Quiet Mike

A frustrating day where the airbrush gods were definitely not smiling upon me. I spent most of the day with my old areograph Super63 spread out in bits on the bench. Everytime I attempted to spray the paint point blank refused to flow. I've no idea why and lost count of the times I stipped the whole thing down. Something must be clogged up somewhere but I'm not sure what else I can do to find it! I've had problems with it before, but it's been great spraying Ultimate Primer recently. I thin it down a little with Ultimate thinners. I may have pushed my luck and angered the Airbrush Gods by trying to put an Airfix starter kit pot through it for the red Jet Provost ... But it was heavily thinned and and had flow improver added. It just wouldn't play ball at all.

Thanks for this Roadrunner, you've made my job of colour mixing much easier! I mixed mainly XF-23 Light Blue with XF-21 Sky, and added a little Flat White and a few drops of Royal Blue. I'm very happy with the colour on my test, just disappointed with the gloss varnish (Galeria) I put on. K5054 prototype colour mix by Mike, on Flickr K5054 prototype colour mix by Mike, on Flickr

What a fascinating aircraft, and I'd never heard of it before seeing this thread! Following with much interest.

Cheers Chris. We are coping OK, but after 13 years they do leave a big hole that's hard to fill. Like a lot of friends have said, the first couple of weeks are difficult, but it's getting easier. We'll get another for sure. The Other Half is already on several Staffie Rescue sites Thanks for the offer of the canopy. I think I'll pass, as I'm going to try and make my modified kit part work. I'm going with a closed canopy, and everything does fit. My only issue is the chunky look of the bottom of the windscreen. When I pick the build up again I'll post on here with progress. I've parked it at the moment for a breather. I still need to get some paints for it too. I've just picked up a Jet Provost from Lidl and looking forward to a quick build and a change of scene for a little bit! It's the all over red version, which wouldn't be my first choise of scheme but for £3.50 I won't complain. More than a little inspired by Guy's lovely build here -

Well, I have popped my 'dipping a canopy in floor polish' cherry. I was pleasantly surprised, it looks much better. I'm not sure if some of this is down to the pleasant smell the polish gives off. I only dipped the windscreen, the other clear parts were already shiny enough. The windscreen now matches them. I used an old clear humous dip tub I'd washed out, with some tissue lining the bottom. I'm saving all sorts of odd tubs and pots since I started kit building again! And although I haven't had much luck making my own canopies yet, I squirrel suitable bits of clear plastic away. It does bug me a little that even though I've got the kit screen looking halfway decent, the bottom of the frame is a lot chunkier than the the prototype with it's delicate edges. I'm going to go with it for this build and hope it doesn't stand out too much!

Plunge mold is a new one on me! What's that?? With help from a couple of manicure buffing sticks this canopy modification didn't go disastrously wrong, and I was pleasantly surprised at the results. It's not perfect, but it's OK. I haven't managed to get it as shiny as it was, and I'm not sure the best way to do that. I have invested in a bottle of Pledge floor polish though, so may see what all the fuss is about with giving canopies a coat of it. Converting the MkI windscreen for the Type 300 Prototype by Mike, on Flickr Converting the MkI windscreen for the Type 300 Prototype by Mike, on Flickr Close, but no cigar ... It's not that bad though! How do I get that old shine back though? The windscreen after scraping the armoured screen off, and sanding and buffing by Mike, on Flickr The windscreen after scraping the armoured screen off, and sanding and buffing by Mike, on Flickr And then, because I was in a sanding and reshaping sort of mood, the nose was annoying me. I know Troy pointed out that the thrust line was too high. I can live with that, but the shape of the cowling over the exhausts was just a little too much pumped up. I was going over old photos again of K5054 and the lines are a lot cleaner. The prototype just looks leaner. Some minor adjustments to the shape of the nose by Mike, on Flickr Some minor adjustments to the shape of the nose by Mike, on Flickr Some minor adjustments to the shape of the nose by Mike, on Flickr Some minor adjustments to the shape of the nose by Mike, on Flickr Like a lot of these subtle differences I'm not sure I've captured it in the photos at all, but lit looks better in the flesh.

Canopies!!! This 2007 kit comes with 3 windscreens - the first production with the squared flat front windscreen. The second with the round topped tombstone shaped windscreen, and lastly the thickened armoured glass version we are probably most familiar with. And two canopies. The earliest flat sided and topped one as used on the prototype, and the Battle of Britain blown version. (And for reasons that are lost on me, there is also a fourth canopy and windscreen, for the final marks with teardrop canopies. I've discounted this for obvious reasons) Airfix kit canopy options with the 2007 MkI Spitfire by Mike, on Flickr Airfix kit canopy options with the 2007 MkI Spitfire by Mike, on Flickr The first style windscreen - Airfix kit canopy options with the 2007 MkI Spitfire by Mike, on Flickr Airfix kit canopy options with the 2007 MkI Spitfire by Mike, on Flickr The second style, with the tombstone shaped front panel - Airfix kit canopy options with the 2007 MkI Spitfire by Mike, on Flickr Airfix kit canopy options with the 2007 MkI Spitfire by Mike, on Flickr And the armoured windscreen as used from 1940. Airfix kit canopy options with the 2007 MkI Spitfire by Mike, on Flickr Airfix kit canopy options with the 2007 MkI Spitfire by Mike, on Flickr Airfix kit canopy options with the 2007 MkI Spitfire by Mike, on Flickr Now I'm not sure if this has been done before, but my idea is to sand and polish the armoured windscreen to replicate the curved single piece prototype. I've not attempted anything like this before, not even restoring a scratched or glued canopy, so this idea will most likely crash and burn. I have multiple windscreens though, and if this fails I can always go back and use the early windscreen canopy that was introduced at the very end of 1936. I'd appreciate any thoughts on this. What tools do I need?

Slightly out of order, but fitting the wing to the fuselage. Some issues with a step in the wing fillet area, that I'm not sure I've entirely fixed with filler. K5054 conversion from Airfix MkI by Mike, on Flickr K5054 conversion from Airfix MkI by Mike, on Flickr And a couple of in progress shots of the extended radiator, which worked way better than I hoped, as I was winging it. K5054 conversion from Airfix MkI by Mike, on Flickr K5054 conversion from Airfix MkI by Mike, on Flickr

Thanks WiP, I haven't seen this particular photo before.

Please find below some research I have done into a Supermarine Walrus that crashed less than a mile from my house here in Southampton, unfortunately with the loss of all four crew, in the first few months of the War. Supermarine are a pet subject of mine for obvious reasons, especially their flying boats and float planes. (The Itchen works are just the next parish along from me here in Sholing) I only recently found out about K8556, and I'd like to build up a 1:48 Airfix kit in their honour. I have reached a stumbling block though and I'm not sure what its wartime colours would have been? I'm assuming it would not have been in it's prewar silver dope finish? But the photo below of it on the hardstand at Lee-on-the-Solent is from September 1st 1939, and it is in silver dope? I would have thought it would have been in standard camouflage by then? Can any experts point me in the right direction? Walrus MkI K8556, HMS Daedulus, Sept 1st 1939 by Mike, on Flickr MkI Walrus K8556, from the manual by Mike, on Flickr Supermarine Walrus MkI K8556, Black 34, HMS Southampton by Mike, on Flickr The 12th of December 1939 was a stormy winters day, with low cloud over Southampton. This was the middle of the ’Phoney War’, that strange 8 month lull after Germany invaded Poland in September when we expected Germany to invade at any moment, and were under a constant fear of air raids. 754 Squadron Fleet Air Arm RN was stationed nearby at HMS Daedalus, the RNAS seaplane station at Lee on the Solent. (It’s still there and is now home to the Hovercraft Museum.) That afternoon a Royal Navy Supermarine Walrus MkI K8556 took off on a training flight, with a crew of four on board. Designed by RJ Mitchell and built in Woolston, Southampton, the prototype Walrus first flew in 1933. A hardy little single engine biplane, and one of the first amphibious aircraft to enter squadron service in 1936, with a folding undercarriage that allowed it to land and take off on both water and land. It was also built tough enough to be launched by catapult on board ships, and K8556 saw previous service on the new Town Class Light Cruiser HMS Southampton in 1938, as Black 34. Launched by catapult at 70mph, its main role was reconnaissance and to act as a spotter for the ships guns, before landing in the water beside the ship and being recovered by the ships crane. Like Mitchell’s more famous design the Spitfire, it would remain in service all through the war and beyond. On board this flight were pilots Lt Herriot-Hill (aged 24) of the RN and Pilot Officer Fortnum (19) of the RAF, along with Leading Airman McLoughlin (25) and Air Mechanic Moorhead (19), both RN. Their training flight would take them over Southampton, a prime target for the German Luftwaffe with it’s docks and aircraft factories and very much on the front line, and defended by Anti Aircraft (Ack Ack) defences. As well as light and heavy guns and searchlights these also included barrage balloons, flown over the city on strong cables that would destroy any aeroplane that hit them, and designed to hinder low level bombing raids. Parks and playing fields were ideal places to site this units in built up areas, and the Veracity Recreation Ground in Sholing was home to a Bofors Ack Ack gun, a searchlight and a barrage balloon unit. They were controlled by the Ack Ack Command HQ who would inform them when raids were expected, and local RAF and FAA squadrons would be briefed to know where these anti aircraft sites were located and what height the balloons would be winched out to so they didn’t fly into them. Unfortunately on this winters afternoon with it’s bad weather and poor visibility, the Walrus hit the cable of the barrage balloon moored at the Veracity. It was critically damaged and came down at the bottom of Lances Hill, in the front garden of 340 Bitterne Road. All four crew members died in the crash. (Directly opposite Hum Hole, the area of ground were parts of aircraft were reportedly dumped, and visible long after the war.) McLoughlin, Fortnum and Herriot-Hill are all buried in Haslar Royal Navy Cemetery in Gosport. Moorhead at Hartlepool West View Cemetery in Durham. Richard Herriot Mackay Herriot-Hill (24), Lieut, R.N., of Spring Gardens. London, S.W. Michael Fortnum (19), R.A.F. officer, Grove Road, East Molesey, Surrey Michael M’Loughlin (25), Leading Airman, Mersea Road, Colchester, Essex Louis Moorhead (19), air mechanic, Malton Street, East Hartlepool, Durham. References - Sussex History Forum http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=7953.0 CWGC records https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2438432/fortnum,-michael/ https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2438597/mcloughlin,-michael/ https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2838248/moorhead,-louis/ https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2438495/heriot-hill,-richard-heriot-mackay/ Crash Report https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=202861 **Additional information, from More memories of Bitterne by Irene Pilson.** The crash was seen by a great many eyewitnesses at the time, but lots of contradictory memories of what exactly happened. Tony White, 14, saw the Walrus fly over from his house in Witt’s Hill, Midanbury, then hit a ballon cable from a barrage balloon unit stationed in the nearby grounds of St Mary’s College. He watched in horror as it came to an abrupt halt on hitting the cable, and saw if disappear behind trees in a pall of smoke. Eyewitness Flt Lt Sherwood of the RAF stated at the inquest that the balloon was visible, but he couldn’t see the cable. The conditions were hazy, with variable visibility of about two mile. He saw the Walrus head directly towards it, and a piece of it flew off when it made contact with the cable. He said the Walrus did not fall immediately below the cable. It went into a spin, and he thought from hearing the tone of the engine change that the pilot was trying to recover from the spin. His view of the actual crash was obscured by a house, but he heard the impact and saw a burst of flame. Mrs Claire Moody also saw the Walrus collide with the cable, it’s left wing hitting it, making the machine swing round and turn over three times before hitting the nosediving and hitting the ground. Mr Harold Mouland, of Southsea, was actually involved in the crash, as he drove down Lances Hill. He careered with the wreckage into the front garden of 340 Bitterne Rd. (luckily the house was unoccupied at the time) The aircraft burst into flames when it crashed. Help was soon on the scene from men of the Ack Ack detachment nearby. (The St Mary’s College site is a lot closer than Veracity Rec, where eyewitness Colin Wilkins thought the barrage balloon involved was. Also, as Tony White saw the Walrus fly directly over his house in Witt’s Hill, and St Mary’s is directly in line with the eventual crash site at Lances Hill. Builder Mr W Angell was also on the scene with his workers, and together with the soldiers they tried to rescue the aircrew from the wreckage but the flames were too fierce and beat them back. Two fire engines arrived and the crews worked hard to extinguish the blaze, and stopped it spreading to the houses nearby.

This weeks progress seems to be mainly a repeat of the process of adding filler, and then sanding it all off again. Progress is slowly being made though. The under wing radiator has had an extension made from an old plastic membership card. K5054 conversion progress by Mike, on Flickr K5054 conversion progress by Mike, on Flickr And the wings are on now, with a little work required. I'm not sure the carburetor scoop is correct for K5054 in it's summer '36 air display guise. K5054 conversion progress by Mike, on Flickr K5054 conversion progress by Mike, on Flickr My next issue is tackling the windscreen. I'm not sure how to go about this. Do I try and fabricate one from scratch? Or do I just use the kit supplied flat windscreen version that K5054 adopted in Dec 1936 I think. I'd love to try and replicate the distinctive curved windscreen if at all possible ... But I've never done this before and no idea where to start! Thanks John, this week is definitely better than last week! I can look at old photos and smile, where as last week I'd just well up ... But still struggling when I cook, and not saving treats like carrot tops for her. On autopilot I saved a little gravy to pour on her dry biscuits today, that got me. You're dead right about the waves of sorrow. And they hit you at unexpected times, as it's usually the everyday and routine activities that are triggers. My wife can't eat toast at the moment as Mabel would always have a crust off her ... (You can tell she was spoiled in her old age!)

Of course! It is amazing how many vehicles from other nations that the Germans pressed into their own service.

A pal on facebook just shared this and I'd thought I'd put it on here. I very much enjoyed following your build! Civiliansised military surplus is a fascinating subject.

Boxers are lovely, but not on my list They remind me of baby giraffes, not in control of the legs quite properly

Sorry Troy, I forgot you mentioned this little gem of advice. It obviously sunk in a little way at least, as I used a similar method on those elevators! Cheers!