Trumpeter 1/24 Spitfire Vb
By James Morley
This kit was my first serious attempt at 1/24 (I tend to stick to 1/48), and I had been waiting for it to be released for some time. Reading the various Trumpeter Mustang reviews, I began to get concerned that the Spitfire could turn out to be a disappointment, but nothing could be further from the truth - it was a delight to build. I did add a little wiring to the engine, and experimented with pre-shading for the first time (which worked), as well has trying to use liquid mask to achieve a hard camouflage edge (which didn't - the paint flakes badly as you remove the mask!). Paints were my own mix using Tamiya acrylics.
In the end the only real additions to the kit cockpit were some Waldron placards, and the Cutting Edge RAF Poseable Sutton Harness (CEC24004). I also opted to make use of Techmod's 1/24 decals, partly because I had read some less than complimentary comments about Trumpeter's attempts at RAF Sky for the lettering colour. This particular set (THD24002) covers 303 Squadron (Polish) aircraft in the late summer of 1942.
Cutting Edge have also produced some corrective parts for the Spitfire cowling, the Rotol spinner and blades, and the seat. I ignored these on the grounds that I didn't think they would be that noticeable. I was right in the first two cases, but the Trumpeter seat is a disaster. Every time I see a picture of the real thing it makes me want to weep! The single biggest piece of advice I can offer to anyone building this kit is to fork out the $15 for the Cutting Edge seat (CEC24001).
I have a Trumpeter Bf 109G-2 in the loft, now if someone would just release some decals.......
© James Morley 2004
This article was published on Wednesday, July 20 2011; Last modified on Saturday, May 14 2016