If you did tell me what steps you went to getting it perfect[:D]
There are an overabundance of 1/48 spits by hasegawa, for certain. Other companies, I’m not sure but you can check out www.squadron.com and type in 1/48 spitfire and find out. I’m about 85% done with their mark IXc, and I’ve been very pleased. Very little fit problems, only minor amounts of putty. The hasegawa directions are easy as always, and the paint scheme was simple to follow. I haven’t put the decals on yet so I’ll hold judgement on that until later. The kit recommended painting medium sea gray on the bottom, ocean gray for one of the top colors, and olive (I think) for the other top color. All MM enamels. Scale effect on the colors made it turn out slightly differently than on the box, but I’m going to try to fix that with weathering. It will be a few weeks before I’m done with it b/c I am only able to work on it for about 1 hour at a time. Hope this helps.
I built a Monogram one about 25 yaren ago. I doubt they even produce that kit now! 
Believe me, it was far from perfect![:p] - Calvin
One suggestion is to try the airfix Seafire 47. It’s a pretty good kit straight from the box and the contra props make for something a little different. As the final incarnation of the Spitfire lineage it makes a good counterpoint to ww2 spitties.
I have build the hi-tech version of the old airfix Mk. V. I found the SAM modellers datafile on merlin engined Spitfires a very good reference. It includes ever thing you want as a modeller, a bit of history, (scale) drawings, walk arounds, profiles etc.
I’ve built the 1990’s issue of the Hasegawa Mk. Vc and loved it. Goes together really well, no fit issues and pretty easy to research. Did mine up in US 31st FG markings.
I just finished the Tamiya Mk.1 spitfire a few weeks ago. It’s a very nice kit, no fit problems at all. I used Gunze acrylics on it, and most of the decals were Aeromaster ones. If you want to add a bit of extra detail, try a resin or photo-etch set. I used an Eduard one on mine, it includes the flaps and alot of cockpit and external details.
Here’s a pic of it:
I second mpatric…go with Hasegawa. You’ll find plenty of kits at squadron, plus most of the aftermarket parts as well. If you get a nice Hasegawa though, the kit will include
positionalbe flaps, PE parts, and great decals…I used Model Master enamels on mine. They have a whole line on British or RAF/ANA colors.
I believe I built the Mark Vb.
Enjoy,
Tank
[^][:D] I built the Tamiya 1/48 Mk1 two years ago and it went togeather very well, nice fit, superb detail out of the box. I used Eudaurd"s (?) photoetch, resin bulged (weighted) tires. You can get it all from squadron or VP productions (both are good companies in my experiance). You won’t go wrong with the Tamiya or Hasagawea. Your significant others will like it better too, cut down on cuss words. (#@!&^% wing root gap!!!)
G.L.
I don’t know if the kit’s decals are good… but you can try the 1/48 Academy Spifire Mk XIVe, I know that it’s a good kit…
I recommend the Hobby Craft Seafire.
In order to get it “perfect”, I just had to use the typical glue, tape, and rubber bands, as well as some Testors’ Model Masters paints with fine sandpaper. I didn’t need putty or anything like that.
The wing root fit was very good (unlike Monogram’s) and there is “curl” you need to add to the tang sticking out from the wing bottom to fill a gap in the fuselage. For that, I waited until the glue set for the main wing, then bent it, and glued it into place using Ambriod’s Plastic Welder, holding it with rubber bands. It left no gaps or anything.
It comes with a nice set of decals for more then one seafire version, so if you mess up one set, you don’t need to re-paint or anything, you just use the others you didn’t mess up yet!
Tom [C):-)]
[:D]
Everyone… [;)] [:)]
Frank
G’day,
Having built several 48 scale Spitfire’ s and experimented with a conversion of 2 types, using 3 differnt kits, with or without AM decals, the pix below are what I’ve built over the years.
Made from the Hasegawa Mk IXc and used Tasman decals.
Made from the older ARRI kit and using AeroMaster decals:- this model was built about 10 years ago and is now in the hands of the RAAF’s Officer Training School.
A wartime photo of a Mk VIII Spitfire as Flown by the RAAF in the Pacific, this aircraft is overall Foliage Green over RAAF Light aircraft Grey and apart from being polished was tuned to maximum performance in combat, hence the extensive exhaust staining.
Made from the Tamiya Mk Vb kit and with AeroMaster decals deplicting the aircraft flown by Don Gentle.
Mede from the Tamiya Mk I and built by Glen Hambleton [aka 150man], the junior founding member of Scale Magic.
Made from the Tamiya series but converted into a Mk II B as used in limited numbers during the Battle of Britian:- this is and it’s sister are made by using the Mk V kit wings to the Mk I fuselage, by adopting the Mk I wing to the Mk V fuselage will make a Mk V a version. sadly the Mk Va and Mk II b birds together is missing from my photo’s.
All of these have gone together without vices and very little filler, all have been airbrushed freehand and a couple are incompleted models.
I hope these help in some way.
I’ve only made two Spitfires at the moment, I have several in the stash to make though. I made the Hasegawa MKVIII but replaced the fueslage with the Loon MKVIII correction to make a RAAF MkVIII as used in the pacific. The other is the Acadamy MkXIVe made straight from the box. I used Red Roo Models decals for an Australian acft used in Europe in 1946. The kit decals in the Academy effort are not too good to use (ie crap).
For 1/48 Spits, there is no doubt in my mind that ICM’s kits are the best and most complete straight from the box.
They take a bit of care getting together, but thats only because there are no alignment devices molded in.
The Engines are kits in themselves and put many of the aftermarket Merlins to shame.
The cockpits are some of the most complete I’ve seen straight from the box
You also get all the control surfaces molded seperately so there’s no hacking and cutting to do.
The best about them is the price. With an ICM kit you can get nearly twice the detail of the Hasegawa kit at about half the cost.
If you want a near to perfect Spit without having to shell out for more aftermarket than say decals and maybe a vac formed replacement canopy. ICM is the way to go.