Any ideas for making Spitfires cooler???WITH OUT P/E!!!

If the kit comes with a pilot figure - and you're up for a little surgery - try positioning the pilot in some position other than looking dead ahead at the instrument panel.

I have gotten in the habit of chopping off heads, arms, legs, and torsos, and re-positioning them so that the pilot is climbing aboard, or exiting the cockpit, or doing something non-robotic.

I kindof finished an Airfix 1/24 Spit about a year ago. The pilot sits with the door open and the hood back, his torso is twisted slightly to his left, his head is turned so he's looking just forward of the port wing, left elbow outside the plane and his right arm waving. It's like he's just waving to a friend after returning from a sortie over the channel.

I haven't built the Revel kit so I don't know if it's wheel wells are boxed in, that is - do they have walls ? I had to make my own for the Airfix kit. A tip: If you have to box them in - use the thinnest plastic sheet you can get. I used stuff that was a little on the thick side and it was a real pain to get it to stay in place until everything was solid. It looks great though - definitely an improvement over the hollowness that would have been there if I had not done it.

You could always do it with flaps lowered, remembering to model the actuator rod coming through the upper wing surface. Also droop the elevators.

I've used Texgunner's idea a couple times with good results. If you don't have enough "stock" radiator material, just burnish some heavy foil over what you want to copy then use the "foil" copy for your detail. I've done this with some PE sets to copy detail.

When I built the old Monogram Spitfire Mk. IX (also 1/48 scale), one could see right through the underwing radiators, so I used a radiator from an old car model and cut some pieces to fill the Spit's radiator housings. Painted flat black, they looked fine. Good luck, Gary.

For seat belts maybe u can use masking paper type tape and fashion out of it .The steel buckle u may need to built it out from copper wire ? or maybe just use plastic card to cut out the shape and slide the masking tape over it ?. For internal wiring u can use some copper wire and maybe some sewing thread for the canopy wheel opener but all are this are damn small not easy to tackle with , and the undercariage wheel struts u might need to add brake lining. well i don know of scratch built and frnakly i cant access to PE and resin stuff sighs :( getting a bit frustrated over mail order all the while now

Perhaps an unusual paint scheme with decals of a foreign user, some stretched sprue for antennae rigging, a weathered combat look, a couple of figures, a RAF vehicle parked nearby, some battle damage...Be creative and have fun.

Thanks for the tip....... but unfotunatly resin is out of my leauge!

But thank you anyhow!

I would suggest that you reposition the control surfaces. Also, if you have interior research material, add wiring and maybe, some other boxes from plastic sheet to make it look more accurate. Then again, I think you can buy a resin set but I don't know where you can find one made for that specific kit. I hope this helps.
~~~MarkY