Spit Fan

Back again with another Spitfire question. On page 41 of the Osprey "Spitfire Mk.V Aces 1941-45" book there is a profile of a Mk. VB X4272/SD-J flown by Flt Lt David Fairband 501 Sqn, June 1944. The profile shows the a/c with a 30 gal belly tank. (This is not the cigar shaped tank normally seen on the Mk. IX.) My question is was the 30 gal tank widely used on ops? Was it's bigger brother the 90 gal tank also used on ops? I have a 90 gal tank left over from the ICM Spitfire Mk. IX and though it might be an interesting addition to my current project. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. John R.

Back again with another Spitfire question. On page 41 of the Osprey "Spitfire Mk.V Aces 1941-45" book there is a profile of a Mk. VB X4272/SD-J flown by Flt Lt David Fairband 501 Sqn, June 1944. The profile shows the a/c with a 30 gal belly tank. (This is not the cigar shaped tank normally seen on the Mk. IX.) My question is was the 30 gal tank widely used on ops? Was it's bigger brother the 90 gal tank also used on ops? I have a 90 gal tank left over from the ICM Spitfire Mk. IX and though it might be an interesting addition to my current project. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. John R.

Dave: Thanks for the info on this film I will see if I can find it on U-Tube. I suspect that it will be a gold mine of material. John R.

Many thanks for your response. Silver it is for those items. I will leave the two ducts in place on my Mk.I (cannon). The machine gun opennings for the outer two .303s will be filled and the carriridge chute closed but can still be made out if you look closely. Oddly enough the Tamyia MK.I wing does not have the two gun heating ducts and from your post these ducts should be present. I will have to come up with a set for the MK.IIa (LR) that is also a WIP on my bench. Hopefully by the time I finish them I will have figured out how to post photos on site and will put them in the "Crtique" section for comment. John R.

Hi all, back again with some more questions on the MK.I My apology if these have already been asked and answered. 1. What was the factory color of the insides of the oil cooler and radiator? Silver, RAF Grey-Green or the under surface color? 2. I am converting a Tamiya MK.Vb to a MK.I (cannon) and I am wondering if the two gun heating ducts found on the Mk.Vb wings would have been on the Mk.I wings and if so would these have been removed on the Mk.I (cannon) aircraft? I can see an argument for either view. Things are moving a lot at a very fast pace on my three Spits build at least for me. Did I mention I am a very slow modeller? As always all input is greatly appreciated. John R.

Thanks Edgar! It's good to know that I wasn't totally imagining the dark color on the armor plate in some early Spitfires. It would seem from all that I read here that by August 1940 the armor was most likely painted in the same interior grey-green as the rest of the cockpit. I am in the process of coverting a Tamiya MK.Vb back to a MK.I (cannon), R6776 QV*H, as flown by Flt. Sgt. George Unwin during August 1940 and the armor plate will be interior grey-green. Happy Modeling, John R.

HI, Another Spifire MK.I question. Approximately when did armor back plate and headrest begin to be seen on squadron a/c? The other question is what color was this armor plate painted? I seem to recall it was a dark color, black? As always any information will be greatly appreciated. John R.

Many thanks for the info Jim. I though there was something that needed doing with the Tamiya struts. I will use your suggestion on reducing the length of the oleos 1mm. I will also take a harder look at the ICM kit gear legs. I am glad I asked as I am still at the stage I can tweak things without a lot of undoing things. Now let the build being. John

Hi all, before I get too far along on the three (1/48) Tamiya Spitfires sitting on my work bench I need to know if there are any probelms with the kit's main landing gear legs. I vaguely recall reading a post that hinted that they were problems with the length and or rake of the legs. Or just possibly it's the ICM kit that has the gear leg issues. Any help with this will be greatly appreciated as would any other thoughts on the Tamiya Spits. John R.

Thanks for the information. I had suspected that this vehicle wasn't in wide spread, if at any, use with the RAF. If it had been I am sure it would have been used in quite a few diorama over the years. Hopefully we will see some main stream kits of RAF vehicles at a reasonable price in the near future. John R.

Hi first post. I am lucky enough to have the old Bandai 1/48th Austin 3 tonner K5 truck kit in my stash and would to know if this particular vehicle was used by the RAF in WW2 and if so during what time frame. I would assume if it were it would not have been painted in Blue-Grey during the war. Many thanks in advance, John R.