Jump to content

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'Spitfire IX'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Calendars

  • Community Calendar
  • Group Builds
  • Model Show Calendar

Forums

  • Forum Functionality & Forum Software Help and Support
    • FAQs
    • Help & Support for Forum Issues
    • New Members
  • Aircraft Modelling
    • Military Aircraft Modelling Discussion by Era
    • Civil Aircraft Modelling Discussion by Era
    • Work in Progress - Aircraft
    • Ready for Inspection - Aircraft
    • Aircraft Related Subjects
  • AFV Modelling (armour, military vehicles & artillery)
    • Armour Discussion by Era
    • Work in Progress - Armour
    • Ready for Inspection - Armour
    • Armour Related Subjects
    • large Scale AFVs (1:16 and above)
  • Maritime Modelling (Ships and subs)
    • Maritime Discussion by era
    • Work in Progress - Maritime
    • Ready for Inspection - Maritime
  • Vehicle Modelling (non-military)
    • Vehicle Discussion
    • Work In Progress - Vehicles
    • Ready For Inspection - Vehicles
  • Science Fiction & RealSpace
    • Science Fiction Discussion
    • RealSpace Discussion
    • Work In Progress - SF & RealSpace
    • Ready for Inspection - SF & RealSpace
  • Figure Modelling
    • Figure Discussion
    • Figure Work In Progress
    • Figure Ready for Inspection
  • Dioramas, Vignettes & Scenery
    • Diorama Chat
    • Work In Progress - Dioramas
    • Ready For Inspection - Dioramas
  • Reviews, News & Walkarounds
    • Reviews
    • Current News
    • Build Articles
    • Tips & Tricks
    • Walkarounds
  • Modelling using 3D Printing
    • 3D Printing Basics
    • 3D Printing Chat
    • 3D Makerspace
  • Modelling
    • Group Builds
    • The Rumourmonger
    • Manufacturer News
    • Other Modelling Genres
    • Britmodeller Yearbooks
    • Tools & Tips
  • General Discussion
    • Chat
    • Shows
    • Photography
    • Members' Wishlists
  • Shops, manufacturers & vendors
    • Aerocraft Models
    • Air-craft.net
    • Amarket Model
    • A.M.U.R. Reaver
    • Atlantic Models
    • Beacon Models
    • BlackMike Models
    • Bring-It!
    • Copper State Models
    • Freightdog Models
    • Hannants
    • fantasy Printshop
    • Fonthill Media
    • HMH Publications
    • Hobby Paint'n'Stuff
    • Hypersonic Models
    • Iliad Design
    • Hobby Colours & Accessories
    • KLP Publishing
    • L'Arsenal 2.0
    • Kingkit
    • MikroMir
    • Model Designs
    • Modellingtools.co.uk
    • Maketar Paint Masks
    • Marmaduke Press Decals
    • Parkes682Decals
    • Paulus Victor Decals
    • Red Roo Models
    • RES/KIT
    • Sovereign Hobbies
    • Special Hobby
    • Test Valley Models
    • Tiger Hobbies
    • Ultimate Modelling Products
    • Videoaviation Italy
    • Wingleader Publications
  • Archive
    • 2007 Group Builds
    • 2008 Group Builds
    • 2009 Group Builds
    • 2010 Group Builds
    • 2011 Group Builds
    • 2012 Group Builds
    • 2013 Group Builds

Categories

  • New Features
  • Other

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


AIM


MSN


Website URL


ICQ


Yahoo


Jabber


Skype


Location


Interests

Found 20 results

  1. Hi everyone! I am currently building Spitfire LF Mk.IXc MH 712 "Pat" from 302 (Polish) Squadron during its operations in France after Overlord (summer 1944). https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MH712 I have to admit that I am mostly armor and figures man, but there are a few planes I really like, and Spitfire is definately close to top of the list. After building one of Eduards 1/48 Spits I expected superb details and fit. And while details are indeed superb, the fit was not that great and details to not help as it is very difficult to operate putty without damaging super fine panel or rivet lines. I decided to omitt invasion stripes under wings as photo seem to suggest they were no longer visible when it was made.
  2. A bit of celebrity endorsement, from a man who likes his Spitfires.
  3. Hi all, recently completed the revell Mk.IX Spitfire in 1/48 as part of my Israeli project. Build can be found in here: Good kit, but then again it is a Hasegawa rebox so that's to be expected. My first real go at a natural metal finish, I'd only it tried once before during a blitzbuild and the finish was horrific. Also my first real go at a Spitfire and definitely won't be my last. All OOB apart from the decals which were from Techmod. The decals were a little thick and struggled to settle on the various lumps and bumps of a Spitfire wing, but we got there in the end. Painted with Vallejo Aluminium and weathered using AK Interactive Pencils. Looking forward to tackling a 1/32 Spit for the Go Large GB, thanks for looking in!
  4. Thought I'd better get a new thread going on my next 'What If' PRU pink Spitfire project. This is where the discussion is already headed on the current Ready for Inspection PRU blue Spitfire decoy thread. The basis for this particular 'What If' is another 1/32 scale Revell Spitfire IX. Not getting ahead of myself, the presumption of the 2 PRU Blue Spitfire decoy projects I've completed so far was based on the 'What If' scenario on this thread. However, with the PRU pink project its clear - based on feedback here - that a few IXs were indeed for real running around with standard armament in a low level PRU role. So I just need to do more research to understand if this was just a standard IX with cameras fitted and no other mods, i.e in a FR designation. If so, I guess I can drill some round holes and install smoked glass into the Revell kit. That kind of mod is within my existing capabilities. On the other hand, if mods would reward extensive carving and sanding skills, it's probably not for me at this stage, and I'd happily go back to looking at a fantasy 'What If' project. EDIT: TITLE CHANGE. THIS PROJECT WILL NO LONGER BE A 'WHAT IF' PROJECT. IT IS A 16 SQUADRON RAF SPITFIRE IX FR, JULY 1944, BAYEAUX, FRANCE
  5. Been reliving my childhood with some Matchbox straight OOB quick builds. Here is the latest addition - RAF 124 Squadron Spitfire Mk IX in 1/72 scale. The Matchbox kit is from 1973 that I got lucky on at an eBay auction. Colors are Tamiya (Medium Sea Gray. Ocean Gray, RAF Dark Green). Didn't do any chipping but gave it a panel line wash which was interesting considering it has both engraved and raised panel lines. I hope you like it. I added a picture of it with my other 2 recent matchbox builds - a Hurricane IIc and a Tempest II. Please let me know if you have any questions/comments/suggestions. Thx for looking!
  6. zZUMmmm, zZUMmmm zZUMmmm zZUMmmm zZUMmmm (uneven hum of unsynchronised engines approaching) – hear that? It must be a one of theirs! “…Messerschmitt!...’Einkel!…. Messerschmitt!...No, it aint, it’s an ’Einkel!….”argue two small boys, knee deep in the river below (remember the scene from the film B of B?) Dornier Pilot “Teufel - ve are lost! That looks like the wrong river down there. Where is the iconic Forth Rail Bridge (mit der painters) that we were told about? I can only see a bridge which looks like it has taken two attempts to build.” Dornier Co-pilot “Kapitan, the compass is kaput, not that I can see much of it from this new seat position! Or through these big goggles!” Controller “Bandit, Angels Zero, over the River Tay. Johnny, you are nearest – can you please intercept?” JE-J “What?? I’m at 25,000 feet over the Channel! Where did you learn your Geography?” Controller “Sorry Johnny. The only other aircraft available is a ‘Lizzie’ and he has been out all night on a spy mission. You’re all we’ve got. From your height, you should be able to see him from there?” JE-J “OK Control, but it will leave me short on fuel and I don’t know how much ammo I’ve got left…….I see him….going down now………..(VVvvvvrrrrrrooooooowwwmm …..sound of loud Merlin) ……attacking from port…..BRP…..!?!?” Dornier Observer “Achtung, Spitfeur!!” Dornier Pilot “Hans, your aircraft recognition is excellent but now the guns man!!” Dornier Top Gunner “Kapitan, I can’t move – I’m stuck to the seat and can’t reach the turret or the guns!!” Dornier lower gunner “Kapitan, I can reach my gun but you are flying too low – the Englander is above us!!” Dornier Pilot “Donner und Blitzen! No compass and no guns! Men, if we make it, it is half a bottle of beer for each!” (my favourite line from ‘Das Boot’). Wry smiles from the German Crew, each thinking of a gallon of Alt Bier or even some of the local Tennants ‘Export’. JE-J “Blast! Out of ammo. I might have got one shot away though! He’s not dropping bombs and he’s not firing back – let’s take a closer look!” Dornier Co-pilot “Verdammit, we are hit! A small .303 bullet has bounced off our under-deck armour plate and hit the compass – but it is working again!” Dornier Top Gunner “Mein Gott, the Spitfire is flying alongside – look at that shape! Now he is looping over the top and back again!” JE-J I thought that victory roll would impress them. Super splinter camouflage job, though. Love the greens and those swastikas on the tail really make that Dornier look the business! Dornier pilot This reconnaissance mission is a washout! I’m waggling my wings to let the Englander know that we are packing up out of it! Look at that speed……I wish we had Spitfires in our squadron! That’s funny, he has a green maple leaf under the cockpit – the ones I’ve seen before are red – I wonder why? Drop long range fuel tanks and set course for home! Dornier Co-pilot Jawohl Kapitan! Tanks away! Heading East! Two small boys, still knee deep in the river below “Fuel tanks… mini-subs!…fuel tanks… mini-subs!” Dornier Top Gunner Next stop Norway! Wait until I get my hands on our ground crew – the modifications to the flight deck are great but the paint still wasn’t dry when we climbed in. It must have been done by Helpie Helperson, the world’s most helpful Norwegian (On the intercom…”Hello!”) – Not now, Helpie! (That Plusnet radio ad always has me in stiches!) Dornier Co-pilot Kapitan, I need steak and Guinness but since there is a war on, I’ll settle for Zigeuner Schnitzel mit Pommes und Mayo! Dornier crew (in unison) …and a half bottle of Alt Bier!! Controller Bandit moving away. Divert to the nearest landing field in Dundee, Johnny. JE-J Roger, Control. Breaking off…..out of fuel…I see a patch of grass in front of a house down there and there is a boy giving me the thumbs up from a window. Home for tea….what’s on the menu in the frozen North? Controller It may be Wallaces’ ‘Peh’s’ or even Forfar Bridies! JE-J Good egg! I believe I’ll ha’e an ingan ane an’ aw! (Only a Dundonian will understand this!) Controller Eh? You are breaking up, Johnny! Boy at window in 1969 Wooowww!! What are they dad? Dad Let’s check these aircraft recognition cards, son… Boy Whoa…. Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX – that’s got a 1600hp Merlin engine, two 20mm cannons and can do 410mph! It’s squadron letters are ‘JE-J’ so it must be Johnny Johnson (all useful info from the Airfix Header Card!) - but that twin-engined aircraft doesn’t match this card for a Heinkel He111! What is it? Dad It’s a Dornier Do217, known as the ‘Flying Pencil’. I learned that when I was your age! zZUMmmm, zZUMmmm zZUMmmm zZUMmmm zZUMmmm zZUMmmm…... The undercarriage did come down again after all but it looks like the aerial wire took a hit! The whole point of the build was to 're-construct' the photo from 1969 (see the middle of this sequence). Original photo is in the build thread here: The build was great fun, re-creating the picture was a stretch and I got carried away in making up the story but I was really keen to incorporate all the input from Britmodellers from the build thread! Many thanks to all!
  7. Getting back in to 1/72nd scale after many, many years and thinking of the Battle of Britain Flight as a theme to work to. What are the best mainstream 1/72nd kits for the Hurricane II, Spitfire V, Spitfire IX and Spitfire XVI - I have never touched resin nor vacforms and don't want to try those at this stage of the 1/72nd learning curve. I have already picked up a couple of each of the Airfix Chipmunk and the Airfix Spitfire XIX so those are sorted although I realize there is a good bit of work to do on the Chipmunks! Many thanks
  8. I...I may have purchased myself a 1/32 Tamiya Spitfire IX recently, not sure how that happened, but no matter. I'd like to build an aircraft flown by my boyhood hero, "Johnnie" Johnson, and while I know the kit markings include his EN398, I also have more than a passing familiarity with Tamiya decals. Does anyone currently do after market decals for one of his Mark IXcs or even paint masks to paint on the codes and serials? Any advice or information you have is greatly appreciated.
  9. "And we go on fighting despite the assurance that we have lost the war. Why, then, do we go on dying? Out of despair? But there is no despair. You know nothing about defeat if you think there is room in it for despair." -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Flight to Arras Hope is the only good god present among men The rest abandoned us and went to Olympus. -- Theognis, Fr. 1135-6 They came in the night. They killed everyone. I hid in the shadows. And then it came to me: The magic sword. -- "Kill Them All", The Magic Sword You're gonna have to do better than fear You're gonna have to step out of the shadows and fight. -- The Protomen, "Keep Quiet" "This then, my lords and gentlemen, is the message which we send forth today to all states and nations, bound or free, to all the men in all the lands who care for freedom's cause. To our Allies and well-wishers in Europe, to our American friends and helpers drawing ever closer in their might across the ocean, this is the message-lift up your hearts, all will come right. Out of depths of sorrow and sacrifice will be born again the glory of mankind." -- Winston Churchill, "Speech to the Allied Delegates", 12 June 1941 I've just finished up three Eduard Spitfire IXs, and I was wondering to myself what would make a good follow-up to building three of a pretty great (but not perfect) kit of my favourite airplane of all time. Easy. Build four more. Since I have four of the quad-kit Royal boxings of Eduard Spitfires, I have plenty to spare. Poland's been much on my mind recently, as I'm currently reading Richard Lukas's The forgotten Holocaust: the Poles under German occupation, 1939–1944, and recently finished his shorter work Did the Children Cry?, about the brutality inflicted upon Polish children by the Nazis, so one of the four Spitfires I'm building will be EN526/SZ-G, Polish ace Aleksander "Gabby" Gabszewicz's first Mark IX, with the wide cannon blisters and short carb intake. I can't seem to find a photo of this aircraft, so if anyone knows of one, I'd be most grateful. In the event EN526 can't be represented by the model, I have a backup plan in the form of another Polish Spitfire. I'll also be building WZ-GJ/"Eleanor", a reverse lend-lease Spitfire LF.IXc flown by Major Garth Jared (3 + 1 probable + 1 damaged) of the 309th FS, 32nd FG in 1943. Tony recently built this aircraft, and I agree with his conclusion that it was painted in the standard Day Fighter Scheme rather than desert colours. Major Jared was a graduate of the University of California, where he met his wife Eleanor; he would later name his Spitfire after her. He served as a test pilot in the P-47 program before heading out to the front, where he was killed in action on 18 April 1944, when his P-51 was hit by flak. In addition to his wife, he left behind a year-old son, Stephen. I was able to locate Stephen on LinkedIn, but figured he would be unlikely to respond well to some weirdo contacting him with questions about his late father and so have not bothered him. My third Spitfire will be LF.IXe NH432/OU-D/"Waipawa Special", flown by Flying Officer Max Collett of 485 Squadron RNZAF. In 1993, Max Collett took the time to write a letter to a small boy in America after seeing his letter to the editor in D.C.O., the official magazine of the Spitfire Society. I've kept it ever since. It would be impossible for me to not build this aircraft. Lastly, I'll be building TB752/KH-Z/"Val", flown by Squadron Leader Henry Zary, an American of Polish descent (his birth name was Zartykiewicz) from New York City, enlisted in the RCAF in February of 1941 and remained with it throughout the war, though as an American he could have joined the USAAF and received much higher pay after his own country entered the war in December of 1941. He scored five victories, three of them in a single sortie on 25 July 1944, when he shot down two Bf109s and then, having expended all of his ammunition, caused the third to crash by skillful flying. He contracted pleurisy after the war and died in Quebec on 11 February 1946, aged 27. 20170208_223137 by Edward IX, on Flickr 20170208_223141 by Edward IX, on Flickr So far I've begun the seats. I'm doing one with the styrene seat armour for scientific reasons. 20170208_223125 by Edward IX, on Flickr
  10. I built three Eduard Spitfire IXs (two IXc late, and one IXc early) as my first builds of 2017. I weathered Henryk Dygala's "Pat", but things went south after that, so no more weathering for me for a spell.
  11. Eduard Spitfire Mk. IX Photo Etch Detail Sets for Eduard Kit 1:72 Eduard Over the past few years, Eduard have become very good at supporting their new injection moulded plastic kits with an instant supply of aftermarket items – particularly so with the addition of their new Brassin range of resin accessories. Their new 1:72 scale Spitfire Mk. IX (reviewed here) is no exception to this trend. We've already seen a resin cockpit, four sets of resin wheels and a couple of sets of resin exhaust stacks. Now we've got a couple of sets of photo etched brass details and a set of pre-cut paint masks to go with them. Spitfire Mk. IX 1:72 Eduard This set appears to be designed to accompany the Profipack edition of the kit, as it includes a fair selection of bits and bobs but omits the pre-painted gubbins such as the instrument panel and harnesses from the small fret included with that kit. On the single fret, you get a complete replacement seat, together with the armoured plate and fixing bracket, as well as throttle controls, rudder pedals and various small items such as pipework for the oxygen bottles. The rest of the airframe benefits from a smattering of parts too, including parts for the radiator, the rudder and the landing gear. The replacement main landing gear doors look great, but will need to be shaped carefully in order to capture the look of the real thing accurately. Spitfire Mk. IX Landing Flaps 1:72 Eduard Although they look complex, Eduard's photo etched landing flaps are usually quite straightforward to assemble and fit. You will need to cut away some of the plastic from the kit's wings in order to use the flaps, but the relevant parts are clearly marked in the instruction sheet. The flaps themselves are constructed from relatively few components, with most of the work involving some clever folds rather than gluing hundred of tiny parts together. These flaps won't be for everyone, but those that persevere will be rewarded with an extra level of detail beyond that achievable with plastic alone. Spitfire Mk. IX Pre-cut Masks 1:72 Eduard Last but not least is a set of pre-cut paint masks. Masks are provided for the canopy but not the wheels, the hubs and tyres of which are separately moulded anyway. As usual, they don't add any detail, but are a nice little time saver. Conclusion Just like its 1:48 scale brother, Eduard's new 1:72 scale kit is the best kit of the Mk. IX available. The ready supply of extra details and accessories direct from the manufacturer mean that the modeller can build the kit with as much or as little extra detail as he or she wants – the sky really is the limit. The quality of parts and standard of manufacture is up to Eduard's usual standards too. Recommended. Review samples courtesy of
  12. Here's some pics of my most recent completion. It's Spitfire MH434 as seen in the film Battle of Britain. I used a combination of custom paint masks and decals from Fundekäls for the markings.
  13. Hey guys, my first build for this gb (though it ll be more complicated one so i wont finish it first probably ) ll be post war Czechoslovakia spitfire, flown by Karel Pošta, who fought at WW2 as a member of 312 (Czechoslovak) squadron. Awarded by many honours (5x Czechoslovakian War Cross, 3x Czechoslovakian Medal of Valor, Czechoslovakian 1st Class Medal of Merit, CS Commemorative Medal Army, French Croix de Guerre, British DFC, The 1939-1945 Star with Battle of Britain Clasp, Air Crew Europe Star with France Germany Clasp, Atlantic Star, Defence Medal and War Medal - though i m not sure in which order), he came back to home after the war. Because of his amazing pilot skills he was flying acrobatics on his Spitfire on Airshows (also on his all around NMF spitfire with red lightning on fuselage - that one i ll try to make ). Then the year 1948 and the f...ing comunists came to Czechoslovakia (sorry for swearing but i hate them from my deepest heart!). The pilots who were fighting for liberation of their country during the war at United Kingdom, France and such were persecuted, jailed, put to forced labor camps (some of these were in fact extermination camps, uranium mines and such) or killed.. (Dark blue world movie shows in few minutes how the comunists goverment acted to these brave guys and it is nice movie overall). Sure it was not only the pilots who were persecuted, it was quite dark age and just reading about it is bringing tears to my eyes and fills me with anger and hate to all who were standing behind this injustice.. Back to Karel Pošta - knowing what would happen to him if he stayed in Czechoslovakia, he sent his british wife and their daughter back to UK as fast as he could and he also escaped and joined them there later. He then rejoined the RAF, in lower rank (Sergeant), but thanks to his pilot skills he was promoted over time up to Flight Lieutenant - they say it was also thanks to his brilliant display flying on Spitfire XVI at Farnborough Airshow at 1950. One of his home airfields during the next years was Acklington, at the time home of some Tempests, Masters, Oxfords, every now and then Meteors and Vampires, .. and also one Spitfire, which (by witnesses) was flown probably only by K.Pošta (if by any chance anyone had some info about code letters and such of this only home Spitfire at Acklington during 1950-51, it would be great! ). One of the members of the crew back then there said, everytime they did hear the sound of starting engine of that Spitfire, it was like signal for everyone to take the best spots and watch the exhibition Well, i m sorry, i did let my thoughts go on free, but i think it is good to know who were the guys who fought for us all. So i would like to build this Spitfire as a memory to Karel Pošta and other Czechoslovakia pilots, who had to fight, even against their own country... To the build - i m using Eduard´s Overtrees Spitfire Mk.IXe and a bit of goodies - brassin Spitfire radio set - brassin Spitfire IX cockpit set (i m not happy with this one at all as it is just replacing the kit parts and totaly ignoring the top half of the cockpit.. well, next time i ll go with Barracuda or Aires set) - brassin Spitfire IX engine set - Ultracast propeller + spinner - brassin wheels - rob taurus vacu canopy (at least the middle part) - quickboost doors (i have used these at the XVI and they look so much better than the plastic ones!) - i m also thinking about the PE flaps, but i ll see once i complete the fuselage together, if there is enough place under the brassin cockpit and radio well floor and also it depends how i ll be on it with time - also i ll be doing a bit of scratch building, mainly to the cockpit upper areas and to the radio hatch - the brassin set contains just the VHF radio but not the IFF, which i believe should be there too, + many more instruments and cables which i mostly dont even know for what they are Obviously i do not have photos of the exact Spitfire i m building (well, just few outside shots), so i m using random Spitfire IX shots found by mr. Google Some little progress so far, missing a lot of things yet and i have only just begun with the details painting. The green is a bit too much bright to me so i ll try to bring it down with some oils and filters. (blame me for not being patient, i have the Gunze H cockpit grey green which works quite good to me, mainly with some weathering, but i ran out of the thinner and i was lazy to go buy new one, so tried to make some mix of vallejo paints but i simply did bad job.. so hope the weathering ll help me to bring the tone down) I have weekend at work, so i ll get back to this baby probably at sunday night
  14. So I've had the urge to build this kit, as I think its a very cool kit of a very interesting subject. So this is a limited edition CMR resin kit, signed by James Stocky Edwards. It was only available from West Coast Hobbys, as they are located near where Edwards lives on Vancouver Island. I'm sorry for the plug, but Rob at West Coast has always given me great service, and pretty competitive prices... I can't recommend them enough. Anyway, In my mind, Edwards is Canada's finest fighter pilots, but he'd probably never say that. He was a quiet professional who led his men to battle, while exhibited great skill. Edwards underreported his kills, and there is quite a bit of evidence that his actual number of kills was significantly higher than his official total. He fought against some of the best Luftwaffe had, and came out on top. I plan to build a Kittyhawk soon which he obtain the bulk of his kills in the Desert Campaigns. Inside the kit includes a very nice write up about Edwards, which includes a number of photos of his time in 1945 flying the Spit IX. Pretty awesome stuff. Next, the kit. It comes in two sections. Fuselage, and all of its guts. It comes with two vacuform canopies, eduard PE and mask. And this is the best part of the kit: Three wings. I plan to actually use them. I really hate the Airfix IX wing, so I plan to reuse them on their fuselages, which aren't that bad. So the build. Starting with the cockpit, you get a lot of small parts, like this seat suspension unit. ITs three parts, which is not replicated in any other kit. I put a lot of work into it, only to lose it to the carpet monster. For the cockpit interior I didn't have the correct paint, but after reading this timely thread, I made my own: So this is it mostly put together... I'll need to add some seatbelts and another O2 tank. Anyway, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to do it justice! Thanks for looking.
  15. I started this AZ Spitfire IX as a way to jump start a difficult build in the P-38 STGB, and it brought the required good luck. Now it's finished and ready for inspection. I had to scrounge together decals from the kit, aftermarket, and home made in order to depict BS451, RF-M, "Joan" of 303 (Polish) Sqn. The "Joan" was written on the fuselage with a white-ink pen and betrays my poor handwriting abilities. Many profiles of this aircraft show the "Joan" as very small 'block' letters, but the only photo I could find shows it in a flourished cursive script, so that is what I attempted. Here she is next to two other 303 Spitfires in a growing collection. I managed to place the roundels over the walkway stencils this time. Baby steps.
  16. Just wondered if anyone else had spotted these about. I have a couple of Eduard Mk IXs with lots of extras in the stash, but before I set too on these, I wanted to have a play around with a simple spit. Saw these on Ebay, and thought at that price must be worth ago, especially with the added figures and diorama details included, £12.99 posted. (also comes without figures even cheaper) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291229848738?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 Arrived yesterday, and after a quick look through the box, was pretty impressed. I didnt get the Eduard out for a comparison but think we all know the standard of that kit. Detail in the ICM box is pretty good, the engine bay is built up of several parts and the panels can be cut from the main body to display it. Likewise the cockpit too is pretty nice. There is some sprue around, but not too much, and there is on mine at leat, a lack of ejector pin marks. One issue I did not though was quite a bit of shrinkage/sinkage on several part. The propellor roots inparticular stand outm but where detail has been molded onto one side of a part, there is often a little sinkage on the other side. OK, so with a bit of work this is 'easily' addressed, but I dont think it dtracts from the kit given the price bracket - certainly in my opinion anyway, worth a bash as a trial piece. Decals are minimal, but look a great colour and are well printed.
  17. Inspired by robvulcan and PC2012's builds it is now my turn to have a bash at a large scale detailed Spitfire. This is another in my series of builds "Aircraft my Father Fixed". Up to now I've built mostly the aircraft my Father worked on while in Burma in the latter half of WWII while attached to 5 Squadron. before that he was with 81 Squadron from their entry into Operation Torch at Gibraltar Oct '42 up until Sicily had been pacified in Oct-Nov1943 whereupon he was transferred to Cairo en-route to India and 5 Squadron. Funnily enough, 81 Squadron followed his his wake a couple of weeks later and ended up based 5 miles down the road in India, re-equipping with Spitfire VIII, hence why I have a Christmas dinner menu from 81 Sqn in 1943: Anyway, back to Tunisia in the spring/summer of 1943. Up to that point, the squadron had been equipped with Spitfire Vb Trop and Vc Trop (hence my earlier abortive attempt to convert the Hobbyboss Vb Trop to a Vc Trop), however these were beginnign to be outmatched by the German aircraft. The Tropical filters used on the V series had an unfortunate side-effect of reducing overall performance of the engine. So in May '43 81 Sqn started receiving Spitfire IXs. At this point they were based in Tunisia at Souk-el-Khemis airfield and subsequently moved to other airfields in the general vicinity. From reading Alan Peart's book "From North Africa to the Arakan" you get to see that conditions on these airfields were basic to say the least. So I want to try to capture a snapshot of the activity of the groundcrew in these conditions in my diorama. So to begin with, the model - you've all seen plenty of sprue shots so I won't bother here, but at least here is the box: For the base I'm using a 300x300 wooden base supplied by one of my IPMS Farnborough colleagues from his website: http://www.ema-heritage.com/displaybases.html That should give enough space for the aircraft and some activity around it. Speaking of which, the donor kits for figures, materials etc include this lot: Yes I know there is 1:35 scale figures in there but my Dad was only 5' 5" tall, so they'll be okay On th eleft you can see some of the ValueGear stuff that I used in my Hurricane diorama earlier in the year. This stuff is superb, huge variety and excellent casting and detail. I picked up a set of crates as well which you can see in the glass ashtray in the top left. Above that is the IconAir accumulator trolley I built originally for the Hobbyboss build. I've added a small engine on the top of it to represent the generator that was fitted to many of them. This was sourced from the US Maintenance Yard kit from the compressor you can see at the bottom right of the box top picture. For the Spitfire I've got a collection of Decals for the inside and outside that will allow me to represent EN204 FL-L: (from the Osprey book "Spitfire Aces of North Africa and Italy) Note how the original "E" lettering has been badly overpainted to turn it into a "L" Here are the decals I'll use: There is a huge amount of aftermarket stuff for this kit and here is a selection of what I may or may not be using: There are wheels, seat, large cannon wing covers, cockpit door with seperate crowbar (not to be painted red!!), Cockpit upgrade set, cockpit stbd sidewall, "cloth" seatbelts PE Toolbox by Aber (just like the one I have in the Hurricane dio) and finally the PE set for the Hobbyboss Vb, but which contains some very useful bits for this build, eg the PE radio hatch door which will be used elsewhere on this build! I actually started this build a couple of weeks ago but haven't got very far because in the weather we've been having the man-cave shed is to flipping cold!! So I've come up with a cunning plan... Part of the delay was waiting for all the parts to arrive and also to do the research for the various things I want to do. Here is a sample of some of the reference material I've collected: This of course doesn't show the e-book PDF of Monforton's book or the other reference photos, sites etc that I've used and will be using. I've printed some of the engine photos and stuck them up: which gives away my cunning plan to get around the cold weather situation... move a lot of the modelling stuff into a temporary table in the lounge! All the airbrushing will still have to be done in the shed, but at least I can build and brush paint in comfort! I began on the figures as I was waiting. I picke dout two from the 8th army set and one form the Tank riders set: The Tank rider figure in grey had to have the top of his head rebuilt as I won't be putting a steel helmet on him, instead he'll get an RAF side cap at a suitably rakish angle! I began work on the engine and my aim is to add as much detail as I can bear to. The inspiration for that is the amazing Hornet build being undertaken by airscale in another thread here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234950214-hph-de-havilland-hornet-sea-hornet-f-mk22-tt202/ Truly magnificent stuff and if I can get anything approaching this, I'll be very happy! Progress so far: Its all a bit bland and OOB so far - well apart from the replacement resin rocker covers with the Rolls Royce logo on them. This will change as time progresses I hope. Now since I've got an accumulator trolley in The diorama, there should be somewhere for it to plug into: Voila! So of course there is also the question of the starboard rear panel I've been pestering people about on another thread... this one: As you can see I've successfully cut it out without causing damage to the surrounds and next to it is the PE Radio access panel from the VB PE set which is near enough the same size (its about 1.75 inches too tall, but that won't be noticeable when its hanging open. Here is the inside of it: which has superb fine detail. One of the things that my researches show for this access hatch is that the inner frame is very visible, with all its lightening holes present. So I'm going to have to scratch build that so that means removing the existing rib detail in the kit: So thats where I stand so far - bloody hell its taken an hour to write this post! I'd better get on with the rest of the day...
  18. I have just received a re-print of below decal sheet; Freightdog 1/72 Keeping the Peace Pt.1 decal [FSD72012] - price £7.50 plus postage High quality silk screen printed decals covering late and immediate Post-War period. Includes six options; NA Mustang Mk.IV 'BAE' KH745, flown by Group Captain Brian Eaton, RAAF, Cervia, Italy, April 1945; Mustang Mk.IV 'GA-S' KH774, 112 Sqn RAF, Cervia, Italy May 1945; Mustang Mk.IV 'JAS' KM232 flown by Wing Cdr 'JAS' Storrar, Hunsdon Wing leader, May 1945; Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc 'RN-R' MK679, 72 Sqn RAF, Zeltweg, Austria November 1946; Spitfire Mk IXe 'RG-J' RK857, 208 Sqn Sqn RAF, Peta Tiqua, Palestine early 1946; Hawker Tempest Mk.V, 'JJ-R' SN135, 274 Sqn RAF, B-155, Dedelstorf, Summer 1945. Ideal for use with our Mustang Mk.IV resin conversion, available separately. Limited re-print run of 150 sheets. For more details please see my website. Thanks! Colin http://www.freightdogmodels.co.uk
  19. Hello, this is my third kit in scale 1/48. New kit from Eduard is simply great. All comments are welcome. Paints: Gunze C+H, Tamiya, Vallejo Lacquers: Gunze, Sidolux, Future
  20. Feb up with double dogfights VB I started (real bad production and raised panel lines). I gave in and bought a descent kit (profipack IX). I am still keen to do a spit in desert camo however the sources are somewhat scare on desert mark IX's/ Yes I know it was over by the end of 1943 and the boys were moving up towards Italy. I have read the other post on Britmodeler. I though that I had hit the jackpot when I found a few pics of Mk IXc EN520, FL-A, 81 Sqn Tunisia April 1943. However these seem to be models and the one B/W pic of this aircraft seems to show early cannon blisters. Colin Gray then flew MA408 which seem to be a late production MkIX. The Polish Spits of 145 sqn all seem to be of the Early C wing too. I am open to suggestions? I am busy with the cockpit but my build seems to have stalled because I cant make up my mind on what to finish her in. Most of the kit options all have D-Day stripes and that is the last thing I want. Looking forward to the replies. Yours Aye Sean
×
×
  • Create New...