1:72 Spitfire Mk.II SPACE IBG

A cockpit the pilots praised

Inside the Spitfire it was cramped, but the arrangement of the workstation was among the best of its day. The control column ended in the characteristic half-hoop grip with the trigger in the middle, to the left lay the pair of throttle and mixture levers, and above the panel sat a reflector gunsight. The seat of pressed resin material was light and inexpensive, so it could be made outside the aviation plants, and a four-point harness held the pilot in it. In this form the Mk.II reached the squadrons in the autumn of 1940 and spent the following year above all over the English Channel on offensive sorties; when the Mk.V replaced it in the front line, the machines that had served out their time were taken over by training units.

Detail without a brush

Fitting out a cockpit like that at a small scale is work for long evenings. The set offers a shortcut: the individual elements are printed in layers on backing decal paper, have an edge in relief and coloring matching the subject. They have no adhesive layer of their own: with a damp sponge and a drop of dish soap you moisten only the backing paper, lift the element off with tweezers and attach it with PVA glue (white glue) straight onto the sides and the bulkhead. The result is legible even under a glazed canopy, where at 1:72 nothing at all can usually be made out.

A few pieces of advice in closing

The sides are cleared of molded relief before gluing, otherwise the element will not seat straight. The maker does not recommend super glue, and do not use a decal softener or a decal setting solution, as the chemicals would attack the printed resin. Work in good light; the pieces are small and their edges bend easily. The finished interior is best oversprayed with a matte varnish, so the sheen of the printing does not stand apart from its surroundings.