Supermarine Spitfire XIVe

by Brad Main

Supermarine Spitfire XIVe

Academy's 1/48 scale Spitfire XIVc is available online from Squadron.com

This is my Spitfire Mk XIVc converted to an “e” wing. I built it as an airplane flown by F/L Brian “Blackie” MacConnell while flying with 402 RCAF Squadron in March 1945.

The kit was easy to build, while the cockpit is okay straight from the box, a nice detail set would make the kit even better. To spruce this kit up, I added a seat and a set of wheels from Ultracast.

There were a few “firsts” for me when building this kit. First off, I have finally beaten the silvering decal woes. I used Polyscale paints for the first time and really enjoyed them. When distilled water is added (ratio= 80:20) paint to thinner, the paint went on very smooth and even. I then followed this up with 2 wet coats of Model Master Gloss clear Acryl prior to decaling. I applied Micro Scale Sol over the decals to soften them up to ease into the panel lines. After the decals were dry, I applied one more coat of gloss, and then followed that up with a dull coat using Model Master Flat Clear Acryl.

The second first for me was I used a wash technique I found out about from an article on ARC submitted by Will Hendriks. I used pastel chalk and a bit of water, mixed together with a drop or two of dish soap, and then I painted the areas I wanted to with it. When partially dried, I began wiping the access paint off and this left behind and awesome wash in the panel likes and even the raised detail. I followed the weathering up with pastels for exhaust stains, and various staining underneath the aircraft.

The third first for me was I drilled out the exhaust and the cannon barrels. This gave a nice realistic look to them. I also masked the canopy using E-Z Masks and will not use anything else again for masking canopies. I used a piece of a hairbrush bristle for the whip antenna, and I was done. I hope you enjoy this kit as I did. I intend on building Academy’s 1/48 scale Low back Mk XIVe in the future.
 

Model, Images and Article Copyright © 2002 by Brad Main
Page Created 30 January 2002
Last updated 04 June 2007

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