This aircraft was flown by Battle of Britain ace, Bobby Oxspring. He was shot down late in the battle flying this aircraft, which crashed in Capel, between Dover and Folkestone. Oxspring bailed out, went on to score more victories and survived the war to reach high rank in the RAF after the war.
The kit suffered from severe warping of the wing which gave me serious problems and it does affect the look of the model even though I was able to correct the worse of it with the use of hot water!
The base kit is a Mk 2 but it is easy to get a Mk 1 out of a Mk 2 kit. There are, however, several inaccuracies in the kit that needed correcting with a.m. parts, most noticeably the oil cooler. The kit had fabric looking ailerons that needed replacing but thanks to the wing warping, I ended up using the kit parts. The difference in appearance is minor after a little sanding. The cockpit door was replaced as was the instrument panel and wheels. I used metal undercarriage legs as the kits ones are very fragile and an axle broke. The Eduard detailing set was very good and is recommended for this kit as it does make a big difference. I also got a resin am seat and armour plating.
The kit is cheap, the only good thing about Revell (apart from decent decals), but once I got the aftermarket, I spent more than I would need to spend on a Tamiya Spitfire at four times the cost of the Revell kit, with which I would have got a better result, but not a Mk 1sadly!
anyway some pictures.....
Now, below is the reason I wanted to build the aircraft - it is pictured alongside a set of cufflinks made from the casing of this aircraft's Merlin engine.
The kit suffered from severe warping of the wing which gave me serious problems and it does affect the look of the model even though I was able to correct the worse of it with the use of hot water!
The base kit is a Mk 2 but it is easy to get a Mk 1 out of a Mk 2 kit. There are, however, several inaccuracies in the kit that needed correcting with a.m. parts, most noticeably the oil cooler. The kit had fabric looking ailerons that needed replacing but thanks to the wing warping, I ended up using the kit parts. The difference in appearance is minor after a little sanding. The cockpit door was replaced as was the instrument panel and wheels. I used metal undercarriage legs as the kits ones are very fragile and an axle broke. The Eduard detailing set was very good and is recommended for this kit as it does make a big difference. I also got a resin am seat and armour plating.
The kit is cheap, the only good thing about Revell (apart from decent decals), but once I got the aftermarket, I spent more than I would need to spend on a Tamiya Spitfire at four times the cost of the Revell kit, with which I would have got a better result, but not a Mk 1sadly!
anyway some pictures.....
Now, below is the reason I wanted to build the aircraft - it is pictured alongside a set of cufflinks made from the casing of this aircraft's Merlin engine.
