Cockpit ready to assembly.

1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

Lol, with TC's comments, he is right about his comments about the Malta Spitfires experts. There a dime a dozen. Sometimes the modeler has to not only do the modeling but, do some homework and research on there own and source some photos. Beurling was a hunter and not a Chicago style machine gun expert who drove up to aircraft and blasted planes out of the sky like Bong. Looking at some photos and reading bits of Beurling's bio . . . if your using deflection shots and ambushing the enemy why would you advertise your coming with a red nose? I would lean more towards the blue. If you go with black since none of the experts (eye witnesses) where on Malta at the time . . . blame your choice of color on the fog of war.

The only truth and nothing but, the truth is to have evidence (Lawyering up) unless someone can find a piece of Spitfire some where on the island or pull a Spitfire carcass from the sea everything becomes, subjective. This what I hate about some aspects of modeling in that a model represents a snap shot or a "Snap Chat" and machines and men age with the advent of time and are constantly changing. Maybe folks should include a time stamp when presenting a model . . . on this day, at this time and in this country. At best you can prove a hypothesis. The truth is out there.

I noticed TC that you carefully constructed your comments on a specific aircraft as good historians do. Some writers and artists are under contract and are trying to meet dead lines and with 24hr news cycles the pressure to get things out waters down the truth.

Your filling and sanding will pay off for sure, my friend @lis!
Looks good!

I fully understand you're being upset, Lis @lis
Puttying and sanding is the least, but unfortunately one of the most important part of modelling.
Your build will definitely benefit from your work.

@johnb

@fiveten

@stephen-w-towle

@tcinla

In this build I try to use maxiumum of kit parts, without not nessesary aftermarket parts. The exception was the pilot's seat, which felt completely toy without the belts, which I replaced with Quickoost resin. So I use Hispano gun barrels from the kit. Also forgot gun bulges under wings. Unfortunetly I can't drill it from the center of wings (because I glued wings before this fact). So I sand montage pin, and glued with extra thin Tamiya glue.

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

@fiveten
Thank You! putting the model together was quite exhausting and I forgot about these small elements. Worse, I still don't know which painting is better ...

Rome wasn't built in a day. Sometimes it helps to come up for air and do a little reflection. Yeah, you get spoiled when doing some of these newer Airfix kits. I've got some of the early KP kits and at the time they where the only thing in town. You do have some replacement parts on the way for the Airfix project. Something to look forward too.
The painting will come to you when you give it the time to come.