1:72 AZ Models Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk. XIV

[Martian]

Remind me again about how much fun it is getting old...

Cheers,

Bill

You can be grumpy, say what the hell you like and then claim senility. Simples!

Great work on the Spitfire.

Hope the op goes OK Bill.

[Navy Bird]

On 7/20/2016 at 21:52, martin hale said:

Hope the op goes OK Bill.

 

The surgery went fine - as far as surgeries go, a hernia repair is pretty lightweight. The only problem I had was an allergic reaction to some prep fluid - the area around the incision turned a bright red. I thought it might be infected at first, but it was just some kind of dermatitis. They gave me a topical salve, and it's improving nicely.

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Speaking of rashes, I'm itching to be painting that Spitfire!

[Procopius]

Speaking of rashes, I'm itching to be painting that Spitfire!

Navy Bird: The Segue King of Buffalo.

[CedB]

Those cannons look great Bill, as does the tailwheel.

Sorry to hear about the itch - incision not Spitfire

[giemme]

I sometimes need to go back to the topic title and make sure this is in 1:72

Good to know about Master barrels, I've never used anything from them but I recently acquired the pitot and sensors set for when I build my next Phantom, an F-4E.

Ciao

[Navy Bird]

On 7/20/2016 at 22:05, Procopius said:

Navy Bird: The Segue King of Buffalo.

 

That's Rochester. You know, like Jack Benny's cohort.

 

 

We don't talk about Buffalo in these parts - they have *that* football team.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Procopius]

That's Rochester. You know, like Jack Benny's cohort.

I love Jack Benny. I went to college in his hometown.

(The Spitfire's looking mighty nice, by the by.)

[Navy Bird]

Question for the SEAC experts:

 

Here are two sheets of stickers - the small sheet is the one that came with the kit, the larger sheet is from Model Alliance:

 

 

Looking at the SEAC roundels and fin flash, you can see that the lighter colour in the kit stickers is almost grey; the lighter colour on the Model Alliance sheet is a light blue.

 

I have some other examples of SEAC roundel decals, and they tend to be more like the Model Alliance sheet. What do you guys think? Should I use the Model Alliance stickers, or what came with the kit? The Model Alliance sheet is actually for Seafires, and the roundels and fin flash are just a tad larger than the AZ versions. However, you might recall that earlier in this build we discovered that the AZ roundels were actually a bit undersized.

 

If I use the AZ stickers, I can probably pass them off as faded and weathered...

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. The model has received its first coat of paint - in this case my Gunze pseudo-Ocean Grey.

[Procopius]

I don't think I've ever had a sheet of AZ decals that were totally right. The MA decals look correct to my eye.

[Cookenbacher]

Agreed, I think I used an Xtradecal sheet for mine.

It's looking great Bill, lovely scratch work for the tail wheel well.

[Beard]

PC is right about AZ decals, there's always something wrong with their colours.

[Hamden]

Model Alliance all the way for me

Roger

[Graham Boak]

Use whichever you prefer, but Seafires were dark blue with white inners, like other FAA Aircraft.

[Navy Bird]

On 7/25/2016 at 06:52, Graham Boak said:

Use whichever you prefer, but Seafires were dark blue with white inners, like other FAA Aircraft.

 

Thanks. That's an interesting comment on the Seafire markings. This particular MA decal sheet shows these standard SEAC markings on a Seafire (Hybrid) Mk.IIc, flown by Lt. Holbrook, LR792/K, 834 NAS, HMS Battler, British East Indies Fleet, June 1944. The camouflage scheme is the standard TSS of Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey over Sky. Perhaps this was an unusual marking scheme for this particular aircraft? I'm not sure what "hybrid" means in the description - started out life as something else?

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Navy Bird]

Here she is with her coat of pseudo-Ocean Grey:

 

 

 

This also acts as my primer, and I can see there are a few spots that need attention. I hope to get the Dark Green on today - my plan is to freehand airbrush the pattern, leaving a soft edge. It seems to me from the photos of Lacey's aircraft that this is the case.

 

I'm starting to like how she looks. It's incredible how much of a difference it makes when you put the spinner on though. Holding it in place, she really looks different than the other Spits sitting on my shelf. The five-bladed prop will make a huge difference too. The Mk.XIV is such a beautiful aircraft.

 

I used the windscreen portion of the kit canopy, and a Falcon vacuform for the fixed rear portion. The sliding canopy will also be a vacuform. Not too long now I think!

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Procopius]

I'm not sure what "hybrid" means in the description - started out life as something else?

IIRC, it's a Seafire IIc upgraded to Seafire III standards (four-bladed prop, etc.), less the folding wings.

[bigbadbadge]

_{Crikey, sorry I am really late to this one Bill, you are nearly finished. Hope you are felling okay fella. Great work as usual.}

_{All the best
Chris}

[Navy Bird]

Well, the Dark Green has been applied, following the pattern as shown on the back of the AZ box (on left):

 

 

I don't know what I was thinking - I should have checked this out first. Needless to say, this artwork is not entirely correct, specifically the horizontal tails and the engine cover.

 

I checked against the three photos that I have of this specific aircraft, and they seem to match the standard "A" pattern quite well. (Or is it the "B" pattern? I can never remember which is which!) The edge is tight, but I still think it's soft.

 

 

 

 

AZ also don't show the areas where the larger roundel has been painted out, and the smaller SEAC roundel applied. It's easy to see this on the port side in the above photo. I wish I knew what it looked like on the starboard side and the top of the wings. I may have to fake that part of the build based on best guesses - the large roundel on the starboard side would have been over-sprayed with Ocean Grey; those on the top of the wings with Dark Green.

 

Oh well, some touch-up is on the way!

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Do you guys agree that the fuselage band is Sky?

PPS. The codes are shown as YB/A on both sides. Correct? Or should the starboard side be A/YB?

[Beard]

I think your best guess about the overpainted roundels is a reasonable one.

I've had a look in British Aviation Colours of World War Two but can't find anything about the band being Sky, although it seems like reasonable suggestion.

No idea about the codes on the starboard side although I've noticed that most photographs are taken from the port side.

[Gwart]

I would go with DK Green overspray on the starboard side roundel.

[Navy Bird]

On 7/26/2016 at 15:58, Gwart said:

I would go with DK Green overspray on the starboard side roundel.

 

The starboard side SEAC roundel is in the middle of a large patch of Ocean Gray (according to the profile artwork on the back of the box). Assuming that it is in the same spot as the original roundel was, which seems to be the case on the port side, why do you think they would use Dark Green to cover it up?

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Giorgio N]

Back after a while, I see that there's been a lot of progress here... first of all glad to hear your surgery went fine Bill !!!

Here are some random thoughts on the various camouflage questions:

Roundel colours: IMHO none is great, I'd have liked a less vivid light blue on the Model Alliance sheet, in any case these seem the better of the two options.

Fuselage band: I'd say it's sky, this is simply be the band originally carried on the aircraft as part of the DFS scheme. As there was no request for similar bands of different colours in SEAC, I can't see any reason for repainting such band

Roundels overpaint: Gwart has a point... there are pictures that show Spitfire XIV in SEA in DFS with green used also on the starboard side over the Ocean Grey area. The best known is a picture of RN137 "FF-U" of 137 Sqn., an aircraft very similar in camo and markings to the one you're building. RN193 is another machine that shows the same use of dark green on all roundels (lower surfaces excluded of course)

Edited July 27, 2016 by Giorgio N

[Procopius]

Actually, now that I think of it, most aircraft in SEAC prior to the arrival of the late Spitfires were dark earth and dark green -- maybe the MU that added the SEAC roundels only had dark green and dark earth and so chose the lesser of two evils?

[giemme]

She's looking pretty already in her Ocean grey coat

I've magnified your pics but couldn't really see any areas that need care, super smooth job

Ciao

[Gwart]

The only picture of a 17 sqn XIV with OG overpaints i have is RM972.This went through a different MU than RN135 (Quite a lot of the City of Bombay Sqn Spit XIVwent through the same MU as RN135 and they all have DK Green overpaints on all roundels.)

Not definite proof of DK Green being used but it's what i would use.

You could use 3 varying shades of green (2 of OG )from worn to fresh (ish) to illustrate the original camo,the over paints of the yellow leading edge and finally the roundel overpaint adjustments.

*You could even add a 4th step to show the discoloured paint on the panels over the engine,something that's visible in the pics on this thread of Lacey's Spit.

Edited July 27, 2016 by Gwart