Ghostbase Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Tuesday 9th October 1951, Royal Air Force North Luffenham, Rutland, England. This Griffon engined Supermarine Spitfire 22 serial PK431 is operated by the 102 Flying Refresher School coded 'M-41', her purpose is to help convert RAF Voluntary Reserve pilots onto the new jets, their first jet flight will be in the Vampire FB.5 just over a week later. The Spitfire 22 is virtually the last mark of these legendary fighters, too late for service in WW2 and destined to be sold for scrap just over a year later. To Flying Officer D.W.Baldock she was a true 'dream machine' and on that day he flew her cross country sortie at 15,000 feet to Llandudno, then Malvern, then back to North Luffenham. The flight was 1 hour 45 minutes duration. My tribute to my father and that day so long ago, thanks to the 1/48th scale Airfix Spitfire F22/24 kit plus some additional decals. This build meant a lot and am happy with the finished model. IMGP3403 by Ghostbase, on Flickr IMGP3404 by Ghostbase, on Flickr IMGP3406 by Ghostbase, on Flickr IMGP3399 by Ghostbase, on Flickr The Airfix kit dates back to 1996 and goes together fairly well. This is the First Spitfire I have ever made and the cockpit layout was a little odd to me but I soon adjusted. I used a little filler but that was all it needed. The dull aluminium paint was achieved by using Halfords automotive aluminium in a rattle can and I oversprayed that with acrylic matt varnish and I am very happy with the finish. I am considering whether to add a little weathering on the wings to replicate the ground crews boot marks! The decals were from the kit apart from the M-41 codes and the 1 on the end of the serial. Regards the historical accuracy of my build I had to make some assumptions. My father religiously wrote the serials and codes of the Spitfires he flew in his pilots flying log book so I know I have those correct for that day. He took a number of scenery photos from the cockpit which look like the Welsh coast and they show a silver wing so it was not a camouflaged Spitfire. The Spitfires that made up this unit were hand-me-downs from various units and some aircraft might have had coloured spinners from those units. I did enjoy this build and I would like to make some more aircraft from this era, the Spitfire is kind of cute compared to an F-4 or an F-14 Tomcat. Michael. A couple more photos:- IMGP3398 by Ghostbase, on Flickr IMGP3407 by Ghostbase, on Flickr 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Brilliant - what a great tribute to your Dad's adventures! Lovely Spitfire! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28ZComeback Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Beautiful build and inspiration tribute!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cngaero Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 A great model beautifully finished and a fine tribute to your Dad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Fantastic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Congrats Ghost !! I really enjoy all these stories found here on BM ! Really nice Spitfre indeed !! Sincerely. CC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostbase Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 4 hours ago, corsaircorp said: Congrats Ghost !! I really enjoy all these stories found here on BM ! Really nice Spitfre indeed !! Sincerely. CC First, thanks for the several positive comments about this build. Thing is, with regards to corsaircorp's comment, my Spitfire build unveiled another story which reached back 68 years to 1951. I was contacted off-group by another BM member who said that his father-in-law had followed a very similar flying career path to my fathers and that he might have a group photo of RAFVR pilots which included my father. He checked the names that had been written on the photo and e-mailed it to me:- Oakington002 by Ghostbase, on Flickr My father is front row, 3rd from right, hated having his photo taken and it shows! The BM member's father-in-law is the chap in the back row 2nd from right and he is quite distinctive. I was absolutely thrilled to receive this photo! Funny thing is, I looked at his father-in law and I was pretty sure that I had seen him before. Now, a sub-story to this story. My father had a photo album based upon his service with the RAF in 1946-47 and I know he was a keen photographer way back then. When I was a teenager I used to sneak his photo album out and look at it, I wanted to join the RAF too. My younger brother was also into photography and especially developing films and I think my dad gave him some of his b&w films from way back then to practice on. Well, time moves on, my father passes away and I inherit his photo collections, albums, and RAF memorabilia. I could never find the old b&w films though and I guessed that they were long gone never to be seen again. Just a couple of years ago, out of the blue, my brother contacts me and says that he has found several old b&w films that he didn't realise that he had and did I want them? Of course the answer was YES and one of them clearly dated back to 1951 and contained quite a few photos of Gloster Meteors and de Havilland Vampires. I scanned them and checked them back against my fathers Flying Log Book and it looked as though they were taken at North Luffenham in 1951. There were also a couple of 'people' photos and one of them was an absolute gem:- DWBfilm051 by Ghostbase, on Flickr I just love this photo! Every one of those pilots sat there on a cool October day in 1951 is patiently waiting his turn to fly the Vampire FB.5 and every pilot is clearly his own character! I remembered this photo and I looked at it again a few days ago, I was sure I recognised someone on it... Yes! Seated, 3rd from right, round dark glasses, the BM member's father-in-law. This was confirmed and his wife now has an unexpected photo of her father from all those years ago. That is my story and all that came from a simple build of an Airfix 1/48th Spitfire F Mk.22. Thank you Britmodeller 🖕❤️ Michael 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Brilliant story!! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scimitar F1 Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 What a great story - thank you for taking the time and effort to share. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunny Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Great story, a fine tribute and lovely model. Thanks for sharing it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 That's what I appreciate the most here on BM ! very glad for you and the other BMer !! Congrats !! CC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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