Hasegawa 1/32 scale Spitfire Mk Vb Malta

By Dave Pratt

The Hasegawa 1/32 Spitfire Mk Vb is an out-dated kit by today’s standards but with a little work can be made into a nice rendition of the classic fighter. The entire kit has been scribed. The cockpit received a set of Eduard photo-etch interior as well as Sutton Harness. It was a tight fit getting it all in and some parts were omitted since they would be unseen. The rudder and elevators were re-positioned for a more lived-in look. This is my first time posting pics on LSP and I hope you like them.

The kit cockpit lay-out is not that bad after the installation of the photo-etch and weathering. The weathering was done by applying burnt umber artist’s oil and lighter fluid. Make sure that you apply a good coat of future floor wax first or you will run the risk of eating the paint with the lighter fluid. Chalk pastels were also used for a sun-beaten touch around the interior.

The fuselage was joined together after the rudder was cut off. The wing section was then built and scribed. The gear bay had a huge opening that required attention and this was boxed in to make it look more appealing. The fit of fuselage and wing left a good size gap that was filled with Cyanoacrylate and then sanded smooth. Care was taken to tape over wing details that I didn’t want to sand away. The wing filet was polished and then re-scribed to make it look more to form.

The kit was then primed with Floquil Railroad primer and gone over to see where the flaws might be. Polly Scale Middle Stone was then applied, followed by P.S. Dark Earth. The entire kit was then given two coats of Future floor wax and then on went the decals. I used the Revell/Monogram roundels from the MkI/II kit for the underside of the wings. Note: If you have after market decals USE them instead. The kit roundels did not want to conform to the details on the wing at all. Lesson learned. Once the decals were complete I applied two more coats of Future to seal the decals in and then went over the entire kit with the oil/lighter fluid wash. Exhaust stains were done by airbrush with a 50/50 mix of Polly Scale Night Black and water then a thin mist of 50/50 light grey. Oil stains were done with black artist’s oil and lighter fluid.

The finished model was then given a dull coat of Tamiya Flat Base and Future. Don’t add more than 30% Flat Base or you will get what looks like snow all over your nice, new finish.

This particular aircraft was flown by Canadian Ace Ian Roy MacLennan (7 victories) while stationed in Malta. It was lost in combat 14 Oct. 1942. Mr MacLennan lives ½ hour from me and I’ll be presenting this model to him in the next few weeks. I hope he likes it…

References

© Dave Pratt 2004

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This article was published on Wednesday, July 20 2011; Last modified on Saturday, May 14 2016