85sqn Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 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. 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/ 59 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro1 Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 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 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85sqn Posted February 6, 2018 Author Share Posted February 6, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 What a beautiful model. The colours and weathrring look great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzby061 Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Like it. You’ve captured the overpainting of the roundels nicely. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Beautiful Seafire there Nick, fantastic job 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85sqn Posted February 6, 2018 Author Share Posted February 6, 2018 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Thats a beautiful Seafire 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 That does look very good. 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 That is a cracking looking Seafire. Nicely done Nick! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invidia Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Very nice looking seafire. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Excellent as always my friend 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iang Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Very nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Nice one. Seafires are always better looking than the land based variety of 'fires. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil.C Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Beautiful job, like that a lot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Great work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85sqn Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJP Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 A very nicely made and finished Seafire - great job CJP 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Very tasty indeed, really like that 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mogwi Posted October 26, 2023 Share Posted October 26, 2023 (edited) 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 October 26, 2023 by Mogwi Predictive text! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iang Posted October 26, 2023 Share Posted October 26, 2023 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? This is an original I own - almost certainly a ship's photo sold onboard. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mogwi Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 (edited) 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 October 28, 2023 by Mogwi apostrophe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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