Bodmin Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 (edited) No.603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron was a fighter squadron responsible for the first German aircraft to be shot down over Britain during the Second World War. The squadron's initial duty was to defend the naval base at Rosyth, working alongside No.602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron. On 27th August the Squadron moved to Hornchurch, in Essex, for the remaining months of the Battle of Britain. On 28th August just after 0900hrs two heavily escorted bomber formations crossed the Kent coast followed by another raid on Eastchurch and Rochford airfields at 1200hrs. A third raid later in the afternoon was a fighter sweep over South East corner of Kent and into the Thames Estuary at 25,000 feet and above. It was this third raid that was to prove a “Baptism of Fire” for the Squadron when it lost three pilots, killed on that, their first, day in battle. All were killed when the squadron was 'bounced' out of the sun by the enemy Messerschmitt 109s. One of these was Pilot Officer N J V Benson who flew a Spitfire Mk 1a with serial N3105 P. He was shot down at 1630hrs by a Messerschmitt Bf109 and crashed in flames in Tenterden, Kent. He was 21 years old and is buried at Great Ouseburn (St. Mary) Churchyard, Yorkshire. He and his aircraft are the inspiration for my build. And my kits arrived today Edited July 28, 2015 by Bodmin 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodmin Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Amost forgot....my sprue shots. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Nice little project mate, these new airfix kits really do look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Another great back story to this very important moment in British history. What are you using for the letter codes on the spit? Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodmin Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Hi Rob. I think I'm going to end up using individual letters and numbers by Xtradecal. I can't find a dedicated set for this aircraft. Of course it will mean doing each letter/number individually but if that's my only option I'll have to bite the bullet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Brilliant,great to have a back story too,best of luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodmin Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Thought I'd start with the Messerschmitt as I'll be using the decals in the box for this one. Finished the pilot and cockpit. Pilot was a bit of a pain - had to bend his legs and cut half of his backside out so he would fit in in a way that would at least resemble he was flying the plane. I did contemplate sacking the pilot off, but my original plan was for a dogfight double so I'm going to stick with it. Just a basic coat of dark grey, wash and highlights for the interior. Nothing drastic as most will not be visable when assembled. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Nice start mate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Good start with these lovely kits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodmin Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 A little more progress this evening after I found one of the engine exhausts after it fired out of my tweezers. Lucky for me the carpet monster was asleep!!! Going to put some filler above the gap on the instrument console and let it set over night, otherwise it's going to annoy me. I didn't really need to paint all of the engine but what the heck 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodmin Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 A little more progress tonight. Pretty much built now, just the prop and undercarriage to assemble which I'll do at the end. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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