Spitfire Mk.V

by Scott Samo

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V

Tamiya's 1/48 scale Spitfire Vb Trop is available online from Squadron.com

Here is Tamiya's 1/48 scale Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb representing a Mk.Vc of the Royal Australian Air Force.

The difference between the Vb and the Vc was the armament, style of cannon fairings and panel arrangement on the wings. However, for this project I built the kit as supplied.

This kit simply falls together. Fit and finish are perfect. The cockpit is awesome and the only added extras were the Airwaves seat belts and decals from Aeromaster.

I did not need a single smear of putty to complete this kit. The wing root fit was absolutely perfect. Once the kit was constructed, I moved on to painting, weathering and the decals.

 

This model was painted using Gunze acrylics for the RAF Dark Green and Dark Earth upper surfaces. The undersurface was painted with an old bottle of Aeromaster Azure Blue. All of the paints were thinned with 91% Isopropyl alcohol. After the model had the primary colors applied, I moved on to weathering.

I shaded several panels with lighter colors, then used Gunze black to highlight panel lines, rivets and wear areas. I also used a few shades of brown to highlight dirty areas. Once the airbrush work was done, I used my usual mix of Turpenoid and Windsor and Newton Oils for a wash. Instead of using a gloss coat, I used microscope lens paper to polish the paint and then applied the decals from Aeromaster. The decals were thin and settled down nicely with a little bit of Miro Sol. Chipping was done with chrome silver enamel paint.

Lastly, I added the antenna wires from nylon thread.

This kit was such an easy build!

Easy, straight forward and a ton of fun. I think I had the kit ready for painting in less than three days. Now if Tamiya would just make a 1/32 MK XIV!!

I hope you enjoy the model.

 

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Model, Images and Article Copyright © 2003 by Scott Samo
Page Created 10 October, 2003
Last updated 17 March, 2004

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