JimmyZ Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 (edited) This will be my contribution to this tribute GB. I'm still deciding between two different SAAF subjects. I'm currently studying for an exam (no I'm not in school or university , quite a bit older than that) so I cannot start with this build yet, since it will distract me. I will edit this post later with some pics. cheers Jimmy ---------------------------- EDIT 03/05 And this is what I've decided on, simply because I found four color(ized?) photos of the subject. Spitfire Mk.Vb 'WR-D' of 40 Squadron SAAF, serial ER622 based in Tunisia 1943 These photos are absolutely beautiful and even though probably colorized, I'm sure everyone can appreciate the value of these. Here is the kit box And the subject profile + decals. Sprue shots will come late next week. I already checked and it seems the kit will work fine for the subject (clipped wings, aboukir airfilter). Is there anything else I need to check? Edited March 5, 2016 by JimmyZ 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 No problem if you can't start immediately Jimmy, the STGB will run for a few weeks, there will be time to build the kit. Looking forward to seeing the subject you decide to build ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Welcome to the GB Jimmy. Good luck with your upcoming exams and we'll look forward to seeing what markings you have in mind later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 I've updated the opening post with the subject details. Can't wait to get started on this, but for now it's back to the books for me. Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Those are cracking photos Jimmy, great inspiration for your project, even if the pilot looks far too tall to fit in a Spitfire in the first one Is there a white boarder to the letter decals? They look plain red in the photo but that's perhaps the brightness of it fooling my eye. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 The main thing to keep in mind when building ER622 is that this aircraft was modified for recce missions, with a camera in the radio access hatch and two under the fuselage. It' a matter of drilling 3 holes and adding clear covers, nothing major. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 6, 2016 Author Share Posted March 6, 2016 Those are cracking photos Jimmy, great inspiration for your project, even if the pilot looks far too tall to fit in a Spitfire in the first one Is there a white boarder to the letter decals? They look plain red in the photo but that's perhaps the brightness of it fooling my eye. Yup, there is a white border. Just double checked now, you had me worrying for a second there The main thing to keep in mind when building ER622 is that this aircraft was modified for recce missions, with a camera in the radio access hatch and two under the fuselage. It' a matter of drilling 3 holes and adding clear covers, nothing major. Thanks for that info Giorgio, I didn't realize this, and this section on Wikipedia for 40 Squadron confirms what you said about recce missions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40_Squadron_SAAF#North_Africa I assume it would be that same as this profile of WR-R (with regards to the oblique camera) also of 40 Squadron? Though it looks like it's covered here. I found a different profile of WR-R that also shows a cover over the camera. Then just to figure out the position and looks of the cameras under the fuselage. Cheers 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Brown Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Looking forward to this one. You've picked a "Challenging" kit to start from! Good luck. Rick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 I'm in Jimmy I built one of these pouty mouthed beauties last year and you might find this rambling WiP of some use. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Good luck Jimmy,one of the most unloved Spitfire kits out there so go on prove folks wrong and build a beauty! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 I'm in Jimmy I built one of these pouty mouthed beauties last year and you might find this rambling WiP of some use. Thanks, I'll be sure to make use of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 11, 2016 Author Share Posted March 11, 2016 At last I can start with this build! I started my build like I always do, by washing the sprues with dish washing liquid to remove any oiliness. Before I did that though, I snapped some bad quality pics of the sprues. My previous build was a Tamiya P-47D Razorback Thunderbolt and if feels like it had twice this amount of parts! Here are the kit decals, which I wont be using. I may use some of the stencils though. The sprues are currently drying, and I have plans for tonight, but I hope to make a start this weekend still. Cheers Jimmy 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 I've made a start on this build today. I've also encountered the first "fit" issues of this kit. My aim with this build isn't to be super accurate and detailed, and I won't focus a lot on details that cannot be seen or can only be seen with difficulty when the kit is done. With that said, here's a few pics of my progress. This is a little bit zoomed in, and the flash makes the black look grainy (someday I'll get the micro zoomed photography right...I hope). Achieved by dry brushing white over the black to bring out the instruments. Here you can see the instrument panel from a more lifelike angle. I'm quite pleased with the result. This one shows the fit issue. I've seen a few different ways of fixing it, like elevating the seat to the upper "shelf", but that leaves the seat resting way too high. The way I've done it looks sloppy though, but only when viewing from the side, an angle that won't be achievable with the fuselage closed up. If I glue it like the instructions says, the whole brace behind the seat is extremely skewed towards the rear, which will introduce some fit issues when glueing the fuselage halves. Next up I will attempt making seat belts from foil. I usually do it with masking tape, so I'm curious to see what foil seat belts will look like. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 I've not commented before on the Italeri kit faults and I will not touch the accuracy issues (that fortunately mostly affect the Mk.IX), however it's worth mentioning that this kit is one of the worst fitting ones I've built in my life ! No surprise that you're having fit issues from the very start. I see what you mean with the problems with the seat brace position however I think the way you assembled the seat results in this being a bit too low, the lower brace should roughly be in line with the mid of the seat lower pan. Same for the armoured plate behind the seat, it should be higher. Have a look at these pictures, they show well the position http://spitfire9.com/canopyspit.htm Your instrument panel looks very good ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Hi Jimmy, nice work on the I/P I had the same problem (of course) with my build and there's a discussion on it here. Hope it helps. I went for the top mount and it seemed to work OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share Posted March 14, 2016 I've not commented before on the Italeri kit faults and I will not touch the accuracy issues (that fortunately mostly affect the Mk.IX), however it's worth mentioning that this kit is one of the worst fitting ones I've built in my life ! No surprise that you're having fit issues from the very start. I see what you mean with the problems with the seat brace position however I think the way you assembled the seat results in this being a bit too low, the lower brace should roughly be in line with the mid of the seat lower pan. Same for the armoured plate behind the seat, it should be higher. Have a look at these pictures, they show well the position http://spitfire9.com/canopyspit.htm Your instrument panel looks very good ! Thank guys. Yeah I didn't get off on the right foot with this kit... I can look past the accuracy issues if there is a good fit, but none of that will be had here. I guess I'm taking the cockpit apart to make some mods. Hi Jimmy, nice work on the I/P I had the same problem (of course) with my build and there's a discussion on it here. Hope it helps. I went for the top mount and it seemed to work OK. Thanks Ceb. I did have a look at your built when I realized nothing fits right. However when I lift the seat up to the top mount, the seat looks way too high. When looking at pictures, the seat isn't much higher than the floor. Though like it is now certainly doesn't look very good either. I have an idea that I'll try tonight or tomorrow, that may involve either cutting off the locator pins off the armor plate "mountings" and moving it up, or cutting off the "mount rack" thingies altogether, as I don't see anything like that in pictures. That would enable me to position the seat and back plate exactly where I want it. I'll post pics along the way. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Good afternoon Jimmy Good luck with your build , I won't either comment on the default of this kit I built many years ago .. Patrice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 So yeah, I had to break everything lose again... I then cut off the "shelves", since they are either not easily visible, or not there. I couldn't make it out on pictures, and since they caused some issues, they had to go. Everything sanded smooth, painted and re-glued in the (hopefully) correct position. Looks a lot better I think. Visible in the previous photo as well is my foil seatbelts. It's easier and looks better than my usual tape seatbelts. I wanted to add foil buckles as well until I realized it's kind of difficult...I might just make some sort of effort here. I started painting the fuselage halves interior. So very very bare... I also only now noticed that the cockpit can be posed open since the door/hatch is a lose piece. I almost gave it a whole second of thought. With the interior as spartan as it is, the little bit that is there is inaccurate. Nah I'll close it to hide as much as possible of that. Here the interior painted. Still so very bare. Maybe I'll do something (basic) about it. Off course the strange separate nose section. Obviously for Italeri to use many of the same pieces for other Spit versions. I hope they made plenty spit marks and it was worth it (there might be a slight hint of sarcasm in there, I actually have no idea what other Mk's spitties they have). No worries, I'll bring out the 'ol box of wall crack filler for all the seams (that one was a joke) That's it. I somehow found myself in a heap of sudden work responsibility so I might only have a new update by the weekend. Cheers Jimmy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Looking good Jimmy Personally I wouldn't bother too much about interior detailing if it's not there in the kit, but I am lazy... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Good job on sorting the cockpit and on the foil belts, foil is a wonderful material for this task, can be draped over the seat much more naturally compared to paper or tape. Italeri initially did this and the Mk.IX and later issued a Mk.VII, not too many Spits in the end. Fit is not really the best in this kit... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 The main thing to keep in mind when building ER622 is that this aircraft was modified for recce missions, with a camera in the radio access hatch and two under the fuselage. It' a matter of drilling 3 holes and adding clear covers, nothing major. Giorgio - are you sure this had the camera ports under the fuselage? I would have though as a field mod then just the sideways dicing camera would have been carried? Sorry to interrupt, and great effort Jimmy so far. Its SAAF - so a subject I'm increasing close to. Jonners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 19, 2016 Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 Giorgio - are you sure this had the camera ports under the fuselage? I would have though as a field mod then just the sideways dicing camera would have been carried? Sorry to interrupt, and great effort Jimmy so far. Its SAAF - so a subject I'm increasing close to. Jonners Not at all Jonners, feel free to post any questions or advice here. I have no idea, but this is a quote from the 40 Squadron wikipedia page here "The squadron converted to the Supermarine Spitfire Vb at the end of February 1943. This variant had clipped wingtips to enhance its low-altitude performance, most notably its roll-speed. Sorties now included vertical and oblique photography, battle area Tac.R, target marking for fighter bombers, searches for night bomber targets, and identification of landmarks for day bomber navigation." Sorties now included vertical and oblique photography. Oblique photography is the camera on the port side of the fuselage? Could the vertical photography referred to be the bottom fuselage cameras' function? Cheers Jimmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 HI Jimmy - this is interesting http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/thread/1235381897/40+Sqn+SAAF+Spitfires+Mk+Vb+-+PR+cameras Jonners 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 19, 2016 Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 At last I have some time to work on my SAAF Spittie. This is an update from my early morning work, I expect to get in another session today. I almost forgot that the best time glue the door closed would be now. I decided to paint some cockpit details instead of scratch building it. Admittedly it doesn't look great here, but should look just about the part when the fuselage is closed. I then glued together the fuselage halves, and while waiting for it to cure I snapped these of the cockpit. I think it looks OK. Should be perfectly deceptive with the canopy on. I also started smoothing the seams on the engine cowling, firstly painting Tamiya Surface Primer on, and then sanding it smooth. While sanding I noticed the bulges on the starboard side looks weird, and confirmed there is one too many (should only have two) This b&w photo confirms it. So I guess it will have to go. Cheers Jimmy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted March 19, 2016 Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 HI Jimmy - this is interesting http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/thread/1235381897/40+Sqn+SAAF+Spitfires+Mk+Vb+-+PR+cameras Jonners Interesting, thanks for the link! Seems like ER622, the one I'm building, didn't have any cameras. I think a little bit more research is in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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