1/72nd Aussie Spitfire`s,...... Eduard Mk.VIII & Airfix Mk.Vc.

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,

                The Spitfire saga continues with yet another pair of 1/72nd scale Aussie Spitfire`s,.... a third Airfix Mk.Vc (my 6th Airfix Mk.Vc so far!) and the excellent Eduard Mk.VIII. 

First off,....

- Airfix Spitfire Mk.Vc,  A58-256 UP-? of 79 Sqn, RAAF, Admiralty Islands, 1944.

 

This Spitfire had previously been coded UP-H but after a series of accidents involving Spi`s coded `H'  with 79 Sqn, including this aircraft,..... it wAs stripped to bare metal and re introduced to service as UP-?!  The Airfix model was built almost from the box but the spinner was sanded to a sharper point and the sliding canopy section had the base sanded down to reduce it in height. A set of 5 spoke wheels from the spares box  (ex Airfix Spitfire Vb from the 70`s!) were used to replace the kit items as they have better hub detail, a rear view mirror was bodged up from sprue and the oil collector ring behind the spinner was made from plastic card! The silver finish was Tamiya rattle can Bare Metal Silver which had Humbrol enamel gloss varnish brushed on ready for the decals and then matt varnish was brushed over that (unfortunately there was a bit of a reaction between matt and gloss varnish which caused some crazing,.... which I tried to sand out) and most of the decals came from the old Smer Spitfire Mk.Vc kit, based on the old Heller kit with new wings. I found a couple of decent photo`s of this aircraft on line and these were my main reference sources, I wasn`t sure whether the anti glare sections were black or Dark Green,.... so went with black.  

 

-Eduard Spitfire Mk.VIII, A58=504, QY-R, 452 Sqn RAAF, Balikpapan, Borneo, 1945

 

I love these Eduard Spitfire`s in both 1/72nd nd 1/48th scales and this lovely little kit was built as the Spitfire Mk.VIII flown by Rex Wyndham Watson, whose Jiminy Cricket insignia it wears below the cockpit, based on the artwork applied to his 457 Sqn Spitfire Mk.Vc whch he flew over Darwin in 1943 when he claimed two and a half Japanese kills. A58-502 had previously been coded QY-E but was re coded QY-R when Rex took over the aircraft as a member of B Flight in April 1945 and it wears one of my all time favourite Spitfire schemes,..... the RAAF Foliage Green and Sky Blue colours introduced later in the war and in this instance the white trim along the wing leading edges has been overpainted using Foliage Green,..... the Spit looks even sleeker than normal in these colours!

The model was built straight from the box using a Weekend Edition basic kit and it was brush painted using Aeromaster acrylics and my main reference was the highly informative book from the Eduard Aussie Eights twin kit special edition written by RAAF expert Peter Malone,.... although the decals in this case were from DK Decals Aussie Spitfire`s sheet;;

 

And just for completion,... here are the pair of Airfix Spitfire Mk.Vc`s which I recently finished in Aussie colours,... although the deert finished aircraft is actually from the RAF`s 54 Sqn;

 

 

Cheers

          Tony

 

 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2021 by tonyot

[Spitfire madman]

Very nice collection of Aussie spits job well done 👍 

[tonyot]

3 minutes ago, Spitfire madman said:

Very nice collection of Aussie spits job well done 👍 

Thanks mate. 

[swralph]

They look great Tony.😀

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, swralph said:

They look great Tony.😀

Thanks mate. 

[Natter]

Most sagas get worse the longer they go on.  Your Spits on the other hand just keep getting better.  Two more crackers.

[rob85]

Both are absolute beauts.

 

Rob

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, Natter said:

Most sagas get worse the longer they go on.  Your Spits on the other hand just keep getting better.  Two more crackers.

LOL,.... cheers Dave. 

37 minutes ago, rob85 said:

Both are absolute beauts.

 

Rob

Thanks Rob. 

[bigbadbadge]

Oh mate, another pair of superb Spitfire models,  great job as usual.   Going to have to get me some of that Tamiya rattle can paint.

They look fab fella.

Chris

[2996 Victor]

Fabulous work, Tony! As always! So many great Spitfires  

 

Kind regards,

 

Mark

[Red Dog]

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

Nice collection there Tony.

Finally received 2 of these kits myself and looking to get started ASAP.

[tonyot]

55 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Oh mate, another pair of superb Spitfire models,  great job as usual.   Going to have to get me some of that Tamiya rattle can paint.

They look fab fella.

Chris

Cheers Chris,.... glad you like them mate.

 

20 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said:

Fabulous work, Tony! As always! So many great Spitfires  

 

Kind regards,

 

Mark

Thanks Mark,..... I may give them a rest for a while now LOL! 

 

14 minutes ago, Red Dog said:

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

Nice collection there Tony.

Finally received 2 of these kits myself and looking to get started ASAP.

Thanks mate,..... hope you enjoy them,..... check out the spinners and maybe give them a bit of reprofiling,..... not too much mind you.

[russ c]

Great looking Spitfires there Tony, really nice works

[tonyot]

56 minutes ago, russ c said:

Great looking Spitfires there Tony, really nice works

Cheers Russ.

[junglierating]

Bravo Zulu to you 

[cngaero]

Congratulations Tony on your one man effort to deplete Airfix's entire production run of Vc's. I haven't acquired one myself yet, I wonder if there's some correlation there? 😁 

All joking aside, they're all stunning models, however, I do particularly like the Eduard Mk VIII of 452 Sqn RAAF in that rather fetching Foliage Green scheme. 

You can never have enough Spitfires 👍👍

[tonyot]

4 hours ago, junglierating said:

Bravo Zulu to you 

Cheers bud,.... much appreciated! 

 

46 minutes ago, cngaero said:

Congratulations Tony on your one man effort to deplete Airfix's entire production run of Vc's. I haven't acquired one myself yet, I wonder if there's some correlation there? 😁 

All joking aside, they're all stunning models, however, I do particularly like the Eduard Mk VIII of 452 Sqn RAAF in that rather fetching Foliage Green scheme. 

You can never have enough Spitfires 👍👍

LOL,..... OK I`ll stop,.... haha! Thanks mate,.... yeah those Eduard kits are amazing and the type looks especially sleek and menacing in that Foliage Green scheme I think.

[112 Squadron]

A great collection! It is always a pleasure to see your good work Tony. 

[tonyot]

7 minutes ago, 112 Squadron said:

A great collection! It is always a pleasure to see your good work Tony. 

Thanks mate,... glad you like them,.... ta. 

[Michael51]

Great work, again.

 

That green Mk VIII does look sleek,

 

Michael

[tonyot]

12 hours ago, Michael51 said:

Great work, again.

 

That green Mk VIII does look sleek,

 

Michael

Thanks Michael,.... I agree,..... definitely looks good on the Mk.VIII! 

[DaveyGair]

Wow! Superb work there as usual Tony.  I really like your attention to researching all of your projects, something I very, very rarely do, preferring to leave that to the manufacturers of kits and decals, and good people like yourself!

 

 

Davey.

[tonyot]

Just now, DaveyGair said:

Wow! Superb work there as usual Tony.  I really like your attention to researching all of your projects, something I very, very rarely do, preferring to leave that to the manufacturers of kits and decals, and good people like yourself!

 

 

Davey.

Thanks Davey,.... I took a break from research, just going with the kit decals etc on the Skua and mucked it up,..... doh! 

[Sky Keg]

Tony........you’re sick and I LOVE IT!!!!!! 😉  The Spitfire collection looks great!!!!!! 

 

Mike

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, Sky Keg said:

Tony........you’re sick and I LOVE IT!!!!!! 😉  The Spitfire collection looks great!!!!!! 

 

Mike

LOL,.... Cheers Mike!