Gallery: Airfix 1:72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IA

Brand: Airfix

Scale: 1/72

Kit No: A010718

Tooling Date: 1999

Completed: 2023

Engraved Panel Lines: Yes

Available For Purchase: Sold

Another Father's Day gift from my "babies" (not so baby anymore). Another great kit. A lot of fun to build. Not too long on fine detail but for the scale pretty impressive. Decided to not do any additional riveting detail on this: just wanted to cut some time off the build. I am posting the build log of this model. You can read about it here ... Airfix 1:72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IA (Pt.1)

Gallery: Airfix 1:72 F4F-4 Wildcat "Guadalcanal"

Brand: Airfix

Scale: 1/72

Kit No: A02070A

Tooling Date: 2015

Completed: 2023

Engraved Panel Lines: Yes

Available For Purchase: Sold

This was a really nice kit. Love what Airfix is doing with their 1/72 scale kits these days. The kit came with some nicely engraved panel lines and the major rivets were provided, however I added additional riveting for the extra detail. I would be curious to see it without them though. Was pretty happy with the weathering and the decals went down like butter!

Build Log: Airfix 1:72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IA (Pt.3)

 

After the cockpit was completed, the fuselage was assembled. This went together beautifully, using putty only on the leading edged of the wings and the upper fuselage seams. The wing root join was near perfect.

I wanted to try out my AK Extreme Metal. After laying down the Alclad II Gloss Black Base I sprayed a layer of AK 479 Aluminum. After the base and metallic layers were in place, I sprayed down a coat of AK 11859 US Interior Yellow Green as the primer applied at the factory.

Build Log: Airfix 1:72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IA (Pt.2)

 

As usual I began with the cockpit. The first thing I did was drilled out the holes on the frame that the pilot's seat attached to. I bought a set of Micro drills and they have proven to be a godsend, particularly when working on 1:72 scale aircraft. 

Everything was then based with a coat of Stynylrez black acrylic primer and lightly gone over with AK Interactive's Gen3 AK11859 US Interior Yellow Green. These were light coats intended to allow the dark undercoat to create lowlights and shadows.

Build Log: Airfix 1:72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IA (Pt.1)

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Brand: Airfix

Scale: 1/72

Kit No: A01071B

Tooling Date: 2010

Completed: 2023

Engraved Panel Lines: Yes

I got this kit just this year as a Father's Day gift from my beautiful daughters. It's a realtively new tool (for us old timers) and is commensurate with Airfix's newer offerings, which is a good thing. While I don't strive for historical accuracy I cannot say how "accurate" it is. But authenticity is important to me and there is enough detail, and the shape and silhouette easily identify it as a Spitfire. 

Additionally, the instructions are quite simple and easy to read, with the painting and decal instructions provided on the rear of the box. 

Gallery: Airfix 1:72 F4F-4 Wildcat "Operation Torch"

Brand: Airfix

Scale: 1/72

Kit No: A02070A

Tooling Date: 2015

Completed: 2023

Engraved Panel Lines: Yes

Available For Purchase: Yes - Etsy 

This was a really nice kit. Love what Airfix is doing with their 1/72 scale kits these days. The kit came with some nicely engraved panel lines and the major rivets were provided, however I added additional riveting for the extra detail. I would be curious to see it without them though. Was pretty happy with the weathering and the decals went down like butter!

Gallery: Airfix Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero

Brand: Airfix

Scale: 1/72

Kit No: A01005A

Tooling Date: 2011

Completed: 2018

Engraved Panel Lines: Yes

As part of my WWII binge I found the iconic Airfix Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero. A beautiful and effective long range fighter in the employ of the Japanese Navy. Gorgeous!!

I chose the Airfix kit because it was basic and had recessed panel lines. I actually picked up two of them as well as a Tamiya version. Those remain in my stash for later ...

Aircraft Reference: MiG-29 'Fulcrum'

German MiG-29 - GADF assumed possession of 24 East German MiG-29's upon reunification in 1990

Since I began modelling airplanes I have always been in love with the MiG-29 and the family of Sukhoi (SU-27 - SU-35) fighters. I love their shape and the streamlined aesthetic of the fuselage. Having what I think of as a "goose-neck", where the cockpit seems almost cantilevered above and in front of the engine intakes, in contrast to the F-15 and F-14 where the cockpit extends nearly straight out from in between the engine intakes, endows the craft with a visual velocity unlike any other plane I have seen yet.

I purchased an Airfix 1:72 scale MiG-29 Fulcrum to scratch my itch with ... and as usual I dug up as much reference material as I could find on You Tube and collected it here into a playlist. There are some interesting documentaries here and worth sitting through the 4 hours of video. It makes great company while building your MiG-29 model!

The individual videos in the list can be seen here ... You Tube: Scale Model Videos - MiG-29 Reference Playlist ... or you can just kick off the playlist by clicking on the video below ...

Video List: Reference: MiG-29 Fulcrum
Number of Videos : 7
Playlist Duration: Approx. 4.5 hours

Contributors ...
1909Pegasus
Marcello Minghetti
tomahawke
Pendleton Snider
DOC GMC
TPF Scopes