1/48 Spitfire MkI 54 Sqn Hornchurch - Colin Gray ***FINISHED***

[Ray_W]

9 hours ago, Retired Bob said:

That's the problem with making a model that covers all versions from Mk.I to Mk.V.  Hopefully Eduard will do better, their new FW 190s have different mouldings for the fuselage and wings on each variant.

Only problem Bob is that if kit builder's fully cover all options we'll have nothing to talk about. 😀

[Steve 1602]

On 7/23/2020 at 7:15 AM, Jabba said:

Superb work in the cockpit area, especially the instrument panel.

Thanks! credit goes to Tamiya in all honesty; they've engineered a design that is very easy to make presentable.

On 7/23/2020 at 7:29 AM, Ray_W said:

Steve,

 

Your builds are improving with every effort. Impressive!

 

I noted your comments on the wash. I think the wash will work. I'll typically use a couple of colours brown and black and use an application that is very targetted. This needs a good gloss coat so it is drawn carefully and closely to any detail you want to highlight. I try to avoid having to come back and remove any (there is always some). The term "wash" is wrong for me.

 

Then I'll flat/satin coat once dry. It's a personal thing but I always think finishes with a slightest sheen look more realistic.

 

Ray

Thanks Ray. I think the improvement piece is down to the group builds - there are so many great builds going on that it encourages and inspires to do things differently and learn from others. It's a very positive atmosphere I think!

 

I took your advice on the wash and have used MIG Ammo Deep Brown panel line wash in some of the nooks and crannies - quite targeted.

21 hours ago, Retired Bob said:

Your build is looking good Steve, thanks for the tips on the wing root electrical cover that needs filling and the missing armour plates.  Just when you think that you have all the information to build this kit correctly for the BoB something else crops up.  Things that I found out include: removal of that small intake just in front of the pilots door and if the aircraft you are building was made before September 1940, fill the IFF indents and circle of rivets on each side of the fuselage behind the cockpit and the small connectors on each of the horizontal tailplanes.  That's the problem with making a model that covers all versions from Mk.I to Mk.V.  Hopefully Eduard will do better, their new FW 190s have different mouldings for the fuselage and wings on each variant.

Thanks Bob -  although I can't take credit for the electrical cover, that came up on Geoff's @Bugle07 thread.

 

I hadn't even thought about the IFF insulators on the fuselage, and connectors on the tail, but it makes perfect sense to fill and remove those, so thanks for the heads-up! You are so right that in trying to cover everything there are some detail changes needed to try and get things as right as they can be.

12 hours ago, Greg Law said:

Excellent progress. I will have to keep my eye out for this one when I cross the coastline. 

Thanks Gregg! Takka-takka-takka! I'll look forwards to seeing your Ju88 develop 👍

[Steve 1602]

54 Sqn Diary

23 July 1940

0825 - Blue Section on convoy patrol for nearly two hours.

1120 - The Squadron were ordered to Margate where enemy aircraft were reported to be bombing. A few bombs were seen to drop, but no contact was made with e/a. Sections patrolled convoys and investigated raids on five occasions during the rest of the day.

24th July 1940

0812 - The biggest and most successful day since Dunkirk Two early patrols followed by third in which "B" flight distinguished themselves. 12 D.O.215s. in two waves of six attempted to bomb a convoy off Dover. The first six reached, but missed their target. A determined attack by Green Section under P.O. Gribble forced the e/a to jettison their bombs before reaching the target and to scurry home. no enemy casualties were claimed whilst none of our aircraft sustained damage. This is the first instance in which coils of trailing wire (probably 50 ft. in length) have been thrown out by enemy bombers as our planes pursued them. Enemy cross fire was seen to be controlled, intensive and effective. "A" Flight sent to reinforce "B" Flight did not take part in the engagement.

1125 - For over an hour the whole Squadron took part in the "Battle of the Thames Estuary". 18 D.O.215's escorted by at least two Squadrons of ME 109's and an unknown number of HE113's attacked a convoy in the Estuary. In this their biggest fight since the second day of DUNKIRK and in the face of these considerable odds, the casualties inflicted on the enemy by the Squadron (including three new pilots) can be considered eminently satisfactory and most encouraging. The ME109's engaged - at great cost to themselves - our fighters in an effort to enable the bombers to get at the convoy. 16 ME 109's were disposed of in summary fashion:-

•  2 destroyed confirmed (P/O. Gray & Sgt. Collett)
• 4 destroyed unconfirmed (F/Lt. Deere - leading the Sqdn - F/Off. McMullen. P/O. Coleman, P/O. Turley-George)
• 8 probably destroyed (F/O. McMullen, F/Lt. Way (two), P/O. Gray, P/O. Gribble (two), F/Sgt. New, P/O. Turley-George)
• 2 damaged (P/O. Coleman and P/O. Matthews)

Many more were attacked and may have been damaged. The action was marred by the unfortunate loss of P/O. Allen D.F.C. He was attacked by a ME109 near Margate; he was seen coming down with engine stopped and appeared to be making a forced landing under perfect control. The engine came to life again , and he made for MANSTON; the engine cut a second time and P/O. Allen apparently turned towards FORENESS when he stalled and spun straight into the ground. The loss of P/O. Allen , who had destroyed seven enemy aircraft, will be greatly felt by the whole Squadron.

Sergeant Collett force landed at SIZEWELL (nr. ORFORDNESS) after chasing a ME109 until he was out of petrol, he received slight injuries on landing. Interesting points from this combat were the success of deflection shooting and the fact that some ME109's are equipped with a rubber dinghy.

The following signal was received from H.Q. No. 11 Group:_

"Air Officer Commanding has read with great interest the combat report of No. 54 Squadron and congratulates the leaders and pilots on their magnificent fight against superior numbers. He wishes No. 54 Squadron to know that No. 65 and 610 Squadrons were also despatched to intercept the same raid and were also engaged with enemy fighters and bombers" (A.250 24/7)

The Squadron returned to Hornchurch after a month's stay at Rochford.

 

 

 

That's quite an entry - a busy day to say the least. It's interesting to read the references to the HE113 - the German propaganda machine was obviously being used effectively and causing misreporting in the haze of combat.

 

Progress to date... that's me now complete on the cockpit after applying a wash, fitting the seatbelts and fitting everything together. The fuselage is now joined and taped together and I'll be ready to move onto wings and things over the weekend!

 

A test fit revealed that I needed to cut back some of the wiring I had added to the IP frame wall in order to stop it fouling the cockpit, but that was straightforward enough.

 

 

Seatbelts were painted and fitted - the Tamiya belts are a little fiddly to fit in all honesty and I think I prefer using the Eduard pre-printed belts. That said, the Tamiya ones do have a nice sag and more three dimensional effect when fitted.

 

 

Finally, a couple of shots of the completed cockpit tub before fitting into the fuselage. I added some thin wire to the seatbelt, but if I was doing it again wouldn't bother as it can't be seen at all once in the fuselage.

 

 

 

As always, thanks for the comments, hints and tips!

 

Steve

[Retired Bob]

2 hours ago, Steve 1602 said:

Thanks Bob -  although I can't take credit for the electrical cover, that came up on Geoff's @Bugle07 thread.

Interestingly that electrical cover is also on the old Tamiya Spitfire Mk.I.  It's also featured in the Airframe & Miniature Merlin powered Spitfire book and is shown on the prototype (K5054) and every Mk.I profile, line drawing and the Caruana plans!

[Bugle07]

Busy day for 54 sqn today (as it were), and tragic at the same time. P/O. Allen seems to have had no luck there.

 

Great job on the tub, the wash gives it a nice feeling of depth, creating some subtle shadows. And the belts look spot on!

 

What do you think? Closed up, wings on and primed by the end of the weekend?

 

Geoff 

[Steve 1602]

23 minutes ago, Retired Bob said:

Interestingly that electrical cover is also on the old Tamiya Spitfire Mk.I.  It's also featured in the Airframe & Miniature Merlin powered Spitfire book and is shown on the prototype (K5054) and every Mk.I profile, line drawing and the Caruana plans!

I was taking a look at the IWM Spitfire - R6915, a BoB veteran - and it looks like the hatch is present, but the photos I was looking at were not brilliant. 
 

[Steve 1602]

31 minutes ago, Bugle07 said:

Busy day for 54 sqn today (as it were), and tragic at the same time. P/O. Allen seems to have had no luck there.

 

Great job on the tub, the wash gives it a nice feeling of depth, creating some subtle shadows. And the belts look spot on!

 

What do you think? Closed up, wings on and primed by the end of the weekend?

 

Geoff 

Thanks Geoff. It’s quite sobering really when you consider those few lines on the diary represent a life and death battle for dozens of men in the course of that hour.
 

Thanks for the comments on the cockpit, I’m quite pleased with how it’s turned out. Fuselage is now closed up so I think there’s a strong chance that it will be airframe assembled over the weekend and hopefully I’ll get as far as priming - dad taxi duties permitting!

 

Steve

[Retired Bob]

1 minute ago, Steve 1602 said:

I was taking a look at the IWM Spitfire - R6915, a BoB veteran - and it looks like the hatch is present, but the photos I was looking at were not brilliant. 

The problem with museum pieces is that they are not always an untouched time capsule, I think it was noted that R6915 was re-winged some time during the war when it was used as a trainer, that's why it has the strengthener bars across the wheel wells.

[Steve 1602]

17 minutes ago, Retired Bob said:

The problem with museum pieces is that they are not always an untouched time capsule, I think it was noted that R6915 was re-winged some time during the war when it was used as a trainer, that's why it has the strengthener bars across the wheel wells.

A very good point! 

[Retired Bob]

25 minutes ago, Steve 1602 said:

I was taking a look at the IWM Spitfire - R6915, a BoB veteran - and it looks like the hatch is present, but the photos I was looking at were not brilliant. 

The Spitfire Mk.I at Cosford is the same, it's described as original, but had new wings with the strengthener bars across the wheel wells at some time during the war (wonder why model companies make mistakes) that has the electrical cover as well.  After I read that the cover should be filled, not wanting to doubt you or Geoff, I checked for any photos that proved this new information.  A source of wartime photos I use is Spitfire by Alfred Price, and there in Vol.2 are clear photos of X4110, delivered brand new to 602 Sqn on 18th August 1940, before there was chance to apply squadron codes it was taken into combat on that same day by Flt Lt Dunlop Urie.  A large scale action over Bognor saw X4110 hit by three cannon shells, Flt Lt Urie managed to get the aircraft back to Westhampnett, but such was the damage to the airframe it was written off, operational flying time... 25 minutes.  Fortunately good  quality photos were taken of the damage and it clearly shows no wingroot electrical socket and no IFF insulators were fitted, now if they had only taken cockpit photos of seat construction and armour plates we could all have a celebratory pint of ale. 

[Steve 1602]

Thanks Bob - I just googled the serial and took a look.  Blimey, those cannon strikes were pretty effective! 

[Retired Bob]

2 minutes ago, Steve 1602 said:

Thanks Bob - I just googled the serial and took a look.  Blimey, those cannon strikes were pretty effective! 

That's why they wanted to get canons into the Spitfire, .303 machine gun bullets were just annoying unless you were lucky and hit something vulnerable, like the pilot or a fuel line.

[Troy Smith]

33 minutes ago, Retired Bob said:

That's why they wanted to get canons into the Spitfire, .303 machine gun bullets were just annoying unless you were lucky and hit something vulnerable, like the pilot or a fuel line.

First, sorry, I just battered the below out, apologies if it comes across as abrupt,  I just was trying to make a load of points in a short space.

 

the debate over the 0.303 guns has gone round and round.  (pardon the pun)

The battery of 8 guns could do a lot of damage,  as was demonstrated by the Polish pilots, who were very well trained, and also got in close.

the 8 gun battery had been calculated as the minimum needed to cause enough damge at the predicted speeds of air combat too come

And the 0.303 was reliable.  

 

The RAF overall had done a very good job preparing for the Battle,  quite amazingly so in comparison with so many aspects of British make do and muddle through military history, by this, the British had effective reliable aircraft, with working armament, an early warning system tied into a control system.  And the whole complex untested in the real world system actually mostly worked!  

 

Some notable omissions, no air sea rescue system (Really! for an island nation...far too many RAF pilots drowned)  Poor fighter tactics, the vic of 3, (or as the Germans called, the idiots row) and,

lack of gunnery practice, for example problems with gun icing at altitude were only discovered in the war when guns froze up, previously they had not been fired, note the pre and phoney war photos of Hurricane with neatly painted to match surrounding paint doped on patches, only possible if you are not actually regularly shooting, or the early Spitfire protruding outer gun barrels, and then the need to duct heatin to them being developed.

Also  note RAF guns were initially set to converge at 400 yards, later reduced to 250.  

Point here, effective pilots would open fire at under 100, or closer, like the Poles.  Then that 8 gun battery was lethal.  This is why the Poles and Czech were often so effective, they knew how to get close,  they had pilots who had shot down German bombers in 1939 with 2 or 4 7.92mm guns...  

I remember watching James Holland talking essentially cobblers about BoB armament on a programme,  mostly about the German MG-FF 20 mm cannon,  not mentioning that that they had 7 seconds of ammunition.

Bf 109's also had two 7.62mm MG, with 60 seconds of ammunition.  Sure, stand alone, the 20 MM cannon is better, also the MG-FF had a reduced charge, and often did less damage than it should have,  eg 

1 hour ago, Retired Bob said:

saw X4110 hit by three cannon shells, Flt Lt Urie managed to get the aircraft back to Westhampnett, but such was the damage to the airframe it was written off

point is it was hit by 3 shells and limped back.  And while 'written off' I'll bet the bulk of that airframe ended up as repair spares as well. 

 

When the glitches with cannon were sorted out,  they were a superior weapon, as shown by the use of the 20mm Hispano from 1941 onward.

 

A very readable summary and even handed pros and cons of BoB armament is found in Steven Bungay's Most Dangerous Enemy. 

 

2 hours ago, Retired Bob said:

I think it was noted that R6915 was re-winged some time during the war when it was used as a trainer, that's why it has the strengthener bars across the wheel wells.

they just added the strengthener strips. They were not rewinged. 

1 hour ago, Retired Bob said:

Fortunately good  quality photos were taken of the damage and it clearly shows no wingroot electrical socket

 

Spitfire wing roots are just fillet panels,  adding a socket would be easy enough,  either my adding the port, or using a new piece

this image,  with the fillets removed, show the actual fuselage shape, and makes the fact that it's only been fairly recently the models and modellers noticed that the bottom of a Spitfire cockpit cannot spread out into the wing fillet!

Spitfire boneyard. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

@Steve 1602,  I hope this is not too distracting and of some interest....   reminds me I always meant to comment on Colin Gray and his comments on Luftwaffe scores which came up years ago....

 

cheers

T

 

[Troy Smith]

51 minutes ago, Troy Smith said:

reminds me I always meant to comment on Colin Gray and his comments on Luftwaffe scores which came up years ago....

 

found the post,  this maybe of interest?

 

  

On 01/05/2014 at 09:16, Chris FFZ said:

Gray fought in every mark of spit starting in December of 1940 and ammassed 27.5 kills. He was highly sceptical of the claims of German pilots and felt their scores where greatly overblown.

 

On 03/05/2014 at 16:48, Procopius said:

I am aware, and I'm still skeptical. Given the incredible accuracy of their victory claims in the Battle of Britain, however, I suppose I have no choice but to believe them.

Over-claiming affected all sides.  

On 04/05/2014 at 05:08, Chris FFZ said:

Gray himself once said that in over 600 sorties he had a chance to fire at the enemy maybe only 70 times, and being a quite frank man I tend to believe him, as a lot of modern research has reduced the claims of many WWII era pilots.

 

 I never responded to this, but I looked up when Gray got most of his kills. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Falkland_Gray

 

"Gray was posted to No. 54 Squadron, at the time equipped with Supermarine Spitfires and based at Hornchurch, in November 1939.[1] He was confirmed in his rank of pilot officer on 17 January 1940.[2] During the Phoney War he participated in patrols over the English Channel up until May 1940. The death of his brother Ken in a flying accident on 1 May 1940 affected his morale.[1]

After initial combat on 24 May (claiming two 'probable' victories), Gray had a share in his first confirmed enemy aircraft, a Messerschmitt Bf 109, on 25 May 1940, while escorting a formation of Fairey Swordfish to dive-bomb Gravelines. His Spitfire was badly damaged in the engagement, and damage to the port aileron forced the aircraft into a dive that was controlled only with great difficulty. His aircraft had also lost its airspeed indicator and control of guns, flaps or brakes.[3] Despite this damage, Gray managed to force land safely at Hornchurch.[1]

On 13 July 1940, Gray shot down his second Bf 109 near Calais after a long chase at sea level. The pilot, Leutnant Hans-Joachim Lange of III./JG 51, was killed.[4] No. 54 Squadron was heavily engaged in the Battle of Britain, tasked with the defence of the approaches to London. On 24 July, he shot down Staffelkapitän Lothar Ehrlich of 8./JG 52. Gray observed Ehrlich to bail out into the Channel and swim for what Gray believed to be a dingy. He radioed the man's position, but the pilot did not survive the water conditions.[5] Alternately, it is possible his victim was Leutnant Schauff from III./JG 26.[6] On 16 August, he claimed two Bf 109s destroyed. No. 54's opponents were JG 54. I./JG 54 lost one Bf 109—the unnamed pilot being killed in a crash at Saint-Inglevert airfield after returning from the battle. 3./JG 54 and 9./JG 54 suffered the loss of one Bf 109 each and their pilots (one killed and one missing) over English territory. Their names are unknown.[7] On 24 August, his flight was attacked by elements of I./JG 54 near RAF Manston. During the battle, Gray shot down Oberleutnant Heinrich Held.[8] On 31 August, he downed Oberleutnant Karl Westerhof from 6./JG 3.[9] Another source identifies 9./JG 26 pilot Oberleunant Willy Fronhöfer as his victim.[10] By early September, Gray had claimed 14½ kills, and his squadron was sent north to rest and re-equip. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 15 August 1940.[1]

Gray was promoted to flying officer on 23 October 1940.[11] He then served with No. 43 Squadron, before returning to No. 54 Squadron. Gray remained with the squadron until he was posted to No. 1 Squadron.[12] He was promoted to flight lieutenant in August 1941,[13] and the following month was awarded a Bar to his DFC. The same month, he was posted to No. 616 Squadron to serve as its commander until February 1942, at which time he took up a staff posting at No. 9 Group.[1]

Gray, pictured during his time in command of No. 81 Squadron

Returning to operations in September 1942, Gray, promoted to acting squadron leader, took over No. 64 Squadron, which operated over the English Channel and France. At the end of the year, he was posted to the Mediterranean theatre,[1] firstly to No. 333 Group[12] and then in January 1943, to command of No. 81 Squadron, based in Algeria, the first unit to fly the Spitfire Mk. IX in the Middle East. During his service with the squadron, he shot down a further eight aircraft to bring his personal tally to 22.[1] For his leadership and actions during this period, Gray was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.[12]

Gray was promoted to acting wing commander on 1 June 1943 and took over No. 322 Wing, which at the time was based on Malta. Conducting patrols over the Italian coast and supporting the Allied invasion of Sicily, he shot down a further five aircraft. His final kills came on 25 July 1943, when he shot down two Junkers Ju 52 transports.[1]

He was promoted to war substantive squadron leader on 1 September 1943.[14] Later that month, he returned to England for a rest from active duty.[1]

A second Bar to Gray's DFC was awarded in November 1943.[1] He returned to operational duty in England, with No. 9 Group.[12] In August 1944, he was appointed Wing Commander of the Lympne Wing, which carried out operations over France and the occupied Netherlands.[1] He did not increase his tally of kills and finished the war with 27 aerial kills, two shared destroyed, six probable kills, with a further four shared probables,[15] the top New Zealand fighter ace of the Second World War.[16]"

 

So, In about 4 months, Gray had shot down 14 and half enemy aircraft, flying in a target rich environment,  in intensive operations.  With the drop in intensity, In the next 4 years he shot 13 more. 

 

Now, in the BoB era, that is 3 or 4 a month.  There are other pilots flying with the RAF who has similar scores in the same conditions.

 

Now, regarding the Luftwaffe, they had very experienced pilots, flying in a target rich environment of intensive operations. 

And who stayed in combat until they were killed, wounded or cracked up.

 

3 a month is 36 in a year.  one a week is 52 in a year.     There were Luftwaffe pilots who flew in those conditions for years, with thousands of flying hours, some having been in Spain, Poland, France, BoB, and then Russia...

Note the VVS in course of WW2  received about 100,000 fighter aircraft,  along 36,000 IL-2,  as well as thousands more other bomber types, just to emphasise the point about a target rich environment. 

this is worth a read

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_aces_from_Germany

 

"

German day and night fighter pilots claimed roughly 70,000 aerial victories during World War II, over 25,000 British or American and over 45,000 Russian-flown aircraft. 103 German fighter pilots shot down 100 or more enemy aircraft, for a total of approximately 15,400 victories. Approximately 360 German fighter pilots shot down from 40 to 99 enemy aircraft for a total of approximately 21,000 victories. Approximately 500 German fighter pilots shot down from 20 to 39 enemy aircraft for a total of approximately 15,000 victories. These achievements were honored with 453 German day fighter pilots and Zerstörer (destroyer) fighter pilots and 85 German night fighter pilots (including 14 crew members), for a total of 538 German fighter pilots, receiving the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.[3]

German losses, on the other hand, were very high as well. Roughly 12,000 German day fighter pilots were killed or are still missing in action, with a further 6,000 being wounded. The Zerstörer (destroyer) pilots suffered about 2,800 casualties, either killed or missing in action, plus another 900 wounded in action. German night fighter losses were also high, in the magnitude of 3,800 pilots or crew members killed or missing and 1,400 wounded. "

One interesting point,  allied losses are given as aircraft lost, Luftwaffe as pilots killed/missing, and you don't have to read many Luftwaffe stories to find out that many German flyers survived being shot down on multiple occasions.

 

While there has been debate on the whole Luftwaffe scores, I just wanted to point out that in similar conditions allied flyers were scoring at a similar level,  but due to pilot rotation, and then massive air superiority, for the reason why allied pilots never approached the same overall numbers per pilot, and not as some folks like to think, inherent Luftwaffe superiority,  as espoused by the Wehraboo crowd...

 

"A history or alternate history fan who is firmly entrenched in the belief that Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht was the best military in history, without a single flaw. Effectively, a Wehraboo is any obsessive Wehrmacht fanboy/fangirl who doesn't like historical facts getting in the way of his militaristic fantasies. While not necessarily, many Wehraboos can become Nazi apologists."

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Wehraboo

 

Hope of interest.

 

 

 

 

[Steve 1602]

Thanks Troy. Some really interesting information in there. I’ve been reading up quite a lot about Colin Gray off the back of this build; although I had always been aware of his name and his status as a high scoring allied pilot, I didn’t really know much in detail. One of the things I‘m enjoying is picking up a bit more knowledge about the men behind the aircraft. Every day is a learning opportunity!
 

The contrast and comparison between allied and Luftwaffe ace scores is well made. 

[Steve 1602]

54 Squadron Diary

25th July 1940

1432 - Black Thursday. The Squadron on two occasions bore the brunt of heavy enemy attacks (100 plus plotted) on convoys between DEAL and DOVER. "B" Flight encountered "hordes of JU87's" with the usual escort of ME109's. Red section were dispatched to assist "B" flight, but no other friendly aircraft were seen until we were leaving the scene of action. 1 Me.109 destroyed, confirmed (F/Lt. Way), 1 Me.109 probably destroyed (P.O. Gray)and 1 Me.109 damaged (S/Ldr. Leathart) are claimed. The loss of F/Lt. Way (missing) in this action was a great tragedy. That he accounted for an enemy aircraft before meeting his unknown fate is typical of his keenest and great courage in the face of odds large or small. P.O. Turley-George was also shot down but although his machine was written off, he himself escaped uninjured. 

1621 - "A" Flight patrolling over DOVER saw a number of enemy M.T.B.s off CALAIS; this report led to the dispatch of two destroyers to deal with them and resulted in the second bid battle of the day when nearly 100 enemy fighters and bombers descended on the Destroyers. Our Squadron (10 aircraft) went to their assistance encountering Ju.88s, Ju.87s and the ever attendant Me.109s. The squadron finding themselves heavily outnumbered, evaded enemy attacks looking for the straggling Me.109 which did not materialise on this occasion. In the initial stages of the attack our cup of woe was filled with the loss of P.O. FINNIE shot down and killed near DOVER. No enemy casualties are claimed, but our attack so dispersed the fighters that other squadrons coming in to the fight later were able to take toll of the enemy bombers.

26th July 1940

1600 - A quiet morning was spent in preparation for a visit to Catterick. For the second time in two months 12 aircraft left for Catterick. A sadly depleted squadron (containing only 6 survivors of Dunkirk) should find the North less exacting, and the stay will afford excellent opportunities of welding together our squadron that may even rival the 54 Squadron of pre-Dunkirk days.

No. 41 Squadron from Catterick paid us their second visit, and were soon to be seen in action.

 

 

I managed to complete the assembly of the airframe over the weekend, clean up seams, mask the transparencies and get ready to prime! this was all very straightforward and Tamiya have done a really good job. There is more PE to add inside the radiator and oil cooler before assembling them, but these presented no real challenges and went together nicely. As you might be able to see from the pictures, I sanded the nose joint to try and remove the seam - it looks and feels okay, but I'm keen to get some primer on to check that I've eradicated the join. 

 

 

The underside had the rad and cooler fitted in place (after first painting the interior) and also the wingtip vents/ chutes which are provided as separate assemblies. The only joint that needed a smear of superglue to fill it was the rear wing to fuselage joint. 

 

 

The wing to fuselage joint is a masterclass in engineering - absolutely no fettling or filler required at all. It really is quite superb - hats off to Tamiya here.

 

One thing I did (which may or may not help) is that I only cemented the starboard side of the cockpit tub to the fuselage before joining the fuselage and wings. I then fitted and fixed the wings and when that was dry, ran some extra thin around The port entry door and seat frame assembly before clamping those together. It maybe that there’s no need to do that, but I wanted to have some flex in the fuselage assembly in case I needed to adjust things when the wings went on.

 

 

I'll get the cockpit masked off and will hopefully get some primer on the model this week.

 

Steve

[Bill Livingston]

It’s a really well engineered kit, isn’t it!

 

Looking good... it’s going to look fabulous added to your growing collection of Spitfires😊

[Steve 1602]

7 hours ago, Bill Livingston said:

It’s a really well engineered kit, isn’t it!

 

It is indeed Bill. I’m still not convinced by the fuselage inserts, or the “PE or nothing” options, but it really does all fit together extremely well and rewards careful assembly.

7 hours ago, Bill Livingston said:

 

Looking good... it’s going to look fabulous added to your growing collection of Spitfires😊

Thanks Bill - I’m conscious that I may be becoming one-dimensional in my modelling; however as I have often read, it seems “you can never have enough Spitfires”!
 

Steve
 

 

[Ozzy]

Nice job Steve, how are you going to stick the armoured glass on to the front of the canopy without it misting up?

[Steve 1602]

14 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

Nice job Steve, how are you going to stick the armoured glass on to the front of the canopy without it misting up?

In all honesty I’m not entirely sure at this stage. I am thinking that micro kristal klear might do the job - just a touch top and bottom. 
 

I am intending to experiment on the spare armoured glass and canopy to see what it looks like. I think I would have preferred a more conventional windscreen here!

[Ozzy]

3 hours ago, Steve 1602 said:

In all honesty I’m not entirely sure at this stage. I am thinking that micro kristal klear might do the job - just a touch top and bottom. 
 

I am intending to experiment on the spare armoured glass and canopy to see what it looks like. I think I would have preferred a more conventional windscreen here!

I know what you mean, someone at Tamiya probably thought it was a good idea to have interchangeable armoured glass. It probably would have been easier to produce 2 windscreens and a little cheaper for the customer.

[Ray_W]

3 hours ago, Steve 1602 said:

In all honesty I’m not entirely sure at this stage. I am thinking that micro kristal klear might do the job - just a touch top and bottom. 

I'm trying to remember what I used - Future?

[Steve 1602]

8 hours ago, Ray_W said:

I'm trying to remember what I used - Future?

That's a good idea Ray. I tried using Krystal Klear sandwiched between the spare transparencies, but it doesn't look great to be honest.  I may  clean those up and try a blob top and bottom to see if that's better, but if not, hunting down some future/ pledge/ klear could be the next option.

[Ray_W]

Just now, Steve 1602 said:

hunting down some future/ pledge/ klear could be the next option

I am pretty sure that's what I used and it was so successful I hardly gave it another thought. Hence why I can't remember. 

[Steve 1602]

No update on the Squadron diary for a few days - next entry is the end of the month; clearly they were getting a well deserved break at Catterick after the efforts of the last few days and weeks.

 

Tonight I got some primer on the model. In a break away from my usual Halfords grey primer, I decided to give black basing a go - inspired by watching Ray's builds on the Spitfire Group Build. I really enjoy the priming stage as it's that first look at whether the surface prep has worked or not. 

 

 

 

 

Tamiya have a great solution for the undercarriage that ensures that it is robust and that the legs sit at the correct angle. The only issue is that this sits under the air filter and two plates on the wing. Rather than fitting the undercarriage at this stage - or having to paint the plates and filter separately, I tacked it in place with white glue so I can get everything painted together.

 

Overall, the model is looking pretty good under the primer and I only have this seam to deal with. It's not that visible from all angles, but it's worth me dealing with it otherwise it will bug me!

 

I'll address the seam and apply some more primer then hopefully will be able to start laying down some camouflage colours this week.

 

Now to some questions that people may be able to help with (or at least challenge or agree with my thoughts).

 

• R6893 was first flown in on 4 July and joined 54 Sqn on the 9th. As such I intend to paint the undersides sky rather than any variation. My thought being that this is a month on from the decision to move to sky undersides and that any changes would have been implemented on production lines (and therefore more likely to have 'Sky' than perhaps a repaint at Sqn or an MU would).
• No roundels should be carried on the lower wings in July
• Tamiya has a rectangle "box' type fairing for a rear view mirror moulded on to the armoured glass. Victory productions shows a rectangular 'car-type' mirror. I have also read that some Hornchurch based aircraft had an internal mirror fitted and it certainly appears that mirrors were far from universally fitted at this stage (and certainly not as a production standard). The easiest option is to go with the Tamiya moulding as is, but are there any better thoughts on what might be correct?
• I'm going to present R6893 as it may have looked during July, therefore the aircraft should carry the radio antenna wire from the radio mast to the mount on the top of the tail and from the mast just off vertical to the top of the fuselage. IFF wires should not be carried

Thanks for the comments and inputs so far!

 

Steve