The Seafire Mk.Ib was basically converted from the Spitfire Mk.Vb. The kit follows the heritage of the actual subject, being a “regular” Hasegawa Mk.Vb with a resin plug for conversion into a Seafire Mk.Ib. Be aware this model is a conversion; that means you will have to cut and replace some parts of the plastic fuselage with the resin replacement parts. But as conversion goes, this is an easy one to get your feet wet in the world of conversions.

The boxing includes decals for 4 different finishes on 3 different airframes. The instructions only list 3 camouflage styles, but actually there are markings provided for two different finishes (blue gray/green/sky) of the same airframe (MB 345), before and after being assigned to the HMS Formidable. The other two finishes are for a training unit (blue gray/green/sky) and another one in an overall glossy sea blue, for operations in the Pacific with SEAC roundels.

Airscale is relatively new to scale modeling and has come out with decals in popular scales to aid in detailing instrument panels, and which can also be used for dashboards along with placards, which is another added touch to instrument panels and dashboards. I’m sure that anyone who has bought these products has used them some way in every model that they have built since purchasing them.

The kit comes in an attractive box with a profile of one of the marking options on the box top. This is a special limited edition and includes a very nice gold colored coin that is packed separately in a fancy red box similar to what you would get a piece of jewelry in. I am not sure what the parts count is, but I'm sure there are well over one hundred parts. The parts are molded in a medium blue-grey color and they have a slightly rough texture. The plastic is a little on the soft side, so care must be taken when sanding and cutting. There is a small photo etch fret with seatbelts and other detail parts. I did not use all of the PE parts because some of them were so thin that they came apart when I cut them from the fret. There is also a small bag of resin parts comprising oxygen bottles, various boxes, and some things that look like duffel bags. The molding on the resin parts is not up to the standards of Aires or CMK, but it is decent.