Czech Master Resin's 1/72 scale
Spitfire F.22 / F.24

by Bernie Hengst

CMR's 1/72 scale Spitfire F.22 / F.24 is available online from Squadron.com

Earlier this year a friend gave me the CMR Supermarine Spitfire F.22 / F.24 resin Kit. Compared to the Dekno Kit of the Bellanca 28-70 that he gave me some years ago this kit from the Czech Republic is absolutely beautifully moulded with very precise detail, fine recessed panel lines and very few (10) air holes. I was impressed.

The parts are carefully packed in small groups and sealed in individual plastic bags. This protects them from damage in transit. Also separately packed were two vacuformed canopies. Three and four spoke wheels and two different sets of tail planes are supplied, as well as two sets of rockets for the F.22 or F.24 versions.

The instruction sheet consists of two pages in A4 format showing the construction sequence and also the differences for the F.22 and F.24 versions that can be built. Five further sheets cover paint schemes and markings for two RAF and one Syrian A.F. F.22 and one RAF F.24 and one for the RHAAF. The decal sheet from Tally Ho is beautifully printed and the decals I used for my model settled down without using any decal solution. The decal sheet comes with a separate instruction sheet showing the placement for the large number of stencils.

Before I received the kit, I had purchased Air Enthusiast No.127, Jan. / Feb. 2007 and the magazine had a short report with a number of colour photos about Spitfire F.24s in service with the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force. I decided to build the model as one of the RHAAF aircraft.

 

Using a fine razor saw I cut the parts from the moulding blocks and cleaned them up using a X-acto knife for scraping, fine emery boards and different grades of sand paper. Only the gun barrels, exhaust stacks, propeller blades and some very fine cockpit parts were left on their casting blocks. (Picture 1) All of this took less than two hours.

The cockpit parts were assembled using Cyanoacrylate and the assembly was attached to the starboard fuselage. The cockpit and the centre wing section were sprayed with ModelMaster RAF Interior Green. After some dry brushing the fuselage sides were glued together using superglue. After setting for 30 minutes the seam was carefully sanded and the one-piece wing was glued to the fuselage and the air intake was also added. All the joints were filled with thick superglue and after approximately one hour lightly sanded. Any fine air holes were enlarged with a # 70 drill and filled with a tiny drop of thin superglue. Small cutouts were made on the leading edge wing tips and clear green and red section cut from toothbrush handles were glued in place. Before I put the model away for the night all the seams got a light brushing with Mr. Surfacer 500 to find and fill any imperfections.

The next day the seams and pinholes were carefully sanded with progressively finer grades of emery. The wing tip position light were filed to an approximate shape and finished off by sanding. The assembled radiators, pre-painted and masked on the inside were added to the lower wings.

I drilled the holes for the guns on the leading edge of the wings a little deeper and dry-fitted the gun barrels. The instruction drawings show the Spitfire F.24 of the RHKAAF with the long barrels, but after studying the photos in the Air Enthusiast magazine I went with the short barrels. I filed the front’s flush; drilled out the tips out so that later, when the model was completed small pieces of stretched Q-Tip handles can be inserted as gun muzzles. I now glued the gun barrels to the wing leading edge.

Next the tail surfaces were glued to the fuselage and the seams thinly covered with Mr. Surfacer 500.
The cockpit was finished by installing the painted rudder pedals, control column, seat, headrest and gun sight, the later was completed by a small square of thin, clear plastic.

The canopy, previously brushed on the inside with Future, was cut out, the edges carefully sanded until it fitted properly. It was then attached with white gluedl

The propeller blades were removed from the casting block and cleaned up, the same was done to the propeller hub and the back plate. The hub and the back plate were glued together, making sure they lined up properly. The propeller hub was stuck onto a toothpick and the propeller blades held by clothes pegs ready for priming.
 

The next day the seams on the tail surfaces were sanded and short pieces of toothpicks were pushed into the holes for the main and tail landing gears. All the landing gear doors were stuck to masking tape fixed to wooden stir sticks, wheels stuck on toothpicks, the tail wheel assembly held by a self-closing pair of tweezers and the main landing gear legs held on the axle stubs by cloths pegs. After masking the canopy and the wing tip lights with Tamiya tape the model was primed. I use Tamiya primer, siphoned from the can, in the airbrush. For the silver Spitfire I used the white primer.

After drying over night the model and the separate small parts were checked, problem areas lightly sanded with fine sand paper and touched up with white primer. Six hour later the complete model was polished using Master Casters polishing sticks. All but the propeller hub were airbrushed with Tamiya AS-12 Silver. This paint is again siphoned from the can and thinned with Sherwin-Williams lacquer thinner before being sprayed onto the model and all the small parts. The Propeller blade tips were sprayed with Model Master Insignia Yellow FS 33538. When dry the tips were masked and the blades sprayed flat black. The main landing gear legs were sprayed Pactra steel. The propeller hub rear was masked and the front sprayed Humbrol matt red # 60.

In preparation for the decal application the model was given a coat of Floquil Crystal Cote and left to dry for 24 hours. The decals settled down with out setting solution and after the roundels, codes, fin flashes and serial numbers had been applied I let the model sit for a day to allow the decals to dry completely before applying the multitude of stencils.

The main landing gear legs, the wheels and the gear doors were installed as well as the tail wheel and its doors. After the pitot tube was added the model received a very light weathering with dark grey pastel powder to add some depth to some of the panel and hinge lines on the rudders, flaps and ailerons. A small amount exhaust staining was applied to the fuselage and the model sprayed with a semi matt mixture of Floquil Crystal Cote and Floquil Matt. This was left to dry for a couple of days before the anti-glare panel was masked and sprayed matt black. The exhaust stacks, drilled out and painted with a mixture of Humbrol Rust and Gloy Steel were now glued in with white glue and the gun muzzles, painted gun metal, installed into the gun tubes. At this time I also installed the propeller with a small amount of white glue. The tail position light received a tiny trop of white gloss paint.

The masking from the canopy and the wing tip position lights was removed and a whip antenna, made from stretched sprue, installed on the top fuselage.

The model was finished, and after taking a few pictures, it made its one and only flight into the showcase.

Building this model was a real pleasure and gave me a new perspective on resin models.

Thanks to Bill and Petr from CMR.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images: 

Model, Images & Text Copyright © 2007 by Bernie Hengst
Page Created 26 November, 2007
Last Updated 24 December, 2007

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