djktrumpet Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 (edited) I hope I'm not too late to join this GB - and I hope I still have time to complete my project! In 1963 relations with Indonesia had deteriorated to the point where conflict was a real possibility. The RAF's frontline fighter at that time was the Lightning, whereas the Indonesian Air Force was still flying P-51s. Concerned about the issues that might arise in combat between two such dissimilar aircraft, the RAF instigated combat trials; no P-51s were available, but a Spitfire PR.XIX that had been used as a gate guardian, but maintained in airworthy condition, was pressed into service as a Mustang substitute. The Spitfire, PS853, was flown by Wing Commander (later Air Vice Marshall) John Nicholls, who wrote that: “Of course, from the outset we knew that the Lightning could overtake the Spitfire by nearly a thousand miles per hour - there was no need to run a trial to prove that. But we did find that the piston-engined fighter presented a very poor target to infra-red homing missiles, especially from the rear aspect and … if the Lightning pilot slowed down too much he could end up playing the slower and more manoeuverable fighter's dogfighting game and lose. In the end … we found it best to use the Lightning's very high power:weight ratio to make a climbing attack from behind and below. From that angle the field of view from the Spitfire was poor, there was a good chance of achieving surprise and the infra-red source gave the best chance for missile acquisition. If the Lightning pilot did not acquire the target or bring his guns to bear on his first pass, he could continue his steep climb - which the Spitfire could not hope to follow - and when out of range he could dive and repeat the process. Using such tactics, we felt that in the end a competent Lightning pilot could almost always get the better of an equally competent Spitfire (or P-51) pilot”. I'll be building Airfix's lovely 1/48 Spitfire PR.XIX kit, with the Barracuda resin cockpit set, and trying to get close to the colour scheme and markings that PS853 wore at the time of those trials. My best guess, based on various photos, is dark green and dark earth camouflage over sky, red spinner with white back plate, with Type D roundels and white or grey fuselage serial, and a Central Fighter Establishment crest on the nose. Edited October 20, 2019 by djktrumpet Swapped photobucket images to imgur 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Welcome aboard @djktrumpet and who would have thought that you could link 1963 to a Spitfire (of all subjects!). This is a great backstory and I had no idea this event took place. I tend to agree that the basic upper surface colours are DG and DE, but my initial thoughts for the underside was LAG. On second thoughts I believe LAG was introduced from around 1966 onwards so your Sky colouring is probably right. If it was a gate guardian then they may have tried to mimic BoB colours so it’s starting to make sense. Hopefully another photo may turn up. There’s plenty of time to go so get cracking and let’s see this great subject come to life.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djktrumpet Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 (edited) Thanks, good to be here, and yes, I was delighted to be able to link a Spit to 1963! My first thought for the underside was MSG or LAG, but IWM has a photo of PS853 taken in 1962 with other aircraft of the CFE, and the undersides do look like Sky to me - spinner also appears to be Sky at that point too. Edited October 20, 2019 by djktrumpet Swapped photobucket images to imgur 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Great photograph.. I’m with you, Sky it is. Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djktrumpet Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 (edited) So, a bit of progress has been made. Internals mostly painted up in base colours, detail painting to be finished and then will need some washes and drybrushing before assembly. The Barracuda resin set goes together quite nicely, but some of the parts are very delicate - I managed to break the rudder pedals and have decided to replace them with photo etch from an old Airwaves set. I'm hoping to have a bit more time next week so hopefully can move things on a bit. Edited October 20, 2019 by djktrumpet Swapped photobucket images to imgur 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Don't know if it just my computer but I just have a pulsing grey box instead of the actual pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Nice to see this being progressed, hopefully once you finish off the cockpit it’ll be a breeze thereafter. 9 hours ago, PeterB said: Don't know if it just my computer but I just have a pulsing grey box instead of the actual pic. I’ve had this issue as well Pete, however it seems to restore itself after a short while. I believe it’s wifi based and the image is taking a lot longer to download than normal based on your varying download speeds. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djktrumpet Posted October 9, 2019 Author Share Posted October 9, 2019 (edited) Bah! I only noticed the ejector pin marks in the wheel wells after gluing up the wings. Oh, well, they're just going to have to stay there now. Sigh. Edited October 20, 2019 by djktrumpet Swapped photobucket images to imgur 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 (edited) 8 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said: Nice to see this being progressed, hopefully once you finish off the cockpit it’ll be a breeze thereafter. I’ve had this issue as well Pete, however it seems to restore itself after a short while. I believe it’s wifi based and the image is taking a lot longer to download than normal based on your varying download speeds. Cheers.. Dave Thanks Dave, I have fibre internet, directly wired to the computer not wifi and get pretty high speeds so perhaps it is more of a website problem - Mike did say large pics push the system hard. Anyway it is working today. Pete Edited October 9, 2019 by PeterB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djktrumpet Posted October 20, 2019 Author Share Posted October 20, 2019 Have finally got cheesed off with Photobucket, and have swapped images over to imgur, which hopefully will work a bit better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 Good move, looking forward to seeing your progress. Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djktrumpet Posted October 29, 2019 Author Share Posted October 29, 2019 A bit of progress has been made. Cockpit complete and fuselage glued up, so hopefully things will move on a bit now. The Barracuda cockpit mostly went together easily, and apart from some minor fettling, fitted well with the kit parts. Although the Airfix cockpit is pretty good OOB, I think the Barracuda set is worth the extra expense and effort, if only for the seat, which is a big improvement on the kit part. As I mentioned before, some of the resin parts are very delicate indeed, and as well as using photo-etch pedals from an old Airwaves set, I replaced the upper section of the harness with wine-bottle foil, as the resin part didn't really lie properly. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 That's all looking superb.. some nice results in that great cockpit. Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djktrumpet Posted October 30, 2019 Author Share Posted October 30, 2019 Wings going on - starting to look like a Spitfire! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djktrumpet Posted November 16, 2019 Author Share Posted November 16, 2019 Finally ready for some paint. I'm afraid I can't see me getting this finished by the deadline - life intruding, as it does. It's been fun, though, and I'll see how far I can get. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 It’s a shame that life has this fascinating way of interfering with modelling projects! Never mind, just do your best and see how far you get. Post it up as a RFI when it’s all done and dusted. Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djktrumpet Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 So, I know the GB's finished, but seeing as the forum's still open I thought I'd show a bit more progress: Sky going onto the undersides. As suggested, I'll post some photos in RFI when it's all complete. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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