The Airfix Spitfire Vb
Hi Al!
There are volumes and volumes written on the Supermarine Spitfire. So I will leave the history to be written by those who know more than I. The subject of this post is the Airfix Spitfire VB in 1/72nd scale. It was first released in 1975, and it is a product of its time. It has open wheel wells, a bare cockpit, and (gasp! raised panel lines). But until newer kits came on the market, it had the best shapes and was in scale.
I started by pre-painting what I could. I then assembled the cockpit, using a real seat and instrument panel. The fuselage was put together and set aside. The wing was then assembled, and it was set aside. The wings and fuselage were mated together, along with horizontal stabilizers. At this point, the seams were sanded. Very little filler was used, mainly where I got overzealous in trimming sprue gates. And the model was wiped down with Isopropyl Alcohol to clean it.
I hate stripes. So when I found a USAAF Spitfire with no leading edge stripes, I knew that was the scheme. The Dark Green, Ocean Grey, and Medium Sea Grey scheme was brushed on using Vallejo and Hataka Paints. After the gloss coat was applied ( Future), the decals, from Aeromaster, were used. The decals reacted very well to the Micro System. A second gloss coat, then a flat clear coat, was sprayed on. Finally, the prop, landing gear, antenna mast, and canopy (which was dipped in Future) were glued onto the model, completing it.
The finished model represents a Castle Bromwich-built Spitfire VB serial EN799, coded MX-R of the 307th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, of the USAAF based at Manston, England, during late July and August 1942.
Although overly simple by today's standards, the 1975 vintage Airfix Spitfire VB was a pleasure to build and is a wonderful canvas for those who wish to super-detail the kit. They can be bought for very reasonable prices, and I can recommend this kit for all!
Bruce
Well done, Bruce!
Very nice Spit, Bruce!
Thanks Spiros!
Bruce
This is a very nice result, Bruce @rbrucearcher
Is this seriously brush painted? It does look really good.
Even more considering this is just 1/72 scale.
Yes, brush painted, including the gloss and flat coats. My current situation prevents me from airbrushing.
Bruce
These Airfix Spitfires in 1/72nd scale are like candy in jar. You want to get more. There priced right, have good details, are easy to build and have good decals.
Bruce @rbrucearcher, A lovely little build and the gateway modeling drug into happiness. Two thumbs up
Very nice - I like the Spit in those markings. Well done!