Agape Models reader Boyd Waechter submitted this awesome looking Seafire XVII, looking very striking in it’s aluminum finish. Great work, Boyd- thanks for sharing this with us!
Although started in early November, this is my first completion in 2013, the Airfix 1/48th Seafire F.XVII that I converted (minor) to an FR.XVII. The only thing that needed to be done was drill out the camera windows and fill them with some Clear Cast Resin, a two part resin product that is available at Hobby Lobby. It takes about 24 hrs for this product to cure crystal clear. As modeled, this aircraft was being used as a gunnery trainer and did not have the recon cameras installed.
This kit seemed to fight me all of the way, beginning by having to spend several days sanding and polishing all of the major parts. Airfix does not polish it’s molds like other major manufacturers, thus resulting in a rough surface finish. The fit of the parts isn’t the best, particularly at the wing roots where I had major gaps to fill with strips of sheet plastic. The clear parts are also very thick and not to the standard we usually see from a major company. Some of the aftermarket items I used to enhance the kit are:
- True Details resin cockpit with additional scratchbuilding
- True Details block threaded tires
- Quickboost exhausts (pipes drilled out)
- Ultracast late style Spitfire seat with harnesses
- Premiere Plus wingtip lights
The best part of this build was using Freightdog Decals for the finish. They produce a sheet of postwar Griffon powered Seafires that has markings for nine aircraft of various types, so you can build multiple models from this single sheet. This is the second time I have used their products and I can highly recommend these decals.
Paints used were MM RAF Interior Green, MM Non-Buffing Aluminum overall, MM Deep Yellow for the wing and fuselage bands, and then overcoated with Testor’s Metailizer Sealer to dull the finish just a tab that I think replicates the High Speed Silver finish the RAF and Royal Navy used after WWII.
