Scale aviation modeller international

balance nose should end up just

above the tailplane upper surface.

Look carefully at the lovely

Frise ailerons to discover exactly

where to apply cement. Too much

will show. Too little won’t keep

them attached for long. After six

reattachments I drilled a hole and

added a pin to keep them in place.

The radiators are all-plastic

and all-marvellous. Just replace

the spray pipe (Part F36) with a

bit of copper wire, which is more

likely to survive being masked and

painted. The only problem with the

undercarriage is putting an accurate

flat on the tyres, but that’s Spitfire

kits in general, not just this one.

I looked at the etch door

latch parts, PE 14 and 20, and

immediately scratch-built

replacments from sprue and

wire. I wish I could have done

the same with the canopy handle

(PE17), as even in 1/48 scale it’s

too small and flimsy for anyone

without a tame elf. Furthermore,

it’s a pain to stick to the canopy

without marking same.

Success came eventually, but I

spent less time scratch-building

the gyro gunsight I needed for

my model. The kit provides the

transparent sight glass – and a

really excellent GM2 gunsight –

but no gyro. See Osprey Aircraft

of the Aces No.5, page70, and

No.122, page 64 for photos.

The excellent and convincingly-

coloured decal sheet covers five

different aircraft (one in two

versions), in D-day stripes, half-

stripes, no stripes, and natural

metal. Pilots are (in alphabetical

order) British, Czech, French and

Polish, and the Squadrons are

302, 312, 401, 601, and 602. The

items I used went on like a dream,

and were as thin, concentric, and

opaque as anyone could wish.

Full marks...but mine’s a Kiwi.

485 Squadron were issued with

gyro sights in March 1944, and

Johnnie Houlton used ML407 OU-V

“Butch III” to good effect right

through to the end of August.

CONCLUSION

The model still needs its aerial

mast, pitot head, last-minute

touching-up and weathering, but

I hope it will encourage those of

you with “adequate” stocks of

inferior 1/48 Spitfires to wrestle

your wallet demons to the tarmac

and SPEND THE MONEY! The

kit’s bloomin’ marvellous and I’d

recommend it wholeheartedly to any

modeller with a little experience.

KIT REVIEWS

070-75-Reviews-0318.indd 75 09/02/2018 14:31