Airfix 1/72 Spitfire Mk.22 Review

Elm City Hobbies

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Well I have had this kit sitting here for a week or so, and people wondering how the new tooled Airfix kits look, so I figured I would do a review of it.

001Box-vi.jpg


The kit consists of 4 sprues, 3 in Grey (45 parts), one in clear (5 parts), with markings for 3 different versions.

Sprue A
002SprueA-vi.jpg

Consists of one of the fuselage halves, landing gear, wheels, guns, cockpit, spinner

Sprue B
003SprueB-vi.jpg

Other fuselage half, pilot, propeller

Sprue C
004SprueC-vi.jpg

Wing uppers, lower wing, tailplanes

Clear Sprue
005ClearSprue-vi.jpg

2 Canopies, one for close canopy, and 2 parts for open canopy

Closeup of the lower wing
006LowerWingCloseup-vi.jpg

Upper Wing closeup
007UpperWingCloseup-vi.jpg

Landing gear bay closeup
008GearBayCloseup-vi.jpg

Fuselage Closeup
009FuselageCloseup-vi.jpg


Cockpit side detail closeup
010CockpitSidewallCloseup-vi.jpg

Main Gear Door detail closeup
011LandingGearDoorCloseup-vi.jpg

Decals
012Decals-vi.jpg

Instruction Sheets, don't mind my hen scratching...Aifix kits only have Humbrol color codes for painting, so I wrote in what I need for Vallejo

013InstructionsPg1-vi.jpg

014InstructionsPg3-vi.jpg

015InstructionsPg4-vi.jpg

Painting and Decaling options:

016InstructionsPg5-vi.jpg
No.603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron, Royal Air Force, RAF Turnhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1051

017InstructionsPg6-vi.jpg
No.607 (County of Durham) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, RAF Ouston, England, as well as an option for the same plane that took part in the Cooper Trophy race of 1948.

Over all, this is a very nice kit. For something that is normally a much simpler kit which Airfix small scale kits generally tend to be. 50 parts total (which for a 1/72 WWII fighter isn't too shabby), so nothing that will intimidate new modelers. Details are pretty good, nicely engraved detail on the wings and fuselage. Yes the cockpit is simplified, and the instrument panel is a decal, but at 1/72, it is tiny anyway, and if you put the pilot in and close the canopy, you aren't going to see much of the cockpit anyway. For those that like to superdetail the cockpit, or use an aftermarket cockpit, I have no doubts that someone like Aires will be coming out with one eventually, another company to look at if you want an aftermarket cockpit is Pavla. As well I wouldn't be surprised to see aftermarket wheels for it eventually as well from either of those manufacturers.

Looking at the instructions it seems to be a fairly straight forward build, and I don't foresee any any problems in building this.

Look for an in progress build on this kit in the 46+ Group Build. The Mk.22 never saw action in WWII, coming too late for combat, so it fits very nicely into this group build!!

On the initial look, and that the kit is the paltry sum of $7.50 Canadian, you just can't go wrong with this kit, and I would give this kit 4 sprues out of 5 for a rating!
 
Nice looking little kit. The thing I like (outside of the price) is that Airfix includes a pilot with most of their aircraft kits. I think that's a nice touch if you're inclined to including a pilot.

Thanks for the review Scott.
 
And Airfix also will sell you a stand to put your aircraft on to show off in flying mode. Think they come in singles, doubles and one that is either 5 or 6...can't remember.

With this kit...the interior isn't bad, other than the decal instrument panel, but it is so small and with the pilot on it, you are going to see much looking through the glass anyway.
 

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