airbus320 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Hi all, a slightly misleading title in that only one of these Spits is a desert bird but the meaning will become clear momentarily! I used to post here until about 5 years ago when I took up a new job in the middle east and modelling had to take a back seat. Having recently moved into a bigger place and my stash grown to excessive proportions I decided it was time to get building (and posting) again. Here are my first few across the bench! Eduard Spitfire IXc early (weekend edition), EN354 of the 4th FS, 52nd FG based in Tunisia 1943. What a beautiful kit, so good I went out and bought two more IXs and three VIIIs! Built OOB. Hasegawa Spitfire VI, BS111 of 616 Squadron 1942. A nice kit but not the best fitting. I added some Eduard seatbelts, scratch built pressure bulkhead and DV window. Since the canopy on this version was removable and did not slide I had no idea where to put it(!), so I tacked it to the wing with some white glue as if the erks had placed it there. ICM Spitfire VII, MD187 of 131 Squadron 1944. This one fought me a lot of the way! Scratch built pressure bulkhead/canopy rails, Falcon transparencies and decals from the spares box. Spare Eduard elevators and Airfix tailwheel plus shortened oleos to improve the sit. Had a lot of trouble painting the invasion stripes, I'm passing their resulting roughness off as being hurriedly applied!!! Tamiya Spitfire I N3290 of 92 Squadron, May 1940. What else to say about this beautiful kit? OOB with Xtradecals markings. And I should have removed the crowbar and the seat should be green and not plastic! Academy (Hobbycraft) Hispano Buchon, Spanish AF. Have to say I love this scheme! Looking at photos these aircraft seemed to be immaculate hence no weathering. I added a Eduard Bf109 cockpit set. Paints used were a mix of Vallejo, Tamiya and Model master. Flat finish by Windsor and Newton. I've decided to build one last Spitfire before I decide to change subject for a while. I've never been a fan of the Airfix Spitfire XII, to my eye it seems too chubby and does not capture the hot-rod look of the real thing. I had a spare Hasegawa IX fuselage in the spares box so I corrected the length and grafted the Airfix nose onto it, reduced the Airfix wing chord using an Eduard wing as a guide and added a spare Eduard rudder. Although I still wonder why I did this (especially as the Airfix bits fit together so well!) the result looks OK to me. Its currently waiting on some paint masks for the codes, which I should receive this weekend. I am at the end of a fairly long supply chain!!! I hope you've enjoyed looking at these as much as I have enjoyed looking at and being inspired by the work on this site over the last few years. Please do let me know what you think and also any constructive criticism is most welcome! cheers, Chris 47 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 What a superb collection Chris,all beautifully done especially the ICM kit which I believe is a real horror! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 What a beautiful collection of Spitfires and some of the more unusual marks and colour schemes to boot. The quality of your paint finishes is outstanding. A very interesting point about the Mk VI canopy although most of the photographic evidence I've seen has the canopy in the closed position while on the ground, presumably without the pressurisation applied. Funnily enough there seem to be a lot of builds out there with the canopy in the slid back position and one I've come across even has the side door in the open position when, of course, the door didn't exist on the Mk VI. I have to agree on the Buchon's coulour scheme. Very attractive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billydick Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Nice collection of Spits there. Like the Buchon as well. Don't see many of those ...... BillyD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 What a beautifully built and finished selection ! You caught my eye with the 'Spanish Intruder' in the title. I wasn't disappointed; that's a gorgeous Hispano Buchon. i have the kit in a stash far, far away, and a 'Classic Plane' kit in 1/72 closer to home - I doubt that I could do either justice like this. Great stuff, thanks for sharing Best regards TonyT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 A beautiful set, mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airbus320 Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Thanks for the kind comments everybody. I can confirm that the ICM kit is a bit of a pig! Shape-wise it looks OK to me but I've never seen so much flash on one set of sprues before! I had heard that newer editions had solved this problem so I picked up a brand new one a few days ago only to find that it was even worse! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Brilliant job, mate! Wish I had your skills and output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Great builds! These extentend wings look somhow unfamiliar.... Buchon is excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce bay Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Making me really want to build a USAAF Spitfire. Stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitz23 Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Wow beautiful builds you've got there, been looking for a buchon for a while but they're hard to come by! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzby061 Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 A great collection, all very nicely done. A shame one of the Buchons over here isn't finished in a scheme like that instead of Me-109 wannabe colours they all seem to wear. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orangesherbert Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 I think all invasion stripes were hurriedly applied ! Lovely lovely models. Not keen on those wingtips though, ouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Lovely collection, especially like the Buchon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie(kinda) Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Fantastic collection. Love them all (even if the extended wings rather spoil the beauty of the original) but the Eduard IXc is an absolute cracker; excellent paint job and weathering. Thanks for sharing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 A super line up. I especially like the VI & the XII, both of which I've done in the last while in 1/72, I'll be keen to see more of your XII when its complete, they're a satisfying aircraft & as you say, have hotrod looks. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Great builds! love The Spanish Buchon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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