Olmec Head

Further Progress... I masked off the various colours and sprayed my usual Tamiya paints for standard RAF DFS. (I am also making a 1/72 Revell Spitfire IIa alongside to lengthen the airbrush time - I hate cleaning a brush after 2-3 miutes usage). After a a couple of day for drying and masking: The guns and Tail will go on later as they will only break off as I wrestle with fitting the canopy. The paint peeled from the radiators and intake, which was strange, probably not properly washed and prepared. I'll respray them later. And masked of for the walkway lines and the invasion stripes below the fuselage only. I'ts a later August aircraft. I am not sure about AP-D as the original Frog Kit, the Novo markings are unusable and I am doing an E wing and possibly / probably AP-D was a C wing. So I may do this (from the Osprey Griffon Aces book): Not no.7 which I understand is made up, but No.8 from 350 Squadron. Fg Off Binky Binks is now promoted to Sqn Ldr and will be a Belgic. I also only have limited sky codes which just about cover this aircraft.

Thanks Adrian, it is the first Franken Spit that I have tried to make, and it now has paint on it!

Progress moves forward (as it would of course) I had sort of forgotten about this kit. @Galligraphics has made an excellent job of updating and adapting the kit in his build for this GB. I tried to do the same, but mine is a bit more ‘cut and shunt’. I found an old Airfix PR19 lower wing and used that to get the gullwing effect. This became a bit of a bodge. I then followed up and used an old resin nose from a Freightdog model and a spare tail from the same kit. The ailerons were spares from an Eduard MkIX. It all took a lot of sanding with lashings of plastic putty and filler. The result was eventually passable -just. The radiators and air intake were from an Xtrakit Mk22 that I found cheap at the excellent Hinckley show. I then used Tamiya Sky to do another quick base coat. It now looks like the original Spitfire prototype! Hopefully the next steps will be to start painting the sow's ear - I see this as a 'concept piece' rather than 100% accurate (thats my story and I am sticking to it) . Fg Off Binky Binks is on the right and preparing to strap in. I haven't thought yet about the V1 'elongation'.

I am currently chopping it about with lots of filler and bodging after forgetting about the kit!

The very useful picture posted by @GrzeM and Dave Swindell seems to me to show a definite camouflage demarcation line at the nose and below the exhaust. I also see a similar, if less clear, demarcation aft of the cockpit. These 'lines' to me correspond with the temperate sea scheme patterns that Paul Lucas writes about in his Colour Connundrum series. So I would go with this aircraft not being in a uniform colour, but in a camouflage scheme.

Thanks Both I think the superglue and white glue idea has a possibility, the tubing would more than test my patience. It is interesting that there doesn't seem a best way method for the IFF wires.

Thanks makes sense as an option.

I am making an Airfix Spitfire Vb in 1/48 with the IIF wires from fuselage to tailplanes. I have the holes driilled in place and I am using nylon monfilament invisible thread. I have done this 'build' before but failed to do a good job on the fuselage terminals, by which I mean these: Does anyone have any advice or effective way of doing the small bakelite looking round terminal and getting the wire through it? I have looked online and in Britmodeller and I have not seen a foolproof (i.e me) method. Even in 1/48 the disc is very small, but noticeable. I was thinking about somehow getting a small red circle slid along the wire (already in the fuselage hole) and then glued in place over the roundel transfer. But how to cut and drill what is going to be a very small and thin circle. The picture by the way is from the Duxford gathering of Spitfires in 2022. Any help or ideas would be most appreciated. Richard

Thanks for the confirmation.

It's good that the QJ - J version has the correct 'The Wiltshire Moonraker I' script on the staboard side. There is an excellent tweet by @beaver-paul of a photo showing the aircraft W3312 almost brand new without any sqn codes. I am just making an Airfix Vb with some old decals that doesn't have the proper presentation script, so I may end up getting this kit for the script! The only issue is that I don't think there is firm photo evidence that W3312 (The Wiltshire Moonraker) was QJ-J as flown by Sqn Ldr Rankin. It appears to be an assumption albeit a strong one presumably. If someone has that proof that would be useful to see.

Thank you for sending these through, it's a positive review.

The internet has several promo pieces about the new Ultra and Evolution 2024 airbrushes being brought out. Has anyone seen them in the 'metal' please. They seem to have improvements, but with a increased price tag.

Thanks both for very useful information.

Yours is built and I am just still typing about mine. Good job. And as Frog intended...

The decals aren't very useable, but I have quite a lot of spare decals and squadron codes. The canopy 'blobs' are worse! Yes it has to be done with the stand, that is a given, that said, it means finding a better cockpit that fits and a pilot figure. Plus not having to scratch build a cockpit.