PaulR Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 (edited) I have been very interested in the BoB since I was about 6, and have been irrationally proud of the fact my birthday is also the official start date. Over the years I have amassed a decent amount of BoB literature. One of these (and something I am about to re-read) is Richard Hillary's famous book the Last Enemy, In it, it describes his training and entry into the BoB, and amongst other things his close friendship with Peter Pease also on 603 squadron. Peter Pease was shot down and killed in September. I have already built Pease's plane a couple of years using the still very good old tool Spitfire mk1, so I thought I'd do Hilary's plane to go with it - brothers in arms. I'll use Xtradecal generic codes to make this up according to the profile in the Osprey book. Edited September 2, 2015 by PaulR 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Good choice Paul, but you've posted the same pic twice? Cheers, Stew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Interesting subject Paul, I'll follow along if I may Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Good to see the Scottish auxiliaries getting some recognition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 Right - an update! Have been messing around with wings and prop, but thought I'd better get going with the cockpit. Basically OOB, but I added seat armour from plasticard, seatbelts with strips of Tamiya tape, and put in a piece of clear plastic for the gunsight. Oh, and I replaced the reinforcement beam (?) at the back of the cockpit with something slightly more in scale. So not really OOB at all. Am pleased with result; will marry all the major components together in the next couple of days once I start on my hols... oh, I include the profile of Hilary's machine I working from. Have got up to his posting to his first spitfire squadron in his book 'The Last Enemy' - compulsive reading if you haven't already! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Right - quick update! Props done, and the main airframe altogether, and canopy futured ready for masking. People often say this is a dodgy fit, but if you apply a couple of gentle swipes with a sanding stick on the rear of the canopy, put the windscreen in first and then push the rear in last you should be rewarded with a perfect fit, I just applied a tiny smear of PVA to the edges for belt and braces. Anyway, final sanding, masking and priming next. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Good afternoon Paul You have done a very good job so far Patrice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 That's some nice work, love the little additions in the cp, its also coming together very quick Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 Quick update. I sprayed on my favoured brand of 'Sky', namely Tamiya Sky, and finished off the wheels last night. Tonight's task: mask off the undersides and spray the brown. I also finished the Last Enemy last week on hol; it makes for a very interesting perspective. Hilary initially took the line that fighting was a chance for him to 'fully realize' himself in combat, but gradually his experiences led to him to believe he was fighting for something much bigger than his own experience. After being terribly burned, in the final chapter of the book, he describes an incident in which he is called upon to help dig out a mother and child from the rubble of a bombed building. Although the incident may, apparently, be slightly apocryphal in nature, its emotional impact is nonetheless huge. Essentially, he is looking at the dying mother, who then looks at Hilary and sees his burnt face, and says 'It looks like they got you too.' Hilary goes on to describe in detail his emotional realisation of what he is actually fighting for; not for himself but to protect ordinary people from the evil that Nazism represented. A damned good read if you get the chance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Very moving post Paul - thanks. Oh, and the 'Sky' looks great too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted August 21, 2015 Author Share Posted August 21, 2015 (edited) Making rapid progress now. I am planning to have this model ready for the 3rd September, which will 75 years to the day that Richard Hilary went down in this particular plane. In fact all of my projects bar one (my Eduard 110) are intended to be published on the day they either were shot down/crashlanded/did the shooting down. Anyway... having sprayed in Tamiya sky, masked it all up and sprayed the Humbrol acrylic earth brown. I didn't mix this properly, so it didn't spray very well; I got the dread rough grainy finish from the particles drying in mid air. Took a deep breath and sanded it back - all saved! I generally freehand the green camo, but decided to do the silly putty technique instead - well pleased with the result, aside from having to slightly alter the green on the port wing to more closely match the actual scheme. I have also glossed it with Xtracrylix Gloss varnish ready for a light dose of weathering and decals. Oh, and I also masked off and sprayed the red tape over the gun ports, but forgot to take a photo! Edited August 21, 2015 by PaulR 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Looking good Paul That 'silly putty' looks even more weird than the 'Panzer Putty' I'm trying... great result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Evening all, well, am putting on the decals, but in the meantime was somewhat chuffed to find an actual picture (I think) of the aircraft I am modelling. This is handy to confirm code styles, which seem to vary an awful lot in practice. The picture is from Alfred Price's BoB book, and just happened upon it. It is dated early September, which makes it the right time frame for Hilary's Spitfire before it went down in flames on the 3rd. It is also pictured next to 222sqn Spitfires, which is handy as I have one of these in my collection - possible diorama! Will post the finished article on the 3rd to mark the 75th anniversary of Richard Hilary's fateful encounter with Helmut Bode of JG2 above Margate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 As a quick historical aside, Hilary used this aircraft to knock down an Me109 off Dungeness exactly 75 years ago today (i.e. the 31st August). He would claim for several more over the next three days before being shot down in it off Margate on the 3rd if September. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Well - finished! And published in time for the 75th anniversary of Hilary's fateful sortie when he was brought down by Helmut Bode on the 3rd September 1940. Hilary claimed several more kills between the 31st and the 3rd, when his luck ran out. There is a vivid description of his desperate fight to get out of his burning cockpit in his book the Last Enemy, and his recuperation afterward that puts in context some of the sacrifices made by many of the Few. I've used Xtradecal codes and serials to produce the model, and all things considered was a great kit. This'll go in the cabinet along side his friend and comrade Peter Pease's Spitfire XT*B, who was to be killed on the 15th September. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Good morning Paul Very good job you have done on this Spit it is a perfect tribute to Richaed Hilary's memory ... Patrice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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