In 1954, the British Government agreed to sell 20 of the then obsolete Spitfire Mk.22 aircraft to the Syrian Air Force. References are scant, but it’s believed that they were delivered in the standard RAF desert scheme of Dark Earth/Midstone/Azure with Syrian national markings. The service history of these aircraft is unknown, but it’s known that all remaining aircraft were destroyed on the ground by Isreali air attacks during the early stage of the Six Day War in 1967.
When Eduard released a limited run kit using the venerable Airfix 1/48 kit with lots of added PE & Resin detail goodies, I knew I had to add one to my collection of Spitfires.
The build was OOB, but that included a color PE fret from Eduard & one of the new “Master Class” resin detail sets from Aires. The build turned out to be a major PIA as the fuselage halves were terribly warped (twisted). Attempts to get replacements from Eduard were in vain, so I foolishly decided to soldier on. The warped fuselage also caused major fit problems with the resin interior & caused major gaps at the wing/fuselage join. I very nearly binned this one several times in frustration, but preservered & eventually got an acceptable finished model. Won’t enter it in any competitions, but it looks OK as a shelf sitter & makes an interesting add to my Spitfire collection.
Outstanding build Rick! I am working on an Airfix Mk.46 right now, and understand your woes. Can I ask you how you masked the leading edge of the wing and the cannon barrels?
Tanky, Arki, Mark… Thanks guys, appreciate your comments.
Tanky, Thanks for the suggestion, but my wife refuses to let me use her tablecloths as a background. You’re Mom is much more understanding [:D].
Mark, I don’t know whether all of these kits had the warped fuselage problem, but I’ve seen at least two build reviews that mentioned it. Take a close look at yours, I didn’t notice it until the first attempt at dry fitting.
Mine was a little warped, but was able to straighten it carefully. The canopy on mine was really bad, front had a crack down the center and the rear sliding portion suffered an imcomplete fill. Squadron vacuform and Tango1 to the rescue! [:D]
Frank, mine was considerably more than a little warped & was a major PIA to get it glued together reasonably staright. The line down the center of the windscreen is not a crack, it’s a mold flaw that I’ve seen on most other Airfix Spits. Mine had the same problem & the same solution.
I really don’t like doing this. It’s a very nice model but not how it left Vickers. They received an order for 20 Mk 22s in 1953 and delivery began in 1954. They were supplemented by a further 10 in 1955 obtained from the Royal Rhodesian Air Force. The first batch received serials in the 501 - 520 range but it is not known what serials the ex-RRAF were given. They were painted all over Speed Silver with polished spinners 34 inch roundels in six positions and 30 inch flash on the fin with Arabic serial number above. Black anti-dazzle panel on the upper cowling. Almost identical to the 19 (20 ordered) Mk 22 delivered to Egypt in 1950. Maybe the Syrians repainted them?
well done Rick! after reading your post and viewing your pics, it becomes obvious that you have vast knowledge and skill, if you had fit problems I’d never know…your seems are immpecable. wonderful paint too… thanks for sharing! mark
