The Airfix 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk1 (New Tooling)


The very first Airfix ‘plane I ever made was the original 1/72 Spitfire. I can still remember that old girl, she probably ended her life going down in flames (quite literally in fact) when the well used threat “If you want any more models you’ve got to get rid of some of those old ones first” was used to clear out rapidly filling up bedrooms! It’s a real pity now of course, those old first issue Airfix kits, even badly made up ones can fetch a packet on eBay!!
The old ‘Spit has gone through many updates over the decades with various marks and versions but Airfix has now re-engineered both their Spitfire and Hurricane Mk1’s and I’ll be using both of them in the “Scramble” diorama to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain. So for those of you who haven’t had a look at the new models, Here’s the Spitfire!
Photo 1 illustrates the box top art for the new kit. The two individuals I’m building for the diorama both came from eBay and are both special limited editions which were produced for a Daily Mail / The Mail on Sunday offer. This kit is one of the ‘starter kit’ versions, complete with a diddy tube of Poly Cement, three little tubs of acrylic paint and a paint brush. I haven’t used either the glue or the paints (I’m putting together a set of Revell Acrylics for the models) so I can’t give any comment on those but I’d have to say, that paint brush is a really good quality one!
The instructions are quite basic as befits its beginner’s target of first time modellers, a single A4 sheet folded into four sides: a very short history of the plane with diagram icons and the universal safety information on the front page followed by seven drawings with very clear exploded diagrams with paint numbers and optional parts instructions (one of the seven is simply sticking the radio mast in it’s slot!) Compare this with the new tooled Hawker Hurricane which comes with a seven page full A4 instruction book with two tone drawings divided into twenty sections - that one is definitely NOT a beginner’s kit!
The Spitfire comes on two spues as shown in the photos containing 33 pieces including the clear canopy which is supplied in its own separate bag for protection. The model is moulded in a close approximation of Duck Egg Blue coloured plastic which fits in with its ‘Starter Kit’ or ‘Gift Set’ designation. Three mini pots of acrylic paint are provided as mentioned above: Dark Earth, Dark Green and Black. Basically you get the colours needed to paint the top and sides of the plane and the undersides are left in the plastic. If you are going to make up the kit with the pilot and other details painted in, you’ll need additional paints for which the instructions give the Humbrol paint numbers (I would have preferred the actual name of the colour too though, Humbrol 163 means nothing to me!)
All the parts are really nicely moulded with inscribed panel lines, which are a vast improvement on the old style raised panel lines. Not only are they much easier to highlight (or shadow) with washes, but there is far less chance of completely removing them when sanding down any joints.
The biggest and most noticeable improvement is in the area of the cockpit. I may be wrong here but I’m sure I can remember my first Airfix Spitfire having a cockpit consisting of a pilot sat on a flat ‘bench’ composed of two flat bits sticking out of each fuselage inner side, there may have been a simple semi circle of plastic to form the instrument panel or even that might have been moulded into the sides as well. This latest version has no less than seven pieces making up the cockpit (including the pilot figure) and these parts are indicated on the photos inside the red rectangles. Also included are finely moulded cockpit side instruments and ribs on the interior of the fuselage halves and the instrument panel is finished off by a single decal printed with all the various dials and instruments. (As you might expect by now, my cockpits will be containing slightly more than the set number of parts, but more of that in the diary!!)
Overall, the fit of the parts seems to be pretty good (I say seems because so far the larger components are still in the ‘dry run’ stage) but other reviews on Youtube etc apparently say the fit is good too. Of those thirty three parts, two are optional, namely the undercarriage, you can either have a two part lowered set or a single moulding raised pair. Talking of the lowered set which I’ll be using, the separate tyres are even moulded with a flattened bulge to simulate the weight of the Spitfire so make sure that flat part is on the ground when gluing the wheels in place! I’m hoping I can use the raised wheels as a mask when the model is primed and airbrushed later on!
The two solid wings of the old model are replaced with a three part sub-assembly here with more moulded details inside the wheel wells, this will need to be painted before assembly, hence the need for a mask during the spraying.
Despite the vast improvement over the earlier models, there are two things which could have been made ‘more convenient’ for us modellers – Firstly the pilot figure: this is, unfortunately, still of the single moulding type, ie, either gripping the control column or else in desperate need of the ‘loo! With all that wonderful detail included in the cockpit, it would have been really nice to have had separate arms (or even a selection of arms) to improve his pose.
Secondly, the clear canopy. This has been moulded in a single piece, admittedly, this IS a ‘starter’s kit with the paints and glue etc, and is not targeted at more experienced modellers but for the cost of 2 –3p’s worth of clear polystyrene on the sprue it would really have been great to have had both the closed canopy as supplied here and the three separate parts, (windshield, sliding bubble and rear fuselage glazing) to enable us to easily build the canopy open. As it is, there’s going to have to be some very careful razor sawing not to mention a couple of new canopy frames in all probability.
Anyway, there you have it, the new Airfix 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire MkI. A starter kit as previously mentioned but a huge improvement over every Spitfire kit from the Airfix stable before it. Built straight from the box it will still give you a very detailed and accurate model and I would recommend it to any young modeller as a first kit to try their skills on. Tune in to the Scramble Diary over the next week and we’ll see what else we can do with it (actually, them!)

Happy Modelling to you all.


Robin

Robin

Looks a decent kit. Airfix do seem to have some good kits appearing these days.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one.