maltadefender

Thanks guys, I'm looking forward to building it - I've got some 1/32 metal figures and plan to do a (whisper it!) airfield scene. This will be a non-flying model!! Meanwhile, I got to the bottom of the mystery shooting-down of a Heinkel in January 1940 - this from a Duxford-related site: On 11 January 1940, Duxford-based squadrons were involved in their first action of the war. 66 Squadron, while on duty at Horsham St. Faith, was scrambled to catch a Heinkel He111 which had attacked a trawler. Three Spitfires intercepted it, damaging the port engine. The Heinkel was then lost in cloud and the Spitfires returned to base, but the enemy aircraft was later reported to have crashed in Denmark. I wonder what the Luftwaffe records say about this... seems remarkable to send a lone bomber out into the North Sea to disrupt the fishermen!

Oh I really don't need an excuse to get some decals!! Now remind me - how many other pink 'uns are we expecting and which ones aren't yet due to appear then??

Part 3: Identity Crisis! The Revell box art shows the 610 Squadron aircraft DW-K carrying the serial number N3029. The airframe history of N3029 shows that it was delivered to 9MU on 15.9.39 and transferred to 66 Squadron at Duxford on 28.9.39. Curiously, Sergeant M. Cameron claimed a third share in downing a Heinkel He111 in this aircraft in January 1940 – I'd love to know how a Heinkel managed to get itself within range of a Duxford-based Spit so long before Germany had made its move to the west! The next key moment comes again with 66 Squadron, now based at Kenley, when N3029 was shot down by a Bf109 on 5.9.40 – Pilot Officer R.J. Mather force landing unhurt. Once repaired, N3029 was returned to 66 Squadron where it was shot down once again on 14.9.40 while flown by Sergeant P.H. Willcocks, who crash-landed near Gravesend and once again was unhurt. All this is good stuff – but nowhere in its records does N3029 appear as a 610 Squadron airframe! 66 Squadron was at Duxford until May when it became the first unit to fly out of Coltishall, still within 12 Group, from where it covered the evacuation of Dunkirk. 610 Squadron was within 11 Group from May to August and 66 Squadron only joined 11 Group in early September, flying out of Kenley, when apparently N3029 was back on its strength. Looking at it you'd have to think that Revell made a mistake. Plenty of other Spitfires wore the markings DW-K during the Battle of Britain - but the 610 Squadron Association records show, however, that airframe N3029 was assigned to them during the Battle of Britain and carried the code DW-K. The clue comes from the note that it was maintained LAC Joseph Heaps, who was a member of 610 when it was stationed at Biggin Hill from 7 July-31 August 1940. Somehow N3029 left 66 Squadron in July and returned to it – along with former 610 Squadron pilot P.H. Willcocks – in September, after 610 was withdrawn from the front line. Quite how or why is a mystery to me – although there is one rather interesting nugget: Both N3029 and X4067 flew with 610 Squadron in the Battle of Britain. Both carried the codes DW-K. Both were piloted by Sergeant P.H. Willcocks and both of them were refitted to Mk.V specification before being lost at sea while being transported from Birkenhead to Port Sudan in the winter of 1942-43! Anyone with any ideas on how N3029 ended up with 610 Squadron would, however, be much appreciated to chip in...

Part 2: ‘our’ Spitfire - I say this model is a family affair because when I was five or six, my Dad built this model for me, painted as DW-K of 610 Squadron. For years I wasn’t allowed to touch it, just admire it from a safe distance, before I could finally get my mitts on the thing and tinker with the moveable rudder, ailerons, elevators and undercarriage. Sadly I tinkered with it too much and over the years Dad’s handiwork was reduced to its component pieces! One thing I always remember is that it was painted with lighter shades than Dark Earth/Dark Green – not by much, but it was noticeable. It also had bright red exhausts. Since learning about the colours of Spitfires I asked my old man why painted it that way, assuming it was just Seventies chic, but he said that was simply how he remembered 610 Squadron Spitfires to be – the colours looked brighter. Dad was born on the Wirral Peninsular in the ‘Thirties, and as a boy the single greatest cause of excitement came from RAF Hooton Park, the local airfield at Ellesmere Port. For 610 Squadron (County of Chester) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force this was home base, first as a bomber unit in 1936 flying Hawker Harts and Hinds, then receiving Fairey Battles in May 1939 before reforming as a fighter unit in September 1939. RAFVR pilots were in the main well-heeled sons of prominent local gentry, landowners and – in the North-East – captains of industry. They were the kind of blokes that kids like my Dad wanted to be – flash boys who had great cars, pots of money, saucy girls and got to fly fighters into the bargain! Initially 610 was equipped with both Spitfires and Hurricanes, although the Hurris were subsequently sent away to 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron. After a brief stint in Scotland at the start of the war, 610 came back to Hooton Park before heading south to Biggin Hill, covering the evacuation of Dunkirk. Flying from Biggin, Gravesend, Hawkinge and Croydon, 610 was in the front line until 31 August 1940, scoring 40 victories for the loss of 11 pilots – with regular reports on their achievements being reported back in Cheshire, which my Dad and his mates followed with pride. In the 1990s I went to Ellesmere Port while working on the RAC Rally, which had a Service Area in the massive Vauxhall plant that was built on the site of RAF Hooton Park. Going in search of a cup of tea on a blustery November morning, I came across a World War 2 T1 hangar which is now home to the 610 Squadron Association, crammed with artefacts, pictures and good company. These dedicated volunteers are incredibly passionate about 610 and, if you happen to be in the area, look them up and support their cause!

Part 1: The kit - Perhaps I’m pushing the boat out a little with this one, but flushed with success (by my low standards) with 'Jumbo' Gracie's Hurricane, my second BoB build will be something of a family affair in the form of Revell’s re-released ‘Classic’ 1/32 Spitfire Mk.I: Here are some sprue shots, for those of you who are curious to see what happens to a mould after 40-odd years – the answer is nothing pretty! I see some long nights ahead with the sandpaper and knife, but first a little history...

Mine's definitely going to be a Granby model, I've lived in Bahrain for the past four years and flown in and out of Muharraq more times than I care to mention. Probably just straight out of the box Airfix, but there's time enough yet...

Another one to really look forward to... thank heavens for brass tube!

Well... I've ordered some RAF Sky Blue No.1 and I'm going to use it on my second BoB Group Build. Nick - great points and thank you for them. I like the challenge that we've been left trying to work these colours out - and the way it makes you think more about the subjects you're modelling. For me now the hue itself is less of a problem than trying to work out how the subject aircraft managed to switch squadrons for a month for no apparent reason!

That's a whole lot of figures to do... would take me until Christmas good luck!!

Weathering's done on the Hurricane and the landing lights are painted on. I used a cocktail stick to do the chips and scrapes. I'll re-fix the pitot that my dog knocked off and put the exhausts and aerial wire on before matt coating it!

Thank you!!

Oh poo - help please Mods - this is an aircraft question after all!!! Thanks Nick. Now then, it may be an apochryphal story but apparently some Fighter Command aircraft had their undersides painted in Sky Blue No.1 following the fateful (in modelling terms!) order of June 6 1940 to go from black/white to Sky Type S undersides. I quote from the FlyPast Battle of Britain special: 'Research, conducted in the late 1990s by Paul Lucas and others, on surviving artefacts, shows that in addition to the official Sky colour 'Eau-de-Nil' (No.16), and Sky Blue (No.1) were found on many artefacts. There was also significant evidence of a Sky Grey, sometimes overpainted with one of the Sky colours, which could support reports of black and light grey undersurfaces.' In the light of this research, recent profiles of 610 Squadron Spitfires and 32 Squadron Hurricanes have been revised to show what I think is Sky Blue No.1 if it's the sort of aquamarine hue that's being used in the profiles - is that right and is there a close match? Time to saddle up!

I've got serious landing-light envy!! Well done.

For a brush-wielding out-of-the-box merchant I'm happy so far... although the canopy is yet to come... GULP!!

Fantastic!

So glad you got her done Mark, she's top banana

Hi all, On the vexed question of hues, undersides of RAF fighters for the use of, does anyone know the best way to get a workable Sky Blue No.1 going? Thanks in advance... let the party begin!

Say what you like about Airfix, but my word the shape's all right!

Executive decision: I've done as much of a rescue job on the Messerschmitt decals as I can. Seems silly to spend a total of £12 on decals for a pretty awful £3 kit that's only in the background of my 'skyorama'. I don't think I'll be troubling Techmod or cheap kits again!! Meanwhile a little bit more jiggling of the display stand before getting these two finished up... I think Rowan was right!

Thanks Rowan, I've tipped the 109 down and it's much better. More work to do on the Hurri to get it angled and balanced but hopefully she'll come good. Unfortunately the decals on the 109 have gone a bit wrong - quite flaky. I'm committed to doing White 13 so I'm going to have to get another set, while the uneven finish on the divide between Sky and Dark Green at the front of the Hurricane wing root has been addressed. Grrrrr!!

As a break from putting a million piddling little stencils onto a very bad model of the Messerschmitt I gave them a trial fit on the stand. So far so good, I'd like to get 'Jumbo' a bit more nose-up and am in two minds about the positioning of the 109 - perhaps angle her to be at a lower altitude but further away? Any thoughts welcome...

The sun came out this evening! And now 'Jumbo' is in full warpaint ready for decalsoft, matt and weathering...

A deserved concours winner and surprisingly nippy to boot. Mine was the big Alfa 8C number 24 - first attempt at building a competitive car. Through this I discovered the benefits of pushing the envelope on ride height combined with the virtues of having a big brass plate bolted to the floor if you're going to be competitive. Managed some good lap times but was far too inconsistent compared to the little fliers with better CoG.

Here's my report from the Brooklands slot car meet last summer... Brooklands 2009

Thanks Dave, Well we won't be paying too much attention to Lt. Blume up above - he's set-dressing rather than a build proper. That in itself is probably for the best when you consider that he can't actually see anything - and he's giving 'Jumbo' aerial envy!!! Time for some trimming I think...