1:32 Spitfire Mk.I early part 4 - RAF Aces 1940

Spring 1940, the last months before the great test

In the spring of 1940 British fighter aviation looked different from a year before. The aircraft already carried wartime camouflage, the roundels had been simplified and an armor plate behind the pilot had been added to the equipment. Even so, the fighting that made the type famous had not yet taken place. It is exactly this in-between time that the trio of markings captures.

Two of the options given belong to units stationed at the Drem base in East Lothian, that is in Scotland, where squadrons took turns guarding the approaches to the Firth of Forth. They are machines of No. 609 Squadron from March and No. 602 Squadron from April 1940. The third aircraft, serial K9843, flew with No. 54 Squadron at Hornchurch at the start of the same year and represents the typical state of a southern English unit before the fighting over the Channel began.

For a builder it is above all the difference in wear that is interesting. The Scottish machines spent the winter in harsh weather and their finish matched that, whereas the Hornchurch aircraft was in sharper use but in a milder climate. This difference can be shown on a model through the degree of soiling, without changing a single decal.

The recommended procedure is first to cut the part out close to the artwork and to rid it of the surplus film. The narrower the edge left, the less will show once dry. On the convex surfaces of the cowling, repeated wetting and gentle pressure with a cotton swab work well.

The sheet is intended for 1:32 scale and holds three separate variants.

Anyone building several machines from one line will appreciate that the individual sheets do not overlap and that each brings different periods and different units. Together they cover the path from the first years of peace to the spring when the war over the British Isles was beginning.