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I know I am a bit late but would this new arrival, at Hannants, qualify?

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/VSM56009

Hi David - not late at all! Looks fantastic - I think I'll have to get one of those myself for a rainy day.

Welcome aboard.

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Well I just got back from Hannants.... Trumpeter Me109 F-4, some Sicily 1942 decals and a Quickboost airfilter. I hope this is all ok. Just need to get that Spit finished ;)

Cheers

Tim

Edited by Tim B
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Well I just got back from Hannants.... Trumpeter Me109 F-4, some Sicily 1942 decals and a Quickboost airfilter. I hope this is all ok. Just need to get that Spit finished ;)

Cheers

Tim

Fantastic Tim, looking forward to seeing your progress (post-Spit of course!)

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Thank you so much Jack. I've got a couple of books Richard's contributed to, he's a whiz. I'll be doing a Ju87R... now where are my glasses!

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If anyone wants the recipe for the 'Bosun Blue' Hurricane's paint, a gentleman on one of the other Forums has dug it out from somewhere. It is:

‘Matt Royal Blue’ colour made from five gallons of De Luxe Boston blue, seven pints of turpentine, 16 lbs of zinc powder, and 3 lbs of De Luxe black.

Wonder what else it was used for and how they concocted that mix??

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Hi

Planning on joining this groupbuild with a Spitfire Vb, the Tamiya kit I have has kit decals for 601 sqn aircraft UF@F and UF@X, I found the below:

"Operation Calendar (Edited from Wikipedia)

USS Wasp collected 52 aircraft from Shieldhall on the Clyde, from 601 and 603 Squadrons with pilots. The aircraft to be conveyed were Spitfire VBs fitted with external fuel tanks to extend their range. They were, however, inadequately prepared. The external tanks leaked badly, a fault that recurred on "Club Runs", many of the aircraft's guns were faulty and most of their radios didn't work.

On 20 April, with Wasp's Wildcats providing air cover, 48 Spitfires flew off.

Despite this addition to Malta's defences, all was lost. The Luftwaffe anticipated the Spitfires' arrival and bombed Ta'Qali airfield within minutes of their arrival. Most were caught on the ground and within 48 hours all were destroyed. Those that did fly were hampered by the faults with which they had arrived."

Can anyone confirm whether UF@F or UF@X would be suitable for the group build?

Many thanks in advance

Tim.

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Hi

Planning on joining this groupbuild with a Spitfire Vb, the Tamiya kit I have has kit decals for 601 sqn aircraft UF@F and UF@X, I found the below:

"Operation Calendar (Edited from Wikipedia)

USS Wasp collected 52 aircraft from Shieldhall on the Clyde, from 601 and 603 Squadrons with pilots. The aircraft to be conveyed were Spitfire VBs fitted with external fuel tanks to extend their range. They were, however, inadequately prepared. The external tanks leaked badly, a fault that recurred on "Club Runs", many of the aircraft's guns were faulty and most of their radios didn't work.

On 20 April, with Wasp's Wildcats providing air cover, 48 Spitfires flew off.

Despite this addition to Malta's defences, all was lost. The Luftwaffe anticipated the Spitfires' arrival and bombed Ta'Qali airfield within minutes of their arrival. Most were caught on the ground and within 48 hours all were destroyed. Those that did fly were hampered by the faults with which they had arrived."

Can anyone confirm whether UF@F or UF@X would be suitable for the group build?

Many thanks in advance

Tim.

Hi Tim,

Absolutely aircraft from that delivery would be suitable subjects. It's a slightly dramatic retelling you've got there (fuel leaks existed but were fixed quickly, guns not harmonised and probably not armed but not faulty and not every last one was destroyed) but it wasn't the campaigns finest hour either! Aircraft which came in on that or any transit are entirely fine to build, even if they got destroyed on the ground before making their presence felt.

I've just done a quick scan and found images of Spit Vbs with those markings, but they are from the invasion of Sicily in 1943. They would have flown from Malta for that but several months after the siege was broken. Do you have a pic of the decals? If they were delivered during the siege it may well be possible to backdate the markings.

All best

Edited by maltadefender
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Hi Tim,

Absolutely aircraft from that delivery would be suitable subjects. It's a slightly dramatic retelling you've got there (fuel leaks existed but were fixed quickly, guns not harmonised and probably not armed but not faulty and not every last one was destroyed) but it wasn't the campaigns finest hour either! Aircraft which came in on that or any transit are entirely fine to build, even if they got destroyed on the ground before making their presence felt.

I've just done a quick scan and found images of Spit Vbs with those markings, but they are from the invasion of Sicily in 1943. They would have flown from Malta for that but several months after the siege was broken. Do you have a pic of the decals? If they were delivered during the siege it may well be possible to backdate the markings.

All best

Hi

"A slightly dramatic re telling of the story" - That's Wikipedia for you!

Here's a copy of the decals

spit5bb.jpg

Options are:

417Sqn Spitfire Vb "AN V" serial no: BR487

601Sqn Spitfire Vb " UF X" serial no: EP689

601Sqn Spitfire Vb " UF F" serial no. not known

I presume the photo you are referring to is this one?

SpitfireVb_601Sqn_Djerba1943.jpg

Would like to use the kit decals if possible but no problem if they are not eligible.....

Thanks for helping with this.

Best regards

Tim.

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Hi

Options are:

417Sqn Spitfire Vb "AN V" serial no: BR487

601Sqn Spitfire Vb " UF X" serial no: EP689

601Sqn Spitfire Vb " UF F" serial no. not known

Hi Tim,

I've had a look at Spitfire production pages online. BR487 wasn't a Malta aircraft of course and one is untraceable. However EP689 was delivered on 21 July 1942 and arrived in Malta from the last Spitfire delivery of the siege (Operation TRAIN, Flying off HMS Furious).

Looks like you're good to go! Looking forward to the build.

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Hi Tim,

I've had a look at Spitfire production pages online. BR487 wasn't a Malta aircraft of course and one is untraceable. However EP689 was delivered on 21 July 1942 and arrived in Malta from the last Spitfire delivery of the siege (Operation TRAIN, Flying off HMS Furious).

Looks like you're good to go! Looking forward to the build.

Thanks for all the help!

looks like UF@X it is then. I'll get a build thread started when I get back home.

Regards

Tim.

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"On 20 April, with Wasp's Wildcats providing air cover, 48 Spitfires flew off."

this is one of the Wildcats I will build - believe VF41 were on Wasp so will be doing 41-F-8 (if that is the correct designation for USS Wasp). Anyone got any indication on the markings (believe the red/white rudder, usual star in circle rather than the more modern stars and bars. And any colour scheme information - Tamiya 1/48 Wildcat has it on USS Ranger so maybe the correct colour anyway

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When I first saw the Malta GB proposal, I knew right away I would want to do one of Beurling's Spitfires. I'm still in the midst of deciding the particulars, but I do want the aircraft to be a Vc portrayed with the Type A roundels. Based on this killboard list found at the bottom of the page, which would be suitable candidates? (or not suitable, depending on the shorter answer)

Also have a question of the underside colours. I believe azure blue is the proper choice, but there is some evidence of a sky blue also being used? From the same above list, would any of Beurling's Spits have this lighter shade?

I notice in Osprey's Malta Spitfire Aces book, many of the colour profiles have an almost off-white look to the undersides - was there another possible colour in use during this period?

regards,

Jack

Edited by JackG
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When I first saw the Malta GB proposal, I knew right away I would want to do one of Beurling's Spitfires. I'm still in the midst of deciding the particulars, but I do want the aircraft to be a Vc portrayed with the Type A roundels. Based on this killboard list found at the bottom of the page, which would be suitable candidates? (or not suitable, depending on the shorter answer)

Also have a question of the underside colours. I believe azure blue is the proper choice, but there is some evidence of a sky blue also being used? From the same above list, would any of Beurling's Spits have this lighter shade?

I notice in Osprey's Malta Spitfire Aces book, many of the colour profiles have an almost off-white look to the undersides - was there another possible colour in use during this period?

regards,

Jack

Hi Jack,

A man after my own heart - Type A really works for me on Malta aircraft. By the time they switched to Type C the lion's share had been done to survive the onslaught and they were getting on the front foot again, much like in Britain. I always think that Type A is the equivalent of the two-finger salute!

Anyway, as you say, those Spits would be fine for the GB, so it's really a case of finding the one closest to your ideal depiction of one of Beurling's machines. Every conceivable permutation has been done regarding schemes on pretty well all of them over the years: as models and as paintings and as interpretations of what few photos we have to go on. Plus of course we've got a small army of experts here on the Forum.

Regarding the lower surface colour, I think lighter is the way to go... but that's not a golden rule! The Beaufort in the RAF Museum at Hendon is in a 1942/43 Malta-based scheme and it has Azure Blue, as do several Spits and other aircraft photographed at the time. However on the Spits delivered during the siege the lower surfaces in b/w photos are markedly lighter, with the current thinking being 'Sky Blue' which is as near as dammit to RLM76.

Here is a Malta Spit I did at the end of 2010, which I did with Azure Blue undersides. Even as I was painting it I was telling myself it was too dark - but Azure Blue is about my favourite shade in the world, and as I was building the kit to please no-one but myself I decided to stick with it.

f6e441e8.jpg

330c678b.jpg

3bf81b55.jpg

And yet by contrast, on my little 1/72 Hurricane that became a Tropical Land Scheme guinea pig, it really looks right to me:

CIMG1098.jpg

For my planned builds in this GB, I've got a variety of Sky, Sky Blue and Azure Blue lower surfaces in the mix. As I said earlier, once you've identified the aircraft you want to do, and made a reasonable assessment yourself, you can always throw it open to the Forum to see if there is any info you might not be aware of.

Enjoy!

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maltadefender - thank you for responding. Is the sky blue one in the same as the no.1 sky blue used during the Battle of Britain or is it more FS 35550

Also on some photo captions, there is mention of "locally made wooden bungs" to plug in unused cannons. Were these shaped just like the official metal(?) covers (in the photo I'm looking at p.34 in Osprey's book of Malta Aces, I can't see a difference).

regards,

Jack

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maltadefender - thank you for responding. Is the sky blue one in the same as the no.1 sky blue used during the Battle of Britain or is it more FS 35550

Also on some photo captions, there is mention of "locally made wooden bungs" to plug in unused cannons. Were these shaped just like the official metal(?) covers (in the photo I'm looking at p.34 in Osprey's book of Malta Aces, I can't see a difference).

regards,

Jack

Hi Jack,

I couldn't pretend to be much of an expert on the various shades compared to many on here - there are some differences between No.1 and Sky Blue though. There are some good threads on the many shades of Azure and Sky Blue.

I don't think that there would be any differences in the locally-made bungs at all. Tom Neil marvelled at how they could fabricate new prop blades from nothing on the Island, and they fabrcated new tail wheels for the Marylands out of bits of broken Blenheim propeller! I think the bungs would have been small beer next to those jobs!

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There were a couple links posted on another older thread outside of GB forums, and should answer your question.

Here they are:

http://chindits.files.wordpress.com/2011/0...ta-appendix.pdf

regards,

Jack

thanks, this seems to be the bf 110's used in Malta

Mars 1941

3/zg 26 110d-3 Ain-el-Gazela Libya

9/zg 26 110d-3 Gela

April 1942

3/zg 26 110d-3 Trapani

so a bf 110D is the airplane, now finding decals to match is the problem :hmmm: the closest I have found is 9/zg 26 in Trapani summer 1941 ? dont know if that will pass ?

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thanks, this seems to be the bf 110's used in Malta

Mars 1941

3/zg 26 110d-3 Ain-el-Gazela Libya

9/zg 26 110d-3 Gela

April 1942

3/zg 26 110d-3 Trapani

so a bf 110D is the airplane, now finding decals to match is the problem :hmmm: the closest I have found is 9/zg 26 in Trapani summer 1941 ? dont know if that will pass ?

Hi pabbi - yes that one should do nicely. Hope to see you in the build before long.

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Hi folks, have been looking at a group build since I joined, but not managed to get my act into gear. Wondering if it is too late to join this build. Also wondering whether the topic is suitable. I would like to do a captured russian KV 2 heavy tank in German service. Apparantly there were about 10 KV 2, 10 KV1 and about the same again T34's that were brought together as the main part of the invasion force. Also included were panzer IV's and a load of panzer III's. Anyway the KV2 has caught my eye as has the supposed colour scheme. Look forward to hearing your comments,

jk

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Hi folks, have been looking at a group build since I joined, but not managed to get my act into gear. Wondering if it is too late to join this build. Also wondering whether the topic is suitable. I would like to do a captured russian KV 2 heavy tank in German service. Apparantly there were about 10 KV 2, 10 KV1 and about the same again T34's that were brought together as the main part of the invasion force. Also included were panzer IV's and a load of panzer III's. Anyway the KV2 has caught my eye as has the supposed colour scheme. Look forward to hearing your comments,

jk

Hi JK,

That sounds like exactly the kind of thing! The plans for Operation HERKULES included exactly these types and certainly you're not too late - we're running until the end of June, so plenty of time to get weaving. It will certainly be one to watch!

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