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neilfergylee

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Everything posted by neilfergylee

  1. Thanks Vingtor. I have no doubt that there were numerous variations: as soon as individual units received instructions to use grey, I am sure there was a bit of a free-for-all. However, the official instruction was for the 7:1 mix and as it's paler, it does seem to explain some of the pictures of that time: the Spitfire Mk.IV prototype being a case in point. Neil
  2. Another b----y Spitfire! This is the excellent Tamiya Mk.I that I modelled as a Mk.II following an inspection of the Loch Doon Spitfire at the Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum. Back in the summer, I visited the museum and the staff there were absolutely lovely and allowed me to get very up close and personal with the airframe. The aircraft crashed in Loch Doon in 1941 and was rescued in the 1980s after several attempts to find it. The restoration has taken the wreaked fuselage, rebuilt it and mated to a set of replica wings. Importantly, the cockpit is more-or-less intact and I can publish images if anybody is interested. In th emeantime, take a look here for more information. https://www.dumfriesaviationmuseum.com/the-collection/loch-doon-spitfire/ After much umming and ahhhing, I decided to model the Tamiya kit as a Mk.II by adding a Quickboost Rotol spinner and adding the all-important bulge that accommodated the Coffman starter geartrain at the front of the engine. Now for the colour scheme. I was brought up reading Ian Huntley's articles in Scale Aircraft Modelling in the 1980s. These were utterly fascinating for their precision and personal insight but could be frustrating as he did, at times. 'go on a bit'. I remember one particular article where one minute I was reading about colour shades and the next I was being instructed on how to fabricate a measuring spoon! In these recent times, both to protect the original magazines, and allow rapid interrogation, I have digitised the articles and one advantage is that I can search for and go straight to the detail. The period of 1941 to 1942 would have been fascinating as colour schemes morphed from Dark Earth to Ocean Grey. However, according to Huntley, Ocean Grey was not specified until the Spring of 1942 and between August 1941 and then, a shade known as 'Mixed grey' (7:1 ratio of Sea Grey, Medium and Night) was used. Better still (controversy alert), th einitial instructions in August 1941 specified retaining Sky undersurfaces for home defence aircraft although MSg was to be used for offensive aircraft and soon after, it became the standard for all fighters. I used MRP colours, including creating my own mixed grey (which is noticeably paler and less blue than Ocean Grey) and retaining sky undersurfaces because I could. After priming, I painted the port wing black before mottling in white with black mottling for the rest of the undersurfaces. I also practiced by chipping skills (using AK chipping fluid), building up the colours with a limited covering of silver to represent bare metal, then interior grey green to serve as primer and, finally, a little dark earth to the chipping would reveal different layers. Comments and criticism welcomed. By the way, I discovered I had the Czech roundel wrong after I had finished the varnish. 🤨 Kind regards, Neil
  3. Bloody hell fire - that hangar shot looks like the real thing! What an excellent set of images. Bravo!
  4. Oh crikey - I never knew it was rare - I have on in my stash from when it came out! You have absolutely nailed it! Neil
  5. An excellent job! You really brought that model to life and, importantly, built it out of the box! Bravo! Neil
  6. Thank you Steve! Those wings really are dumpy: here's a comparison with the Mk.XX prototype and the difference is quite striking. Cheers, Neil
  7. Oh blinking heck! The rear of the blades are black and I can even see a yellow tip! It just shows how one can study a subject and miss the obvious. I shall repaint the blade backs but I really am confused about the front. Cheers, Neil
  8. This is the conclusion of a build described here: The Spitfire III was intended to be the first significant development of the Spitfire, the prototype first flying in March 1940. Principal changes were: Strengethened fuselage Improved windshield with internal armour plating Retractable tailwheel Clipped wings Merlin XX engine This last item was the Mk.III's most significant change (I'll come to the wings) and, ultimately its reason for not entering production. The Merlin XX was not the first but it was the first significant production version of what was known as the 'two-stage' Merlin: This meant that the supercharger impeller could turn at two speeds, allowing it to pump air into the engine more efficiently by changing speed at higher altitudes. This gave a significant boost in performance. The higher performance required greater cooling, so the underwing radiator was enlarged, while the retractable tailwheel was an aerodynamic improvement that would be see in later versions of the Spitfire. The wings were clipped. Not 'Low-level Spitfire' clipped but really clipped, taking six feet off the span. The effect of all these changes was to give the Spitfire III a significant upgrade in performance. The team 'Superiority Spitfire' was often used. The problem with the Merlin XX was production. The two-speed supercharger was harder to build and production was limited. As a result, the Air Ministry chose the limited production variant to be used by bombers and the Hurricane which, approaching Obsolescence even in 1940, would benefit from the greater performance of the Merlin XX. As a result, the Spitfire III was stillborn with just two prototypes being built, N3297 (as modelled here) and W3237 which, curiously, was built in 1941, long after the M.III had been cancelled. The Spitfire Mk.IV was the Griffon prototype and so the next (and most produced) version of the Spitfire was the Mk.V, which used the Merlin 45 series which was, effectively, a single-speed version of the Merlin XX. Do take a look the link above as I have put in more about the Mk.III. The model is the Airfix Mk.I / II modified as follows: Fuselage extended by a scale 4 inches, including a Mk.XIV fuel tank with an angled firewall. Modified windshield Radically clipped wings Enlarged radiator, modified form one used in an XIV Quickboost Mk.V propellor and spinner Quickboost exhausts Eduard photoetch flaps
  9. Even with them in front of me, it's hard to tell the difference!
  10. Okay, this really started to bug me. This is some of the key information from Ian Huntley's article. My emphasis in italics. Regarding Mixed Grey: The instruction was passed to the units by teletype message, with the operative words being 'mix seven parts medium sea grey with one part of night, by volume’ The result was easy to achieve. Observer Corps units appear to have received the news of the proposed change at the same time as the Fighter Stations, on 15 August 1941. Details pointed out that fighters engaged on home defence duties would remain with sky undersurfaces and that both sky and grey undersurfaces would continue to be seen for some while to come. Airframe Contractors' Instructions Contractors were warned of an impending change with the issue of ... 'a new day fighter scheme camouflage to be introduced on the production lines as soon as the new colours become available Those concerned with the production of the Spitfire, Hurricane, Whirlwind and Mosquito were notified during November 1941, though no details about the 'new' colours were given. Then, in March 1942, several notifications were sent out describing a more tight adherence including new to camouflage schemes, definitive instructions about patterns and demarcations and the location of national and other markings. What was happening was that instructions given on a series of earlier DTD Technical Circulars with regard to paint schemes were being rationalised into just one or two documents. These were under the heading of 'Map Camouflage Schemes, General' and one of the first of the new instructions was issued as Amendment No.3 to DTD Technical Circular No.144 on 10 April 1942. For the first time, this document made direct reference to the day fighter scheme as having dark green and ocean grey on the upper surfaces. Ocean grey turned out to be a base of medium sea grey to which a spot of yellow had been added, which imparted a slightly greenish tinge to the mix. Then, a very small amount of black slightly darkened the finish. It would appear from this that Ocean Grey was not introduced on the production lines until around April 1942. Thus, anything seen prior to that date was the service-applied mixed grey. My thoughts I suspect that unofficial word would have found its way to contractors are more-or-less the same time the squadrons where informed and judging by Huntley's comments, it appears that airframes were painted in mixed grey until April 1942. Experiment I created some Mixed Grey using Mr. Paint Medium Sea Grey and Black. I then sprayed it onto a spare Spitfire airframe, adding Medium Sea Grey, Ocean Grey and a small area of Dark Sea Grey for comparison. I used MRP Darg Green as a delimiter. Below are two views in natural light, the first in shade and the second in direct sunlight. Now, naturally, a digital photo, uploaded to the web and then viewed on your screen is not going to provide 100% fidelity but it might give you an impression of the different shades. Interestingly, Mixed Grey looks closer to Ocean Grey than I expected but it is quite light and if you compare this with the picture of DP845, I do now think it was painted Mixed Grey. What do we think? Cheers, Neil
  11. As an aside, I made up a batch of Mixed Grey using seven parts MRP Medium Sea Grey and one part MRP black. It certainly looks a LOT lighter than Ocean Grey.
  12. A full uppersurface repaint. Much better! The propellor is just blu-tacced in position.
  13. Hi Troy, I've tried to send you a PM but the forum states that you can't receive them. Therefore, here's the bulk of my message: I thought I would put the cat amongst the pigeons regarding the Mk.IV prototype! I too thought DP845 would have been produced in Ocean Grey but an Ian Huntley column from Scale Aircraft Modelling in 1990 made me think again. I have digitised Ian Huntley's article and the link below is a PDF version and I certainly found some surprising information, namely that Ocean Grey didn't appear to be specified until April 1942! I guess my question has to be whether they were using the famous 'Mixed Grey' in the interim? https://www.dropbox.com/s/84mlkdxy8l4s2qf/The Ocean Grey Era.pdf?dl=0 Neil
  14. I've done DP845 in late condition but I feel like turning my Airfix XII in to DP845 in early condition. Another bit of controversy: I'm saying DP845 first came out in green and dark earth! Neil
  15. Oh knickers. Ever heard the adage "Measure twice, cut once"? I have a new variation: "Check the camouflage scheme twice, paint once". Perhaps rushing it a bit too much, I painted the uppersurfaces yesterday. It was a combination of Tamiya Dark Earth and MRP Dark green and everything went wrong: I used a can of primer that was too near the end with the result that it sprayed with a very rough texture - I had to flatten it with wet and dry. The Tamiya dried too quickly leaving, again, a rather over-matt finish. I tried to go for a hand-sprayed effect reflecting the prototype nature of the airframe by using blu-tac and, frankly, I didn't do a good job of it. Look at that starboard wing: I've messed-up the pattern. And the pièce de résistance: I used the 'A' scheme camouflage and then realised to my horror that N3297, as an odd-numbered airframe, used the 'B' scheme. Take a look at the image below (taken from the image repeated above) and the evidence is both conclusive and damning. So, it's back to the paint bay when a fresh supply of paint arrives in a few days. As I said before, knickers! Neil
  16. It is a guard to prevent an anti-spin parachute from becoming fouled with the vertical fin and rudder.
  17. Hi Troy, Thanks for your reply, I'm loving this discussion! Regarding your points: Yes, you are spot-on about the ailerons. I didn't like the Airfix parts with their over-heavy scalloping and, looking at this image (of which more anon), those ailerons look to be metal, hence my desire to replace then with something more representative. This brings me onto the undercarriage bays. In short, you have saved me from making a mistake: I had seen correspondence indicating that the factory finish was interior grey-green for the wheel bays but your information looks pretty definitive to me. Looing again at the picture above and the one I shared yesterday; it looks like the wheel hub on the post side might be black. I wish I had a starboard view to compare. Moving onto the flaps and their interior, I thought they would be interior grey-green but now I think aluminium looks to be correct. Thanks again! I'm pretty confident regarding the undersurface colours. Later pictures were most probably yellow but not only was the colour scheme correct for early 1940 but the uppersurfaces were camouflaged and definitely not yellow! The Morgan / Shacklady book is wrong in my opinion and if you look at early photos you can make out the demarcation between camouflage colours. This is a hill I'm prepared to die on. Regarding the cowlings, I agree that they were almost certainly hand built and, as you say, the fuel tank interface is very different to other Merlin marks (except that one!). The view above gives a great illustration of the view from behind and although the top cowling looks a little bulged, I don't think it's madly so. I really appreciate your help here. I'm hoping to sort the top surface camouflage today and shall report back! Best wishes, Neil
  18. Not quite with the wheel wells: It's a bit of masking fluid remaining. I plan to paint the wheel wells in interior green The black and white (with airframe silver) does appear correct for the airframe's early condition.
  19. Thanks for this: I agree with your views regarding the cowling, it's just marginally longer. The wings were more interesting: I cold sear I had an article stating which rib the wing was shortened to but in its absence and having reviewed several photos, I am satisfied that the wing was trimmed to the rib where, on normal wings, the outer aileron hinge was located. In turn, I added the enlarged radiator (with boundary layer splitter) from a Spitfire XIX kit and used a resin oil cooler to replace the grossly overscale Airfix offering. The wingtips were several laminations of plastikard sanded to shape. Here we see the wing, suitable trimmed with a full spam wing for comparison. The Mk.III wing was a LOT shorter than the normal clipped wing. Note also the trimmed ailerons. I nearly butchered a set of ailerons from the XIX kit before remembering - literally with the saw poised - I was using the wing to build a Spitfire PR.XI and so cut out the ailerons from the wing of an Academy XIV (see other conversion) and built them up ready for trimming. Here is the revised wingtip: And finally, here is the current state of play. Note the PE flaps, I thought I would bling it up a little. Cheers, Neil
  20. Having worked on the windshield line, I am looking at taking the central windshield of a kit canopy, removing the sides and manufacturing new sides to fit the space. Here is the first stage with the model at the top and comparison windshields beneath. The middle is the original Mk.III windshield that I am attempting to reproduce and the bottom is the later Mk.III windshield which was essentially that of a Mk,V.
  21. This looks a little better: The orange Dymo tape is there to help align the base of the windshield. Cheers, Neil
  22. It hurt, especially as I'd get the filling pretty much smoothed-down but it was clear that the nose was going badly wrong with the high windshield line plus the slope as noticed by @Troy Smith. I've tried again and here is a comparison:
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