Completed Build - PM Model 1/72 Spitfire mk.Vb Floatplane (With a Twist)

Okay so this is the last of my updates intended to get this blog up to date with my completed builds. 

It's this kit, PM Models (From Turkey) 1/72 Spitfire Floatplane...

Now this is a blooming awful kit. The base Spitfire is (If I Recall Correctly) an ancient FROG kit from the 1950s/60s with no interior or gull wing. PM models added the floats, but they don't fit well and are the wrong shape even if they did (the floats are too far forward) - if you want an accurate model of the Spitfire Floatplane, this isn't it. 

However, I had something completely different in mind for this build. 

It all started on Fathers day in 2023, when my daughter wrote me a steampunk style short story about an off the wall RAF Pilot 'Eccentric Ernst' and his Tern Sidekick 'Sandwich', that use a old reclimed Spitfire Floatplane, nicknamed 'the Red Herring' (after Ernst painted it red) to go off in search of a Clockwork Kraken - awesome! 

So having read it, how could I not build it! And that's were this cheap and nasty PM Model's kit came in - mainly because I couldn't find the much better Brengun kit. 

To begin with, I knocked up a basic interior, as the kit had none, so that I could fit a pilot. 

 And painted the pilot - 'Eccentric Ernst' himself.

And got the kit put together in quick order, and to be fair, as much as this is a cheap and nasty kit, I really enjoyed it - by far the most fun I had modelling in 2023, which just goes to show that fun, not accuracy, is most important thing in modelling, well it is for me anyway. 

The only other change I made was the under-fuselage strake, as the kit one was far too thick and malformed. 

As this was supposed to be an old beaten up aircraft, that had been hastily repainted red - I had a go at altering the shades of the base coat before final painting. The effect is subtle, but does show through on the finished model and makes it look a bit more beaten up. 

And here we have it - 'The Red Herring'. One point to add was that as there was no way I could make a 1/72 Tern, I elected for some 'Sandwich' nose art - all hand painted. The EE squadron codes are obviously for 'Eccentric Ernst' - I don't know why the Wing Commander puts up with him.

Paints were all brush painted, mainly a Citadel red - I forget which. Gloss coat was Mr Hobby Super clear spray, post-war decals were from my stash. 

Underside Registration as this is supposed to be a post-war aircraft. 

So there you go - A really fun little build that my daughter really appreciated. I have to say that overall I really enjoyed this kit, and would defiantly build another despite it's cheap and nasty nature - so I guess that says it all. 

I hope you enjoyed my bit of silliness. 

Cheers!