Spitfire Restoration Diorama Completed

I build 1/3 to 1/5 scale aircraft all day at work, but 2010 saw me take up plastic modelling again to make a change from the balsa and fibreglass. I also wanted to improve my skills working at a small scale.

This 1/48 Spitfire was won at a modelling competition at the N.E Aircraft Museum in April 2010, but I didn’t get around to making a start until October. Since taking up plastics again, I’ve tried to make my models different so they stand out against what you normally see and expect. Prior to the Spitfire, I built a ‘Cutaway’ P-36 Hawk, scratch building all the fuselage, wing and tail structure.

For the Spitfire, I wanted it to look different from all the other Spits you see. Most people choose RAF, some choose more obscure air forces to get away from the normal schemes. I finally decided on a Spitfire in the final stages of its restoration, in the paint shop, part way through application of the camo. Many thanks to ‘Mark V’ for advice on the order of painting on restorations.