Spitfire Vc. from (mostly) Airfix 1/48

Another Spitfire! This time it's a Mk. Vc as flown in Malts by Wing Commander Peter Prosser Hanks DFC, who commanded the Luqa Spitfire Wing. BR498 was delivered via HMS Furious on 17th August 1942 & unusually, was not fitted with a tropical filter; which can be verified in several contemporary photos. As a result of my seemingly voracious appetite for this aircraft & my previous efforts to produce "non - kitted" versions, I had a considerable number of spare parts, in this case, mostly Airfix, but the rudder is Hasegawa, ailerons & forward fuselage Tamiya, cannon blisters & elevators,ICM. Cockpit parts & undercarriage forgotten sources. Cannon barrels Hasegawa. Somewhat surprisingly it all went together reasonably well. Decals came from my stash of spares & inspiration from Brian Cauchi's book on Malta Spitfires. Yes, I know that Special Hobby (& Revell) make this version, but this one was free & tested both my modelling skills & resourcefulness. I like a challenge! It seems to have worked out OK, so I hope you like it.

11 additional images. Click to enlarge.