Airfix Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc Flying Dray 1:24 (A17001A)

The showpiece of the list and the most fun box Airfix makes. This 1:24 Spitfire Mk.IXc comes from tooling launched in 2022, with 448 plastic parts, a 469 mm wingspan and Skill Level 4, plus resin beer barrels for the underwing racks, recalling the Spitfires that ferried beer to the troops after D-Day. Airfix itself says those flights were unofficial and largely undocumented, so treat the story as folklore. The kit was made with CAMRA and comes with an Airfix pint glass, which makes it an easy present to justify. The three schemes, including a No. 302 Polish Squadron aircraft in France in August 1944, also allow a straight fighter build. It is a long project for an experienced hand, not a first big-scale attempt.