1:32 Spitfire Mk.I early part 3 - RAF 1939

The year 1939 on British airfields

The last year of peace was a period of rapid growth for British fighter aviation. New squadrons were re-equipping, pilots were gathering hours on machines they had known barely a few weeks, and on the grass stood aircraft still in a form the war later wiped away. This sheet captures a trio of such Spitfires.

The first is a machine from the squadron based at Duxford from the beginning of 1939, that is from the unit that received the type first of all. The second aircraft, serial K9938, served in April 1939 with No. 72 Squadron at Church Fenton in North Yorkshire. The third belonged to No. 41 Squadron at the Catterick base and is captured in the spring of the same year.

What is interesting about this line-up is precisely the geographical spread. Two of the three units guarded the northeast coast, that is the area attacked in the first months of the war by raids on naval targets. A model built from this sheet therefore does not represent a machine from the Battle of Britain but an aircraft from an entirely different phase of service.

Working with the decals is straightforward. After cutting out, the part is soaked, left to rest until the film releases from the backing, and transferred onto a smooth gloss surface. A decal softener will help in the places where the markings cross riveted seams or the edges of panels.

This is a standalone sheet for 1:32 scale; the kit and the paints have to be added to your own choice.

The trio of schemes on one sheet also allows combinations: two machines can be built and the third kept for a later build, because the individual variants share no common part.