Airfix 1/48 scale
Spitfire Mk.Vb Trop

by Brett Green

Here is my just-completed Airfix 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk.Vb, built straight from the box. This venerable kit first appeared in 1979.

Although Airfix’s attention in the late 1970s and early 1980s was directed mainly toward their 1/72 and 1/24 ranges, they did make a brief foray into 1/48 scale with a small family of kits — the Bf 109 F-2, Hawker Hurricane Mk.I, Junkers Ju 87 B-2/R-2, and this Spitfire Mk.Vb with an optional tropical filter.

For their time, these were quite respectable offerings: accurate in outline, sensibly detailed and refreshingly free of working features or other gimmicks. Even today, they hold up better than you might expect.

Airfix’s 1/48 Spitfire Mk.Vb is dominated by raised surface detail, with recessed lines reserved only for control surface hinges and the cowling panels. I didn’t rescribing anything — this is a nostalgia build after all. In fact, I didn't even bother filling some obvious ejector pin circles.

The only deviation from the instructions was the markings. The kit decals were pretty diabolical. Roundel proportions were off, the red centres too bright, and the Sky fuselage band and codes looked more like a dirty mustard yellow. They went straight to the bin.

In their place I used Euro Decals’ “Supermarine Spitfires over Malta,” Item No. ED-48141.

Paints are custom Tamiya acrylic mixes intended to replicate Light Mediterranean Blue, Deep Sky and Dark Slate Grey.

Airfix Kit Purchased by the Editor

Copyright © 2025 by Brett Green
Page Created 27 November, 2025
Last Updated 27 November, 2025

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