Sword released their Spitfire Vc Trop kit (different markings) in January this year at the same time as their Spitfire Mk Vc kit. I bought the Vc as one of the options was 303 Squadrons’s QQWCA.
It’s a little gem that has seems to have been thoroughly overlooked. The detailing on the cockpit sidewalls is exquisite and it’s a shame that little of it can be seen once the kit is built. There is enough detail in the cockpit to satisfy a lot of people, a crow bar and oxygen hose are the most noticeable missing items. For the super detailer there is an excellent base to add to. There is no PE which means you need to supply your own seat belts. The instrument panel is just plastic with raised detail. It would have been nice to have some instrument decals included for this. If you want a brass and plastic film instrument panel then you might be able to use one from a PE set intended for another kit. There are enough alternative parts, props, exhausts, wheels, long and short cannon barrels, wide and narrow cannon bisters, in the kit to enable just about any F.Vc or LF.Vc to be modelled. Only a pair of late type elevators are missing that one of the kit’s options had fitted. End caps for clipped wings are supplied but you have to saw of the wing tips yourself. Fit of the parts is excellent including the cannon blisters, radiator and oil cooler that match the curve of the wings perfectly. The canopy is also a prefect fit but if you want to open it to show of the cockpit you will need an after market replacement.
Also checkout Sword’s Spitfire Mk IV and Mk IV Trop kits that were released at the beginning of September.
