1/72 Hasegawa Spitfire Mk. 1

by Rick Reinbott

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This is my Hasegawa Spitfire Mk. 1. 

 I originally put this kit together back in 1980 and there it sat until June of 2008 when I FINALLY decided to upgrade it just a little.

The 'upgrades' consisted of filling in the seams (caulk) and re-painting those areas, drilling out and drybrushing the exhaust stacks (flat black), adding light exhaust stains (dark gray), applying gun stains (black pastel chalk), light paint chipping (silver pencil) and an aerial wire (hair) applied with super glue and painted 'Steel'.  A fellow modeler pointed out that the kit's decals mistakenly portrayed the 'Kiwi' as sporting a white collar and that it should all be black instead, so I dutifully brushed flat black over the white.  I was informed that the paint over the seams probably wouldn't match the original brushed-on paint from 28 years ago and, as I expected, it didn't.  However, paint was re-applied in the field which didn't always match the original color, so, I like to think that the areas I touched-up add a bit more 'realism' to the model, ha!

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

  

 

The model represents the Spitfire flown by New Zealander Al Deere of No. 54 Squadron, RAF, during the Battle of Britain in 1940.

Happy Modeling!
Rick 


References:

  • Aerodata International Fighters of World War II, Squadron/Signal Publications (1980) 
  • The Supermarine Spitfire Part1: Merlin Powered, SAM Publications (2000)

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

  

Photos and text © by Rick Reinbott