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Showing results for tags 'No 64 Squadron'.
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In for a penny...... Several years ago, whilst searching for photos of No 64 Squadron's Spitfires during my infamous one man BoB Spitfire Group Build, I stumbled across a Pathe newsreel which caused a lot of excitement chez Lasermonkey. There was some great footage of No. 64's Spitfires, which were otherwise notoriously camera-shy. Studying the footage, a few notable things stood out. Firstly, at least two of the Spitfires had roughly painted fuselage roundels and fin flashes with a considerably paler blue than the other aircraft in the squadron. Secondly, one of the aircraft had great, big fuselage roundels, obviously modified from the original 35" type A to 49" type A1 by adding the yellow ring. As far as I can tell, this is unique amongst No. 64's Spits. I made some screen grabs and posted them on Britmodeller, as I thought they'd be useful. Certainly, there was some discussion about it at the time. Later, Fündekals released a sheet of 1/48 decals which included a couple of the 64 Sqn aircraft and while I don't claim that my screen grabs were the inspiration behind these choices, I was the one that pointed out the strange roundel colouring. By the way, it's still a source of irritation that they never released this sheet in The Gentleman's Scale. Jolly bad show! Anyway, on to the aircraft in question. The size of the roundel is blindingly obvious here. Also of note is the smaller individual a/c letter, something common with No. 64 Sqn. Another smaller photo: Not from the newsreel, but of far better quality. Note the positioning of the squadron codes aft of the roundels, something often seen amongst ex-Blenheim squadrons. It also looks as if part of the serial number is still intact. I think I can see a P or an R just before the H. The red centre of the roundel looks a little smaller than it should be, so I'll have to deal with that. I don't know the serial number, which was (mostly) overpainted. So apart from the aforementioned, it's in the B scheme and I can't see anything else out of the ordinary. I think that Sky undersides are most likely. I'd really like to do one of those weirdly marked aircraft mentioned earlier, but the roundels and the unique style of the codes on SH@Q aren't something I have in my stash or are available in 1/72. I'm not bitter. (I lied.) On to the model. I'm using the later Airfix 1/72 Mk I. I bought a couple last year for about £3.50 each, just because they were cheap. I've already built some sixteen of this kit, so I think I'm aware of all the pitfalls. I got stuck in before I remembered to take any photos of the box or contents, but I'd be surprised if any of you don't know what's in there by now. When it first came out, I was overjoyed. I thought it looked so much better than the Tamiya kit and while some prefer the old Airfix Mk I, I think the newer kit looks much better around the nose. The panel lines are overdone and need attention. I was surprised on this particular kit that the moulds look like they've seen better days. Anyway, I cut some parts off the sprues, cleaned them up and got glueing. I also started flowing some diluted Mr Surfacer into the panel lines to hopefully take the edge off them. I slapped some paint on the insides. Not much can be seen through the canopy, so I didn't waste a huge amount of effort. I did add the seat armour though. Wings were glued. This is the first time I used Tamiya Extra Thin on this kit and I got a much better finish as a result. More progress with the seat. The instrument panel has been glossed, ready for the decal which I hope to fit tonight. I'm off for a nap now, as I only managed ninety minutes of sleep last night and I'm feeling decidedly light-headed. Cheers, Mark.
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