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PR XI EN409 MPM 1/72 ++ Finished ++

CedB
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CedB Blabber Mouth

CedB

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I was re-reading Eric 'Winkle' Brown's 'Wings on My Sleeve' after his recent passing. A sad loss, but his contribution to aviation is well known and he leaves a great legacy.

Winkle recalls that the PR XI they used for high speed research, "stripped of all operational equipment", achieved Mach 0.92 - still "the highest ever achieved by a piston engined aircraft". This is discussed further here.

Pewteraircraft.com tells the story here and shows a model, which I may try to replicate (but then again maybe not).

So, where to find a PR XI?

26124688381_eccd4bb4ce_z.jpg

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

This one arrived from Special Hobby in Prague yesterday. Now, I know it's the weekend but I will point out that this photo was taken by my daughter to let me know it had arrived while I was with friends in Cornwall - that's NOT my shade of nail varnish :)

When I got home today I opened the box and examined the sprues:

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Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

The sprues are a bit flashy and one of the resin parts is already off the block - you can see it resting in one of the intakes.

That's it for now, more tomorrow!

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Bedders Very Obsessed Member

Bedders

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Ced,

Looks like an interesting project. I did my XI from an Airfix XIX/IX kitbash, and I'd like to do some more but the work required puts me off. The Attack Squadron resin kit looks nice, but pricey and for that money you want perfection. So I'll be interested to see how you get on with the MPM kit.

Justin

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CedB Blabber Mouth

CedB

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Thanks Justin :) I've seen threads on BM referring to conversions but that's way beyond my skills I'm afraid. OOB with a bit of fiddling is the most I can do...

:rofl: Thanks Keith :)

The choice was Spitfire or Hudson. No contest. But I promise to do the Hudson after the XI. :)

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AlexN Very Obsessed Member

AlexN

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Nice pointy Mk VIII-like rudder and retracting tail-wheel! Excellent! Happy now. Looks like a typical MPM kit with resin bits and no PE.

Just as well that you clarified about the nail varnish, we (well, some of us) might have been scratching our heads ;).

Looking forward to this one, too :D:clap:.

Cheers,

Alex.

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CedB Blabber Mouth

CedB

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Thanks chaps and welcome!

Jolly interesting, Buffers! I've long wondered how this kit goes together. Difficult or easy, though, I know you'll get it done.

Thanks PC :) You're very kind and I hope I live up to your expectations!

Not seen this mk built before, looking forward to this!

Rob

Me neither Rob! :)

I did do some research and the 'net says that the PR XI was modified from the Mk IX with no armament, larger tanks and 'cleaner' airframe for increased speed. There aren't many images I could find, possibly due to the 'covert' nature of the PR squadrons.

Given my unadulterated love for the Mk.XI you now have my full attention :)

Thanks Col :)

Had not known about this kit till I saw one on eBay last week, look forwards to the progress :)

Thanks Stu :)

Nice pointy Mk VIII-like rudder and retracting tail-wheel! Excellent! Happy now. Looks like a typical MPM kit with resin bits and no PE.

Just as well that you clarified about the nail varnish, we (well, some of us) might have been scratching our heads ;).

Looking forward to this one, too :D:clap:.

Cheers,
Alex.

Thanks Alex :) From the number of parts it looks like a simple build... famous last words?

As usual I've had a cursory look for references and other builds, both being few and far between.

Elger build one in 2011 from an Airfix IX and the MPM kit here with some Pavia after-market, cameras and all. Nice model.

The Hanger 11 Collection is flying PL965 and she has lots of nice videos on the 'net. Rick Brown built a lovely cross kit of her here in 2012. TJJ posted a lot of photos of her after miggers' request here. Very pretty she is too.

For the proper modellers amongst you there's a thread started by Killingholme on how to make a PR XI here.

I shall, of course, be bashing the kit OOB with maybe a few fiddles. There's a reference shot of EN 409 after her record in several places, not looking her best...

"The Spitfire Mk XI flown by Sqn. Ldr. Martindale, seen here after its flight on 27 April 1944 during which it was damaged achieving a true airspeed of 606 mph (975 km/h or Mach 0.92)"

Spitfire_XI_EN_409.jpg

Spitfire_XI_EN_409.jpg

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CedB Blabber Mouth

CedB

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Nice to see another one from you Ced. Will be following this interesting build.

Cheers

Jimmy

Thanks Jimmy :)

You didn't hang about, and what a very thoughtful daughter you have.

Looking forward to it.

John

Thanks John - yep, Sophs is great (only needed a little prompting!) :)

The kit does indeed look typical MPM, reminds me a lot of the XIX I've been tring to build in another GB here.

The XI is a fascinating variant ( I do love PR Spitfires!), will watch with interest !

Thanks Giorgio :)

Hi there

A couple of things to look out for is the very brittle canopy that should be handled as little as possible and spinner/prop which looks a bit thin.

Regards Toby

Thanks Toby - I'll watch the canopy, it does look nice and thin. :)

Don't forget that Freightdog do a fairly simple PR XIX to PR XI conversion if you need another.

Thanks PLC :) I found tonyot's RFI and she looks great, but I can't find the conversion kits on the 'net anymore - are they discontinued? I don't need one but others might.

No progress to report but I'm thinking of trying out the tripod by videoing the Hobby Elements Molding Flash Sanders in action. If it works at all I'll post something soon.

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Procopius Blabber Mouth

Procopius

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Thanks PLC :) I found tonyot's RFI and she looks great, but I can't find the conversion kits on the 'net anymore - are they discontinued? I don't need one but others might.

Freightdog tend to do short runs of resin sets and sell out fairly quickly -- the company's a one-man band. (I'm a huge fan of Freightdog.)

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CedB Blabber Mouth

CedB

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Thanks PC :) Ooh, I wonder if he's a possible outlet for Robvulcan's bits and pieces?

I had a lazy days yesterday really. Partly recovering from the hike we did at the weekend (I don't usually walk and my legs went puffy - poor old chap) and partly reminding myself what 'short run' means. I did try videoing the sanders but the Anglo-Saxon would have made it unpublishable so I just took a before and after of the wheel, er, holes?

26237738755_cbb7fda277_n.jpg 26171579391_3a40df3666_n.jpg

Before by Ced Bufton, on Flickr After by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

It is possible, just, to see the intended shape but the plastic is also soft so I think I'll leave it until I fit the wheels. On to the interior. The I/P got some white blobs from the Liquidex white pen and then red and green with Sharpies. This close up is very unkind - it looks OK (ish) from a distance:
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The bulkheads and interior are also a bit rough and I spent a lot of time sanding, shaping and generally tidying up - you can see the 'shape' of the bulkhead will need some attention when I come to close up:
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The control column is resin and moulded on the block longways. I may need to wait for my patience tank to be REALLY full before I attempt to remove it and glue it in the hole... is that in the middle? Hmmm.
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CedB Blabber Mouth

CedB

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You're welcome PC :)

Thanks Simon - you're quite right (of course) so I'll leave it out (mate!) :)

A bit more progress. The hole for the column's not in the middle, and it's not my sanding as the 'pedals' are equally spaced:

26163203722_133469003a.jpg 26163210272_07a7dc602c.jpg

Apologies to Obe Wan for not using my Vernier for that - I am not yet worthy... Just as well actually as the bottom of the column is a rectangle, so I chopped one out:

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Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

Ready for close up now I think so pilot selected from the reserve:

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Ready by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

I think one of the Airfix bad mold pilots would have been appropriate due to the G forces involved in the speed tests, but I've run out.

Do you like the headrest by the way? I got out my leather hole punch to make something suitable and found some leather in one of the punches from a belt modification.

Cut it down and glued it on with Gator's Grip.

Real leather - ha! Someone has started something recently. Sheepskin seat cushions indeed. You know who you are :D

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Beard Completely Obsessed Member

Beard

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Let me check the headrest, this detail disappeared at some point, may well not have been present in in the XI...

I seem to remember a post by Edgar about it being deleted during the MkVs production.

Edit: here's a link to the thread: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234959261-question-about-spitfire-headrest/

Edited by Beard
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CedB Blabber Mouth

CedB

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Thanks Giorgio and Simon... I'll take it off then, after all this is an Edgar tribute.

That'll teach me... Trying to be smart, but not very clever :)

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