Airfix 1:72 Spitfire Mk IXc - 2 Seater Trainer Conversion -

The Spitfire is tied for my Favorite plane of all time! (Tied with the B-17) Over the years I've been adding to a collection of these kits, largely helped by my Dad. But I'm always on the look out for odd balls.  There's only 1 rule to my Spitfire Collection, they have to be 72nd scale. Sure I build 48th and 32nd Spitfires, even a 24th scale black sheep Spitfire. But for my collection they need to be 72nd scale.

Rob @ Basicmodelling was kind enough to supply me with a very unique "Messerspitt" that I hope to build someday soon, It will be a unique addition to the collection. But one Spitfire I've wanted to build for a few years now was a Twin Seater Trainer Spitfire.  Late Spitfires were usually converted into these unusual birds. The guns were taken out to compensate for the weight of an extra Pilot in the back. And another Bubble canopy was added making the conversion a fairly easy task for the RAF. There is also another variant of trainer that I'll need to add where the bubble top Canopy is raised higher giving the instructor in the back a better view.

However for this build I kept it all simple. I had built this Spitfire years ago when it was first released. I built the JE-J version, and was surprised to find that this kit doesn't include the D-Day Stripe Decals. however the decal sheet seems to be a much nicer quality (Cartograph) Also the kit seems to have more detail added, and the overall kit seems for defined and precise, or maybe that's just me I still haven't decided.  I took the Decals from Zvezda's 1:200 Li-2 or a Russian C-47/DC-3. I thought they had white borders around the Red stars but that was the carrier film :/ So I replaced them with another set I was saving and used them on the tail and fuselage.  Another thing different formthe original release of the kit is the inclusion of 2 yes 2 canopies 8O Yes, it's like Airfix wanted me to build this variant and gave me that extra canopy. For more of the build check out the link toy my Youtube page bellow. I'm really happy with the final result. I built it under 48 hours, and I'm really contemplating building another one soon, but with a more colorful paint scheme.

Youtube Video:

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oi1yY1IoVA&list=UU2cpe3DtJgg98EsJkTe2rJA

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clGG59miYfM&list=UU2cpe3DtJgg98EsJkTe2rJA