Hi everybody!

Well, here's another one of my so-called "quick builds", Revell's 1:72 scale Spitfire mk.V, built almost straight from the box, the only aftermarket addition being the PE seatbelts.



For some reason, the cockpit floor was grossly too long to fit between the front and rear bulkheads, requiring some work with clippers and a file. While I was at it, I could have made up a more accurate cockpit floor, as the kit part was just a plate, but it wouldn't have been visible in the finished kit anyway, so I went with the kit parts. (and this was a quick & easy relaxing build, remember? )

It wasn't without slight tweaks and modifications, however. My sample was apparently from already slight worn molds, which resulted in joints needing some plastic card and putty to tidy up.







But in the end, it wasn't too bad of a job to fix. Looking much better now!


The rest of the noteworthy modified parts are the pitot tube, which I made from brass wire after losing the kit part to the carpet monster, and the radio mast. The latter I modified by making a brass wire loop for the radio wire (probably not 100% accurate, but attaching the wire was a breeze), and pinning the joint to the fuselage. Nearing the end of the build, I managed to snap the mast in two above the pin, but I got it fixed with a drop of superglue.



Not feeling comfortable with just butt joints to attach the wing cannons, I pinned the joints with thing brass rod.



At first, this was going to be just a quick, relaxing build before I started on my Blenheim for the twin spinners campaign. The usual happened and there I was building this along the Blenheim. Finally, it basically just lay on my workbench for the whole April painted, decaled and only missing the final touches. A couple of days ago I grabbed myself by the neck and sat down and finished the thing.

Here's the Spit all finished. Painted with xtracrylics RAF paints and weathered with ground pastels. I also painted on some chipping. Kit decals were used.

Enjoy the pics and let me know what you think.

















Ps. Remember this?

I was asking about those dark borders which were left on the model's surface after masking with white-tac, but they're gone now, whatever the reason. Simply time? The overall flat coat or weathering? Beats me...

Edit: July 13th 2017 - yup, another build thread fixed. Thanks a lot, PB!

Very nice Spitfire Eetu.

The Revell kit has come in for some pretty serious criticism but you've managed to make a very presentable job of it.

Congratulations

Thanks.

Indeed, I've heard too that there's some aspects where the designers goofed.
The distinc gull-wing shape in the middle bottom of the wing is not there at all, the cockpit floor is represented with a simple flat plate, the spinner looks too big (or is it just my eyes?), the canopy is molded as a single-part, which is ruined by a sprue connector the on right side which is halfway on the clear portion, as opposed to left side, where the connector is completely on the frame.

But for a quick & easy build, this is a nice kit. (Spare the aftermarket for the Tamiya kit)

Very good job Eetu. Amazing what you´ve done with the antenae mast. How did you glue that little piece ?
You´re spitfire looks great.
The bad thing with that Revell kit is the lack of the gull wing in the underside.
Great job !!!

Thanks for the compliments.

Scroll a little way up and you'll see how I managed with the antenna mast.
Or don't, here's the pic:

Having learnt it the hard way that some things in model kits just don't work, and one of them is antenna masts, especially if they're going to have a wire(s) installed on them.
I've made it a habit to either reinforce the kit part or scratch-build a new one. Same goes for pitot tubes.
This one was large enough in diameter that I could drill a hole in the end and insert a steel pin to make a more robust joint. Drilling two holes in the much thinner other end was a bit trickier, but not too hard to pull off. I then glued in a loop of brass wire for the antenna wire to pass trough.
Later on, when I was almost finished, I managed to break the antenna mast despite the steel pin, it snapped right above it. Luckily, I got it superglued together again. Look carefully and you'll see the faint seam in the close-up pic of the right side of the cockpit.




Indeed.That's one reason this kit is good for those just-for-relaxation type of builds.
Oh, and then there's the blank styrene plate excuse for the cockpit "floor" (as the real didn't have a proper floor to speak of), and the canopy is partly ruined by a sprue connector extending on to the clear portion on the right side. (I don't get it. Why did they put it there, the connector's on the canopy frame on left side? )