Bugle07

Really nice work on the Spit, and those pilots are fantastic! Excellent painting! Geoff

Paint beforehand, seal in with varnish then try and fit them, Trust me..... Geoff

Very nice job! Really like the lightning stripe, and the family connection. Geoff

Looking very good there Steve, I'm with you and Ray in that I'm basecoating black almost all the time these days. The IP looks great, I managed to move half the dials in the centre console on mine, I like the fact that it's so easy to fit into place once everything else is painted up. Time for the seatbelts? Geoff

Colour looks good from here, very smooth paint job, well done! Geoff

Thanks for the reply gents. Troy, superb photos, thank you for posting them. I'm working on the grounds that R6772 was built in June 1940 and the resin seats came into production in May ish 1940, for colour (an my sanity) I'll be doing it in the red/brown with black back. Just looking at that lower picture, would the lap harness normally be connected to the lower upright section of the seat or to the lower sides? There seems to be hooks there that could be used. Would this be a modern set up in the picture? Geoff

Managed to get some paint on this evening, primer and a couple of coats of Tamiya XF 71. Black primer was Vallejo Black surface primer. Then a quick dust of Vallejo Dark Aluminium And a couple of wires added to busy up this part of the pit. Did I mention earlier that the kit doesn’t come with decals for the IP? Ignore me, I must have needed a lot more coffee then. Very nice it is once all settled in. The seats ready for a few dark coats, then everything will get a gloss coat to seal it in and a few washes to bring out the detail. A quick dry fit gets us to this Hope everyone’s enjoying the GB as much as I am! Happy modelling all, and cheers for looking in. Geoff

Words to live by! Good little project there, will be good to watch it come together, good luck! Geoff

Sorry to hear that the Alclad enamels didn't work out first time. Havent tried them, I'm with you on the Colourcoats tho, great results with no Flaff. Best o luck going forward. Geoff

Wait a mo, this was on the spru a couple of days ago! Great progress there! Geoff

Thanks Stew, would have been easier if I'd just checked before putting the seat together and gluing that to the frame but hey ho..... Geoff

Work stops play.... Ain’t that always the way. After browsing through the excellent builds going on I came across Steve 1602 cracking build of this same kit and discovered that I’m missing something, armour behind the seat. Not sure how Tamiya missed that off this kit, it's not too big an issue, hopefully. Leftover headrest armour from a Vb etch set and a bit of plasticard for behind the seat. I managed to encourage the existing headrest to move, but wasn’t going to get the seat off the frame without issues (as I’d already drilled the lightning holes and the frame was as weak as anything) so I cut some gaps in the card so it would slide down behind the seat frame. Not the best job in the world but good enough for government work. Now that little jobs out the way I think I can get on with some painting. More later, happy modelling all! Geoff

Great build so far Steve (and Bill) and good scratch building of the armour. The armour that goes behind the seat. The seat I've just glued on place.... Knew something was missing. Scratch building ahead in my build then... Geoff

Just had a hunt through Aces a high by Christopher Shores and Clive Williams, they quote that Tuck was flying N3040 when shot down on the 18th Aug, N3268 when he crashed on the 25th of August. Unfortunately no mention of the codes for either incident, QJ-?. Did find these tho. Up against a 1/72 Vb. Carpena 1/48 20” RAF Gery codes. Your more than welcome to the Q,J,R and Y’s on there if you’re interested. They’ll definitely be large, but with in BoB sizes. PM me if your interested. Geoff

I'll have a hunt through the stash as well, see what comes up. Geoff

The framing really does look good in black! Great work and attention to detail so far, looking forward to more of the same! Geoff

All looking good there, have you sorted the codes out yet? Geoff

Time for some building. I’m going to try and make R6772, a possible plane Mungo Park was flying on the 11th of August, as ZP-E. I’m going to follow A option in the build as I believe I’m going to be making R6772, and I’m guessing that the P9495 option in the kit will be closest. If anyone knows different please let me know! First job, from my understanding the Mk1 didn’t have the electrical socked on the port wing root, (it was on the other side, in front of the wing)so a quick dab of filler as the Kit has it Portside. Quick wipe and all gone... Sidewalls done, I’m going to do an open cockpit, there lots of options for this kit, you’ve got to check each step or you’ll miss something small. The kits going together just as you’d expect from Tamiya, excellent fit. And in no time at all the ‘pits ready for paint! Dry fit for now. The Etch included is pretty straightforward, the only surprise is that there’s no etch IP, I’d have thought that it would have been pretty simple to add it on with the belts etc but there you go. I’m thinking of using a Vb panel I have kicking around, I know it’s not correct at all but it will look a lot better than the moulded version. I’ll paint both up and see what’s what. And a quick look at what’s next. The fit is spot on, may try the wings taped on tomorrow and see what that looks like. Cheers for looking in, keep safe and enjoy the GB! Geoff

That's an incredible finish you've gotten there! Well done! Geoff

Nicely done Ray! Good work on the decals and the masking. I remember building this kit back in the late 80's. I lost the nose cone/surround, completely disappeared. Ended up with a blue tac nose spray painted green, didn't look the same after that... Good stuff! Geoff

Great effect your building up Beefy, looks spot on! Geoff

Some background to John Mungo Park, taken from the Wikki and other sites. Mungo joined the RAF on a Short Service Commission in June 1937 and was sent to 10FTS at Ternhill for initial training on 21st August 1937. Six months later he was posted to the Anti Aircraft Co-operation Unit of the Fleet Air Arm at Lee on Solent and then in August 1938 to HMS Argus, the Fleet Requirements Unit, to fly Fairey Swordfish. When war was declared he transferred back to the RAF and joined 74 Squadron (which was at that time based at Hornchurch) on 4th September 1939. The day after war was declared in September 1939, Mungo-Park transferred to No. 74 Squadron RAF flying Spitfires from RAF Hornchurch, commanded by Sailor Malan. He was promoted to flying officer 31 December. On 24 May 1940, while No. 74 Squadron were providing cover for the British retreat from France and the Dunkirk evacuation, Mungo-Park was wounded and his Spitfire damaged during an engagement with a Henschel Hs 126, but he managed to recross the Channel and land at RAF Rochford. On 10 July the squadron was engaged a large formation of Dornier Do-17s and their escort of Bf 109s and Bf 110s. Mungo claimed one Dornier, which he saw "turn lazily on its back and dive into the sea". On 11 August he was involved in four major air battles. During the first of these Mungo scored one Bf 109 destroyed and one damaged. In the day's third combat, over a convoy 'Booty' off Clacton, Mungo attacked two Bf 110s in quick succession and saw the first crash into the sea and the second go down pouring black smoke. He was awarded one 'destroyed' and 'one probable'. One further victory followed in the day's fourth air battle over Hawkinge, when his section was vectored onto a formation of Ju87s and Bf 109s off Margate. He led the attack on the 109s and his five-second burst into one of the fighters caused it to burst into flames and plunge into the sea. On 13 August No. 74 Squadron were vectored over the Thames Estuary onto an unescorted formation of Dornier 17s. Mungo claimed one destroyed amongst a squadron total of fourteen enemy aircraft claimed destroyed or probably destroyed. Mungo-Park took command of 74 Squadron on 10th March 1941 when Sailor Malan was posted away. He was attacked by six Me109’s over the French coast on 16th June and shot down two but his Spitfire's glycol system was damaged and after his engine seized he glided back across the coast and made a crash-landing near Hawkinge. On a sweep over France on 27th June 1941 Mungo-Park was shot down in Spitfire Vb X4668 ‘E’ and killed. He is buried in Adinkerke Military Cemetery, Belgium. The 74(F) Tiger Association have a copy of the Service of Remembrance for Squadron Leader John Colin Mungo Park DFC and Bar http://74sqdn.tk/in-memoriam-farewell-to-old-tigers/mungo-park/ which is well worth a read, a moving tribute from both fellow Tigers H M Stephen, Clive Hilken and John Freeborn, and a wonderful story about the aftermath of the crash from Joseph and Johny Recour, amazing gentlemen both. More on the build and the kit later today (should really be working right now but hey, who's watching...) Geoff

Think some of it is luck, but some of it is most definitely down to the release. My copy is the 2011 gift set of the Spit, more flash than spruce, several different plastics used, more warping than an episode of Star Trek and helpfully, 2-3mil difference in the two hull halves and all parts on those runners. Challenging! Geoff

Engine and pit are looking really good there, top job! The casting on the Merlin looks a lot better than Airfix's big Spitfires does, at least the one that came with my banana shaped release. Geoff

Like many I’ve been looking forward to this GB since I spotted it. As a child the “David and Goliath” aspect of the battle raised it above comparable events straight into mythical status, helped of course by the classic 1969 film, along with many others. The battle is up there with Rorkes Drift, Arnhem and Thermopylae, but has the added bonus that it was in the air. What made it stand out from those listed was the fact that the battle was using new types of planes, tactics and technology in a unique scenario, and on a scale and intensity not seen until then. I had no clear idea of what I was going to build at first, I mainly dabble in 1/700 ships, and although Operation Medium was an anti invasion operation, a model of HMS Revenge wasn’t going to be right for this, the 80th anniversary Of the Battle of Britain ( if you haven’t read about Operation Medium, it was a classic RAF/RN op, involving a stealth battleship, go on, go and have a look....). I had a look round the merger stash, a couple of Hellcats, a Barracuda and a few Seafires definitely didn’t fit the bill, so I had an excuse to buy a new kit! Drifting around tinternet got me nowhere, I think I looked at just about every kit that could fit into the timescale (really came close to buying a 1/72 Condor), and so I decided not to look for a kit, but a person or story, I was looking for inspiration... I then started hunting on the web, with no goal in mind. Just reading stories, re-discovering events, being amazed by new finds and generally getting into the mood. It was whilst I was looking at a list of RAF squadrons and their codes that something caught my eye. 74 squadrons wartime code was ZP. These are my wife’s initials, intrigued I started looking into the pilots, and the squadron in general. Now I’d heard of Sailor Malan, and I think I’d heard of John Freeborn, either of who would be more than worthy subjects of a build, but I was still unsure. A bit more digging around lead me to a pilot who was an ace, had been drawn and painted by Kennington and Orde, served with 74 squadron throughout the Battle, and went on to be it’s CO. John Colin Mungo Park DFC and Bar. I’ll cover more about his service in another post but for me, he kind of sums up the experienced RAF Pilot at the time, the fact his story is tragic leads a poignant edge as well. But more on that later, on to the kit. Now that I’d done a 180 from potential off the wall builds to a Spitfire, which kit? To be honest, it took me no time a all to decide on the kit. The latest Tamiya 1/48 had caught my eye when it came out and this all seemed to be the perfect excuse to grab one and do it some (in)justice! So that’s what, and why, I’m going with this, ZP E of 74 squadron RAF August 1940 . With some research materials This could be a long build as I never seem to get the time to build anything, but hey, we’ve got till October! Good luck in the GB all and thanks for looking in! Geoff