Building the Revell 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V c

 

A British icon

- Revell 1/72 scale Spitfire Mk. V c -

    Perhaps one of the most recognizable aircraft, period. To the point where even non-aviation enthusiasts have at least heard of it, with a sizable amount of people having no difficulty telling it apart from other aircraft.

    Just to keep things simple, I'm only going to quickly skim over the history of this aircraft as I could easily write several articles on the developmental cycles of the Spitfire alone. This is a scale modeling blog first and foremost. For a more detailed history there are thousands of resources available online and offline.

    First flown on the 5th of March 1936 and introduced in 1938. The Supermarine Spitfire was meant to be a counter for the German Bf 109. Whilst early development was shaky, and the Type 224 being a major disappointment. After several revisions, the prototype K5054 was released, which quickly proved to be a very capable aircraft.

    Like it's German counterpart, the Bf 109. The Spitfire had many iterations, including a carrier capable variant in the Seafire.

    One of the greatest strengths of the Spitfire was it's incredible maneuverability at low speeds, the exact opposite of what the Bf 109 was known for. As such, tactics involved a lot of mind games between Spitfire and Bf 109 pilots. With the loser being decided by the pilot that would crack first under pressure.

    The Mk. V, the subject of today's build, was the first variant of the Spitfire to feature a clipped wing variant in the type C. This was done in order to increase maneuverability at higher speeds. Although, clipped wing variants would become more popular with the later Mk. IX variant.

    The Supermarine Spitfire and all of it's variants was well loved by its pilots, both for it's looks and for its handling. With that, let's get down to the bench and build our very own Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V type C.

Contents of the box

    Unlike with my previous build from this box set, I actually took the time to more properly document everything 😅.

box art

    As seen previously, the box art features both the Bf 109 and the Spitfire. And the art is actually really nice and exciting. Gets you excited for the builds.

    

box contents

    Inside the box are the bags of sprues, well in this case, the bag, since I've already built the Bf 109. You can check that out here.

    

documentation and bag of sprues

sprues

    Inside the box then, are the sprues for the Spitfire, a health and safety sheet, the building instructions and decals for the model. The molding itself is generally pretty good, although, the age of the tooling is starting to show. Don't get fooled by the black box this double set comes in. Neither kit inside the box is that modern. There's a sizable amount of flash al around, luckily most of it is on the sprues and not the parts. With that said, some of the parts will need cleaning.

sprue B

    Sprue B, contains the wings, the tips for the clipped wing variant, the seat and instrument panel, the aerial mast and horizontal stabilizer.

right upper wing half

lower wing half

wing tip, seat, instrument panel and aerial mast

horizontal stabilizers

    As you can probably see, there is a decent amount of detail here and the parts are mostly flash free, aside from the seat and instrument panel which do present some flash. Other than that, this sprue looks really good. There's even some nice stressed-skin simulation on the elevators.

sprue A

nose section of right fuselage

tail section of right fuselage

nose section of left fuselage

cockpit and landing gear parts

landing gear doors and struts

propeller, rounded wing tips, accessories and vertical stabilizer

more accessories

    Sprue A contains the fuselage and all the other accessories needed to build the Spitfire, as well as a couple that will not be used in this particular build. The quality of the molding is once again really good, although there's significantly more flash on this particular sprue. Your mileage might vary.

    There's nothing really to complain about. It's not perfect, far from it. But if like me, you are used to much older Revell kits, this is quite impressive. Not Sea Vixen impressive, then again that one isn't even tooled by Revell originally, but still, this is pretty darned good.

clear sprue

    The canopy is probably the weakest part of this entire kit and I'm not only talking about the visible flash. Whilst it is perfectly transparent, the mold was clearly not taken care of. And unfortunately, I have neither the skill, nor the knowledge, nor the tools required to deal with it. So it'll have to do as is. There's probably a replacement out there, but I can't be bothered with buying a replacement for this kit. You'll see what I'm talking about towards the end of the build.

decal sheet

    Lastly we have the decal sheet. And honestly, like with most Revell decals, these are perfectly serviceable. I've never had any problems with Revel decals (aside from user error) and I see no reason why this time it would be any different. The only small gripe I have is that the red dots from the roundels are printed separately. But to be frank, I'd rather have that than out of register decals. Just a slight inconvenience.

    All in all, the sprues are looking good, for the most part. The only outlier being the clear canopy, which leaves a lot to be desired 😞. The decals are nicely printed and from experience, I know they will go on without a fuss.

    But this is not a review article, it's a build article, so let's get to the fun part, right after we take a quick look at what I used to build and paint my Spitfire Mk. V 😁.

Supplies used for this kit

Tools:

• sharp hobby knife
• sanding sticks and pads (400 - 1500 grit)
• paint brushes (000, 1, 2)
• nippers (yes, still using toenail clippers 😂 some things never change)
• tweezers
• pin vise

Glues:

• Revell Contacta
• Revell Contacta Clear
• Revell Contacta Extra Thin
• Revell Contacta Quick

Decal application:

• Ammo by Mig Decal Set (A-Mig 2029)
• Ammo by Mig Decal Fix (A-Mig 2030)

Paint:

• Ammo by Mig Zinc Chromate Interior Green (A-Mig 0220)
• Ammo by Mig Stone Gray (A-Mig 0075)
• Ammo by Mig Medium Sea Gray (A-Mig 246)
• Ammo by Mig Ocean Gray (A-Mig 245)
• Ammo by Mig Dark Green (A-Mig 915)
• Ammo by Mig Sky Type S (A-Mig 243)
• Vallejo Rust (71.080)
• Vallejo Leather Brown (70.871)
• Vallejo Anthracite Gray (71.052)
• Vallejo Light Rust (71.123)
• Tamiya XF-3 Flat Yellow
• Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black
• Tamiya XF-2 Flat White

Primer:

• Tamiya Gray Surface Primer (87042)

Thinners:

• Tamiya X-20A
• Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner
• Vallejo Airbrush Thinner (71.061)
• Vallejo Flow Improver (71.562)
• Ammo by Mig Acrylic Thinner (A-Mig 2000)
• Revell Color Mix

Weathering and washes:

• Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color Dark Brown (87140)
• Tamiya weather Master Series A
• Revell Aluminum Metallic (99)

Masking:

• Tamiya Masking Tape (5mm)
• Green Stuff World Flexi-Tape (3mm)
• Printer Paper
• Vallejo Liquid Mask (28851)

Varnish:

• Vallejo Gloss Varnish (70.510)
• Vallejo Satin Varnish (70.522)

Misc.:

• Scissors
• Vallejo Plastic Putty (70.400) 

The prep work

    Thankfully, the plastic presented no mold-release agent so I felt more than confident to press on without washing the sprues. This is very welcome, I always feel nervous whenever I need to wash sprues. If you know you know. If you don't, just be extremely careful not to knock off any small, fragile parts.

Spitfire Mk. V - The build

fuselage overview

flash present on fuselage nose and tail

flash on fuselage underside

flash on right fuselage tail section

    First order of business was to clean the fuselage halves as they had quite a bit of flash all around. Nothing too "offensive" but the flash had to go. I also had to sand down the nubs left behind after cutting the parts off their sprues.

fuselage halves free of flash

cleaned fuselage halves close-up

cleaned fuselage halves belly close-up

    After spending some time sanding down the flash and sprue nubs, I got the fuselage in a more presentable state. There was still a lot of sanding to do, but for now I was perfectly happy.

a quick dry-fit test for the wing

    Next I wanted to see if there are any wing fitment issues. After identifying any problematic areas, I gave the wing parts a quick sanding.

taping the fuselage and wings together

view from the other side

wing and fuselage dry-fit test underside view

    Next I wanted to try something new. I taped the fuselage halves together, then taped the wing halves together and lastly I taped the wings to the fuselage. I did this to give me a rough idea of any problematic areas once the Spitfire is glued together. Yes, you can hold the parts with your hands. But I find this is far more convenient. It takes no time at all and bit of masking tape. Although, arguably, I used a bit more than I had to 😅.

ready to prime

fuselage interior primed

external parts primed

cockpit floor, voltage regulator, and other small parts primed

seat and instrument panel primed

    Next, I separated the wing and fuselage halves and got ready for the First bit of priming. This meant, the inside of the fuselage halves, the wheel-well area of the wing area, cockpit components, as well as most of the small parts. With the vast majority of the components still left on the sprues as this would make them easier to paint. Speaking of which.

wheel wells basecoat applied

fuselage interior basecoat applied

cockpit and voltage regulator basecoat applied

seat and instrument panel basecoat applied

    Once the primer dried, it was time to spray the interior areas and parts using Ammo Mig Zinc Chromate Interior Green. I feel like the shade is a bit too dark for this scale, I probably should have added in a bit of white to lighten it. But it works for me. Besides, most of this will hardly be visible so I'm OK with the slightly darker Zinc Chromate.

headrest painted

cockpit wall details painted

seatback painted

instrument panel details painted

    Then is was on to painting some of the details. I used Vallejo Rust for the headrest. A bit of a odd choice I know, but I wanted it to be different from the seatback which I painted with Vallejo Leather Brown. And for the instrument panel details and rudder pedals I used Vallejo Anthracite Gray.

seatbelt painted

    Next I painted the seatbelts (rather badly, I might add) using Vallejo Beige for the straps and Vallejo Aluminum for the buckles. It was about this point I've finally realized I need a good magnifying glass. Trying to focus on the tiny details I eventually get crosse-eyed and lose any depth perception. So some sort of magnification device is on the menu for the near future.

cockpit decals.

lap strap ready to be dipped in warm water.

decal applied to seat.

    Next it was time to apply some interior decals. Actually, just one decal. Since I chose to paint the instrument panel and shoulder-straps myself, I won't be needing those decals. But there is no molded detail for the lap-straps, So I will use the decal for them. Alternatively, You could use thin strips of masking tape for this. That generally works a bit better as they add a bit of dimension. But since it won't really be visible, the decal is more than enough.

a bit of brown wash helps elevate the details.

wheel-well details painted

getting over-enthusiastic with the dark wash.

instrument panel wash is more subtle.

painted control column.

voltage regulator painted and weathered.

    Next I finished detailing all the cockpit parts. I then gave everything a dark wash to try and add some depth. The results vary, I really need a magnifying glass 😂, but it all looks pretty nice. But I was not done just yet with weathering.

adding chipping and a bit of dry-brushing to the seat.

instrument panel with a lot of chipping.

    Next I used Ammo Mig stone gray for a bit of dry-brushing in order to give some highlights. It's really subtle, almost imperceivable in these photos. Then I added some paint chipping effects with Vallejo Aluminum Metallic. I really went full ham on the instrument panel. For some it might be excessive, but I was really happy with how it turned out.

cockpit ready to be assembled.

instrument panel glued in place.

cockpit assembled.

rear quarter view of the cockpit.

front quarter view of the cockpit.

    It was now time to free the cockpit components from their sprues and glue everything together. Everything came together nicely. I used a combination of Revell Contacta for to attach the instrument panel and seat. And Revell Contacta Quick for the control column and voltage regulator.

cockpit subassembly glued to the right fuselage half.

    I then glued the cockpit subassembly into its place in the right fuselage half. Mostly. If you look at the top right you'll see an L shaped locating tab. That's where the regulator should sit, with the seat at an angle. I'm not entirely sure why I didn't bother to fix this, but I didn't.

it doesn't look half bad.

could be better though.

wings glued to the fuselage.

view of the full length wing.

view of the clipped wing configuration.

    Next, I finished gluing the fuselage halves together, then I installed the wings. I was surprised that the cockpit came together so well given that the interior wasn't installed quite correctly. You'd never get away with this with a Tamiya kit 😆. Then I wanted to give you a comparison between the full length wing. The one most people are familiar with. And the clipped wing variant, the one I'm going for in this build.

wing tips need a bit of cleaning.

wing tips glued in place

propeller assembled.

some drilling was required.

before drilling.

after drilling.

    The wing tips had a bit of flash, particularly the right tip. But after a bit of cleaning they were ready to go onto the model. I then assembled the propeller subassembly. And I had a bit of an accident here. There is a small hub that goes inside the spinner to help center it on the shaft, but I either didn't glue it perfectly in place, or it might have moved. So I needed to do a bit of drilling to allow the propeller sit properly on the nose.

wheels and prop ready for painting.

cannon fairing on right wing.

upper and lower cannon fairings on the sprue.

locating pin removed.

top cannon fairings in place.

cannon fairings deed to go beneath the wing as well.

bottom canon fairings in place.

chin radiator installed.

    Next I prepared the wheels and propeller for painting by sticking them on cocktail sticks. I then noticed I have missed a step. I was supposed to drill some holes in the top and bottom of the wings to install the cannon fairings. This wasn't the end of the world as it still could be done with a bit of care. 

    First I removed the locating pins as they were no longer needed, then I sanded them down. The top fairings were fairly easy to position correctly as they have a pair of convenient panel lines that match with a set of panel lines on the wing surface. The bottom ones were a bit more problematic as they go in the middle of a featureless panel. But by taking a good look at the painting instructions, I was able to place them quite accurately I would say.

    Then I added the small chin radiator.

time for some plastic putty.

putty applied on top.

putty applied on the bottom.

putty added to the wing-root area.

putty allowed to dry overnight.

    Then it was time to apply some putty along the seam lines on the fuselage and wing areas. I had to use quite a bit of putty, but once sanded, it will make a huge difference. I allowed the putty to dry and cure overnight.

putty dried on the bottom.

putty dried on the top.

started sanding the top.

started sanding the bottom.

sanded top tail section close-up

sanded bottom nose section close-up.

sanded wing seam close-up.

sanded bottom tail section close-up.

    The next day, I sat down to sand everything down, until I could feel a smooth transition all around. There are areas, I could have done a better job, but this will do. I then needed to bring back some panel lines that were sanded down. Since I don't have a panel line scriber, I just used my hobby knife. The result is not perfect. But it's better than nit having the panel lines there.

canopy with flash.

flash removed.

showing the not so perfect molding.

    As mentioned at the beginning, the canopy is the weakest part of this kit. The flash was easy to remove, no problems there. But if you look at the bottom image, you'll see the sprue gate was actually attached to the glass area itself instead of just the frame area. More over, if you look carefully, you can see a wavy pattern across the glass. This can be fixed with very fine sanding pads, polishing compounds and buffing pads. But I have none of those, so I'll have to deal with a less than ideal looking canopy.

started masking the canopy.

masking continued.

masking done.

    Once I was as happy as could be with the state of the canopy, I started creating the paint masks. I used a combination of Tamiya masking tape, Green Stuff World flexi-tape, and Vallejo liquid mask.

ready to glue canopy in place.

canopy installed.

wheel-wells masked off.

    I then used Revell Contacta Clear to glue the canopy into place. This glue becomes clear when dry and it also doesn't release fumes, so there should be no fogging.

time to prime.

primed model, top view.

primed model, bottom view.

    It was then finally time to prime the Spitfire before doing some pre-shading and painting.

Painting the Spitfire Mk. V

getting ready for panel line shading.

panel line pre-shading done.

bottom view.

prepping for some mottling.

mottling done, bottom view.

mottling done, top view.

mottling done, front quarter view.

    Next I wanted to do some pre-shading. I used Tamiya Flat Black for some panel line shading, then I came in with some Tamiya Flat White to create some mottling in the middle of the panels to add some tonal variation. This doesn't have to be perfect, you'll mostly cover it up anyway, but it has to be just enough that it will interact with the colors on top.

time for some color.

bottom of the Spitfire painted.

    First I painted the bottom of the model. I used Ammo Mig Medium Sea Gray for this. I did my best to use thin coats and slowly build up the layers until I was happy. The pre-shading underneath comes through really nicely, and it looks even better in person than in this image.

wheel hub painted.

landing struts painted.

    Before I moved on to the camo on top, I painted some of the small parts. Specifically the wheel hubs and landing struts. These were airbrushed with Ammo Mig Stone gray. I should have used a bit of aluminum on the hydraulics of the struts, but I forgot to do so.

masked off the belly.

showing the division between the top and bottom.

    Next I had to mask the bottom to protect the paint work. It looks like a bit of a rush work in areas. And it is, But I wanted to see if I can somewhat rush this step but still protect my work. The answer is yes, I can. 😉

sketching the camo pattern.

    I then lightly sketched the came pattern onto the model with a pencil. Unlike the German camo patterns which tended to have sharp transitions between the colors, with the exception of the mottling patterns. The colors on British camos tended to fade into one-another. At 1/72 scale that wouldn't be really visible. But I still wanted to try my hand at free-handing some camo, and this was the best opportunity.

half of the cam done.

front quarter view.

side view.

second half of the camo done.

front quarter view.

left view.

right view.

    I started the top camo with Ammo Mig Ocean Gray. Once again going with thin layers. I then came in with Ammo Mig Dark Green. I did a bit more mottling with these colors as well. The idea was to give the impression of an aircraft that was perhaps painted in a rush. And once again I made sure to let some of that pre-shading come through. It's less noticeable in the photos, but it's quite obvious in person.

exhausts and cannons painted.

tailwheel and pitot tube painted.

inside of gear doors painted.

radio antenna painted.

wheels and propeller painted.

    Before moving on to clear coating. I wanted to finish painting al the small components. The paints used here were Vallejo Rust and Light Rust for the exhausts, Vallejo Anthracite Gray for the wheels, cannons, propeller blades. Ammo Mig Medium Sea gray for the pitot tube. Ammo MigZinc Chromate for the gear doors and tailwheel strut. Ammo Mig Sky Type S for the spinner hub. And Tamiya Flat Yellow for the propeller blade tips.

gloss clear coat applied.

bottom view.

    This was followed up with a coat of clear gloss to prep the model for the decals. This provides a nice smooth surface for the decals to adhere to.

Decaling the model

decal sheet.

decal sheet cut up.

dipping decals in warm water.

soaking decal in warm water.

draining off excess water.

giving the decals a few seconds for the adhesive to activate.

bottom decals applied.

left-side decals applied.

right-side decals applied.

top decals applied.

    It was then on to apply the decals. The process is really simple. You dip the decals in warm water. Don't use hot water as that can soften the decals too much and tear. You then need to drain any excess water and leave on a paper towel for a few seconds for the water activated adhesive to come alive. I also used Ammo Mig Decal Set and Fix. These products soften the decals further to allow them to conform to complex surfaces.

    Speaking of which, the bottom wing roundels were a right pain to get to settle. They go on top of some pretty complex geometry. I had to use quite a bit of Decal Set and Fix to get them to cooperate. I spent the better part of an hour just to coax them into the surface, occasionally applying more Decal solution. Just be aware of that if you attempt this kit yourself.

second gloss coat.

bottom view.

    I then applied another coat of clear gloss after allowing the decals to set for about 4 hours. The purpose of this second coat is to seal in the decals, and prepare the surface for a pin-wash and a bit of weathering.

Weathering the Spitfire

preparing for a pin-wash.

pin-wash applied to the top.

pin-wash applied to the bottom.

excess wash removed.

top view.

right-side view.

left-side view.

    I then applied a pin-wash to all the panel lines. I used Tamiya Dark Brown Panel Line Accent Color for this purpose. Once It dried, I came in with a cotton bud dampened in enamel thinner, and very carefully removed all the excess, always making sure to drag the bud in the direction of the air-flow. I would switch to clean cotton buds whenever the previous one started getting dirty. For a model of this size, I typically use about 4-5. 

punching holes in the machinegun covers.

gunfire soot and disaster.

cannons installed.

more streaking added.

exhaust installed.

    Next I punched some holes in the decals representing the red canvas machinegun covers typical on British military aircraft. You can leave these intact if you want a clean aircraft. I wanted mine to look like it has seen use recently. Unfortunately, I didn't make sure to properly center the covers over the holes. Oh, well.😅

    I then thinned down some Anthracite gray to add some gun soot streaks on the wings. I also added some streaks to the radiators and on the engine cowling to represent some engine soot. But disaster struck as I managed to break off the left horizontal stabilizer. I glued it back in place, but weathering was postponed for about an hour and a half to allow the glue to cure.

    I also installed the Hispano cannons and the exhaust pipes.

satin varnish applied

top view.

    Next I airbrushed the entire model in a layer of satin varnish to knock back the sheen to a more scale accurate level. As well as to seal in the weathering and to prep the surface for the final stage of weathering.

subtle dust and dirt pigment applied to the top.

heavier dust, dirt and sand pigments applied to the bottom.

weathered the landing gear.

weathered the propeller.

    It was now time for more weathering. The satin varnish gives an ideal surface to use pigments and that's what I did. I did a bit of weathering on the top trailing edges of the main wings and tail plane. 

    The bottom I wanted to look like this Spitfire has seen a few sorties, so I applied significantly more, especially to areas closest to the ground. I also added some dust and dirt pigments to the landing gear and propeller. 

Final assembly and chipping

added a decent amount of chipping to the Spitfire.

added some chipping to Bf 109.

    Next, I glued in place all the remaining parts, then proceeded to add some chipping to the Spitfire. And as mentioned at the end of my Bf 109 build I wasn't really done with it, so I brought it back to the bench so it can also receive the chipping treatment.

length of sprue cut.

a lighter joined the party.

stretched sprue was created.

    The next task was to cut a length of sprue to make some stretched sprue which will be used as radio wire on both aircraft. The way to make stretched sprue, is to heat a piece of sprue until it becomes soft, then pull on both ends to stretch it. WARNING: MELTED PLASTIC AND SKIN DON'T GO WELL TOGETHER. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WHEN YOU ATTEMPT THIS FOR YOURSELF.

    I probably should have filmed this to show you the actual process but I forgot. I'll try to remember the next time I'll need to make stretched sprue. 

Finished model

antenna wire added

front quarter view.

front view.

top view.

    And that is the Revell Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V in 1/72 scale done. Whist it won't win any awards, I'm still very happy with the result. I was a bit nervous doing the free-hand camo, but once I got going it was quite enjoyable. I still need to work on the technique, but for a first attempt, I'd say it worked out quite well. 

Conclusion

Spitfire and Bf 109 side by side comparison, top view.

side view.

another top view.

    This build was quite a lot of fun. There were some frustrations along the way, some caused by me others by the kit. But overall the build was really enjoyable. And the final product came out looking really good. I genuinely enjoyed my time with this kit. And I'm sure that in more capable hands this would look even better. But even with how my Spitfire turned out, I'll happily give it a prominent space on my shelf.

Final thoughts

    Despite some hick-ups, the kit came together really nicely. I had a great time at the bench with it. There were some small fitment issues, but nothing a bit of sanding can't solve. The tooling for the Spitfire were made back in 1996, which explains the amount of flash present. That still doesn't excuse the state of the canopy.

    With that said, this is a very good first model. It comes together beautifully with little fuss. Part count is also fairly low so there's not a lot of gluing required. If you want a more modern tooling, that's also cheap, Revell have released a new tooling of the Spitfire in 2016. Although that one is for the Mk. II a. But there are Mk. Vs available from the likes of Tamiya and Academy, and perhaps a few other manufacturers.

    That's about it for now. For the next build we'll stay in WWII but we are going to the Pacific theater where we'll build the most iconic warbird to come from the Land of the Rising Sun. It will be about a month or so, before that model will be ready, however. In the mean time there will be a few more reviews and guides released in the weeks leading to that build.

    I hope you found this article enjoyable and useful. If you have any suggestions or thoughts feel free to leave it in the comments. Click on the follow button so you get notified of future article releases. Also, consider sharing this blog if you think someone might find it helpful. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy modeling, everyone. Cheers! 😁