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Civilian Spitfire


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Hi all,

 

Just a couple of teaser pics of my Canadian racing Spitfire, the cover feature article for this month's Airfix Model World magazine:

9_copy.jpg

 

spitfireracer.jpeg

 

spitfireracer2.jpeg

 

Cheers,

Dean

Edited by Deanflyer
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Really great stuff.  Love those civils.  

 

I appreciate that you have to wait until the mag is out, and perhaps a bit more.  Any chance of a build article, or even series of build photos (for those of us who can't get Airfix mag...or want more) here on Britmodeller, maybe in January?

 

Philip

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53 minutes ago, Skodadriver said:

what kit and what scale?

I assume Airfix, and 1/48th, as the new boxing of this kit comes with two civilian options, this one and G-FIRE.  It certainly looks like the Airfix kit.

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18 minutes ago, Troy Smith said:

I assume Airfix, and 1/48th, as the new boxing of this kit comes with two civilian options, this one and G-FIRE.  It certainly looks like the Airfix kit.

Thanks. I don't model military aircraft so I'm not up to speed with what's new on the market. Most contributors to RFI will specify the kit and scale although I'm so used to living in the little civil airliner bubble that I've been known to forget!

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This is a beauty! I love Griffon engined Spitfires. 😍 This Spitfire, TZ138 which is still preserved in flying condition today, flew in the 1949 Cleveland Air Race and finished at the 3rd Place. Its first civilian owner bought it from military surplus stocks for just $1250. Quite a bargain, even if you adjust the amount paid to inflation.

 

Your model is as close to the original as it could and looks very authentic:

 

http://spitfiresite.com/2013/08/spitfire-cleveland-air-races-1949.html

 

http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=3578

 

The only little detail that is different are the cannon bulges on the wing. At the time this Spitfire flew in the Cleveland Air Race it had no cannon bulges on the wings anymore as can be seen from the photos in the linked article. Given the fact that the new Airfix Kit was used it would probably have required quite extensive "wing surgery" to remove them, so it was a logical choice to refrain from that rather complicated modification.

 

Interestingly, Spitfire TZ138 is still flying today and its wings have currently a military configuration with wing bulges and cannon fairings again:

 

y4m03NCOjGU2oWaTdDyeZAhQPStXf5CCn3Z8QwUN

Edited by 112 Squadron
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Thanks for the interest, folks...like I said, only a couple of teaser pics, and I can't say too much more about it as it's in the currently available magazine. I'll fill in some more details after the mag goes out of print, if you like. It IS the Airfix 1/48 kit, I thought I'd put that in the tags, obviously not.

 

112 Squadron, I used all of those photos as reference for my build and was aware of the cannon bulges on the wings. I mentioned it in the article, but as removing them would have been a lot of work and my remit on building this was mainly to show off the new markings, I decided against it. Not having them there would have made placing the '80' decal on the wing a LOT easier though...

 

Cheers,

Dean

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3 hours ago, Deanflyer said:

Thanks for the interest, folks...like I said, only a couple of teaser pics, and I can't say too much more about it as it's in the currently available magazine. I'll fill in some more details after the mag goes out of print, if you like. It IS the Airfix 1/48 kit, I thought I'd put that in the tags, obviously not.

 

112 Squadron, I used all of those photos as reference for my build and was aware of the cannon bulges on the wings. I mentioned it in the article, but as removing them would have been a lot of work and my remit on building this was mainly to show off the new markings, I decided against it. Not having them there would have made placing the '80' decal on the wing a LOT easier though...

 

Cheers,

Dean

This actually confirms what I presumed. I would definitely have made the same decision. The reason why I spotted that little detail is that I am actually planning to build the Spitfire Mk XVI of Air Vice Marshal Robb in 1/72 where you face exactly the same problem. Initially, I planned to use the Eduard kit which also includes the decals for that Spitfire. However, as soon as I realized how much work it would require to rework the wings I backed off from that idea. Instead, I will use an 1/72 AZ Mk XVI for recreating Sir James M Robb`s Spitfire. Now I do not have to undertake a complete wing surgery since the cannon bulges are a separate part in that kit.  I am looking really forward to reading your article. Your beautiful model has already inspired me to build this amazing racing Spitfire in 1/72 soon. 

Edited by 112 Squadron
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