fightersweep

That and the 1/24 P-51B has been promised for years now. I would gladly take both. The Devastator finally appeared so there is hope yet, and if Trumpeter want to upscale the Kate to 1/24, even better! Good spot on the "fabric" horizontal stabs on the Spitfire. To be honest, I wasn't looking for it because I didn't think the same mistake would be made twice but here we are!

Interesting mix of good and bad. The cockpit is certainly a throw back to the 70s Hasegawa kit. Yet what I assume is etched detail for the spar is a nice touch. Can't vouch for shape as I don't have the kit in my hands. 1/35th aircraft seems to be a controversial choice, but I totally get it as far as throwing in vehicles and figures for diorama purposes. A mix of 1/32nd and 1/35th never did look quite right. Anyhow, am I right in thinking 1/35th was all Mr Tamiya's fault anyway? We were quite happy with 1/32nd and 54mm before that. Still, I'm never one to poo poo any new kit or venture and the Kate and carrier island is a fantastic idea which will no doubt kill my wallet. Don't think the Spit Vb is for me though.

Well, it was pre-release when I originally posted. Thought that was ok as a lot of what is in this forum is pre release news as opposed to rumours proper.

Haven't ordered my set yet, but good to hear that the conversion sounds well done. Decals would have been nice, especially for BoB movie schemes. I guess the general markings and codes are easy enough, it's those pesky fictional unit markings. Come to think of it, I'm surprised that no after market decal outfit has done a BoB movie sheet. I know there was one for a movie Spit IX, but I'm picturing one that has the unit badges etc in different scales for the Luftwaffe side of things.

Beautiful build of a beautiful aircraft. Great work as always and an impeccable taste in aeroplanes.

Easily one of my favourite threads on BM. I still think all this would make a great basis for a modelling nostalgia book. Love the Kit/Commando comic crossovers. Tempted to give that a bash myself with a couple of my favourite issues, Death of the Cobra and Clash of Aces. Always fancied doing Cassidy's Corsair from Warlord too. Too late, I'm 10 years old again!

I'm not even a helicopter guy, but I'd buy one. Great choice by Airfix.

https://uk.airfix.com/products/westland-sea-king-has1has5hu5-a11006

1/48 Sea King

If I'm reading the Air Ministry file correctly, it says that P9390 was struck off charged 19/7/40 as Cat C to ground instructional airframe 2111M on 22/10/40. So I'm guessing that 2111M is the instructional airframe ref #?

@Smithy @PatG @mhaselden Many thanks for the further replies. Sorry for the delay in replying as I've only just popped back into the thread. Personally, and this is just my choice, I think I will be going with P9390. It just seems to me that the evidence points more towards that conclusion, and I would also imagine Kotare looked very closely into this subject too. Another reason, ORBs and books aside, is having dug through my back issues of Constant Scale. It appears that Airfix did have contact with Al Deere whilst researching their 1/24 Spitfire. Being that the kit was released in 1970, then the research obviously took place in the late 1960s. Even though it's not mentioned and this is just conjecture, there is every chance that Deere still had his log book at this time. There must be a good reason why Airfix went with P9390, ORBs aside, when everyone else went with P9398. Also, I've added a copy of "Spitfire, The New Zealand Story" to my shopping list! Cheers; Steve

Well, a couple of E.28/39s would come in handy for a Brian Monaghan style Nene Lancaster conversion.

I think someone needs to stick to diecast models then.

Yes. I do need glasses, but I was also too busy colouring in the pretty pictures with crayons.

I wondered that too. If so, that's a nice touch from Airfix on an old kit, although I think I heard that the transparencies have been retooled so don't know if the original release represented this. I do like that Airfix are retooling the transparencies. Often the worst part of the older kits.

Nice review. Looks like a good kit and very crisp for it's age. I've noticed on another review and here that the side panel glazing looks slightly wrinkled. Is that replicating something other than glass? I don't know Bond Bugs very well so don't know if something other than glass was used. Cheers; Steve

Helmet Hair! Now there's a phrase I haven't heard for a long time 🤣 The first car I drove after passing was my dad's orange Maxi. I passed on Friday and he said I could borrow it just to get to work on Saturday morning. Needless to say, I went full on Ferris Bueller and clocked up several light years that weekend with my mates in tow. Needless to say, I'd love Airfix ro re-release it.

Nice preview to whet the appetite. I've got two on back order, and can't wait now. The built up model looks very good. With such a scant release history, I guess the moulds should still be pretty crisp. Is that Kenny Dalglish driving it?? Looking forward to building this. Hope we get the Maxi, Marina and all the other ones that get barmy prices on eBay again too.

Mulberry Scale Models CASA 2.111 conversions now released. 1/144 16 Euros, 1/72 35 Euros and 1/48 62 Euros. No price on the 1/32 version yet. Details here for 1/48; Complete conversion set in 3D printed resin for the 1/48 ICM Heinkel He 111 H (any version form H-1 to H-20) to Spanish-made version C.A.S.A. C 2.111 B, C or D. in 1/48 Scale. This Version of the He 111 that is well known for the model used in films like Battle of Britain or Patton. Direct sell price 62€. to buy it you can: Contact directly in private messenger here or on my email [email protected] If you prefer Ebay look for it in my Ebay Store https://www.ebay.com/usr/mulberryscalekits Follow all my news on: FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/antony.mulberrys/ YOUTUBE ; @MULBERRYSCALEKITS Cheers; Steve

It's funny that you should mention that as I was only wondering this morning if Airfix had any correspondence with Al Deere when producing the 1/24 Spitfire. I can imagine that they did. I'm also not sure when exactly Al Deere's log book went missing, so it's also possible that he was still in possession of it when Airfix did their research. All conjecture of course, but entirely possible. I've got all of my Constant Scales somewhere, so I know what I'll be doing later on today. I must say, that I am leaning towards P9390 the more I dig into this. Cheers; Steve

@wmcgill @Peter Roberts Thank you for that info. Fascinating! So the ORB and Kotare's research would indicate that P9390 must be Kiwi II. Seems likely then that Airfix had it right with their 1/24 kit all along.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I shall have a dig into the 54 Squadron ORB. Re; Al Deere's log book. According to Brendan Deere in his book "Spitfire Return to Flight", The log book was loaned to an author by Al Deere who was supposedly writing a book. It seems that the book and the log book disappeared never to be seen again. Brendan says in his own book, that naturally, the family would love to see the log book returned. I'm guessing it is residing in a private collection somewhere or other. Edit: @PatG Thank you! I shall drop the Air Historical Branch a good old fashioned letter and see where that leads. Thanks for the info! Cheers! Steve

Thanks for the replies. I'd always had P9398 down as Kiwi II as well, but does that mean it was repaired and sent back into action with 74 Squadron only to be lost on 31st July? Or is it possible that the serial number of the Spitfire that Sergeant Eley was lost in is wrong? So many questions! Also get's me wondering where P9390 comes from as a possible Kiwi II. Airfix have stuck with that for years. @PatG It's always been my understanding that N3180 had a Rotol prop. The prop from P9398 that was raised from Folkestone harbour was certainly a DeHavilland unit and is now on display at Hawkinge. Cheers! Steve

Hi all; I know this has cropped up before, but is there any further info as to which Spitfire was Al Deere's "Kiwi II"? P9398 or P9390? Asking as a friend of mine acquired a piece of P9398 recovered from off Folkestone harbour. He's not really a aviation buff per se, and asked me if I knew anything about it. Seems like a can of worms! So searching my references shows P9398 coming up as Al Deere's "Kiwi II" of 54 Squadron. Yet records show P9398 was initially attached to 64 Squadron, then 74 Squadron and it was Sergeant F Eley of 74 Sqdn that was shot down and killed in P9398 on 31st July 1940. I know 54 and 74 Sqdn shared Hornchurch as a home base in 1940, was it swapped between squadrons during that time? So did P9398 then carry both squadron markings (as well as Deere's "Kiwi") in such a short space of time? Then there's P9390. Also comes up in searches as Deere's "Kiwi II". The most recent re-issue of the Airfix 1/24 Spitfire 1a in the Classic range has markings for P9390 KL-B and lists the pilot as P/O Edward Coleman of 54 Squadron. The decal sheet still offers the Kiwi markings. I think Airfix have always had P9390 as Deere's Spitfire over the kit's last 50 years. So any digging I do brings up both serial numbers. Bit confused. Any thoughts folks? Cheers; Steve

I have first hand experience of that. I won't name the aircraft, but when an ex gate guard Spitfire was restored to airworthy condition I was offered what wasn't going to be used. That was pretty much all of the skins, cowlings, spinner, canopy, radiator housings etc. I wanted it, but had nowhere to store it. In the end, I gratefully accepted one of the underwing gun access panels that had a portion of the roundel on it. The rest, I was told, would have gone in the skip during restoration. Luckily, in the end, all that stuff ended up in preservation. This was a number of years ago now, and may not happen these days. I will say though, that those who think that just the data plate is all that is used seriously underestimate just how much original material can and does get reused. Of course it's never going to be a 100% original airframe, but even back in service days, they probably didn't end their careers being 100% original. Perhaps a pedantic observation, but I'm happy at seeing these birds take to the sky. Perhaps, better that they are not 100% original from the standpoint of mishaps, accidents etc.