Retired Bob Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 1954 was quite a busy year for aviation (if Wikipedia can be believed) First flights of the: F-101 Voodoo, F-104 Starfighter, A4 Skyhawk, F-11 Tiger and on this side of the pond E.E. Lightning and Fairey Delta 2. Other notable aviation events included: The Bell X1A set a new Altitude record, the F-100 entered service with 479 TFW, the F7U Cutlass with VF 81, the FJ3 Fury with VF 173 and the Supermarine Swift with 56 Sqn. All notable events and a lot of those aircraft I have the models in my stash, however one event that took place in this year of my birth was the very last OPERATIONAL flight of the Spitfire PR.19. The Airfix box art shows PS 888 marked up as "THE LAST" this decoration was added after the last sortie had been completed by 81 Sqn on 1st April 1954. The Officer Commanding 81 Sqn was peeved to find out that back in 1951 60 Sqn flying Spitfire Mk 18s, had claimed this honour and been presented with a silver model Spitfire. He requested the model Spitfire be given to the rightful Sqn, however to prevent any upset, another silver model Spitfire was presented to 81 Sqn by no less than Jeffrey Quill. I intend to assemble the Barracuda excellent resin components together with the addition of some Airfix plastic parts to re-create this event. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 Well done Bob, this will be a beautiful package and a great tribute to both the Spitfire and 1954. I did not know the story about No. 60 Sqn’s claim so thanks for sharing that one - a nice story. I probably should have bought this kit when it was readily available and will no doubt want to track one down before this GB is out. Cheers, good luck and warm welcome.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 5 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said: I did not know the story about No. 60 Sqn claim so thanks for sharing that one - a nice story. As an after story, when 81 Sqn requested the silver Spitfire trophy from 60 Sqn the response from 60 Sqn was "taking photos is not an operational tasking" so their claim to have carried out the last operational sortie, a Firedog sortie (bombs and rockets) against Malayan insurgents was still extant. 81 Sqn responded to this by obtaining official permission for a last Firedog sortie of their own, a "bombing" mission against 60 Sqn. PS 888 with the nose marking "The Last" flew low over 60 Sqns HQ, opened his flaps and dropped bog rolls on them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 Not PS 888, that was written off in a heavy landing that sheared the undercarriage off. But possibly the most beautiful of all the Spitfires? These were taken on 3/7/11 at RAF Leeming. PM 631 of the BBMF. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 Stop it Bob... your making me want one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 8 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said: Stop it Bob... your making me want one! I bought two, I wanted an early one, the first 20 ish were rushed into service and were not pressurised, a standard Mk 14 highback fuselage added to the the unarmed , extra fuel tank PR wings, this one would have D-Day stripes and I was going to enter it into the D-Day GB, I did not have all the information I need so I will build this one as a late pressurised aircraft. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 (edited) I was in Cheltenham last year and picked up a 1/72 one for something like £6 - should have bought at least 2 on reflection but as a fellow Yorkshireman (presumably) you will know how painful spending money is.. Needed it to use my resin PRXI conversion. Still have half a dozen Spits including a 22 and a Seafire 47 in my stash but as you say the PR19 was probably the best looking of them. Pete Edited September 9, 2019 by PeterB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 9 hours ago, PeterB said: I was in Cheltenham last year and picked up a 1/72 one for something like £6 - should have bought at least 2 on reflection but as a fellow Yorkshireman (presumably) you will know how painful spending money is.. I look on spending money on modelling as therapy, and I have been told enough times that I need therapy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted September 17, 2019 Author Share Posted September 17, 2019 An update on the Spitfire, I thought that it would be quite quick with all the resin to do the hard work...... wrong. I cleaned up and sprayed Hataka interior grey/green on all cockpit parts and started adding the Eduard etched parts, that took a lot longer than I expected but here it is, after a dark wash and a bit of highlighting, I just need to add the seat belts, then I can get the fuselage halves glued together. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Lovely cockpit Bob. I hate doing cockpits however it’s seems to be what everyone what’s to take a look at, so it’s best done as best as possible. Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted September 17, 2019 Author Share Posted September 17, 2019 Hi Dave, I quite like cockpit and interior detailing, it's just a pity that sometimes you cannot see all that effort after the fuselage is joined up. On this kit I researched the cockpit colour, Airfix said green, but I know that at some stage they were painted black, and the other problem has been the seat belts, because the cockpit was pressurised the normal fixing of the shoulder straps could not happen because of the pressure bulkhead, the Eduard instructions are vague about where they go to after passing through the armour plate behind the pilot. Oh well,it will give me something to do tomorrow. Regards...Bob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted October 28, 2019 Author Share Posted October 28, 2019 I have got around to my Spitfire again, after adding all the Eduard etched bits to the cockpit walls I dry fitted it together and as I expected there was some problems, the main one being a bracket for a first aid kit near the pilots left shoulder, so that was disposed of, a quick paint touch up and it was time to glue the fuselage together. To make sure the wings aligned with the fuselage a couple of strips of plastic card were required on the front wing root sections. I then glued the wings on. The plastic card did the trick and the wings are now flush with the fuselage wing roots. The white areas on the wings, engine cover and around the canopy are filler where there were sink marks in the plastic. The fit of the wing underside was not the best, after working on the Eduard Mk IX Spitfire where the lower wing just clicks into place with no sign of a joint just shows how far Airfix are behind the better kit manufacturers. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted October 28, 2019 Author Share Posted October 28, 2019 I tackled that bad joint on the underside with some stretched sprue and sprue gloop so that I could restore the surface detail once hardened. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted October 28, 2019 Author Share Posted October 28, 2019 Some of the resin accessories I bought for this kit are frankly a waste, unless you open up the camera bays the resin cameras cannot be seen, the resin carburettor intake is too thin around the edge of the intake, I know that sounds wrong but the photo below shows the intake mouth, the aluminium was folded round to make a smooth intake, the resin one is so thin that as I cleaned off the excess material from inside the intake mouth a piece broke off from the lip. The exhausts, wheels and propeller blades are all ok, the spinners are too big in diameter so I will have to use the kit item. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 Some nice progress there Bob. It's always gonna be hard to compete with Eduard kits, they've come up a very long way in what really is a short time. Airfix kits may not be as fine, however its usually the subject matter that sucks us all in. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted October 30, 2019 Author Share Posted October 30, 2019 5 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said: Airfix kits may not be as fine, however its usually the subject matter that sucks us all in. Agreed, having been bought up on Airfix kits from an early age I would like to keep supporting them. I have just got the new P-51 Mustangs from Eduard, as you say they have progressed so far in such a short time. Not sure if it's the amount of money they invest or just the enthusiasm of the management but the rate of progression is amazing. Roll on their early Spitfires. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 I treated myself to Eduard’s Royal Class Tempest set a while ago and although it wasn’t cheap it makes me smile each time I open the box. I’m sure this will continue as I go through the building stages. Their new Mustangs look really good too, must get a few of those. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 18 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said: I treated myself to Eduard’s Royal Class Tempest set a while ago and although it wasn’t cheap it makes me smile each time I open the box. I’m sure this will continue as I go through the building stages. Their new Mustangs look really good too, must get a few of those. I have resisted buying any of Eduards Tempest kits, only because with my present stash I would have to live past 400 years and still have all my marbles, but that has not stopped me buying some Mustangs. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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