1/72 Xtrakit Spitfire F.22 Silver Spit 610 Sqn

[Phantome]

Here was a quick one that I built in between a bigger build just because I realized I had this kit in the stash and wanted to get rid of it. It is quite cheap and looks good in the box but has some issues which I'll explain. But first...

 

The pros:

- Surface detail is fabulous. Very fine, crisp panel lines and plenty of rivets of different types.

- The interior is also well detailed.

- The fuselage shape captures the Griffon Spit look very well

- The large pieces have pretty good fit don't have crude edges

 

Unfortunately...

 

The cons:

- Although it is an injection-molded kit, there is definitely a short-run feel to it. Even the pieces don't have numbers!

- The wings are too similar to the pre-F.21 elliptical type as opposed to the Spiteful-style wings.

- The fit of small pieces (i.e. pretty much everything besides the fuselage and wings) is pretty bad. This resulted in a lot of sanding, cutting, and other alterations to get them to fit right.

- The propellers are way too thick

- Absolutely dreadful decals. This is quite annoying given that Xtrakit is Xtradecal's kit arm. They are made by Aviprint and so the problem is not the quality but rather, the register. The stencils are too large and lettering too thick and fudgy. The aircraft options are also rather boring, including one RAuxAF aircraft in camo, and a racer in silver.

 

I wanted to build a silver Spit so I decided to pull a Fleetwood Mac and Go My Own Way. I saw an OOP decal set online that had an aircraft from No 610 Sqn so I printed the decals myself. Came out pretty well I must say, and thankfully only the squadron codes and serials were needed. I have never seen a photo of this aircraft so who knows if it's even real.

 

Painting was done with decanted Tamiya AS-12, Vallejo for the interior, and Tamiya for the reds and blacks. The few pics of silver F.22s I have seen with virtually no exhaust stains or other weathering so I have left it pristine.

 

I built the Airfix kit ages ago and has more accurate wings but also far from shake and bake, and surface detail is nowhere near as good as this one. Sitting next to other Spitfires on my then-shelf, it also looked skinnier. However, it's decals are much better. Overall, if the wing shape or prop sizes doesn't disturb you, I would go for this one if you can find better decals. Otherwise, I'll end up getting the Special Hobby "Hi-Tech" kit which is apparently a re-tooled version of this one, comes with PE and masks, and a huge number of decal options. I suspect it will still have "issues" but is probably the best F.22 currently available.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Phantome

[Navy Bird]

What's not to like about post-war Spits? Especially silver ones!   

 

That wing profile looks an awful lot like the Special Hobby kits of the Mk. 21/22/47, etc. I wonder if they're related somehow?

 

Cheers,

Bill

[stevehnz]

20 minutes ago, Navy Bird said:

I wonder if they're related somehow?

I believe MPM,  the parent company of Special Hobby also do most of the Xtrakit range.

Steve.

[JosephLalor]

The kit might have fought you but you came out with a grand model.  Good job on the home-made markings. 

 

I wouldn't worry about the wing planform.  Apart from extensions to the leading and trailing edges at the tip it was essentially unchanged from that of the previous marks.  The Spiteful and Seafang wings were straight tapered.

[Vinnie]

Very nicely finished. Your silver paintwork looks great and well done with the decals.

[Phantome]

10 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

What's not to like about post-war Spits? Especially silver ones!   

 

That wing profile looks an awful lot like the Special Hobby kits of the Mk. 21/22/47, etc. I wonder if they're related somehow?

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

They are definitely related. From what I read the basic model (perhaps the 3D models) was used for the later SH kits. Shame that they didn't correct the wings in that case but if the small parts have better fit, the decals and extras will have made it worthwhile IMHO.

[RMCS]

Niiiice