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Airfix 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire FR XIV

Started by David Mills · 70 ≡ · ↻ 3 years ago · 1/48, Airfix, FR, Spitfire, Supermarine, XIV

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David Mills said 5 years, 5 months ago:

Thanks everyone for the kind words and support!

In truth I have not encountered any real issues so far - everything seems to fit !

Airfix plastic seems to respond well to either Tamiya extra thin or Revell Contacta !

Steven - thanks for the nudge on colours - I always tend to forget.

I am using Mr Surfacer 1500 thinned 50:50 with Mr Hobby self leveling thinner.

RAF Interior Green - MRP-111.

Pilot seat Tamiya-XF-9 Hull Red.

Aluminium - AK Extreme Metals

All other details Humbrol enamels.

So final details done - awaiting fuselage assembly!
8 attached images. Click to enlarge.
David Mills said 5 years, 5 months ago:

The next steps were locating the seat and bulkheads on the starboard side and then matching the fuselage halves together.. and hoping that my gamble to depart from the instructions would pay off .. or at least not backfire!
david leigh-smith said 5 years, 5 months ago:

Made a terrific job of the cockpit, crisp and some lovely, we’ll defined detail.

Excellent work thus far.
David Mills said 5 years, 5 months ago:

It was at this point that I started to worry that I had made the wrong move by departing from the instructions.

The need to locate 5 or six different points of contact in the port fuselage seemed tricky to say the least

However everything located correctly with the exception of the rudder/ stick assembly, which responded to some very slight prodding with a cocktail stick into the correct position.

In retrospect I can see no advantage to departing from the instructions, and some potential downsides ( despite what some commentators will tell you).

It is a tribute to the accuracy of this kit that I was, with a little care, able to pull this one off!

Anyway some photos of the joined fuselage halves and a test fit of the wings.

Thanks for checking in !
Matt Minnichsoffer said 5 years, 5 months ago:

Looking great David. Excellent detailing.
Louis Gardner said 5 years, 5 months ago:

Amazing build David... Those seat belts really pop and are the only aftermarket addition really needed for this kit. You did a fine job on the "office".

When I was building the new tool Airfix Mk I and the Mk Vb, I had a problem with fuel tank cover / insert that is installed just ahead of the cockpit. Mine had a small gap and it took some filler and plastic stock to get right.

What a beautiful plane... 🙂
George R Blair Jr said 5 years, 5 months ago:

The build looks great. I have never tried adding the full-span bottom wing to the fuselage first, but I may need to try it after seeing your results. Looking forward to the rest of the build.
Jeff Bailey said 5 years, 5 months ago:

Looks like a great model, not to mention that your work is outstanding.

Well done, David!
Greg Kittinger said 5 years, 5 months ago:

coming along nicely...
John Healy said 5 years, 5 months ago:

Nice work, David! We’re at about the same place in construction. I actually departed the instructions with regards to the cockpit assembly too. I built it as a unit and inserted it up into the fuselage which I had already glued together. It worked and it’s seated dead center. Many ways to skin a cat!
4 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Paul Barber said 5 years, 5 months ago:

The standard of modelling here is going through the roof! Loved catching up on this thread. Now hooked!
David Mills said 5 years, 4 months ago:

Nice work John, I think I might try your method next time around!
David Mills said 5 years, 4 months ago:

It seems to have taken a while, but the next steps have been fitting the cowling cover immediately in front of the cockpit. It its slightly too narrow for the fuselage itself - so I glued in some plasticard 'teeth' to ensure the spread matched that of the fuselage. (I added an additional set of teeth to immediately in front of the instrument panel assembly.
Having looked at some in service photos of the mark xiv the fit of this part of the cowling was none too special in real life.
4 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Erik Gjørup said 5 years, 4 months ago:

Comin' along nicely! - as for your previous post, where would we be without cocktailsticks? They seem to save the day quite often. Keep up the good work!
Louis Gardner said 5 years, 4 months ago:

The real Spitfire had some panel fit "issues" along the seam as well. Here's a good color photo showing this. Even though this is an earlier Spit, I'm fairly certain the "fit" problem remained on the later Marks.

I'm sure that yours will look spot on as all of your builds do.

I especially like your approach to the problem. Well done.

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Airfix 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire FR XIV