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Supermarine Type 224 "Spitfire" - 1/48, Heritage Aviation Models Ltd


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*This model was finished during January, but I made myself to take pictures of it only now... The mechanic took a week to make (Tamiya + Vallejo colours).


After 5 years I declare this model FINISHED! :D
 

The history of this build starts at the Heritage Aviation Models Ltd stand at the Scale Model World Telford in 2014. I bought the most expensive kit to that day (£40) there and I was so excited that I started building it at our autumn traditional model club weekend right after the show. There, I made the biggest mistake (due to really bad advice) and dipped the whole wing in to the Surfacer. I DO NOT know why I did that, bud it gave me a really hard time with sanding and mostly recreating the corrugated iron on the leading edges of the wings (more in the building thread). Due to this, the Supermarine was very often put back in to the stash for rest and, mostly, to forgot the mistake I had made on the most expensive model (I was 17 then...). Year after year I tried to continue and  some minor progress was always made, but nothing serious. But, the last September, I found that poor box in my stash again and I pushed myself to finish it once and for all. And it was a successful attempt.

I DO love Spitfire, I really do. And this is a part of it´s story, which was my motivation. I would also like to create the line of 1/48 Spitfires starting with S.6b, "224", K5054, K5054 (blue), first productional Spit, Speed Spitfire and so on...
I really enjoyed the last term of modelling on this model. I tried many new things (NMF surface, HGW rivets - which can not be seen there :D, some scratched parts...) and mainly - this build kicked me into the serious modelling again after a long time. My friend Pavel helepd me with the masks (roundels and letters/numbers and Dunlop decal) and also with the figure of the mechanic (he painted the face :) ). I also added the base of the Southampton Supermarine factory together with the ladder and the airscrew cone. I used all the photos which I could found, from all over the internet, available books (The Spitfire Bible helped me the most) and the model portrays the K2890 before the RAF Pageant at Hendon at 30th June 1934. There are the most photos of the K2890 in this state and also I like the number "2" on the fuselage. You can see one error in the photos which is the hanging aerial, which changed its position due to the transport in cold weather. I hope it will not spoil your impression much. I hope you'll like the first Spitfire and do not worry to ask anything related to this kit/airplane/photos, I will gladly help with anything.
Cheers,

 

Andrew S.

 

Supermarine_224_01Supermarine_224_04Supermarine_224_05Supermarine_224_06Supermarine_224_07Supermarine_224_08Supermarine_224_10Supermarine_224_13

 

And now the model only:
 

Supermarine_224_cerna_01Supermarine_224_cerna_03Supermarine_224_cerna_04Supermarine_224_cerna_05Supermarine_224_cerna_06
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Thanks a lot all of you!

I used oil paint and a brush for cleaning it in the direction of flight. Then I painted the new oil stains with Vallejo Burnt Umber and black colour and airbrushed it with super clear varnish. After that I used a matt varnish for the exhaust and the burnt area behind the exhaust and for the last touch I applied some soot from CMK dusts.
The "224" leaked oil under the engine a lot (I suppuse as seen in the photos) so I wanted to recreate that. :) 

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That is lovely. She's certainly not the prettiest of planes (especially when you consider what came before and after) but by the end of your build thread I was finding her strangely compelling! I'm delighted you stuck at it and got her done. She looks great. Well done and thank you for sharing.

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Andrew,

 

I am speechless! What the others have said goes double from me. The tires look real- what did you use for the paint on them, if I might ask? Absolutely realistic metal tones and streaking. Well done! What an incredible leap in design from K2890 to K5054!

Mike

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7 hours ago, Newbie(kinda) said:

That is lovely. She's certainly not the prettiest of planes (especially when you consider what came before and after) but by the end of your build thread I was finding her strangely compelling! I'm delighted you stuck at it and got her done. She looks great. Well done and thank you for sharing.

Thank you, and I agree with you. At the start, it was a quite ugly plane for me, but in the end I take a very different attitude (positive) :)

4 hours ago, 72modeler said:

Andrew,

 

I am speechless! What the others have said goes double from me. The tires look real- what did you use for the paint on them, if I might ask? Absolutely realistic metal tones and streaking. Well done! What an incredible leap in design from K2890 to K5054!

Mike

Thanks Mike, I am happy that you like it! The tires are nothing special - just tire colour->matt varnish (four layers because the Vallejo Matt wasn't cooperating with me quite well)->CMK dusts and that's all. 
I think the best on it is that you can actually see some of the lines/details of K2890 which led the common path to the K5054... :)

12 minutes ago, Oberleutnant said:

Nice!

 

The gull wings are interesting.

 

Reminds me of a Stuka.

Thanks, you are right. The Junkers prototype went to the air for the first time a year after the K2890, but I think some connection is possible consider those years of spying...
What we know is that Mitchell chose this gull wing for better performance in high altitudes.

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Just now, Andrew.S said:

Thank you, and I agree with you. At the start, it was a quite ugly plane for me, but in the end I take a very different attitude (positive) :)

Thanks Mike, I am happy that you like it! The tires are nothing special - just tire colour->matt varnish (four layers because the Vallejo Matt wasn't cooperating with me quite well)->CMK dusts and that's all. 
I think the best on it is that you can actually see some of the lines/details of K2890 which led the common path to the K5054... :)

Thanks, you are right. The Junkers prototype went to the air for the first time a year after the K2890, but I think some connection is possible consider those years of spying...
What we know is that Mitchell chose this gull wing for better performance in high altitudes.

That is interesting.

 

Definitely a lot of spying going on.

 

Another interesting point is the Stuka originally had a Rolls Royce Kestrel engine!

 

Quite a few people argue that the Spitfire's elliptical wing was borrowed from the Heinkel HE70 as well although this is much debated.

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On 2/9/2019 at 4:52 PM, NPL said:

Its a very fine piece of work. It almost look attractive (the plane).

 

There's no better way to put it!  (I, too, have one in the stash- as a Spitfire boffin, I'm morally obligated.)

 

If you'll forgive a little "constructive feedback", while I think you did a superb job on the "dirtying" under the center section, I wonder about it being spread so broadly across that area?  I guess what I mean is, does it fit the "logic" of where the dirt/grime would come from?  I notice that you don't have any particular dirt streaks thrown up by the tires (sorry, tyres).  Please understand that this isn't meant to sound harshly negative, just something my eye picked up on and I think worthy of contemplation.

 

I noticed the tyres right off (in a good way!)- they look like rubber things that have actually rolled across some dirt/grass/paved ground, Even on a spit-shined (pun, if not intended, gladly accepted) company pride-and-joy, it would be hard to avoid them looking like they've actually rolled.

 

Nice little bit of "life", too, to have the spinner cap off.

 

Does it make me want to grab my kit and set-to?  Nope, still chicken!

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1 hour ago, gingerbob said:

 

There's no better way to put it!  (I, too, have one in the stash- as a Spitfire boffin, I'm morally obligated.)

 

...

 

Does it make me want to grab my kit and set-to?  Nope, still chicken!

feeling exactly the same!

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