1:72 Supermarine Seafire (wet decals)

The Spitfire that learned to land on a ship

When the Royal Navy was looking for a carrier fighter able to face contemporary opponents, it reached for the best it had at hand. Adding an arrestor hook, local strengthening and later folding wings turned the Spitfire into the Seafire. The airplane kept its speed and rate of climb, but the narrow landing gear track and the long nose forgave little when landing on a deck and the accident rate was high. Even so the machines proved themselves at the landings in North Africa and at Salerno and served until the end of the war in the Pacific.

The range of machines offered

The list covers three generations of the type. The Mk Ib form is represented by machines modified by Air Service Training in 1942 and by aircraft of No. 761, No. 731 and No. 885 Squadrons from the deck of the Formidable, including an example in an overall blue finish used by the commander of one of the units. The middle group consists of Mk IIc machines of No. 801, No. 807, No. 834 and No. 899 Squadrons from the Furious, the Battler, the Hunter and the Indomitable in 1943. The last group is the Mk III of 1944 and 1945, among them an aircraft from the Khedive in the Aegean Sea, a machine from the Indefatigable off Okinawa in April 1945 and an example from the Hunter in the Strait of Malacca with white bands for Southeast Asia.

Recommendations for the work

Apply the squadron code letters and the bands only once the varnish has dried completely, so that the film does not ripple. The package holds a printed sheet; the airplane has to be obtained separately. The blue naval shades changed quickly over time on the decks, so it is worth comparing the chosen scheme with a period photograph before the build. Seat the smaller lettering with tweezers and blot the excess water away.