Seafire 47 and her prettier sister

[Wlad]

Hello,

 

Here's my next project, a dual build which will carry me through most of the year. I'm continuing the trend of building my oldest kits first, in case I can still use the decals 🙂. One of the kits is a newer repop I purchased in 2019 in Airfix's soft light grey plastic. The other was purchased in 2004, and it's the harder dark grey plastic. They will be a Seafire FR.47 and a Seafire F.46 respectively. I've seen build reports outlining fit issues with the FR.47 and  I know the soft plastic works well with TET and may make the build easier.

 

I'll also use a bunch of goodies, like the Barracuda propeller blades and the requisite Rob Taurus canopies. I also got miscellaneous bits (flying surfaces, exhausts, wheels, cockpit bits) from Hi-Tech which I'll put to use on one of them, likely the F.46. I'll have to check my "Spitfire Goodies" box as well to see if there is anything else there worth using.

 

Here is the start. The newer decal sheet is much crisper in printing though I'm not sure if there will be a difference in behaviour. And the first challenge has raised its head: the instrument panel. It's molded in three levels, and I doubt any decal sheet would conform to all of them. The panel in the older sheet is also useless.

IMG_5089 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

Unfortunately Airfix moulded all but one instrument face as flat discs, so my usual method of painting white first, then flat black and scratching the instrument details won't work here. I thought of punching out the individual instruments from the decal sheet, yet with only one usable sheet that's not a good plan. I've painted the panels with Tamiya LP-2 White for now while I figure something out. The other challenge is the control column with a solid spade grip. What was Airfix thinking? I'll scratch build the grips as the Mk 47 has a differently shaped grip.

IMG_5090 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

While the kit is good, there are many things to correct and enhance which can make the build interesting. I've just completed  a shake and bake kit, now it's time to get creative again.

 

This may be it for  a while.

 

Cheers,

Wlad

 

PS - I recognize beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so please don't be offended if you prefer the Mk.47 over the Mk.46. 🙂 

[Biggles87]

Good luck.

Your best bet for the IPs might be individual instrument decals, if are prepared to spend the time doing it. I have just completed the Kotare 1/32 Spitfire IP which took more than 3 hours!

 

John

[CJP]

Watching this build with interest, I'm a fan of using Airscale instrument panel decals - they are nice & neat.

Chris

[Alex Gordon]

I'm looking forward to this one.I've built a 46 and a 47,the build threads are https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234946717-airfix-seafire-fr46-in-148th-scalefinished/ and https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234959624-airfix-seafire-fr47-in-148th-scalefinished/ .If you're going to do the folded wing on the 47 there's a bit fun and games involved which was explored in a bit of detail.I can't remember where I found this photo but it might be of use.

 

 

Have fun,it's a pleasant boxful.

[Bedders]

I'll be following this, whilst I work on a 46 and her sister 45, both in 1/72 and using the Airfix 22 kit as the basis. All being well these will join their other sister 47 that I did a few years ago. Good luck!

 

J

[Wlad]

13 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

Good luck.

Your best bet for the IPs might be individual instrument decals, if are prepared to spend the time doing it. I have just completed the Kotare 1/32 Spitfire IP which took more than 3 hours!

 

John

 

12 hours ago, CJP said:

Watching this build with interest, I'm a fan of using Airscale instrument panel decals - they are nice & neat.

Chris

Thanks John (@Biggles87) and Chris (@CJP), I will look for unused instrument decals in my stash. The Airscale set sure looks nice, so it will be a backup plan.

 

11 hours ago, Alex Gordon said:

I'm looking forward to this one.I've built a 46 and a 47,the build threads are https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234946717-airfix-seafire-fr46-in-148th-scalefinished/ and https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234959624-airfix-seafire-fr47-in-148th-scalefinished/ .If you're going to do the folded wing on the 47 there's a bit fun and games involved which was explored in a bit of detail.I can't remember where I found this photo but it might be of use.

 

Have fun,it's a pleasant boxful.

Thanks @Alex Gordon, that's a lot of great information to digest on the wing fold. I would like to have the wings folded so it will come in handy for sure. The photo you posted looks to be of a F.47 prototype, with the manually folding wings and short air intake. By the way, I love  the last picture of your Mk.47 build, with the Mk.46 beside it.

 

10 hours ago, Bedders said:

I'll be following this, whilst I work on a 46 and her sister 45, both in 1/72 and using the Airfix 22 kit as the basis. All being well these will join their other sister 47 that I did a few years ago. Good luck!

 

J

Thanks @Bedders, I like your avatar photo 🙂.

 

Cheers,

Wlad

[Wlad]

Hello,

 

A small update today. I took mini drills, small Dremel grinding bits, a #11 blade, and sanding sticks to one of the spade grips and hollowed it out. I also removed the "collar" Airfix added to the control column. Then I took some wire and bent it to the shape of the spade grip for the Seafire 47. While at it, I made two. If you recall your English literature that's called foreshadowing 😉.

IMG_5093 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

I will cut off the spade grip on the Seafire 47 control column, and replace it with the wire one. I still need to dress it up with a trigger, and add a brake lever to both. They seem a little oversized, so I may tweak them some more. I'll be gone for a couple of weeks, so this may be it until I'm back.

 

Cheers,

Wlad

[heloman1]

What's not to like about a pair of Seafires, especially late versions. I'll follow your builds with interest.

 

Colin

[Ngantek]

Always love to see this kit. I just finished it at a rush for the 48 in 48 M4H build, so it's fresh in the mind.

 

A few notes to your points:

 

- Mine was an old '96 box and the decals were deeply marginal. Matt surfaced, thick, and crinkled up off the sheet. They needed a lot more work than I had time to give them, if indeed I'd ever get them to conform. (Fortunately, I painted the major markings)

 

- If you're considering aftermarket instrument panel (I used the Airwaves PE set I think), you may find the panel doesn't match the decals.

 

- Vacform is a good idea, the kit hood isn't wide enough to sit down properly in the open position (without significant sanding of course).

 

- it's a surprisingly nice kit for its age and provenance, but a few things don't quite fit as they should. The ledge for the wing outer fold cross sections will likely need to brought deeper, and the moulded in triangular support webs should lie flush with the wing skin, else the (very small and limited) locating device for the folded wings won't be available. This is one of the weaker points of the kit to be honest, offering almost no location or structural devices for wings folded and no formal provision out of box for wings unfolded.

 

- little niggles like flaps not reaching the full length of the wing will need finessing (though might be accurate? I was in a rush!)

 

- in my mad rush at the end, I couldn't for the life of me see how to get the undercarriage to squeeze into the assembled wing well without snipping off a side bulge from the legs. Some pre planning at fitting before closing the wings might have been necessary, such as thinning the lower wing skin around the well opening. Certainly get the square plug fettled beforehand.

 

- Barracuda's prop blades are very nice and save reshaping and filling in big sink marks on the kit ones.

 

- ditto their cowling valve covers.

 

- the 47 is the looker. Fight me.

 

Good luck! Alex's comment of a 'pleasant boxful' is perfect.

 

Andy

 

 

 

[Dave Wilko]

On 3/23/2025 at 9:48 AM, Bedders said:

I'll be following this, whilst I work on a 46 and her sister 45, both in 1/72 and using the Airfix 22 kit as the basis. All being well these will join their other sister 47 that I did a few years ago. Good luck!

 

J

Sir,a chap over on the UAMF built a Spitfire XVIII,a Seafire 46 and 47 using the Airfix Spitfire Mk.22 kit as a basis.

If required,one will go and find the link for yourself to have a look.

 

The Airfix Spitfire 22/24 kit in 1/48th is also a rather "pleasant boxful" and certainly looks the part when built by myself some 30-odd years ago,a highly recommended kit.

 

David.

[Wlad]

Thanks @heloman1, @Ngantek, and @Dave Wilko. I've done a lot of research on the kit so I'm familiar with the pitfalls, in theory anyway. Now I'll be putting it all into practice.

 

Andy, I won't fight you over the Seafire 47 🙂.

[corsaircorp]

Hello Wlad,

May I take a seat ??

I finished my '47 moons ago but found another old Airfix box and will start a '46 soon...

Can't promise that I'll behave...

Sincerely.

CC

[Grey Beema]

HI Wlad,

 

I too, amongst this very talented audience, have built the Seafire Mk47.  Finished it at the end of 2023.  

 

For the instrument panel I used Airscale Decals and glazed them with gloss varnish.

 

I didn't rebuild the control column, though I did clean it up, it is so far down in a black painted cockpit it doesn't really stand out

 

 

 

For the model overall I added the Barracuda Cowling and the Propellor blades.  I also, if I remember rightly, re-scribed the flaps and refinished the training edge of the radiators.

 

Good luck with your builds

 

[Wlad]

Welcome aboard CC @corsaircorp.

 

That's a really nice panel, @Grey Beema. Now I'm tempted to order the Airscale decals 🙂. I'll be fixing the flaps and radiators on the F 47, and the rocker covers on both.

 

Cheers,

Wlad

[corsaircorp]

On 3/26/2025 at 12:41 PM, Grey Beema said:

HI Wlad,

 

I too, amongst this very talented audience, have built the Seafire Mk47.  Finished it at the end of 2023.  

 

For the instrument panel I used Airscale Decals and glazed them with gloss varnish.

 

I didn't rebuild the control column, though I did clean it up, it is so far down in a black painted cockpit it doesn't really stand out

 

 

 

For the model overall I added the Barracuda Cowling and the Propellor blades.  I also, if I remember rightly, re-scribed the flaps and refinished the training edge of the radiators.

 

Good luck with your builds

 

Hello GB...

I used Barracuda Rocker covers and prop blades too....

 

On 3/27/2025 at 3:16 AM, Wlad said:

Welcome aboard CC @corsaircorp.

 

That's a really nice panel, @Grey Beema. Now I'm tempted to order the Airscale decals 🙂. I'll be fixing the flaps and radiators on the F 47, and the rocker covers on both.

 

Cheers,

Wlad

Hello Wlad,

I'm curious to see your rocker cover treatment....

Even if I already have the Barracuda ones for the next Seafire....

If you don't mind of course....

Sincerely.

CC

[Wlad]

Of course, CC. All in good time. 
 

Cheers,

Wlad

[bennyboi]

ooh, looking forward to the progress on this build!

[Wlad]

Hello,

 

I got back last Sunday, and it was back to work on Monday with a hectic week. The long weekend gave me an opportunity to get the bikes tuned up, go birding, and get back to the Seafires. As usual after a long pause, my approach was rather scattered. I worked on multiple things while my brain got back in the groove. One thing I did before I left was to order the Airscale instrument decals, which were waiting for my return. 

 

I also found this bag of resin goodies I had stashed away: elevators, ailerons, wheels, exhaust stacks, seat and cockpit bits. Not sure what, if anything, I will use. The cockpit items will require scraping the moulded detail in the fuselage, and the resin replacements look rather fiddly to clean up and brittle. Not going to happen...

IMG_5201 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

I moved on to painting the instrument panels, then preparing the lower wing halves and fuselages. F 46 below. I opted for some colour in the instrument panel. No decals yet.

IMG_5203 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

In my research I found the only flying F 47 has a green interior, while all the images of panels I found show a black cockpit. I'll go with black. Since I'm building an FR 47, I had to get the camera portholes drilled. The clear parts have issues. The starboard one has a sink mark which distorts things while the port one with the access panel sat too far inside the fuselage, so I had to grind the fuselage interior to make it fit flush with the exterior.

IMG_5202 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

The formation keeping lights in the wing centre section also sit too far in, so I'll likely grind that section to make them flush with the exterior. Because they mount from the inside, I might prime and paint the wing lower section, then cover the painted area with tape so the lights don't get scratched with the inevitable sanding later on. I still need to open up the porthole for the vertical camera on the FR 47.

 

Cheers,

Wlad

[Thom216]

Good progress. I have two of these on the Stalled Shelf and have noticed the same sink-marks and fit. I found that the earlier boxing has far less though, as the newer runs are from the more 'tired' toolings.

[Wlad]

Hello,

 

Today was instrument panel day. Interesting how small the instruments decal sheet really is. When I see it online it seems much larger to me.

IMG_5204 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

And the things we do as modellers... Got tired of trying to match instruments from the sheet to pictures of the real thing. After the blind flying instrument panel and the RPM gauge, everything else is fictitious. I found some decals were not sticking, so I put a little Future in place with a toothpick before adding each decal. Lastly, I put a drop of Micro Sol over the decals so they settle better. My eyes are tired now.

IMG_5205 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

Hopefully much more progress on the next post.

 

Cheers,

Wlad

[Thom216]

Wait, let me get my quizzing glass... Yes, yes, that looks good!

[Wlad]

Hello,

 

Today I decided to work on the airframe rather than the cockpit. First though, I cleaned up the seats I intend to use. I like these resin seats with molded seat belts as I find the photo etched seat belts too springy and fiddly to work with. My thought was to prime them today as well. In the middle of the picture is the Airfix offering, which is fine if one uses the pilot figure provided.

IMG_5206 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

Then I thinned the wing centre section where the formation keeping lights go. Given the shape of the area, it was quite a pain and I thinned the centre a little too far. I can adjust the transparency to compensate. Then I thought why not airbrush the wheel wells, and that's when things started going sideways. First, there is a prominent ejector pin mark in the leg portion of the wheel well, so that had to be filled. Then, I discovered my Polly Scale British Interior Green had turned into a rubbery plastic thing at the bottom of the jar. Luckily I have a Mission Models one, yet I could not remember what I used for thinner or the ratio. Always good to take notes! I used Testors acrylic thinner. Somehow the last things sprayed stayed glossy and took a long time to dry. Not sure what's up. The airbrush felt weird too, so I decided a good cleaning was in order. That's when a tiny droplet of lacquer thinner hit my right eye. Cue in 20 minutes with my face in a diving mask full of water rinsing my eye. Yeah, I know, why wasn't I wearing protective goggles?

IMG_5207 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

Note how glossy the wheel well blisters are. Also note I painted the spare F 46 wing. There is no sense wasting plastic, so I have future plans for it.

 

Until next time. Stay safe and happy modelling.

Wlad

[Wlad]

Hello,

 

Better success today. The green paint dried flat, yet it needed a second coat which went well. I also primed the seats and the lower wing centre section, around the formation keeping lights. I started to feel distracted, so I decided to practice what I preach and focus on one model at a time. I'll push the F 46 along, and learn from it, then bring the FR 47 up to the same point. To that effect, I started assembling the counter-rotating spinner. The dark smudges are from graphite, which I rubbed where the plastic makes contact as I want the assembly to rotate freely.

IMG_5208 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

And here is where the FR 47 is at. Opening holes in the fuselage, deciding whether to add cameras, and figuring out a folding wing are unwanted distractions at the moment.

IMG_5209 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

Cheers,

Wlad

[Biggles87]

Adding the instrument decals is time consuming and eye tiring but worth the effort IMHO.

Also a fan of Ultracast seats with moulded-on harness.

 

John

[Wlad]

Hello,

 

Life really got in the way of this build in the past few weeks. Doesn't help when the build gets fiddly as well. Despite my intention of moving forward with the F 46 first, some of the common items are best done at the same time. So painted the rear wing centre sections (80% Tamiya Sky with 20% Flat White); painted two coats of clear red, green, and orange on the signal lights; carefully bent the upper seat belt extension behind the seat, with the help of a hot knife; prepared the seat mounting bulkhead; and started painting the seat. I'll build the F 46 with a plastic seat (reddish brown) while the FR 47 will have a metal (black) seat.

IMG_5216 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr

 

I'll likely spray some shades of black in the cockpit and accessories next.

 

Cheers,

Wlad