lasermonkey

Found a slightly bigger pic of UM@A: Cheers, Mark.

Found another one! Not a big pic I know, but it's of X4177 flown by Squadron Leader Devitt. I think I got it from the 152 Sqn Association page. By the way, does anyone else think there's a thin, yellow surround to the pranged UM@N in the photo I posted above? I'm slowly gathering all the wartime Spitfire pictures I have found into my Photobucket. I'm concentrating on the '39/'40 period to begin with, as that's where my main interest lies, but if I find any other interesting pics, I'll put those up too. I just thought it would be handy to have all the pics in one place. I'm attempting to have a subfolder for each squadron and so far, just have the BoB participants listed. It can be found here: http://smg.photobucket.com/user/lasermonkey/library/Wartime%20Spitfire%20pics?sort=3&page=1 with subfolders in the drop-down menu on the left-hand side. If anyone is able to point me towards any more, I'd be very grateful. Cheers, Mark.

I managed to find a few more of No. 152 whilst looking for Battle of Britain Spitfire pictures, plus a couple more that appeared when I was specifically looking for 64 Sqn machines! All the 152 Sqn pics I have seen (which isn't many, granted!) have the squadron codes forward of the roundels on the port side. I'm pretty sure your pic is BoB era. Any pictures of 1939/40 Spitfires (and Hurricanes!) are most welcome. Especially No. 64 Sqn! :-D

I found it a touch too "hot" for brush painting (it started to attack the plastic on my Airfix Lanc) but is excellent for spraying and cleans brushes very thoroughly.

On the Airfix Lizzie I built some twenty years ago (!) I ended up having to use some recycled Matchbox wing struts as the Airfix ones weren't long enough. I needed to do a bit of fettling, but they worked fine. I much preferred the Matchbox kit, but I think that we need Airfix to do a nice, new one. One with both engine types, please!

Thanks! I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say there were any sound conclusions, maybe just a "most likely" appearance for L1035. In the absence of any photographs, I fear it's the best I'll get. Frustratingly, there is a picture, taken in the pertinent timeframe, captioned something like "64 Squadron Spitfires scramble" which completely fails to show any code letters! Maybe other photographs were taken at the time and may surface somewhere..... This link http://www.britishpathe.com/video/spitfires-kenley-fighter-station shows some reasonable pictures (you can view as stills too) of No 64 Squadron (and a few glimpses of No 615's Hurricanes) at Kenley in the June-August period, as evidenced by the Sky undersides and no underwing roundels. Interestingly, some of the roundels appear crudely painted and there's a brief appearance of an un-coded Spitfire landing with what appears to be a gas detection patch on the upper, rear fuselage. I have downloaded as many of the stills as I thought were useful and as they don't really appear together as such on the Pathe page (they load one at a time) I decided to put them in a folder on my Photobucket album, which can be viewed here: http://smg.photobucket.com/user/lasermonkey/library/Wartime%20Spitfire%20pics/No%2064%20Sqn?sort=3&page=1 I'm reluctant to post any of the pictures here, as I really don't want to get Britmodeller into any trouble regarding any copyright issues. Hopefully the link will suffice, although I'll happily remove that if it's not appropriate. I will most certainly be modelling SH@S when I get my next Spitfire. That 49" roundel on a 64 Sqn machine clinches it! Cheers, Mark.

At the risk of making this thread look even more bizarre...... Assuming Mr Berryman is correct, and that L1035 was coded SH@L, using the Scale Aircraft Modelling Nov '82 Spitfire Camouflage article, in conjunction with stills from the Pathe Kenley newsreel, I think the aeroplane would appear as follows: Camouflage in the B Scheme, as it appears to be in the A=even/B=odd range. Undersides of wings night/white with fuselage and tailplane in silver. Fuselage roundels initially 25" A type, modified to 35" A1 for Dunkirk. Upper wing roundels 31.2" B type. Underwing roundels not carried until Dunkirk operations, when 50" type A were applied. No fuselage serial number applied, with 4" serial painted on fin. Fin flash (3x8" stripes) applied for Dunkirk operations. Squadron codes aft of roundels on both sides. The newsreel appears to show the squadron codes being slightly taller than the individual aircraft codes. Voltage regulator not visible on rear of seat frame. Mast type aerial. If I have missed anything or got something horrendously wrong, please feel free to chime in! Otherwise, I shall go ahead with what I think is the most likely appearance of this aeroplane, in the absence of any photos. Cheers, Mark.

Works for me too!

^ Ah, I saw that en-route on FR24, though it had the destination as Gloucester (even though it was obvious it wasn't going there!)

Ugh. I have six of the Roden ones. Can't see them getting built now! Cheers, Mark.

I know this may seem slightly strange, with me appearing to be talking with myself, but I'm slowly getting some useful info, but alas, no individual code letters thus far*. The serials I have for No. 64 Squadron Spitfires in the "night/white" undersides timeframe are: K9795. ex-19 Squadron, with photos extant in No. 19's service. With No.64 between 18/04/40-13/07/40. A scheme. K9805. ex-66 Squadron (coded RB@R). With No. 64 between 19/04/40-23/11/40. A scheme. K9813. ex-66 and 41 Sqns. With No. 64 between 11/08/39-31/05/40 when it was lost in combat. K9832. ex-41 Sqn. With No. 64 between 09/03/40-29/05/40 when it was lost in combat. K9840. ex-41 Sqn. With No. 64 between 02/05/40-26/05/40 K9844. ex-41 Sqn. With No. 64 between 11/03/40-25/03/40 when it was lost in an accident. K9847. ex-41 Sqn. With No. 64 between 11/03.40-04/05/40. K9906. ex-65 Sqn (FZ@L and YT@T). With No.64 between 17/04/40-23/05/40. A scheme. K9991. ex-41 Sqn. With No. 64 between 17/04/40-05/08/40 when it was shot down and subsequently repaired. L1033. ex-611 Sqn (FY@K) . With No 64 between 19/03/40-19/05/40 when it crashed during a night landing. B scheme. L1035. ex-611 Sqn. With No. 64 between 19/03/40-25/07/40 when it was lost in combat. A painting by Ivan Berryman (The Longest July) shows L1035 coded SH@N and wearing the A scheme. L1037. ex-611 Sqn. With No. 64 between 29/02/40-27/07/40. L1038. ex-611 Sqn (FY@P). With No. 64 between 29/02/40-16/08/40 when it was force-landed after combat. L1039. ex-611 Sqn. With No. 64 between 29/02/30-08/08/40 when it was lost in combat. L1052. ex-611 Sqn. With No. 64 between 17/04/40-29/05/40 when it was lost in combat. L1053. ex-611 sqn. With No. 64 between 19/03/40-01/06/40 when it was lost in combat. L1073. ex-41 Sqn. With No. 64 between 02/05/40-21/05/40 or 21/09/40, depending on who you believe! N3230. With No. 64 between 13/05/40-15/08/40 when it was damaged and subsequently repaired. N3272. With No. 64 between 13/05/40-29/05/40 when it was lost in combat. N3273. With No. 64 between 13/05/40-02/07/40 N3293. ex-222 Sqn. With No. 64 between 17/04/40-28/10/40 when it was damaged and subsequently repaired. P9398. With No. 64 between 18/05/40-26/05/40. Transferred to No. 54 Sqn coded KL@B and flown by Al Deere. A scheme. P9399. With No. 64 between 18/05/40-26/05/40. Transferred to No. 74 Sqn. P9421. With No. 64 between 18/05/40-25/07/40 when it was lost in combat. P9447. With No. 64 between 02/06/40-17/09/40. Transferred to No. 41 Sqn. P9449. With No. 64 between 02/06/40-05/07/40 when it was lost in combat. P9450. With N0. 64 between 02/06/40-05/12/40 when it was lost in combat. Good photos of P9450 pre-delivery exist. A scheme. So, one possible individual aircraft letter*, provided Mr Berryman is right, and that the aeroplane in question wasn't re-coded at any point. It is extremely frustrating that no photographs of No. 64's Spitfires, whilst in their charge, and in the pre-Sky undersides era, have turned up so far. I did find a Pathe newsreel of No. 64 at Kenley and managed to get a good many stills from it. At least I can get another BoB era 64 Sqn Spit (with 49" A1 fuselage roundels!) from it...... Hopefully I haven't bored you all to tears and with any luck, maybe some new info will come to light! Cheers, Mark.

Just had a Ukraine Air Alliance An-12 fly over. Being a hardcore insomniac, I was wearing earplugs at the time (about 4.45 am) and i heard it clearly through the earplugs and above the noise of the pedestal fan *and* it was at 19,000 ft! Just how loud are those things??!!! Edit: looks like it's about to land at Birmingham. I wonder how many people it's currently waking up? Right, back to bed. Hopefully I'll get *some* sleep!

Different companies, IIRC. There were American and British companies which used the Spartan name. Confused the hell out of me for a while! Cheers, Mark.

Yeah, a tenner for postage makes it totally uneconomical for me too. Shame, I really like those paints.

A formation comprising of a Tiger Moth, Miles Messenger and Auster Autocrat. That's pretty special!

One of my favourite aeroplanes and a kit I never get tired of. I'll be following this one closely! :-)

Photographs appear to show the fin flash colours reversed on Spitfire L1043. Cheers, Mark.

I have brushed with Colourcoats before. A few things to consider: Stir well. When you think you have stirred long enough, do it again. Don't try to cover with one coat. I found that three or four thinned coats worked best. Colour density wasn't as opaque as the good ol' Humbrols of yore (what is these days?) , but it does build up. Add a drop of Rustins Dryers to speed up drying time. Cheers, Mark.

I use the Liquitex one. It'll last you years! I add a drop or two to the airbrush cup, depending on how full it is. Even that small amount makes a big difference. IIRC, on the bottle it says not to add more than 20% (relative to the paint) otherwise you risk the paint never drying. I've never used anything near that amount!

I wouldn't spray *any* acrylic without retarder, to be honest. It's just not worth the hassle. Most of the acrylics I have tried have needed it, so I now add a drop or two as a matter of course.

Had a Catalina fly over nice and low yesterday. That's not something I see very often 'round these parts, so very welcome.

After trying a few different ideas, such as No.64's loss records, I have some serial numbers: K9813, K9832, K9906 and L1052, which were lost between 29th and 31st May 1940. Frustratingly, pictures exist of K9906 when it belonged to No.65 Squadron (and flown by Tuck, no less!), but I have had no luck marrying individual aircraft codes with serial numbers. I shall continue searching. My best hope is that I might get a code letter from which I can then extrapolate an educated guess as to what the aircraft looked like. Incidentally, does anyone know of any pictures of No. 64's Blenheims? Cheers, Mark.

Regarding the camouflage colours: I'm pretty sure my references have the dark wing undersurface colour as RLM 75 (not 74) and wouldn't Sky be a better approximation of the green-grey than Desert Tan? Otherwise, I'm eager to get hold of one!

Hi, probably a bit of a long shot, as No. 64 squadron's Spitfires would appear to have been particularly camera-shy in 1940, but does anyone know of any pictures of 64's Mk Is in the May/June period? I have only seen a couple of pictures of K9964/SH*W (which I have already done and is after this time frame) and a very short clip of No. 64 scrambling (often shown in programmes about the BoB). My early Spitfire collection is represented by plenty of examples from other squadrons in all the major codes/markings variations, but with just a solitary effort for No. 64. Any help or pointers in the right direction very gratefully received! Thanks in advance, Mark.

Try this! http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/message/1430896104/For+painting+the+lights%2C+I%27ve+come+up+with+something+effective.+Paint+both+lights+a+dark