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George Henderson
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Eduard 1:48 Spitfire Mk.XVI(Weekend Edition) Kit #84141

July 3, 2023 · in Aviation · · 31 · 390

Spitfire RW393, 601 Squadron RAuxAF, 1949. This aircraft took part in the Cooper Air Race of 1949, a competition for RAuxAF squadrons, named after W/C Geoffrey Cooper M.P.. A great kit with the usual over engineering in a few places and the pesky two piece cowling that forces one to take care to eliminate or buy a one piece drop in replacement. I used Vallejo Metallic Dull Aluminum overall and there it sat...for two years. The problem, find a ready to use red to match the post war roundel red and spinner. I did a bunch of online searching but got no answers and then two weeks ago I was in a toy store and saw what turned out to be an almost perfect match... Vallejo Game Color Scarlet Blood. After that is was five days to the finish. Two things I added to the kit. There are quite a few builds of the kit and even though the have the photo of the real aircraft, most miss the wire antenna on the spine. This is barely visible in the photo but is very visible on the refurbished aircraft, now in the RAF Museum, Hendon. The other thing that needs to be added is the IFF antenna under the starboard wing which I painted pale yellow. Its very visible in the photo. Looking for something suitable, I used the "not needed" mast antenna and trimmed to size

Reader reactions:
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5 additional images. Click to enlarge.


31 responses

  1. That’s a cool looking Spitfire, George, I much prefer the later marks. I’m glad you managed to find a suitable red paint enabling you to finish the model.

  2. Awesome Spitfire, George! Love the painting and weathering.

  3. That looks really nice, George. Well done!

  4. Looks great, George (@blackadder57), definitely worth finishing. Finding the right color can be tough. I took an art class once on Color Theory, and I periodically get cocky and try to mix my own. I usually end up wasting a bunch of paint before I find the right mix. I forget which paint manufacturer has it, but I once found a "British Marking Red" that is supposed to match.

  5. Great work on this George- I love this variant of the Spitfire and yours looks really sharp

  6. This is really very nice, George. You took good advantage of everything the kit offered, and the result is excellent.

  7. Another knockout, George. Great kit and choice of color scheme.

  8. Sharp looking Spitfire. It looks good in your nicely done NMF

  9. Beautiful build, George -- thanks for posting! I love clipped-wing Spits of any model, early or late.

    And thanks for the info on the red paint.

  10. Very nice racer, George @blackadder57
    You did really nice on the painting and weathering.

  11. Thanks guys. I realized that the IFF was too long, trimmed it and re-shot at a lower angle to try and mimic the photo

  12. Great work, George! Paint conundrums are the main reason kits end up on my shelf of doom for awhile.

  13. George, Great looking MK XVI, (or as I like to say is the best looking Spitfire !), your paint work and over all build looks great. Did you use the kit cowl?

    • Thanks Terry (@shoobiz). I did use the kit cowl halves with careful filling, sanding, scribing and riveting. The drop in cowls are nice and a good price but its the shipping that kills me, even if its shipped from Canada

  14. A good-looking clip-winged Spit! Well done.

  15. Your Spitfire came out great, George (@blackadder57). The red paint looks perfect.

  16. Excellent build George, the aluminum finish is spot on! This is a great looking build of a post war Spitfire.

  17. A real beauty George!

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