Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire Mk. IXc - by John Bardwell, Shreveport, Louisiana

This is the Tamiya kit (of course) with BarracudaCast BR32002 Spitfire Cockpit Door with Separate Crowbar and BR32005 Spitfire 5-Slot Mainwheels. Also used are Eduard's photo etched placards and seat belts, Victory Productions decals while paint is Xtracolor for exterior and Model Master for interior grey green. I used various sizes of soft lead wire for the electrical lines, etc. The exhaust stacks are from Quick Boost. This is an outstanding kit with no fit problems. I am working on a Mk XVI now with BarracudaCast wheels, crew door and interior detail.

This build represents a Spitfire Mk. IXc of 222 Squadron based at Hornchurch in March,1944. Flown by various 222 Squadron pilots then went on to fly with 350 Squadron, then back to 222 before VE Day. Post war she flew with the Dutch and Belgian Air Forces before going back to the UK on the civil register as G-ASJV. She was used in "The Longest Day", "A Bridge Too Far", "Hope and Glory", "Dark Blue World", and "The Battle of Britain" and is now flying with The Old Flying Machine Company at Duxford. She has been modified some over the years but my model depicts her as she was in '44.

John has been a model builder/kit-basher for over 50 years now. He owned Bardwell's Hobbies for six years back in the 1990s.

BarracudaStudios products used:
BR32002 Spitfire Cockpit Door with Separate Crowbar
BR32005 Spitfire 5-Slot Mainwheels