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Alley Cat Spitfire Mk.Vc Conversion for New Airfix Spit Mk.Vb Kit- 1/48th scale


tonyot

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Hiya Folks,

OK I`m still building my pair of Stirlings and quite a few other kits besides but when the new Alley Cat Spitfire Mk.Vc conversion for the recent Airfix Spifire Mk.Vb kit dropped through my door today I decided to start it straight away and here is the progress so far!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127720990@N03/

As Photobucket have frozen my images,....some have been added here from an emergency source;

DSCF1447_zpsfe3f6f23.jpg

The cuts needed for the Airfix kit are quite easy to carry out and the instructions tell you exactly what to do and where to do it! The gap between the plastic and resin parts doesn`t look brilliant here but when the parts are squeezed together the fit is excellent.

cuHxNY.jpg

DSCF1450_zps9c8a66b7.jpg

Here are the Airfix and Alley Cat wings compared.

xesXlz.jpg

DSCF1451_zpsf92f8f95.jpg

The new resin wing is a good match for the Airfix fuselage.

wPeaXu.jpg

DSCF1452_zps26613ed9.jpg

Here are the insides being painted,.......a few more coats to go yet.

As well as the wings Alley Cat provide alternative cannon barrels, barrel caps and undercarriage doors, which I`ll photograph later.

As usual this is a class product from Alisair but now I need to choose which Spit to model,.....RAAF, Darwin, 1943 is looking favourite at the moment but we`ll see,.........the Mk.Vc is easily the most interesting variant of the Mk.V as there are so many options for colours and markings to take your pick from,...I can see me building quite a few more of these!

Cheers for now,

Tony

Edited by tonyot
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What different gear geometry? I obviously have n't read my Spitfire bible thoroughly enough.

Is that you living under an assumed name in the US of A Edgar?

Looking good, by the way Tony, I might have to invest in one (!) of these myself.

Edited by Biggles87
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What different gear geometry? I obviously have n't read my Spitfire bible thoroughly enough.

Is that you living under an assumed name in the US of A Edgar?

Looking good, by the way Tony, I might have to invest in one (!) of these myself.

the C wing introduced a 2 degree [iirc] forward rake to UC geometry.

VB

supermarine-spitfire-vb.jpg

VC

03-UPA1.jpg

Foward rake is obvious.

I can't recall the exact reasons, bob will though ;)

Tony, if this clutters your thread will happily edit out.

HTH

T

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Hi Guys

Well to be 100% honest I did not know about the change in geometry. I tried to keep the undercarriage assembly from the kit to keep the conversion as simple as possible, and for it to look right.That is why I also offered different configurations for the wings to make it as easy as possible for the modeller without having to add small resin parts to the resin wing. I am sure for that for you guys that know and want to include those few extra degrees, you will manage to adapt the kit parts (attachment point and or undercarriage leg)ever so slightly, and get a good strong joint. Well I live and learn each day, something for me to remember espcially if I do some items in a bigger scale.

I hope this answers the questions, cheers Ali

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What different gear geometry? I obviously have n't read my Spitfire bible thoroughly enough.

Is that you living under an assumed name in the US of A Edgar?

That comparison is so good I'm going to steal it, Troy! Thanks.

No Biggles, I've been here all along- I'm on good terms with Edgar (so far as I know :bye: ) but I'm not him. I am in the US, but I'm in the closest state to the UK!

bob

p.s. I, too, hope you don't mind, Tony- that was the first thing I thought of when I saw this conversion, but you're the first actually working with it.

EDIT: Sorry Ali, didn't see you sneak in! Hope I didn't embarrass you, but as Troy has illustrated, it is a noticeable difference IF you know about it, or happen to see it from the right angle. I don't have the kit yet, so don't know how easy it would be to adjust the mounting angle.

Edited by gingerbob
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I didn` know about the angle of the undercarriage but I do now,...cheers! I`ll just point the wheels a bit further forward,....no need to re jig anything! I`ve got an update to follow so here goes;

After painting the interior parts these were assembled and located into the fuselage,......here is the fuselage along with the De Havilland propeller, Vokes filter and the tailplane parts;

DSCF1453_zps939dd14a.jpg

A couple of closer views of the interior which is very nice,...I hope I`ve done it justice?;DSCF1454_zpsccda3362.jpg

DSCF1454_zpsccda3362.jpg

I also added a Sutton Harness made from painted Tamiya tape;

DSCF1460_zpsf0a749bb.jpg

As Jonners warned us the fuel tank and windscreen section isn`t a very good fit so the bulkhead and instrument panel underneath were progressively sanded down, test fitting all along until a decent fit came about,....thanks for the warning mate! This view also shows the gubbins for the wheel well interiors fitted to what remains of the lower wing section;

wPeaXu.jpg

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Here the lower wing section is now in place ready for the new resin wings to be attached;

DSCF1464_zps0641c144.jpg

Another update to follow in a few minutes,

Cheers

Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Hiya Folks,

Me again,......time to fit the wings! As the round wheel well walls curve outwards over the cut line these were sanded flat to aid the fit of the new resin wings;

DSCF1464_zps0641c144.jpg

A final test fitting of the resin wings showed that my cutting was slightly out so the lower wing stubs were slightly `fettled' by sanding the cut line and the round wheel well sections were sanded a touch flatter.;

DSCF1465_zps07f31afc.jpg

After the very slight `fettling' caused mostly by the protruding wheel well sections the wing joint was a perfect match and the Alley Cat resin wings were attached using Super Glue and held in place using tape while this dried;

MhwsBi.jpg

DSCF1466_zps93da9293.jpg

DSCF1467_zps16ea923a.jpg

For those who are interested I`ve also matt coated my transport Stirling Mk.V,......but there was a slight reaction to it,....doh!

Thats it for now,......I think I`ve settled on a RAAF option but I`ll have a look through my reference books tonight to make sure,

Cheers

Tony.

Edited by tonyot
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Personally I think that its `cracking' that somebody is interested in this thread and has been kind enough to say so,.......I`m not complaining,.......but I can see what you mean!

The decision on colour schemes looks like it is between;

-a desert based 601 Sqn aircraft coded UF-P

- Darwin based RAAF 457 Sqn coded ZP- triangle.

In fact another set of Vc wings arrived today from Ali so I`ll be building both,.....but which one to do here first,....I`ll sleep on it for now?

Cheers

Tony

EDIT- Ali- I do intend to do a 1 Sqn SAAF `AX' coded Spit Vc at some stage to go with my Mk.VIII.....but there are no suitable decals yet to replicate the names and/or artwork which most of them carried. I already have a 2 Sqn Airfix Mk.Vc and a 40 Sqn Mk.Vb plus a part built 40 Sqn Eduard Mk.Vc,.....so I`m not doing too badly for Springbok Spits so far!

Edited by tonyot
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Tony, better do the 601 squadron one, especially if the Wallabies get beaten by the Springboks today... Oh, just seen the time I better get cracking, there'll be nothing left at the market!

Colin

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Nice build Tony, I want to build a Spitfire Vc so I will watch your build closely.

My uncle was a RAAF gunner that was transferred to the US Navy flying in Black Cats (he was shot down 3 times and shot down 11.5 japs). His mate was Sqn Ldr Max Bott who flew a Spitfire Vc, they looked out for each other. Once when Scottie (my uncle) had been shot down Max told catalina crews to be on the lookout for a low flare, Scottie and his crew mates were rescued after 15 days hiding 100 yds from ther japs.

Here is a link to a picture of Max and his plane: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P02875.211

Stephen

Edited by StephenCJ
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Great story Stephen,.....they certainly were a breed apart and deserve the accolade of the `Golden Generation'!

The dilemma continues,.....having discounted some USAAF, SAAF and a Malta Spit for now,.......I`m left with these two;

RAAF

DSCF1468_zps91d1b3d7.jpg

OR

RAF (Well AAF to be exact!)

tAM7v5.jpg

DSCF1470_zpsadb3d95f.jpg

I like them both and having done a mornings research on both of them I`m still stuck!

Oh dear,......cheers for now.

Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Great story Stephen,.....they certainly were a breed apart and deserve the accolade of the `Golden Generation'!

The dilemma continues,.....having discounted some USAAF, SAAF and a Malta Spit for now,.......I`m left with these two;

RAAF

DSCF1468_zps91d1b3d7.jpg

OR

RAF (Well AAF to be exact!)

DSCF1470_zpsadb3d95f.jpg

I like them both and having done a mornings research on both of them I`m still stuck!

Oh dear,......cheers for now.

Tony

The obvious solution to your problem: Buy a second one! They are definitely worth it. :winkgrin:

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For the record, the gear angle change was a feature developed with the Mk.III, which had a 2-speed Merlin XX. As Troy and other Hurricane fans will remember, that means the "core" engine moved 4" forward. It appears that there was already a tendency for the Mk.I to 'tip up', so this was a beneficial change even without the engine move. It was NOT on N3297, the first Mk.III prototype, despite frequent statements otherwise, but it was on W3237, which had the first 'Universal' wing. (The first prototype used a modified Mk.I wing, and this further complication was probably either not yet ready, or not considered worth delaying flight for.)

When it was decided to skip the Mk.III in favor of continuing the "temporary" Mk.V, the Air Min asked that the new armament arrangement be introduced as soon as possible, and inquired whether it could use the new wheel position. Joe Smith said that this would be no problem, but the Vc wing was a sort of hybrid, not the same structurally as the Mk.III's wing, which continued to evolve for the VII and soon VIII, while the Vc wing was further evolved for the IX. Since the 'Bowser wing' was an outgrowth of the a/b structure, the PR Spits didn't get the new gear angle until the PR.XI.

bob

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Hiya Folks,

Back to the model again,...

Another quick update,.....the joints are now sanded and the ailerons are fitted so the model is almost ready to paint. Thewing root root joints are superb and hardly needed any filler a all, but one of the lower wing joints hase slipped a bit so needed some filler, which is my own fault. I should really have clamped it but couldn`t find another clamp so thought that I`d get away wih it,....dohh!

DSCF1471_zps4e14951b.jpg

Hopefully I`ll have some paint on it soon,......also seen here are the Alley Cat cannon barrels and u/c doors,

Cheers for now,

Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Wonderful work Tony :goodjob:

Personally I favoured the first option as there's been a few African Front Spits posted lately so hopefully so it soon when you start the second one. Interesting to see you've done the work to correct the mistakes on the decal sheet colour plan as well. This one will be a cracker.

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Thanks Fella`s,

The first paint went on tonight and I`ll post some piccies in the morning as it is too dark now. It looks a little sickly and yellow so probably needs a good nights rest? You`ll see what I mean when I post the pics.

Col- I will be doing the Aussie one asap but just to keep you going and to show you that I`m not letting the side down here are two Special Hobby Mk.Vc`s which live in my cabinet;

SpitV-3_zps4809d306.jpg

SpitV-2_zps13d5b923.jpg

Both Darwin based,...one RAAF and one RAF (54 Sqn).

Cheers

Tony

Edited by tonyot
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