1/24 Airfix Spitfire (the new one)

[stona]

Good to see a build from your 'Cave' Steve. And the new Airfix super kit to boot!
It does look a great kit.

Yeah, it's been a while. I just seem not to have had either the time or inclination to take something on. I had a very busy Post-Covid year, as did many in what we broadly term the entertainment industry. Everyone was trying to cash in and make up for a disastrous 18 months where a lot of people earned literally nothing. I finished a tour on 17th December and have stomped my foot and said I'm not doing that for a while, but have still got some commitments in January/February (including next week in fact). I've definitely got the inclination now, so I'll just have to make the time!

It does look a nice kit. In all honesty it is not to the standard of some I could mention, but it's a lot better than most. You get a lot for the admittedly significant money, it ain't cheap. It's a world away from the old 1970s (?) big Airfix Spitfire. I've certainly not yet come across anything that would cause anybody any trouble and so far it is all going nicely.

[Tim Marlow]

Looks good so far Steve. The belts will look decent under paint. Just paint the edges darker than the sides to disguise them a bit.

[Vaughan]

I've seen a few pictures of completed models, but not one with the engine covers on, which is a bit suspicious.

I suppose we'll find out whether it can be built with the complete and very nice looking Merlin and the covers on. I want mine to have, or be capable of having, all the covers on.

Steve looking at a few YouTube builds the instructions for the Merlin engine follow two paths if you want to display the engine fully built the side panels won't fit and if want the side panels on you have to build a basic engine.

[stona]

Basic engine then! I'll want the covers to fit one way or another. I'll just build enough to hang a propeller and any intakes etc.

It's the same for the guns, certainly the cannon. The covers won't fit over the fully assembled armament.

I don't have any issue with this. If you want to display all the gubbins you can and if not, you don't have to. I'd never do both anyway. Once mine are done they just sit on a shelf

[adt70hk]

Coming on nicely Steve and good to see you back at the the bench,!!

[stona]

Coming on nicely Steve and good to see you back at the the bench,!!

Yep. Temporary halt in proceedings this week, but should be back on Thursday. I'd like to get the cockpit done but I'm not in a rush.

[stona]

I found myself with a spare hour this afternoon, so I stuck on 'Blow by Blow', in honour of the passing of the great Jeff Beck and decided to do the instrument panel. Three hours and several albums later I've ended up with this (terrible photo, sorry):



Airfix have decided the best way to do this is to have every single dial and placard as an individual decal. That can be fun. I definitely prefer the 'sandwich a pre-printed film of the instruments' method.
I floated each decal onto a drop of Klear (other varnishes are available) and let that suck them down as it dried. I've never been able to get such small decals to adhere reliably with their own adhesive. I've applied a drop on top to simulate the glass, but another is probably needed.
I could have built a 1/72 scale Spitfire in the time it has taken me to do this!

[adt70hk]

I found myself with a spare hour this afternoon, so I stuck on 'Blow by Blow', in honour of the passing of the great Jeff Beck and decided to do the instrument panel. Three hours and several albums later I've ended up with this (terrible photo, sorry):

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1192025[/ATTACH]

Airfix have decided the best way to do this is to have every single dial and placard as an individual decal. That can be fun. I definitely prefer the 'sandwich a pre-printed film of the instruments' method.
I floated each decal onto a drop of Klear (other varnishes are available) and let that suck them down as it dried. I've never been able to get such small decals to adhere reliably with their own adhesive. I've applied a drop on top to simulate the glass, but another is probably needed.
I could have built a 1/72 scale Spitfire in the time it has taken me to do this!

Worth the work though Steve! Looks good!!

[Tim Marlow]

Looks great to me. Bit of a ticklish job though…..

[tr1ckey66]

Great start Steve. I’m looking forward to this, I’ve got a couple in the stash myself.
It will be great to get your thoughts on the build.
Cheers
Paul

[Andy the Sheep]

Interesting kit, Steve.
I'll be following your progresses.

[flyjoe180]

That's looking very nice Steve, worth the time taken so far

[stona]

Slow progress, but I now officially retract my faintly negative comments about Airfix's solution for the instrument panel. Now installed on the relevant frame it looks pretty good to me.



Those pipes/wires on the lower left of the frame they would have you paint in a brass colour, but not for me.

The ease with which you can pop the cockpit sides on and off makes it really easy to keep everything straight as you glue it in to the bottom of the cockpit, another nice one.



It's also worth mentioning that ALL the parts used so far, essentially to build the cockpit, with the obvious exception of clear parts, have come off ONE sprue. This is not always the case and one of my pet hates is having to rummage through three or four sprues that contain parts for one sub-assembly. That's another point to Airfix!

[BarryW]

This is great Steve you are doing a typically great job.

All credit to Airfix as well, they certainly seem to have got their act together on this one (and the recent Bucc). If they keep producing kits like these then a lot of people will have to review their opinion of them, including me. Now, if only they start producing in 1/32…..

[stona]

Close of play and the port side cockpit is almost done.



The sharp eyed will notice the absence of the control column/yoke. This is because it had a hole in it that I assumed was part of the construction until I'd constructed it...and it isn't. I've had to fill that and am now waiting until I can touch up the paint.

I'm deducting a point from Airfix for this!

The rest of it all fits very nicely.

Having built a few Spitfires, I think there is a part missing, and I mean missing, I can't find it anywhere, it's not just been left off the instructions. It's just a rod that should run from below the control yoke, under the seat, to one of the frames. You could easily make your own if you wanted, but in the spirit of 'out of the boxness' I have not. Nobody is going to know it's not there when the model is complete, well, except anyone reading this...obviously. I'm not making a deduction for this because, frankly, I don't care!