1/24 MPC Spitfire MkI

by Andy Stark

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Hi all. I know another Spitfire to add to the horde. I am adding this one because with all the new super kits out there the old kits kind of loose there glory. This MPC/ AirFix kit really is pretty darn good. I actually like the outer mold line better than the newer kits with thousands of little holes in them. I bought this kit 24 years ago. I was 12. The box still had the receipt in it. I had started it and pretty much destroyed it by not knowing what I was doing. I must have gotten frustrated and shelved it. I has been following me around ever since. I decide late last year to start with the kit that I have had the longest and start building down my inventory. The Spitfire was a the one that had the honor.

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First  off I had to decide what to do with it. I pretty much ruined the kit when I was a kid. For some reason I thought the engine should be gloss red and the interior gloss black. The glue smudges were a story all their own! I pretty much threw away the engine. And disassembled the cockpit for a repaint. Then I started taking stock of what I really had. I had a potential poll model. No gear and all the doors and panels shut. The cockpit was barely salvagable so I decided that the pilot had to go in so he would hide most of the sins I had created as a kid.

Once the cockpit was somewhat fixed I glued it all together and prepped it for paint. I sanded most of the airplane with 1000 grit sand paper then a applied Testors silver base coat. From there I used my trusted method of Poly S paints to complete the paint job. The result was surprising. The kit actually has a wavy texture to the mold line surface much like a real aircraft. The Rivet detail once sanded down a bit is actually very realistic. Lets face it real aircraft don’t have thousands of 1/4 inch deep rivets. I don't want to sound like I am knocking the modern kits. They are absolutely wonderful to build, but the rivet detail has kept me from buying many of them. Judge for your self. This Airfix kit is still out there and more than 2/3 cheaper than the other 1/24th scale Spit. Oops I created a soap box ;o)

Happy modeling folks

Andy

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Photos and text © by Andy Stark