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 Spitfire Mk Vb "Gleed"1/48thScale
Kit: Tamiya TM61035 Supermarine Spitfire Vb, with a choice of pointed or clipped wings and Aboukir or Vokes filter.
Wheels: True Details TD48018 Spitfire Mk I through Mk X Wheel set.
Canopy Frames: Fast Frame
Decals: Hasegawa 		References:
Aircraft in Action No 39 Spitfire, Squadron Signal Publications, Jerry Scutts,
Osprey: OS1016 ACES 16: Spitfire Mk V Aces, 1941-45
Tamiya Model Magazine:Jun/Jul 1994, p.16 		Sangyo Gunze Acrylic Grey-Green FS34226
MAH070 Middle Stone FS30266
MAH071 Dark Earth FS30118
MAH072 Azure Blue FS35231
MAH025

When deciding to add a Spitfire Mk V to my collection, I was faced with the happy task of choosing between two excellent kits, one from Hasegawa and one from Tamiya. Both of these kits have the specific attributes that I look for in a kit: accuracy, multi-piece canopy that can be built open or closed, quality decals and last, but not least ­ recessed panel lines. color="#cccccc">.Since I wanted to build an aircraft in the North African Mid-Stone and Dark Earth scheme I was immediately drawn to Hasegawa's HE52602 I.R.GLEED kit, but I really liked the Tamiya kit's option of a separate cockpit door that I would not have cut out in order to build it in an open position. Being the ham-fisted "kit builder" that I am, any time I start cutting, I take a chance on screwing up the kit. What to do? Build the Tamiya kit using decals from the Hasegawa kit. Expensive? Not really, since I'm not throwing the Hasegawa kit into the trash, just using the decals. I will build the Hasegawa kit later, perhaps in a European scheme of Ocean Gray and Dark Green. Wing Leader Ian R Gleed's aircraft was fitted with an Aboukir filter and was flown by Gleed on some 35 missions during the campaign in Tunisia. Gleed was shot down and killed in this aircraft on 16 April 1943. Gleed's final score was 13 aerial kills. The Kit:
I washed each sprue with dish washing detergent. While the sprues dried, I studied the instructions and my references. The Osprey book has two excellent in-flight photos of IR*G, as well as a photo of Wing Leader Ian Gleed standing by his aircraft and a full color side view of IR*G. color="#cccccc" size="3">. The Spitfire In Action contains numerous detailed photos of the Spitfire. Following the steps in the instructions I began working on the cockpit. The Tamiya kit has an excellently detailed cockpit. The British interior color I used was Gunze MAH070 (lightened with 25% white). I used a wash of testors black (10% color and 90% thinner) then highlighted raised areas with Grey-Green lightened even further. The effectiveness of this three color technique can be seen on the open cockpit side door. I painted the instrument panel black and then lightly dry brushed it with white paint to bring up the various instruments. After the white dried I used red and yellow to highlight certain instruments. The Tamiya instructions provide a good reference for painting the interior. For those not wishing to paint the instrument panel, Hasegawa has provided an excellent instrument panel decal. I sprayed the interior of the fuselage sides Grey-Green and then with lightened Grey-Green I brush painted the surface of the side wall ribbing to highlight it and then used a wash to bring out the framing, after which I painted the black boxes.
Holding the fuselage sides together by with masking tape and hands I dry fitted the cockpit into the fuselage ­ a perfect fit. Using Tenax-7R I then glued the fuselage sides together. The fit was good, no need for filling, only a little sanding. However, the lines across the spine had to be re-scribed. It is a good idea to anticipate where sanding is going to remove the recessed lines and re-scribe these lines before sanding. Using Tenax 7R I assembled the wings. The decision now must be made whether the clipped wing version or the pointed wing version is to be modeled. Since I was doing I R Gleed's machine I installed the clipped wing tips. And immediately re-scribed the few panel lines that crossed the leading edge before using sanding sticks to smooth out the leading edge joints. The fit of the wing assembly to the fuselage required only slight filling and sanding on the bottom rear joint. When the wing to fuselage joints were dry I prepared for painting by washing the entire model with dish washing detergent and let it dry. Painting began by airbrushing the upper surface with Middlstone, slightly over sizing the approximate camouflage pattern. When the Middle Stone was completely dry, using Tamiya masking tape I masked it off leaving the the exact pattern to be sprayed with Dark Earth. As soon as possible after the Dark Earth was sprayed, I pulled off the masking tape. I have found that when paint is allowed to dry before masking tape is removed, the painted edge can be a bit ragged, so it is best to pull masking tape off before paint dries completely. After thoroughly dry, the upper surface browns were masked off and the lower surfaces were airbrushed with Azure Blue and set aside to thoroughly dry. Between coats of paint and drying time I worked on the smaller parts and subassemblies. While the Tamiya kit wheels are satisfactory I prefer using True Details wheels with flattened and bulged tires. The kit supplies both open and closed wheel hubs and calls for closed wheel hubs on the desert aircraft. However, while examining photos of desert based Spitfires I found more open faced wheel hubs than wheels with closed faced wheel hubs. So I decided to use the TD wheels with open faced wheel hubs (both open faced and closed face are available). First the hubs were sprayed with dark gray and then dry brushed with Testors silver to give them a metallic used look. When the hubs were dry I applied Fast Masks to them and airbrushed the tires with AeroMaster Tire Black. The deep crevice between the hub and tires also makes for ease in brush painting the tire after the hub has been sprayed.
The Tamiya interior is beautifully done, and while you can always add an extra lever or bit of wiring, all I added were True Details photo etched seat belts. The red on the door handle warns against inadvertent use. The kit wheels were replaced with True Details wheels that have flattened and bulged tires. After masking the wheel hubs with Fast Masks the tires were sprayed with AeroMaster Tire Black.
Fast Frames provides the straight clean lines on a canopy that I find difficult to get with masking tape. The Spitfire Fast Frames set has material for two canopies. They are not decals and the instructions should be followed carefully. The cockpit side door is a separate piece and, when open allows an excellent view of the cockpit.
 
 
To obtain a clean even line on the canopy framing I used Fast Frames TD41002. Following the instructions I first painted the clear plastic with Grey Green the interior color and then with Middlestone the exterior color. Following the instructions before the paint had a chance to completely dry on the Fast Frames I lifted surrounding masking off the backing sheet surrounding the painted canopy frame. Then I carefully pulled up the painted frame and dipped it in water and transferred the painted frame to the canopy. Fast Frames are not decals, the water is only used to create surface tension, allowing the frames' position to be adjusted. After squeezing the water from between the painted frames which allows the adhesive to set. I put the canopy pieces aside until final assembly.
British colors were sprayed onto aircraft and had somewhat soft edges. However, in 1/48 scale the colors would appear to have sharp demarcation lines. All colors have been lightened by 25% to create what is known as Scale Effect. Unlike most aircraft, Wing Leader Ian R Gleed's personal markings of Figaro the cat destroying a swastika appeared on the starboard side of the aircraft.

When the paint on the fuselage/wing assembly was thoroughly dry I over sprayed a coat of Future Acrylic floor polish to provide a glossy finish for the decals. I used the Hasegawa decals for Wing Leader Gleed's individual aircraft markings and Tamiya decals for the national markings. To insure that the camouflage color does bleed through the roundel colors Tamiya has provided a white decal disc to be applied underneath the roundels and a white rectangle to be applied under the fin flashes. It works extremely well. Using the Micro Scale system the decals snuggled down beautifully with no thickness and no silvering. Blue decal patches were applied over the machine gun openings on the leading edge of the wings. When the decals were dry I over sprayed the entire assembly with a thin protective coat of FUTURE and allowedthe aircraft to dry. One of the things I have always liked about Hasegawa kits were the the decals ­ Hasegawa's attention to detail in their decals. Hasegawa was one of the first major manufacturer to offer all of the little writing on their kit decals. Many other manufacturers now include comprehensive decal sheets in their kits, but Hasegawa was one of the first and remains one of the best.
When the decals are dry I use a finishing technique I modified from an article in the July 1990 issued of FineScale Modeler by Rusty White titled "Drawing Aircraft Panel Lines With A Pencil." After the decals are applied and are dry the entire model is sprayed with a a coat of Aeromaster AN1003 Flat Finish and allowed to dry over night. When the Flat Finish is hard I use a KOH-I-NOOR RAPIDOMATIC mechanical pencil with soft .03mm lead to pencil in each of the recessed panel lines. Rusty White gave several very important tips: Always use a sharp point, and pull the pencil toward you, never push it. Also as you pull the pencil twist the pencil at the same time. The twisting keeps the point sharpened and uniform on even the longest lines. Apart from the panel lines, I also use the graphite to smudge in engine exhaust and gunpowder stains. A final coat of Flat Finish must be applied to dull the metallic shine of the graphite. One of the best features of this technique is that mistakes can be corrected with an eraser. Final assembly can be completed when the final coat of Flat finish has dried. JLC
The penciled panel lines add a look that I could not get with any other method and mistakes can usually be easily corrected with an eraser.