1/72nd Airfix Spitfire Mk.Vc,...... "Spitfires Over Australia x 2"

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,

                Well here I am with some more Airfix Spitfire Mk.Vc`s,...... this time from Australia, depicting an early arrival still in its desert finish from 54 Sqn RAF before they flew up to Darwin for operations,.... and a 452 Sqn RAAF aircraft from early 1944 based at Strauss, Northern Territory.

For these models I reprofiled the DH spinners, cut out the side entrance door and sourced new wheels from the spares box, especially as the 452 Sqn aircraft had wheel hub covers. Thi model also sports an Eduard canopy hood while the 54 Sqn one has a vacuformed hood and both have had rear view mirrors bodged and added.  Decals came mostly from DK Decals,..... Both were brush painted;

 

1- 54 Sqn, RAF,..... BR544/A as seen flying in the Sydney area in January 1943 prior to moving to Northern Australia for operations, still wearing its desert delivery colours. This aircraft was used by Flt. Lt. R.K.C. Norwood to shoot down a Zero while Plt. Off. W.H. Appleton also scored a kill in it and both men also claimed 2 probables and 3 damaged in it too. 

Here is the real aircraft, seen in the middle of the three;

 

And a line up of Spits in Australia, prior to heading north;

 

The model was painted using Polly Scale Middle Stone and Pactra Dark Earth with the last of my Aeromaster Azure Blue on the undersides.  

 

 

 

2-452 Sqn, RAAF, A58-236, QY-G Which was based at Sattler Strip near Darwin. Australia April 1944,..... flown by  Plt. Off. `Junior' Beaton,...... with the desert finish `converted' by adding RAAF Foliage Green to the Middle Stone painted areas.  Here is the real thing, care of Peter Malone who posted it on Hyperscale years ago;

And possibly the QY-G which A58-236 replaced following an accident in 1944;

 

Being a later delivery, A58-236, QY-G  may have had the narrow cannon bulges, but as the kit only provides the bulged type,...I can live with it if these are wrong, they were removable items after all . As it had previously served with 54 Sqn RAF who were known to reduce the size of their roundels and fin flashes while based up around Darwin,... (and there are traces of the original larger RAF roundel being painted out under the wings too) it may have retined these,.... however in the the available reference photo the fin flash is full sized and does not match the smaller 54 Sqn style,....so it appears to me that 452 Sqn must have re painted the RAAF roundels full size to match the other squadron aircraft,..... and this is how I chose to portray it.   The model was painted using a base coat of Humbrol 29 Earth Brown, Polly Scale RAAF Foliage Green and Aeromaster Azure Blue. 

 

I`ve now started another pair,......another Aussie machine from 79 Sqn and possibly a USAAF one if I can cobble the decals together! Here is the Aussie option that I am thinking of;

 

 

Cheers

          Tony

  

Edited January 19, 2021 by tonyot

[SAT69]

Very well done!

[Vinnie]

Lovely job, Tony. You can never have too many Spitfires/👍

[swralph]

Lovely builds Tony.😀

Out of curiosity,how many spits have you built?.

[tonyot]

2 hours ago, SAT69 said:

Very well done!

Thanks mate. 

 

2 hours ago, Vinnie said:

Lovely job, Tony. You can never have too many Spitfires/👍

Thanks Vinnie,..... nope,... I`m a Hurricane/Halifax bloke but the Spit is still very special. 

 

1 hour ago, swralph said:

Lovely builds Tony.😀

Out of curiosity,how many spits have you built?.

Cheers Bud. Oh crikey,..... many hundreds over the years,..... how many do I have now in all scales,....... I have no idea,.... but it has to be over 200! ,

[Sky Keg]

Both were brush painted?!?!?!?! 😳  That`s very impressive Tony because they both look anything but.  I like the Aussie markings and colors which one doesn`t see often on a Spitfire.  Great subjects as usual and I look forward to getting some of these new Airfix Spitfire Mk.Vc`s.  

Like Vinnie posted, “You can NEVER have too many Spitfires!!!!!” 

 

Mike

[Team Aer Lingus]

Another cracking pair Tony particularly that Green & brown scheme nearly makes want an Airfix one myself. 😇   Great background too as always very well done mate. 👏

 

thanks for sharing

 

regards

 

Eamonn

[noelh]

1 hour ago, tonyot said:

Cheers Bud. Oh crikey,..... many hundreds over the years,..... how many do I have now in all scales,....... I have no idea,.... but it has to be over 200! ,

I'd ask how many of the new Airfix Vc have you built and or bought? I can just see the Airfix Accountant having raptures over the sales of the new kit.🥳 Until it's pointed out that most of the sales went to some chap called O'Toole. 😂

 

 

 

[bigbadbadge]

Oooh a cracking pair Tony,  splendid work on both and love the backround info fella.

Looking forward to the next Aussie one you are doing.  

Great work as usual. 

Chris

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, Sky Keg said:

Both were brush painted?!?!?!?! 😳  That`s very impressive Tony because they both look anything but.  I like the Aussie markings and colors which one doesn`t see often on a Spitfire.  Great subjects as usual and I look forward to getting some of these new Airfix Spitfire Mk.Vc`s.  

Like Vinnie posted, “You can NEVER have too many Spitfires!!!!!” 

 

Mike

Cheers Mike,..... it is a nice kit,..... not exactly Eduard standard,.... but nice, although the spinners need a few swipes of a sanding stick.

 

37 minutes ago, Team Aer Lingus said:

Another cracking pair Tony particularly that Green & brown scheme nearly makes want an Airfix one myself. 😇   Great background too as always very well done mate. 👏

 

thanks for sharing

 

regards

 

Eamonn

Thanks Eamonn,.... I do like the Aussie Spits in their green and brown scheme and have built quite a few in 1/72nd and 1/48th in the past. 

 

30 minutes ago, noelh said:

I'd ask how many of the new Airfix Vc have you built and or bought? I can just see the Airfix Accountant having raptures over the sales of the new kit.🥳 Until it's pointed out that most of the sales went to some chap called O'Toole. 😂

LOL,.... Well I think I`ve built six now! I bought four and Airfix sent me two,.... plus I`ve just bought another 2 and built them last night along with an Eduard Mk.VIII!  

 

26 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Oooh a cracking pair Tony,  splendid work on both and love the backround info fella.

Looking forward to the next Aussie one you are doing.  

Great work as usual. 

Chris

Thanks Chris,..... nice of you to say so bud,

 

Cheers everyone,

                           Tony

[mick b]

Lovely stuff Tony, you must have a production line to rival Castle Bromwich!

 

Mike

[woody37]

Too small for my eyes to build in this scale but thoroughly enjoying them come off your production line and they are far bigger on my 32" screen! 

 

Fantastic builds and looking forwards to seeing the next ones

[Robert Armstrong]

Those look great, bud 👍👍

[112 Squadron]

Excellent work Tony! 👍 I am considering myself as a fan of your builds. I also like the research you do for each of your projects. By documenting the history of the planes and pilots you are adding great value and create a nice tribute.

[Dunny]

Got to love an Aussie Spit Tony - even better a brace! Beautifully finished as ever mate - congratulations,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Bedders]

Beautiful pair of Aussie Spitfires Tony, and really looking forward to getting my hands on one of these kits. I've promised myself to finish my HF VII first though... 

 

Justin

[Michael louey]

Nice pair of Australian Spitfires. I look forward to seeing them arrive here in Australia!

 

Interesting colour on the code letter on the 54 Squadron aircraft - I'll need to check my DK decal sheet and see if there is any reference to how they determined the colour.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[stevehnz]

Beautiful builds Tony & great subjects. Always enjoyable.

Steve.

[Tempestwulf]

Another great pair of Spit sisters Tony. Can't wait for mine to arrive in the post

[Red Dog]

Nice pair of spitfires there Tony.

That DK decal sheet has plenty of great options. I have it myself and am still waiting for the Airfix kit to become available here is Oz (one of the true homes the Vc) to snaffle a few and get started.

[Rabbit Leader]

Another two subjects that I also have earmarked, however have still yet been able to lay my hands on this kit. There's so many great Vc options out there, I reckon I could keep building these kits for months. 

Another wonderful RFI with great reference photos included, they have really come up a treat Tony, congratulations on two more fine builds. 

Cheers and well modelled.. Dave 

 

[Fredag]

Great work, RAAF Spitfires are a favourite of mine. 

Strauss Airstrip, like many of the NT wartime strips is still largely extant, being alongside the Stuart Highway and has some large size aircraft profiles mounted as reminders of the units that flew from there.

 

http://madaboutplanes.blogspot.com/2015/08/darwin-to-brisbane-trip.html

 

 

[Dric]

Nice duo !

[tonyot]

18 hours ago, mick b said:

Lovely stuff Tony, you must have a production line to rival Castle Bromwich!

 

Mike

LOL,... cheers Mike,.... Castle Bromwich has nothing on my production line,.... the elves are hard at work as usual!

 

18 hours ago, woody37 said:

Too small for my eyes to build in this scale but thoroughly enjoying them come off your production line and they are far bigger on my 32" screen! 

 

Fantastic builds and looking forwards to seeing the next ones

Cheers Neil,.... my eyes are struggling too to be fair. I often see bloopers for the first time when I post them here and see them on the `big screen'!! 

 

17 hours ago, Robert Armstrong said:

Those look great, bud 👍👍

Cheers Bob,.... glad you like them old mate! 

 

16 hours ago, 112 Squadron said:

Excellent work Tony! 👍 I am considering myself as a fan of your builds. I also like the research you do for each of your projects. By documenting the history of the planes and pilots you are adding great value and create a nice tribute.

Thanks mate,.... I am honoured then in that case!! 

 

16 hours ago, Dunny said:

Got to love an Aussie Spit Tony - even better a brace! Beautifully finished as ever mate - congratulations,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Thanks Roger,.... yes I do like my RAAF subjects. 

 

16 hours ago, Bedders said:

Beautiful pair of Aussie Spitfires Tony, and really looking forward to getting my hands on one of these kits. I've promised myself to finish my HF VII first though... 

 

Justin

Cheers Justin,...... you`ll like it when it arrives,....  a bit of extra work pays dividends mind you,... but it is a great basis. 

 

15 hours ago, Michael louey said:

Nice pair of Australian Spitfires. I look forward to seeing them arrive here in Australia!

 

Interesting colour on the code letter on the 54 Squadron aircraft - I'll need to check my DK decal sheet and see if there is any reference to how they determined the colour.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

Thanks Michael,..... some very eminent Aussie researchers were involved with the sheet and it does seem to match the b&w reference photo. If you find a definite colour I would be interested to know.  

 

15 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Beautiful builds Tony & great subjects. Always enjoyable.

Steve.

Thanks Steve,...... much appreciated as always mate. 

 

12 hours ago, Tempestwulf said:

Another great pair of Spit sisters Tony. Can't wait for mine to arrive in the post

Thanks mate,..... I`m sure you`ll like them. 

 

11 hours ago, Red Dog said:

Nice pair of spitfires there Tony.

That DK decal sheet has plenty of great options. I have it myself and am still waiting for the Airfix kit to become available here is Oz (one of the true homes the Vc) to snaffle a few and get started.

Thanks mate,..... yes it is a nice sheet,.... hopefully the kit will arrive in Oz soon,...... hame that Airfix didn`t include an RAAF option,.... maybe a later boxing will sort this out?

 

10 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Another two subjects that I also have earmarked, however have still yet been able to lay my hands on this kit. There's so many great Vc options out there, I reckon I could keep building these kits for months. 

Another wonderful RFI with great reference photos included, they have really come up a treat Tony, congratulations on two more fine builds. 

Cheers and well modelled.. Dave 

 

Cheers Dave,..... as you say the options are many for Spit Vc`s,..... I hope you enjoy your kits when they finally arrive. 

 

7 hours ago, Fredag said:

Great work, RAAF Spitfires are a favourite of mine. 

Strauss Airstrip, like many of the NT wartime strips is still largely extant, being alongside the Stuart Highway and has some large size aircraft profiles mounted as reminders of the units that flew from there.

 

http://madaboutplanes.blogspot.com/2015/08/darwin-to-brisbane-trip.html

 

 

Thanks mate,..... mine too,..... and great to hear that Strauss Airstrip is still there and that its history i being remembered. 

 

6 hours ago, Dric said:

Nice duo !

Thanks mate. 

 

Cheers everybody,

                          Tony

[2996 Victor]

Hi Tony,

 

two more absolutely splendid builds!

 

I'm impressed with how swiftly you're building these beauties - my first one is just beginning to look like an aeroplane with the major assembly just about complete!

 

On 19/01/2021 at 13:43, tonyot said:

another Aussie machine from 79 Sqn

 

From the AML decal sheet? I've got this one on my "to-do" list as well

 

Kind regards,

 

Mark