alt-92 Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 (edited) Stage 3. Resuming the story after the events in December 1944, MJ271 underwent repairs and on June 21st 1945 was delivered to 29 Maintenance Unit at High Ercall. By that time, negotiations were already underway with the Air Ministry to buy surplus aircraft in accordance with 'Plan Target One' - the reconstruction of the Dutch Air Force, or LSK (LuchtStrijdKrachten). Starting mid 1946, twentyone low-hour Mk.IXc Spitfires were tested from RAF airfields by Dutch pilots, and when accepted, transfered to the Netherlands for use with the Fighter Training School (JachtVliegerSchool) at Twente AB. Amongst which, in November 1946, MJ271. Initially the new arrivals were kept in the familiar RAF scheme, although with (mostly) Dutch markings and a plethora of spare parts exchanged between airframes: In August 1947 she would receive the registration code H-8, but major overhauls at Fokker (Schiphol) would see her wings clipped, redone in all-aluminium and with the code 3W-8. By the early 1950s however it was clear that the Mk.IX was no longer suitable for first line use and was succeeded by the Gloster Meteor Mk.4. MJ271 did not get sold to Belgium, pushed on the scrapheap, or as target on the shooting range (as was the fate of many former Dutch Spits) - rather she was used for a time as a decoy on Volkel AB, then ended up on a playground and a rooftop, looking worse for wear. tattered and forlorn, dressed up as TA-26 'Opa'. Images courtesy of Collection Netherlands Institute of Military History. Edited May 17, 2020 by alt-92 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted May 17, 2020 Author Share Posted May 17, 2020 Familiar box, this is another overtree Mk.IXc from Eduard. Not much news to see. I do have some special markings though. First option: Post-overhaul, NMF as H-8/3W-8 courtesy of a custom FlevoDecal sheet: The second option is as decoy TA-26 from the excellent DutchDecal Dutch Props sheet: There's plenty more in that one that will see future use btw: 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 Cockpity bits primed And the whole enchilada in colour. I'm starting to get the hang of this PE malarkey as well, with that compass holder in 1/72 with straight folds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 Off to a great start - I've never managed to build the PE compass holder! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share Posted June 13, 2020 Look ma, no gaps! And ditto on the notorious two part cowling. Guess it's time to slip in the crew compartment then. Decision made on the scheme as well. It's going to be the post-overhaul aluminium & blue painted clipped wing version with 3W-8 codes. Off to copy the anti-glare bit from somewhere to properly mask that out. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Ah - Part Three of this fascinating story opera! Good! (munch, munch...) 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 Not that much progress yet, but I did squirt some leftover aluminium while detailing to check seams. Looks pretty good on the tail end Just a bit of extra help needed on the fuel tank cover. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 Nice progress, and I really like this overall project of the aircraft at different stages, wonderful idea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 Well, the wings and tailplanes are on. I've also hit the props with yellow for the two Eduards. Tomorrow will be cool enough again to do the black after masking. Next challenge.. The standard Mk.IXc kit does not have the wheel well bulges for a post revision hard surface landing gear. This is the restored MK732 for the Historical Flight showing what I need (well except for the standard wingtips) Looking at a XVI kit with late wings, should be doable with thin sheet and careful sanding/shaping. The result so far: Needs a bit more knocking down on the height, but pretty close! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 Oh, nice scratch work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Anti-glare sprayed in Tamiya Black XF-2 and masked off, aluminium on. Tail tip needs a bit of a touch-up in the blue. Looking at photo's of most early 1950s Dutch Spits it is hard to discern whether the hard-tarmac mods were present, but I did eventually find a shot of MJ271 in the early 60s as well as MK732 (currently with the historical flight) under repair, showing exactly what I just added. No need to remove the scratch parts. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted July 11, 2020 Author Share Posted July 11, 2020 Touch-ups done, unmasked the anti-glare. Working on the undercarriage and small bits, after that she's ready for a gloss coat and decals. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janneman36 Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 Starting too look good👍👍👍 cheers, Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Glad to see the whole project proceeding together - nice paint work on the 'autumn' build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted July 17, 2020 Author Share Posted July 17, 2020 Ready for decals! First: this is what she looked like in 1973, all broken down in parts. (from Dutch Spitfires - HvdM) So, modding work is spot on On her legs: Walkways sprayed in Tamiya Rubber Black Wheels and bits & bobs stuck on (prop is still loose atm) Only the Decals, mirror & door to do now...and some minor touch-ups. More PE 😱 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted July 19, 2020 Author Share Posted July 19, 2020 Flevo decals are very sensitive, you barely can move them so correct placement is really key. anyways: The rest of the gang: Hop in! Thanks for the encouragement along the way. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Fantastic project, wonderful to see 'Girty' in all her guises. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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