**** DONE: 1/48 Spitfire Mk IIa - Your Favorite Aircraft of All Time GB

[brucejscott]

Username - brucejscott
First Name - Bruce
Category - Intermediate
Scale - 1/48
Manufacturer - Airfix
Model Type - Supermarine Spitfire Mk IIa
Aftermarket Parts - Eduard seatbelts
Decals - Kit



I have a confession to make. While the Wildcat may be my favorite aircraft TYPE ( show of hands, who's surprised ), it is not my favorite AIRPLANE. That honor belongs to the Spitfire Mk IIa, P8088, No. 118 squadron, flown by P.O. A.S.C. Lumsden. It was the first airplane I can recall seeing in print way back in the late 60's. It was the color profile in Profile Publications No 41 The Supermarine Spitfire I II printed in 1965.

It was my dads, and after seeing it I fell instantly in love with planes and have been ever since. I have that book now and just looking at it takes me back to my youth. I have never modeled this plane, so this GB looks like the perfect oppurtunity. This is the kit I have chosen for my attempt.

It looks to be a good kit, and it comes with the right decals. I have heard rumour that the prop and hub are undersized, so if anybody has information, that would be appreciated. Wish me luck, this ones for my Dad.

 

[Airframes]

Good one. I haven't seen the kit, so don't know about the prop problem. Karl (Rochie) might know, as he's got this kit too. The original Airfix kit was the MkVb in this scale, which i think this kit is derived from.

 

[Crimea_River]

Good one Bruce. There's bound to be a few Spits in a favourites GB. Looking forward to seeing how this one goes together.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Looks like Spitfires are the flavour of the day. Nice selection Bruce.

 

[Wayne Little]

Seems that way!

 

[meatloaf109]

Have to agree. The Spit II has always been, to me, THE Spitfire!

 

[rochie]

fantastic choice Bruce.
not got that kit but did build the spit Va of Bader in the Aces build which is a mix of the new tool airfix stuff and it went together very well, though it did have an aversion to paint sticking to it for some reason and it was the only kit i've ever washed before building, after seeing the paint "pooling" when i tried to paint the interior

 

[brucejscott]

Thanks guys. That's really odd Karl. Did washing the sprues help with the paint adhesion? I'm thinking maybe I should give the parts a soak in dish detergent and warm water just in case.

 

[meatloaf109]

Thanks guys. That's really odd Karl. Did washing the sprues help with the paint adhesion? I'm thinking maybe I should give the parts a soak in dish detergent and warm water just in case.

I always wash my parts on the sprue, there can be some serious oil on it from the molding prosess. Then again before major painting.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Nice choice Bruce! Looking forward to this.

 

[brucejscott]

Thanks guys. Found this interesting BBC news article on the airframe that I am going to model, here's the link to the article online:

BBC News - Spitfire fuselage fails to sell at Brooklands auction

P.S.
The link is courtesy of my son, Keegan, who knows one hell of a lot more about computers than I do. Ah to be 17 again.

 

[jjp_nl]

Very nice kit indeed. Got the same one laying on the shelf and already building (on and off) an earlier boxing. As far as building goes, consider placing a little spacer somewhere under the cockpit/and or nose as this greatly improves fit of the wings and lower nose cowling and thus saves you quite a bit of boring filling/sanding later on.

 

[brucejscott]

Thanks for the tip on the shim Jelmer. I thought I would start this build off with a brief overview of the kit. The parts have nice engraving, a dead flat appearance and texture, and lots of extras for the spares box.

The instrument panel looks good on its own and with a coat of paint should be more than exceptable.

The seat has the right padding, better than Tamiya, and once I thin the sides should be OK. There is no depression in the seat pan but I think it can be faked with paint.

Lots of transparencies and decals.

I paid less than 20.00 USD for this kit, new from Lucky Model and I could not be more pleased. I'm hoping to get some paint in the cockpit this weekend, but I have a cold so we will see how it goes.

 

[Wayne Little]

 

[rochie]

Thanks guys. That's really odd Karl. Did washing the sprues help with the paint adhesion? I'm thinking maybe I should give the parts a soak in dish detergent and warm water just in case.

yeah once i gave them a quick wash every thing was all right

 

[woody]

8)

 

[Lucky13]

8)

 

[Wurger]

 

[A4K]

Should be good!

 

[brucejscott]

Just wanted to get in a quick update. I would have been farther along, but the FIRST time I painted the cockpit pieces it did not go well. The paint went on fine but as it dried the color shifted and took on a rather unpleasant hue. Ended up having to soak all the affected parts in Easy-Off oven cleaner, scrub with an old toothbrush and repaint. They have had a good day to dry now so I can get back at it tonight.The seat is not going to stay that color but since it is going to be hand brushed it never hurts to have a primer coat.