RAF Spitfire Mk.I, Battle of Britain 1940, Tamiya-Airfix 1/72
Today, I'm excited to share my latest build: the legendary Spitfire Mk I, a true hero of the Battle of Britain. The model is based on Tamiya’s 1/72 kit, but I’ve incorporated parts from Airfix’s latest release, making it a Tamiya-Airfix hybrid.
For the paint scheme, I chose the aircraft flown by Squadron Leader Brian Lane, one of the most distinguished and courageous pilots of the Battle of Britain. His legacy as a leader and ace fighter pilot continues to inspire aviation enthusiasts and modelers alike. The scheme is based on the Airfix decal set representing his aircraft. This particular plane is well-documented in photographs. While the spinner is generally considered to be yellow, I opted to match it with the underside color this time.
Modifications & Details
- Used the canopy from Airfix. Since its width differs from the Tamiya fuselage, I inserted a 1mm plastic sheet
- Made the upper cowling bulge more subtle
- Sharpened the Tamiya spinner to give it a more pointed profile.
- Replaced the propeller blades with those from Airfix for improved shape and detail.
- Used Airfix exhausts and opened small holes
It’s a humble build from an innocent Japanese modeler, but I’d be truly grateful for any comments or feedback. Thank you for taking the time to look!
Great looking Spit Naoki.
Nice Spitfire, Naoki. Like you, I suspect that the spinner on this plane was plain old Sky.
Excellent result and nice research.
Just perfect work, hard to believe it's 72nd scale. Spits with sky white spinners are just great. And the awesome chipping at this scale just makes my eyes bleed!
Excellent work done on this tiny Spitfire, Naoki @yamanaka
She definitely looks much bigger than 1/72 scale.
Beautiful work!
Tamiya and Arifix jammed together?
That's like jamming a Toyota and a LandRover.
Great little teaks got you a great looking Spitfire, Naoki.
You did the right thing with the spinner color, Naoki. The RAF would not have put yellow on any fighter in 1940, when that was the chosen Luftwaffe ID color. The model looks very good and your photography is excellent.
Fantastic job!
A smart looking Spitfire Naoki. I like your choices of color in the browns and greens they look natural and play to both kits strengths when combined. Some strong work.
Stephen, Thank you for your comments.
After struggling the choice, eventually I just used very standard color for browns and greens.
Brown: Creos(Gunze) H72
Green: Tamiya XF81
I believe this combination is the best fit for small scale early RAF camouflage.
Very nice looking Spitfire. The photography is also first rate !
A beautiful build that punches way larger than its scale!
Wonderful work for 1/72 and presents much bigger. Love the photos.
Thank you all for your kind comments! The Tamiya-Airfix hybrid build was a challenge for me, but I believe it was worth trying. I would like to try other airplanes which were involved in Battle of Britain such as Hurricane and Messerschmitt.