU aircraft. It was struck off charge in January 1945. I will use the new tool Airfix 1/48 Spitfire Mk.I kit together with a Yahu instrument panel and HGW Sutton harness with marking from Xtradecal X48143 and the kit. Unfortunately the squadron code on the kit decal and the Xtradecal set aren’t correct in shape as too wide. But it should be easy to correct this. The Airfix kit is a lovely kit and a huge improvement over the previous offering, coming close to the quality of the Eduard Spitfire Mk.IX. But I wanted to have a similar surface finish like on the Eduard kit. So out came Rosie the Riveter and it was all done over a few evenings. It was the first time I riveted a kit and I read about it that it is a bit of a chore to do. But I rather enjoyed doing it and I will certainly do it more often. And when comparing it to the Eduard kit, it looks not bad at all. Currently I am finishing off the cockpit with same scratch built additions before painting. Am I right in saying that the kit seat represents the none-metal seat and that in theory X4382 could have had a metal or none-metal seat in September 1940? And was the flair gun ammunition rail already introduced in September or is the seat correct without it? I hope my next pictures will show some paint on the model. I appreciate any comments, suggestions and productive criticism which assist my build. Many thanks for watching. Cheers, Peter

Hey guys, this year was quite strange from the modelling point of view to me.. a lot of new things happened in my life (all for good i believe ) and the result was, i did not have that much time for modelling as before. Also i still do not have any showcase in my new home, so i guess the next step was just logical result of all what was said - this year i was building kits mainly as a gifts for friends or family members.. which mostly led to close deadlines, hurry up builds and such.. Well, the last for this year is finished. It was bulit as a christmas gift for my bro, who is (same like me) fan of the War Thunder game. I wanted to build one of his favourite planes (and i m sure i ll build more in future in this way, thats why it is just round1 ). But in the end, i had to change my mind a bit.. So the plan was to build exact copy of his ingame Spitfire Mk.XVIe. I found the kit for it (excellent Eduards kit in overtrees version), i found painting masks (Montex, great as usualy) and some more stuff between the spare parts ( PE instrument panel and seat belts,Quickboost doors). At first i started to work on the pit and i did build it based on the ingame cockpit screenshots. Most of the cockpit is OOB, some details were added here and there and i have used some self-adhesive "jewelery" on the gunsight, to imitate the glass "bubble" on top of it and i think it worked quite well Anyway, when i was taking close looks on the ingame model of Spitfire XVI, i have noticed the designers made their job a bit easier and took parts from older Spitfire marks.. So the wings top side in the game is mix of IXc, IXe, and late IXe, wings underside is taken even from I/IIa (with 4x 0,33 cal MG covers.... ), antena wire like on the early spits (from fuselage to tail tips) and so on.. at first i wanted to make all of these changes, but in the end i did not want to make such an ugly mix, so i decided to finish the build as XVI with marking based on the ingame Spitfire XVI Well, to finish the wall of the text, here is the result From the photos i have noticed i did not paint the wind shield framing from the back side, so i have fixed it later but did not take any shots after the fix. more to add yet

Hi all,I,ve had a lack of mojo as far as aircraft are concerned recently so in an effort to restore it I looked for a nice vice free kit with a simple scheme I could build in two sessions.The Airfix PR Spitfire fitted the build,OOB built over two morning,s painted,glossed,decalled and matt coated and there you have it! Last one for the year so I hope everyone has a happy and Peaceful Christmas and new year and all those kit's you wanted come your way!

Hello All, My last completion of 2015 (unless I get very lucky indeed!), garnished with a figure from the Revell RAF aircrew set: It's a nice "not-quite-new-Airfix" kit, bought for pennies on Ebay and mostly finished in a weekend, with some final touches this morning. I closed up the undercarriage well, added some cameras (sprue), opened up exhausts and inlets, added wing tip lights, removed the fabric effect from the trim tabs, and made some new lower camera windows using a film of Clearfix. I also ran a wash of acrylic putty over all the panel lines except the engine covers just to tone them down a bit. Paint is brushed Humbrol 230 acrylic with some Hu64 to add some fading and patchiness. I wanted a wartime example with "B" type roundels and used generic Xtradecal roundels and a hand-painted serial number. The one I wanted to do originally didn't have a pressurised cabin, so I ended up doing a very late war Benson wing example from a photo in the Morgan and Shacklady tome. I used the smaller wheels from the kit (which are not mentioned in the instructions) too. I also ummed and ahhhed a lot over adding stencils, but decided in the end to keep it clean. Thanks for looking, Adrian

Hi everyone! Here are a few shots of my recently finished Italeri Spitfire Mk. V. Inspired by the recent Eduard 1/48 Czech Spitfire set, I raided the spares box and managed to work together one of the aircraft in that set. The kit was surprisingly difficult, though it had good detail, fit was terrible! The plane is mostly Tamiya extra thin cement and milliput. Only after I built it did I realize two mistakes: The rounded tail and for some reason I painted the red 'tape squares' around the cannons! As always, I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Hi Everyone, I've just completed another Airfix Spitfire XIX, this time in the Turkish markings given with Xtradecal X72-105. The decal instructions suggest that the scheme is speculative, based on a drawing in Aircam No 8. I don't have this old book, and couldn't google up a photo so I just went with it. The colours used are based on the decals instruction sheet and information found on the 'net as to how to approximate a match to the specified Federal Standard colour using acrylic paint, in this case Tamiya. For the record is Tamiya XF-13 over a mix of 3:1 Tamiya XF-2 to XF-23. I had trouble trying to capture the preshading underneath this dark colour using my Iphone camera, but it's subtly there to the naked eye. The last photo shows it with the Swedish Spitfire XIX I completed earlier. Cheers Tony

In July I started off my Spitfire collection - fittingly - with an early Mk.I here. I've decided the 2nd Spitfire for my collection should be a Mk.IIa. This specific one has quite a bit of history (the actual kit) as it hoevered over the garbage bin more than once in the past, including in this build. The first time I attempted to build an OOB Airfix Mk.Ia, but when I screwed up the pre-shading (came through the paint layers) which neccetated a complete paint strip, I lost motivation and the plane went back in the box for a few months. Later I got the Airfix Mk.I/IIa kit, and realised that if I build the early Mk.I, I can use the leftoves (coffman starter bulge etc.) to build my failed Mk.Ia as a Mk.IIa. All went well, and I didn't make the same mistake with the pre-shading this time. However in a moment of idiocy I stuck the port side decals on the starboard side, applied varnish and only then realised my mistake...Once again the Spitty got close to the bin, but I decided to keep it as a test bed for some weathering and shading techniques. On my recent trip to Australia I picked up an Xtradecals sheet with some Mk.I/Ia/IIa/IIb markings, and I decided I will once again attempt to make a decent Spitty out of this one (3rd time lucky?). Everything went as well as could be expected. Unfortuantely in the 2 complete paint and stip procedures and insane amount of not-so-gentle handling this plane went through I didn't exactly expect it to be the best kit I have done ever. In the end it turned out OK, but only after once again hovering over the bin following my screwup of the "Mountains of Mourne" decal (the last few letters can be seen jumbled up) by applying Microsol and then stupidly trying to make a last minute adjustment...yes, yes I am aware of how stupid that was. I ended up deciding to finish it, as this kit (including me) wasn't going to survive anither complete paint strip procedure. Considering the above history of this kit, I think it didn't turn out completely horrible, but feel free to judge for yourselves. The Mk.I and Mk.IIa together Thanks for looking. Next up in my collection will be a Mk.V. J

I am somewhat stuck. I have mated the fuselage and wings and I was expecting more dihedral. I think it is 6-8 degrees but the wings look too straight. I was vey carful not to get fuselage bulge. Forgive the self, but it was the only way I could think of taking a picture

Hello! This is one of my tribute builds to salute "The Few" and one man who's story that never fails to touch my heart and inspire me. This is my build of Flying Officer Geoffrey Wellum's Spitfire Mk.Ia, K9998. For those of you who might not know, Geoffrey Wellum DFC was the youngest fighter pilot in the RAF during the Battle of Britain. He was eighteen years old. He flew all the way through the battle and then onto the siege of Malta in 1942. He published his memoir "First Light" when he was 80 years old and it has widely become known as one of the must-read accounts of the battle. I have wanted to build Geoff's 92 Sqn Mk.I a for ages! With the 75th anniversary this year, it seems quite appropriate to dust off Revell's 1/32 Spitfire. M.II. I did a little backdating and a lot of research and I think I have got this one right. (Still not sure though....) We all have our views about this kit, for me it's wonderful. It's a model of a Spitfire! That's all I need! With the kit, I also used Barracuda resin, Eduard PE and Xtradecal codes to make K9998 as there is no sheet with these markings currently available. I used Mr. Hobby RAF Earth/ RAF Dark Green for upper surfaces and Tamiya Sky for the under surfaces. I enjoyed this build immensely and will certainly build another one of these kits in the future, I think they are great! I hope you enjoy my tribute to the "The Few". Geoff Wellum once said: "If you remember one of us, then you must remember all of us"

Hi everyone I apologise for having failed so spectacularly in completing any of the recent group builds, so have set the bar much lower ! Please see below the sad remains of the Spitfire recently unearthed from the shelf of doom, which I genuinely had forgotten all about (old age no doubt) The kit is very basic and I haven't tried to "pimp it up" in anyway, so it will be just a matter of finishing the painting, and finding the canopy. What can possibly go wrong with that......... Cheers Pat

Evening all, There's plenty of folk who've been ahead of me with this so will spare on the details. Just wanted to share my rendition of the new tool 1/48 Spitfire Mk.Vb, built straight out of the box with the markings for the restored aircraft from the Historic Aircraft Collection at Duxford. As its a restored aircraft I've applied almost no weathering as all the pics I've looked at seem to show the aircraft being kept in a very clean condition. Only thing the eagle-eyed among you will notice is I'm missing the rear view mirror.....blame the carpet monster! Will be fabricating a replacement. My only gripe.....that undercarriage attachment....aaaarrggh! Horrible. And yes, young Nigel does have a moustache!! All comments, suggestions etc gratefully received, good and bad, it all helps. Rgds, Eng

Been building up to this one for a while and I'm finally done. As said in the title, this is my first step outside of the gentleman's scale of 1/72 and after some initial trepidation I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think this is the tooling before the most recent release (code A05115A if anyone more knowledgeable would like to confirm) and I did find it less intricate than expected. However I got myself a 1/48 bf109 as well recently which looks much more like what I expected ie lots of small parts and finer detail. The build itself was relatively trouble free though I lost count of how many times I knocked off the radio antenna and pitot. Hand brushed in the usual humbrol enamels and then finished in the Battle of Britain scheme we've seen so many times of DW-K. I did think about getting some other decals but its a classic and I think any self respecting Spitfire enthusiast needs at least one of her. There are a couple of build flaws, seam lines etc I'm aware of but I'm not confident enough of filling and sanding just yet and the kit was a gift from a good friend so I didn't want to end up with a mess and ruined project through my own ineptitude. Really annoying sand paper scratch on the starboard side of the canopy was my major and very annoying slip. Finally, the weathering. A mix of humbrol washes and weathering powders, I'm aware its very heavy (SWMBO got a bit confused when I referred to this model as 'my dirty girl'). I wanted to portray a fighter at the height of the battle, hard used and constantly at work. She's already flown a couple of sorties today and will be up again before long. The scratches/chipping were done with a silver pen and is the only part I think I'll go back to at as it hasn't turned out as well as I hoped. A bit more study needed on that one. Not sure the pictures really show it at its best but its hard to get good light in Scotland in November. Overall, I'm very happy with this one, I think its as good as I could make it with my current skills. Not sure what's next as Fallout 4 just came out and is probably about to eat my life for the next few weeks. All comments welcome. Thanks for looking.

Hi guys, Seven new sets are available now, plus more to follow! 1:32 Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero Fighter for Tamiya kit 60317 1:32 P-51D Mustang for Tamiya kit 60322 1:32 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVIe for Tamiya kit 60321 1:32 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc for Tamiya kit 60319 1:32 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VIII for Tamiya kit 60320 1:32 Junkers Ju-87G Stuka Kanonenvogel for Hasegawa kit ST25 1:32 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt Razorback for Trumpeter kit 02262 Cheers, Alek