G-IRTY Silver Spitfire - Quattro Stagioni - La Primavera - ***Finished***

[alt-92]

Stagione

From Wikipedia

Quote

Stagione (Italian for "season") is an organizational system for presenting opera, often used by large houses. Typically each production is cast separately and has a brief but intensive run of performances. By contrast, companies that use a repertory system maintain a permanent company and rotate productions over many months or even years. Historically the stagione system has been preferred in Britain, the United States, and most large international operahouses.

 

Seems like a fitting way to describe the process I'll be following for my builds for my chosen subject.

G-IRTY, the Silver Spitfire, began life on the Castle Bromwich production line in late 1943 as the first of the block of 44 aircraft under contract B981687/39 as MJ271, LFIXc, with a RR built Merlin 66.

 

For this spring incarnation, I'll start off with a relatively simple Airfix Mk.IXc kit.

 

I have some aftermarket bits that might come into play later on, however I suspect that that won't be in this build.

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Finally found the time to do some actual plastic cutting & applying paint today.

 

anyways:
There is only one known picture of MJ271 during WWII and that is this:

Judging from the lack of codes, the clean look and the pilot wearing not a normal flight helmet but a cap, this might very well be the delivery flight either from the factory, or with the MU before designation to 132 Sqn (which was to be the first user of this aircraft).

So just the sky band & spinner, and what seem to be light-coloured patches over gunports & camera.

Also, no yellow wing L/Es yet.
 

Oh, right, plastic.

This being the rather simpler airfix kit, there's not much to prepare.

Interior green in the appropriate places.

 

Also what goes for a cockpit has been assembled and splashed with some colour.

 

The clear drop is a bit of CA glue to form a headrest - and of course closer inspection of the in-flight picture doesn't show one.

That'll go then.

As there is a pilot figure included, I'll go for an in-flight look as well.

Probably mount this with a stand with a magnetic option, so I'll have to add a metal strip or nut that doesn't interfere with the fit. 

 

Pilot has had some surgery to prevent 'im sitting too high (shaved a couple of pounds off his derriere - faster than a diet).

More drastically, I've made a real head-turner by taking a saw to his noggin

Before:

 

After:

 

Not glued in place yet, so the headrest mod is reversible.

More tomorrow.

 

 

 

[alt-92]

Lovely day out in the sunshine, today.

 

Small snag: 
A short shot on the gunsight.
In a rather prescient manner, our intrepid pilot (having survived major surgery) is perfectly poised to deliver a wallop to that errant device.

Replacement bit of transparent blister packaging will sort that out later.

 

 

As this one is going to be in flight, I've slow-glued a piece of mounting bracket to the bottom wing.

I'll fudge a stand with a magnetic head somehow.

Edited April 19, 2020 by alt-92

[janneman36]

On 4/18/2020 at 11:51 PM, alt-92 said:

Finally found the time to do some actual plastic cutting & applying paint today.

 

anyways:
There is only one known picture of MJ271 during WWII and that is this:

 

Nice that you had this picture included..

I have some more information about it as this was a sort of acceptance fligh before delivery to the Netherlands .

Th pilot is Dutch and his name is Frits Vijzelaar..

The whole story about G-IRTY and it Dutch connection is written by Coert Munk in the ( the Dutch Dakota association) DDA classic airlines magazine “Logboek” 

cheers, Jan

Quote

 

 

 

[alt-92]

Well that is nice! Although it throws off the timeline a bit   

never mind, I'll pretend mine is on factory delivery.

[alt-92]

Scrap packaging plastic as replacement gunsight.

 

And all buttoned up - good, clean wing joins without problems,  just a light scrape on the trailing edge.

Ready for primer and paint on the radiator housing, masked canopy.

 

[alt-92]

Progress (in small steps).

MSG on the undersides but I nearly forgot to add some spare PE in the radiators:

 

 

Kludged together stand with magnet, painted dark metallic.
Works pretty well:

 

 

 

[Ray_W]

Great stand, looks like a wind tunnel test.

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Sky S on the rear fuse for the band:

 

Cutting masking tape to 18" in scale.

 

And in between some fettling on rear torque links on the AZ early Mk.IX I've been working on.

 

Somehow I managed to follow the instructions & placement holes which use the forward links, these should be backwards. 
That one is nearly ready for markings.

 

Edited May 4, 2020 by alt-92

[alt-92]

Masking the MSG (Tamiya XF 83).  Vallejo 71.273 on top - I prefer this to the XF-82 I think.
 

I'm going to 'cheat' here for the XF 82 dark green and use a masking set. 

 

 

 

 

 

[alt-92]

Bump

 

Paintwork. Small corrections needed, masks and instructions don't quite match photographic evidence of the pattern on the starboard side beneath the cockpit.

 

[Johnson]

Interesting build, great to see progress.

[alt-92]

It's starting to look like a Spitfire

Ready for gloss coat as prep for the minimal decals - just the insignia & serial number.

Sky band unmasked, and no touchups needed there.

 

[alt-92]

Rummaging in the spares box I did find some suitable roundels, and stenciling as well.

So the most visible ones are going on.

 

[It's a disease]

Magnetic stand is (now) obvious!

but, it’s a genius touch!

 

Any idea what that is sticking out of the wingtip?

[Johnson]

Very nice smooth finish, good straightforward modelling. I really ought to try it one day.

[alt-92]

Thanks

 

1 hour ago, It's a disease said:

Any idea what that is sticking out of the wingtip?

Not sure, do you mean in the second picture?

It is lined up with the spray booth lid, maybe a trompe l' oeil?

 

[It's a disease]

Post 2

MJ271

Stbd upper.....

odd thing sticking out near the wingtip.

 

thats what I’m talking about.....

It seems odd?

 

 

[KevinK]

8 minutes ago, It's a disease said:

Stbd upper.....

odd thing sticking out near the wingtip.

I think what you're seeing is an optical illusion: it's the aileron hinge line.

[It's a disease]

Oooof

i must be getting old! 

 

Now i look at it, well, I am smiling at my own daft ness.

Edited July 19, 2020 by It's a disease

[alt-92]

 

anyways: done.