Airfix’s Time-Honoured Spitfire in 1:48 Scale
Hello everyone,
Today, I’d like to present Airfix’s time-honoured 1:48 scale Spitfire. In keeping with the motto “Never leave a kit behind”, I picked up this kit and simply got stuck into the build. After all, this kit isn’t going to get any better with age – and before the tenth alternative, boasting outstanding detail and quality, catches my eye, it’s time to give the old-timer its turn on the workbench.
The Kit
Considering its age, the kit is actually nowhere near as bad as you might expect. The cockpit, in particular, is detailed well enough and even offers a few pleasant surprises. There’s a nicely reproduced, accurate control column, perforated floor panels and even the rudder control cables are represented.
Assembly, however, is a different story. The HUD is particularly troublesome: installed as intended, it clashes with the control column and appears to float in mid-air. Shorten it accordingly, and it ends up interfering with the windscreen instead. I couldn’t find a truly convincing solution that also ensured the correct positioning. In the end, it now sits lightly against the windscreen, having required a good 5 mm (!) to be cut off.
The positioning of the individual cockpit components also feels more like guesswork in places than a well-thought-out assembly process. Combine this with the two possible build options and their respective differences in parts, and you have the perfect recipe for confusion. The instructions are certainly not what you’d call clear and easy to follow.
Overall, the fit is perfectly acceptable. The only real exception is the underside of the wings, particularly around the overlapping wing sections, where some fairly extensive cutting and trimming is required. It’s a case of test-fitting, sanding and reworking the parts until everything fits together reasonably well.
One small highlight, on the other hand, is the glossy printed colour insert showing the available paint schemes and marking options. It’s a nice addition and makes it easier to find your way around the different finishing options during the build.
The Decals – Not Exactly a Masterpiece
The decals are considerably less impressive. They’re definitely no longer up to modern standards. The carrier film feels more like a sheet of plastic, which initially works reasonably well on flat surfaces. However, things become difficult as soon as curves, edges or recesses come into play. The material is extremely difficult to get to conform properly, meaning that for the affected decals, you might as well start looking for alternatives straight away.
As a result, I painted the roundels on the underside. Getting the supplied decals to behave properly simply wasn’t possible, regardless of which decal softener I tried.
That’s particularly frustrating with a kit that is otherwise perfectly usable. Problems like these can quickly take the fun out of the hobby, especially for beginners. In my opinion, this is an area where Airfix really needs to improve.
Painting and Landing Gear
I used Gunze paints for the finish. For the colour scheme, I opted for the version with the mint-green underside. Personally, I simply like this colour scheme far more than the seemingly ubiquitous, rather boring grey.
I also decided to revisit the landing gear. Compared with the level of detail elsewhere, the kit parts were simply too basic for my liking. The original component essentially consisted of a round central section with four raised collars. Details such as the torque link and the associated hydraulic lines were completely absent. Put simply, the whole thing looked more like a plain stick than a properly detailed landing gear strut. Getting the alignment right also didn’t seem particularly feasible, although I have to admit I didn’t spend much time trying. I quickly gave up on the kit parts.
Instead, I redesigned the landing gear from scratch and produced it as a 3D-printed part. In my opinion, the extra effort was well worth it, and the result fits much better with the overall look I was aiming for.
The Display Base – An Airfield After the Rain
This time, I decided to venture a little further into the third dimension with the base. The idea was to depict a well-worn airfield being called into action for a scramble immediately after a heavy shower of rain.
I created the corresponding tracks and impressions in the ground using my newly designed roller, before filling the resulting texture with 1K resin. The grass was then applied using a static grass applicator.
The little diorama isn’t quite finished yet, though. I’m considering adding a few barrels in one corner and perhaps a figure to bring a little more life to the scene. On the other hand, I really like this little gem just as it is, in its current, relatively uncluttered state.
We’ll see which way I eventually decide to go. After all, sometimes less is more.
Conclusion
This kit has its highs and lows – or, to put it a little more casually, there’s a fair bit of yin and yang going on here.
Airfix gets quite a few things right, but leaves unnecessary room for improvement in other areas. The overall fit is decent, assembly is relatively straightforward, and the Spitfire itself is represented very well. Once the model is assembled, it really looks the part. The silhouette and those unmistakable lines come across beautifully.
On the other hand, there are the sometimes confusing instructions, the questionable positioning of certain cockpit components, the amount of reworking required around the wings and, above all, the disappointing decals. For one of the best-known manufacturers in the scale modelling world, clear and logical instructions should really be a given. The quality of the decals is another issue that shouldn’t simply be brushed aside.
My overall impression is therefore mixed. Anyone willing to put in a bit of extra work here and there and accept a few shortcomings can build a genuinely attractive model from this kit. However, anyone expecting a modern kit that has been carefully thought through in every respect is likely to be disappointed in a few areas.
For me, it was certainly an interesting project that proved an older kit can still have plenty of appeal. You just need to know what you’re getting into – and occasionally be prepared to roll up your sleeves and do some work yourself.
With that in mind: Never leave a kit behind!
