JB's 48 Hr Battle of Britain Tamiya 1/48 Spitfire Mk. I

[JediBoer]

I watched the previous 48 hr build and, because of connectivity issues, I could not join the build. It looked like a whole bunch of fun! So, when Paul mentioned this build, I knew I was in! I decided to build a Spitfire Mk.I as this was the plane flown by the Adolf (Sailor) Malan, the South African pilot who led 74 Sq during the BoB.

I got a Tamiya 1/48 Spitfire Mk.I because it was relatively cheap (cheaper than new tool Airfix kits at my local) and easy to get hold of AM parts for this kit. The only drawback I saw in the kit was the &^%$$# exhausts which came with the kit so AM exhausts was a must.



AM was ordered from DerSockelShop in Germany, Eduard Interior details, seatbelts, masking set and Ultracast exhausts. Quite a few firsts for me here. I never used PE for the instrument display. I have never worked with resin before so this was going to be interesting.





The build started last night at 2000 Greenwich Mean Time, 2100 over here in South Africa. I decided beforehand to divide the building into various sub assemblies to speed up the build and not waist time.

First up was the cockpit. Primed with Alclad primer and painted with AK-2018 Aircraft Interior Grey-Green. Detail painting and dry brushing was done with Citadel. Ammo Mig Dark Brown Wash was used here and there.



Before the seat-belts:



Sidewalls:





With seat-belts:



All put together before we play "Lets hide the cockpit":



It was then all put together and I have to say it went together like a Tamiya kit, no issues anywhere!







Got 5 hours of kip, now it is time to check the seams, sand here and there. Do re-scribing where necessary and then it is time to prime and paint!

/JB

[Leon]

Sterkte!

[JediBoer]

Sterkte!

Dankie! Waardeer!

[JediBoer]

It is done! Effort: 35 hrs at the bench, 8 hrs sleep, 4 large bags of crisps, 1 kg of biltong, and 12 cans of Coke Zero! Thank you to all the guys int he Hangout who made this a lot of fun!





Base painting was done with Mr Aqueous Hobby Color H74 Sky, H72 Dark Earth and Akan 77111 Forest Green. Gloss coated with Alclad Aqua Gloss.



Decals were an absolute pain in the behind to get down and after many, many layers of Tamiya Markfit Strong, they are still not down the way I would like them to be. I only have two gripes with this kit, the exhausts are not well molded and the decals are as thick as cardboard!











Cockpit:





Dedicated to Group Captain Adolph (Sailor) Malan, Commander of 74 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain.



/JB

[Avgas]

That's an impressive build for 48 hours. I couldn't do that in 48 days!

[JediBoer]

That's an impressive build for 48 hours. I couldn't do that in 48 days!

Thank you!

Join the next one mate! Trust me, it is possible if you plan the build well.

[Leon]

wow... very nice!!