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Seafire MkIII, 1/48, Airfix, 894 Sqn. HMS Indefatigable


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Hi folks, 

 

this is a Seafire MkIII PP935, as flown by S/Lt Morgan of 894 Sqn onboard HMS Indefatigable, January 1945. The aircraft probably took part in Operation Lentil where it provided air over for the fleet as Pangkalan Brandan was attacked on 4th Jan 1945. The aircraft had a mishap into the barrier on 6 Jan 1945. Firstly thankyou to@iang, @Troy Smith @Seahawk @Graham Boak and the others that contributed to this thread: 

 

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235032687-seafire-nn460-894-sqn/&tab=comments#comment-2933488

 

The kit is a mish-mash of Airfix Spit Vb fuselage, Seafire XVII wings, old Airfix Seafire parts and some resin undercarriage legs by Airwaves (I think). Finished with Hataka paints, Oil paints and pigment dusting. Plenty of filler used to blend various parts together but I guess it looks like a Seafire III. I have a Special Hobby kt on the go as well so I can compare once that's done.

 

_MG_7213-001_MG_7216-001_MG_7217-001_MG_7218-001_MG_7219-001_MG_7222-001_MG_7223-001_MG_7225-001_MG_7228-001

All roundels were masked and sprayed, the letters and serial are decals from a mixture. The code letters Xtradecal supply with their offering of this aircraft (well NN460) are too small. The ones used were Xtradecals generic 'Sky' letters.

 

Thanks for looking and if any of you are near Midhurst on Sunday 11th, pop in to the Grange where Tangmere Sector modellers will be displaying and I will have mostly FAA with me on display.

 

https://www.facebook.com/fleetfighters/

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Hi Nick,

 

Very nice Seafire, we don't get to see much of the FAA fighting the Japanese on Britmodeller :-).

 

What is your experience with the Hakata paints? Their colour sets look very nice but I've been dragging my feet purchasing.

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Peter

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Hi Pedro, 

 

thanks very much. I find Hataka okay- I quite like to take the cap off of my airbrush (neo Iwata) and get in close but Hataka dries very quickly on the tip so I have put a little Winsor and Newton flow retarder in to improve that. I'm not sure about their Insignia white included in the FAA/Coastal Command set- it looks quite off white to me and I wouldn't use that. otherwise i think they have good colour accuracy (to my eye anyway!)

 

cheers

 

Nick

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Really neat looking Seafire with a very convincing finish.

 

I appreciate the drooped elevators, and the painted markings look excellent.

 

The only small reservation would be that the white codes look like applied decals, what with the lack of panel joint emphasis compared to the rest of the surface and, of course, to the white centre of the underwing roundels! ;-)

 

Sterling work!

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

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34 minutes ago, Spitfire31 said:

Really neat looking Seafire with a very convincing finish.

 

I appreciate the drooped elevators, and the painted markings look excellent.

 

The only small reservation would be that the white codes look like applied decals, what with the lack of panel joint emphasis compared to the rest of the surface and, of course, to the white centre of the underwing roundels! ;-)

 

Sterling work!

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

Cheers Joachim,

 

Therein lies my growing dislike of decals and a preference for masked letters. Decals for me are too much of an unknown quantity and one of the reasons why I really like using Maketar masks where possible. I was just too impatient to order some and wait for this build!

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That does look very good.  :thumbsup2:

 

I think the observation about the 'decal look' is it appears the fuselage codes were applied after a panel line wash?  If it's a matter of the decals being too thick, you can either pass an exacto knife along the panel line, or use an appropriate coloured pencil and draw in the lines atop the decals?

 

regards,

Jack

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Superb job,.......it is alway nice to a Seafire model but when they are built so nicely it is an even nicer treat,......superb job,

 

Cheers

         Tony

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Thanks guys. I took another little look and resolved the panel lines over the decals. Slit them and ran a wash in then re-glossed and re-matt varnished. When I get round to it I'll post a photo. I think that's given it a more rounded feel.

 

Nick

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 years later...

Good morning all,

 

I have just stumbled across this thread and found the wonderful pictures of PP935 model. I have been trying to resolve a family mystery for some time; my name is David Morgan, I was a Sea Harrier pilot in the Falklands war (4 kills and DSC) and my late father was Lt(A) Ivor Morgan RNVR who flew with 894 NAS on HMS Indefatigable. I believe that it was he who crashed both NN460 and PP935 on 6th January 1945, as both aircraft are in his log-book on that date. Unfortunately these sorties are only annotated “F.D. Ex - Interception”, which I guess means Fleet Defence Exercise.
 

I have a photo from his album of a Seafire taken from the bottom of the island, about to enter the barrier, with prop blades shedding and obvious damage to the airframe. The story he told was that he and his leader had bounced a Japanese flying boat and shot it down but that the rear gunner had shot my father’s leader down (subsequently picked up) and put a round in my father’s coolant tank. This caused his engine to quit on short finals and his subsequent ramp-strike and barrier engagement. He emerged unscathed and flew with 894 until June 44, when he went ashore to Nora and flew with 732 NAS until cessation of operations. This may, of course, be BS or tainted memory but was a consistent story for decades.

 

Unfortunately, the picture of his “arrival” is not clear enough to distinguish the airframe or squadron markings but I did find a copy in the IWM collection which showed the last letter. Trouble is, I can no longer find that photo in their on-line collection. Can anyone help me confirm which aircraft it might be? 
 

I am not sure how to post a picture on here, I am afraid.

 

Mog

Edited by Mogwi
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3 hours ago, Mogwi said:

Good morning all,

 

I have just stumbled across this thread and found the wonderful pictures of PP935 model. I have been trying to resolve a family mystery for some time; my name is David Morgan, I was a Sea Harrier pilot in the Falklands war (4 kills and DSC) and my late father was Lt(A) Ivor Morgan RNVR who flew with 894 NAS on HMS Indefatigable. I believe that it was he who crashed both NN460 and PP935 on 6th January 1945, as both aircraft are in his log-book on that date. Unfortunately these sorties are only annotated “F.D. Ex - Interception”, which I guess means Fleet Defence Exercise.
 

I have a photo from his album of a Seafire taken from the bottom of the island, about to enter the barrier, with prop blades shedding and obvious damage to the airframe. The story he told was that he and his leader had bounced a Japanese flying boat and shot it down but that the rear gunner had shot my father’s leader down (subsequently picked up) and put a round in my father’s coolant tank. This caused his engine to quit on short finals and his subsequent ramp-strike and barrier engagement. He emerged unscathed and flew with 894 until June 44, when he went ashore to Nora and flew with 732 NAS until cessation of operations. This may, of course, be BS or tainted memory but was a consistent story for decades.

 

Unfortunately, the picture of his “arrival” is not clear enough to distinguish the airframe or squadron markings but I did find a copy in the IWM collection which showed the last letter. Trouble is, I can no longer find that photo in their on-line collection. Can anyone help me confirm which aircraft it might be? 
 

I am not sure how to post a picture on here, I am afraid.

 

Mog

 

Do you mean this one?

IMG_H6Z

 

 

This is an original I own - almost certainly a ship's photo sold onboard.  

 

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Hi iang,

 

I have seen that photo, which I reckon is his second crash of the day in PP935/H6-Z. The first "arrival" was in NN460 which I think was H6-X. I can't work out how to post a photo, can you talk me through it? I guess I need a grandchild to help me!!

 

I have sent a message to IWM to try to find their image, which is clearer.

 

Mog

Edited by Mogwi
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