Procopius

Is MJ352/UF-G of 43 Squadron actually an LF.IXe? It appears to have outboard 20mm cannon, but also the earlier smaller tail. Is this a gaffe, or merely my own ignorance?

Morgan and Shacklady's Spitfire: The History has this to say on the subject of the wing: "The Supermarine drawing of the proposed wing revealed it to be similar to that eventually adapted for the Spiteful, except the latter was a true laminar flow type and called the Type 371 wing. The Type 372, Spitfire F23, was to make use of an interim wing which was the normal production type raised by 2in at the leading edge..." (p.487)

I was unaware they were scare! My local shop has three different boxings of the Hasegawa Beaufighter, the RAAF one, a nightfighter, and the regular VI boxing.

Edgar - thanks! Flyboy - Ian Keltie's Spit, correct? Looks sharp!

So, there was EN398, an LF IX, with the normal "c" wing armament, right? And then MK392, another LF IX, also with the "c" wing, right? But there also appear to be a few publicity photos of Johnson on a Spitfire IX with "e" wing armament (fig. 1); was that just a random plane? And then there're Kopro decals for JE-Jjr for MK392; did MK392 actually have the jr added after the J or is that in error?

So how do I apply those little instrument panel film things to photoetch? Do I glue them on? Do I use micro-sol/set to make them adhere?

Wait, Hasegawa did a Blenheim?

Holy cow!

Heavens, yes please.

Gosh, that looks quite nice! I've always been intrigued by the SEAC Thunderbolts, and this is just a splendid example. Makes me want to try and find a copy of the Rising Decals sheet in 1/72 and try my foolish hand at it.

I couldn't get past the Airfix Hurri IIc's nose. I'm hardly an expert on the plane, but something looked seriously amiss there. Tony: The AZ Hurri I is good, then? I've never built one and have been contemplating it.

I have future, but I only dipped the canopy prior to putting it on the plane. I'll try painting it on in the future. I did the basecoating thing (it got a layer of dullcoat after I put on the decals), but it never occurred to me to dip the decals on it, thanks! PS: Miggers, I love your signature - is it from anything?

Precious few ordinances in 1/72 as well.

Indeed! I don't believe there's any aftermarket ordnance suitable for the Barracuda in 1/72, either. Nor are there British bombs for all those American lend-lease planes.

I ended up brushpainting the cockpit framing because I messed up the masking process so badly and I didn't feel confident about trying again. I like your suggestion, thanks! I think I'll try that for the future. In fact, I've been trying to get better so that I can do the Mark VIII justice! Every now and then I give the sharkmouth a little longing look. Quite right! Without me they'd be nothing! Ah, I've managed to do something correctly in spite of myself. Splendid! The canopy's actually like that from knife scratches during the ill-fated masking attempt and some poorly-thought-out tries subsequently to buff them out. I used Micro Crystal Clear to affix it to the aeroplane.

A copy of Wing Leader autographed to me by Air-Vice Marshal Johnson, and an assortment of photographs of RAF/USAAF/FAA personnel with Spitfires which I received as a result of writing to the Spitfire Society magazine (DCO, I believe, at the time) as a lad of nine, asking for same.

NOTE FROM FUTURE PROCOPIUS: This post is six years old. A lot has changed in six years. So ever since I meandered over here a little under a year ago, I've realized more and more that I was not making models that looked terribly good, and that many if not all of the posters here were. My new year's resolutions included the ordinary inconsequential things (be a good husband, be a better runner, work harder, etc.) but also my top priority resolution: work on being a better modeller. I decided to knuckle down and really make the effort on a new Sword Spitfire Vc I'd gotten, since I was really beginning to feel I couldn't justify the expense of a nice model unless I really worked on it a lot more than I had been. So, I started on the 20th, and finally finished today. Normally it took me two days or three days to build a model, but I'm much happier with how this guy turned out. HOWEVER - I still have a long way to go. I'm terrified of trying weathering, and I couldn't make a mask for the canopy to save my life. Here is the short list of mistakes I made that I know of. There are likely others I don't even see. - Reversed the colors of the camo scheme by spraying Dark Earth as the base instead of Dark Green. - Skewed the seat in the cockpit during assembly so it swings to one side - Badly scuffed the canopy attempting to cut a mask while the tape was on it. - Poor canopy framing paintwork. - Used RAAF Sky Blue for the underbelly, as the instructions said "Sky Blue". I now believe this to more properly have been Sky Type "S". - One landing gear slightly canted in because I forgot to remove some flash. - The spinner looks like crap. I couldn't figure out a good way to put it together and paint it without messing up the paint or the assembly process. Anyhoo, with that introduction, here goes: Please excuse the fact that this was photographed on the bathroom floor (but look how clean I keep it!), there's not a lot of natural light in late-winter Illinois.

I believe they're all scanned in here: http://www.cmkkits.com/en/aircraft/cac-ca-9-wirraway-aa/

Fellas, if the background wasn't red, that bull on the nose wouldn't be charging.

Well, whaddaya know! Airwaves DOES do a set.

Are the two aircraft that similar internally?

A recurring theme in a number of his books, alas.

Are there any aftermarket sets for the Barracuda in 1/72? I'm lazy and untalented, a vicious combination.

How is this kit? I''ve heard it's just the Frog kit with some resin, and that it does or does not have raised panel lines. I also understand it doesn't have any stores. Is the former true? Are there aftermarket sets to rectify the latter? Do you need to make your own radar aerials for the wings?

I've been working on this some more, mainly sanding it with my newly purchased flex-i-file and sanding sticks, to try and make it more generally airplane-shaped. A lot of that splendid accurate rivet detail has perished in my efforts, seared away by my efforts like so many sinners in the hands of an angry god.