1:72 Spitfire Mk I Cockpit Structure Insert - plastic seat with armour (post-May 1940)

A cockpit structure insert for the Spitfire Mk.I in 1:72 scale

A printed insert of the internal structure of the cockpit for the Spitfire Mk.I in 1:72 scale from the maker IBG, in the variant with a seat of pressed material and with an armor plate. This is not an airplane kit but an accessory. The frame structure, the floor features and the seat come as one printed assembly, so assembling small parts falls away and the cockpit gains a detail that plastic cannot manage in a small scale.

The real subject

After the first fighting of 1940 the Spitfires were given an armor plate behind the pilot. The seat was meanwhile produced in two forms: metal and of pressed synthetic material, which was lighter and easier to obtain. Both occurred in service at the same time, so the choice of variant depends on the particular machine the modeler is building. In color the two differ markedly, which shows well on a finished model.

Usage tips

Try the part dry while the fuselage halves are still apart. It is glued with super glue. A seat of pressed material is painted in reddish-brown to caramel tones, the rest of the cockpit in interior green. A dark wash will bring out the frame structure and a dry brush will lighten it.

Who the set is for

• Builders of early Spitfires in 1:72 scale
• Modelers who care about the right form of the seat
• Models with an open canopy
• More experienced builders used to working with resin

The set is an accessory to a plastic kit, not a model in its own right. The kit, glue and paints are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.