Hi all. I know another Spitfire
to add to the horde. I am adding this one because with all the new super kits
out there the old kits kind of loose there glory. This MPC/ AirFix kit really is
pretty darn good. I actually like the outer mold line better than the newer kits
with thousands of little holes in them. I bought this kit 24 years ago. I was
12. The box still had the receipt in it. I had started it and pretty much
destroyed it by not knowing what I was doing. I must have gotten frustrated and
shelved it. I has been following me around ever since. I decide late last year
to start with the kit that I have had the longest and start building down my
inventory. The Spitfire was a the one that had the honor.
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First off I
had to decide what to do with it. I pretty much ruined the kit when I was a kid.
For some reason I thought the engi ne should be gloss red and the interior gloss
black. The glue smudges were a story all their own! I pretty much threw away the
engine. And disassembled
the cockpit for a repaint. Then I started taking stock of what I really had. I
had a potential poll model. No gear and all the doors and panels shut. The
cockpit was barely salvagable so I decided that the pilot had to go in so he
would hide most of the sins I had created as a kid.
Once the cockpit was
somewhat fixed I glued it all together and prepped it for paint. I sanded most
of the airplane with 1000 grit sand paper then a applied Testors silver base
coat. From there I used my trusted method of Poly S paints to complete the paint
job. The result was surprising. The kit actually has a wavy texture to the mold
line surface much like a real aircraft. The Rivet detail once sanded down a bit
is actually very realistic. Lets face it real aircraft don’t have thousands of
1/4 inch deep rivets. I don't want to sound like I am knocking the modern kits.
They are absolutely wonderful to build, but the rivet detail has kept me from
buying many of them. Judge for your self. This Airfix kit is still out there and
more than 2/3 cheaper than the other 1/24th scale Spit. Oops I created a soap
box ;o)
Happy modeling folks
Andy
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