1/48 Airfix Spitfire F22/24 and Academy Spitfire Mk XIVC

Gallery Article by Martin Hemingway on Nov 13 2009

 

Hi there!  Here are a couple of Spitfires I have in my collection which I built some time ago, and thought you might like to see them!  The aircraft in with the alluminium finish is the airfix F22/24 kit.  I recall this model going together very well with little or no problems to mention.  I decided to paint the model in the alluminium scheme as I think it looks so graceful.  I built the model out of the box apart from adding a seat harness, and finished it using Humbrol enamels.  As some of you may be aware, painting models with alluminium or silver paint can be tricky, especially when it comes to using other colours on top of the finish, such as weathering washes etc. Once the alluminium paint had been applied, I then gave the model several good coats of Johnson's Klear to seal in the paint.  Once this was dry I applied the decals which went on without any problems using micro sol setting solution.  I then applied a wash of thinners and matt black paint to the model which filled the panel lines and rivets beautifully. The exhaust staining was done by airbrushing Tamiya X16 smoke over  and aft of the exhaust stubbs.  To finish off I then applied a coat of Humbrol matt varnish.  This was a very nice model to build and I was really pleased with the end result.

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The second model with the camouflage scheme is Academy's Mk XIVC.  This was also a very nice model to build as again, I did not encounter any problems with the build whatsoever.  The detail of this kit is slightly better than the Airfix model but only just.  There is something about a Spit with the D-day stripes over the wings, so I just had to have one in my collection!  Once the main part of the construction was complete, I airbrushed the model free hand using Humbrol enamels.  As with all my models, it was then given numerous coats of Klear before applying the decals.  The decals went on ok apart from the stripes over the wings and around the fuselage, which was very tricky to say the least!  In future I think I'll use Larry Shred's excellent method of applying stripes!  The model was then given a wash of enamel thinners and matt black enamel and the exhaust stubbs given the Tamiya smoke treatment.  Again, the model was finished off with a coat of matt varnish.  

There you are!  Two nice kits that would grace any modellers collection.  I have a couple more Airfix and Academy Spits waiting to be built, but they'll have to wait until I've finished my Hobbycraft 1/32nd scale Sea Fury with Fisher detailing sets, but that's another story!!  

Hope you enjoyed my article, Cheers!

Martin Hemingway

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Photos and text © by Martin Hemingway