tonyot Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 (edited) Hiya Folks, I`ve always liked US operated Spitfire`s and when I saw a photo of the Mk.Vc flown by Flight Officer James Montgomery bearing nose art of a lady balancing on the leading edge of the wing, named `The Impatient Virgin' which also had 6 stack exhausts and what appears to be a Jablo 3 bladed propeller,....in the book `Spitfires and Yellow Tail Mustangs',..... I really fancied building it, note it also has no rear view mirror fitted; These were excellent references too; And the Osprey American Spitfire Aces which includes lots of rare pics and nice colour side views; Now the colour scheme? Well the 52nd FG received its Spitfire`s from local RAF stocks and the Mk.V`s wore the desert scheme,..... however quite a few were modified by the American`s with more individualistic schemes and after the war had moved from the desert towards Sicily many adopted a darker more temperate scheme and lighter coloured undersides to better suit their surroundings, much like the RAF did. On `The Impatient Virgin the darker area of camouflage runs through the cockpit area and this more than often mean that the originally applied Middle Stone here has been overpainted using a darker colour like Dark Green,.... so I decided to finish the model in Dark Earth and Dark Green ,....as seen on many of the units Spitfire`s by the time they reached Siciy in 1943.. with light blue undersides replicating Sky Blue or a captured light blue colour. The model was brush painted and for decals I used the rather expensive Lifelike Decals but I found that they did not adhere well and wanted to silver too, so copious amounts of setting solition were used and even gloss varnish to stick them down! Here is the model, I have cut open the entrance door and used a left over Airfix windscreen with a vacuformed sliding canopy section, the rest is as per the kit and out of the box including the 6 stack exhausts. I did try to replicate painted out RAF roundels using a darker shade of Dark Earth,..... but after varnishing etc they jus don`t show up anymore,..... ah well! Cheers Tony Edited February 3, 2021 by tonyot 41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 (edited) You're up late. Tony Edited February 3, 2021 by noelh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Brilliant 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 13 minutes ago, noelh said: Brilliant Cheers Noel,.... I wouldn`t go that far,.... but thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael louey Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Another nice Spitfire Tony. The Sword still has some advantages over the Airfix - options for the wing bulges, some nice etch in some boxings and maybe finer detail for some parts. Did you cut down the undercarriage legs? I built mine a long time ago and since then noticed most other Spitfires sit lower (e.g. Airfix Mk I, Eduard Mk VIII). After building the Airfix and KP kits I planned to do a review and either cut down the Sword undercarriage legs or replace them with spares from Eduard. Cheers Michael 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Fantastic work! Your brush paint work turns out very nice! Respect! Cheers Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Cracking job, Tony. The unusual scheme really sets it apart. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swralph Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Lovely looking Spit Tony.😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Armstrong Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Looking rather spiffing, old boy 👍👍😁😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 (edited) 10 hours ago, Michael louey said: Another nice Spitfire Tony. The Sword still has some advantages over the Airfix - options for the wing bulges, some nice etch in some boxings and maybe finer detail for some parts. Did you cut down the undercarriage legs? I built mine a long time ago and since then noticed most other Spitfires sit lower (e.g. Airfix Mk I, Eduard Mk VIII). After building the Airfix and KP kits I planned to do a review and either cut down the Sword undercarriage legs or replace them with spares from Eduard. Cheers Michael Cheers Michel,..... yes I cut the legs down slightly,...... only by a sliver but it helped I think. I also angled them slightly more forwards too. 8 hours ago, Andy Dyck said: Fantastic work! Your brush paint work turns out very nice! Respect! Cheers Andy Thanks Andy,.... very kind of you mate. 5 hours ago, Vinnie said: Cracking job, Tony. The unusual scheme really sets it apart. Thanks Vinnie,..... glad you like the scheme mate. 5 hours ago, swralph said: Lovely looking Spit Tony.😀 Thanks Ralph,..... much appreciated mate. 4 hours ago, Robert Armstrong said: Looking rather spiffing, old boy 👍👍😁😁 Cheers Bob,..... hope you are keeping well bud,.... toodle pip old chap! Edited February 3, 2021 by tonyot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djos Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Beautifully finished spitfire in very interesting color and decal scheme. Great model Regards Djordje 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 (edited) 27 minutes ago, djos said: Beautifully finished spitfire in very interesting color and decal scheme. Great model Regards Djordje Thanks Djordje,.... much appreciated mate. Edited February 3, 2021 by tonyot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
112 Squadron Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Nice build! This is really a unique Spitfire with an interesting color scheme and noseart. The USAAF pilots and crews had far more freedom to decorate their planes in comparison to the RAF. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Nice one, Tony! I really like that nose art - you have a habit of always finding the good ones! How did the kit go together? I have one of these in the loft insulation. Cheers, Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Yowzah! That's a beaut, Tony! Your usual masterful manipulation of the hairy stick, and a very well-researched and well done color scheme and markings. I think yours is one of the best Sword early Merlin builds I have seen. I think you were smart to trim the undercart a mite, as IIRC, the Vc had a four-inch increase in the forward rake of the struts compared to the Vb, and the Sword kits I have seen finished looked like they sat a little tall. I will have to keep that in mind when building one of my Sword Spits. 👍 Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 12 hours ago, 112 Squadron said: Nice build! This is really a unique Spitfire with an interesting color scheme and noseart. The USAAF pilots and crews had far more freedom to decorate their planes in comparison to the RAF. Thanks mate,...... they definitely did,..... but it makes them hard to make models of them unless you have specific decal sheets,..... there are lots of USAAF Spits that I would love to model! 11 hours ago, Navy Bird said: Nice one, Tony! I really like that nose art - you have a habit of always finding the good ones! How did the kit go together? I have one of these in the loft insulation. Cheers, Bill Thanks Bill,...the Sword kit goes together really well,.... I struggled with the kit canopy this time for some reason, something which hasn`t bothered me on others,.... and I decided to use spares box items to open the canopy up instead. 9 hours ago, 72modeler said: Yowzah! That's a beaut, Tony! Your usual masterful manipulation of the hairy stick, and a very well-researched and well done color scheme and markings. I think yours is one of the best Sword early Merlin builds I have seen. I think you were smart to trim the undercart a mite, as IIRC, the Vc had a four-inch increase in the forward rake of the struts compared to the Vb, and the Sword kits I have seen finished looked like they sat a little tall. I will have to keep that in mind when building one of my Sword Spits. 👍 Mike Cheers Mike,... glad you like it and also like my interpretation of the scheme from the limited info available. Yeah the undercarriage `sweak' certainly helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 You're doing some great work here mate. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcanicity Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 You're really on a roll with Spit Vcs at the moment Tony - another beauty from the production line! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Hi Tony, a great build - I love the colour scheme and naughty nose art! How would you rate the Sword kit compared to the Airfix kit? Just curious Cheers, Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 On 2/4/2021 at 1:11 PM, heloman1 said: You're doing some great work here mate. Colin Thanks Colin,..... very kind of you mate. On 2/4/2021 at 2:40 PM, Vulcanicity said: You're really on a roll with Spit Vcs at the moment Tony - another beauty from the production line! Thanks Phil,.... yeah gone a bit mad on the Vc recently,.... glad you like them. On 2/4/2021 at 3:27 PM, 2996 Victor said: Hi Tony, a great build - I love the colour scheme and naughty nose art! How would you rate the Sword kit compared to the Airfix kit? Just curious Cheers, Mark Cheers Mark,.... glad you like it mate. How would I rate it,..... crikey,.... well there are more options re wheel hubs, wing bulges etc,.... the detail of the panel lines is better and the propeller spinners are more accurate,.... it builds well for a limited production kit but it isn`t as easy to build as the Airfix kit and it takes some fettling to get the dihedral of the wings lined up. The canopy is one piece and can be hard to fit, but I still find it easier to fit than the one in the KP kit (which is also a lovely kit). ... and of course the closed canopy in the Airfix kit is very nice and is easy to fit,..... albeit it has no rearview mirror while the Sword kit does. hope that helps? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 24 minutes ago, tonyot said: Thanks Colin,..... very kind of you mate. Thanks Phil,.... yeah gone a bit mad on the Vc recently,.... glad you like them. Cheers Mark,.... glad you like it mate. How would I rate it,..... crikey,.... well there are more options re wheel hubs, wing bulges etc,.... the detail of the panel lines is better and the propeller spinners are more accurate,.... it builds well for a limited production kit but it isn`t as easy to build as the Airfix kit and it takes some fettling to get the dihedral of the wings lined up. The canopy is one piece and can be hard to fit, but I still find it easier to fit than the one in the KP kit (which is also a lovely kit). ... and of course the closed canopy in the Airfix kit is very nice and is easy to fit,..... albeit it has no rearview mirror while the Sword kit does. hope that helps? Hi Tony, Many thanks for a very comprehensive answer - that definitely helps! It sounds like it's an all-round more versatile kit, just requiring a little more effort compared to Airfix. I think I might try to pick one up and see how it goes. Cheers, Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 1 minute ago, 2996 Victor said: Hi Tony, Many thanks for a very comprehensive answer - that definitely helps! It sounds like it's an all-round more versatile kit, just requiring a little more effort compared to Airfix. I think I might try to pick one up and see how it goes. Cheers, Mark It is worth a try Mark,.... plus you can have some left over parts to use on an Airfix kit,.... win win!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Just now, tonyot said: It is worth a try Mark,.... plus you can have some left over parts to use on an Airfix kit,.... win win!! Sounds good! Cheers, mate 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Crikey Tony, sorry I missed this one, another cracking Spitfire for your collection, great work Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 5 hours ago, bigbadbadge said: Crikey Tony, sorry I missed this one, another cracking Spitfire for your collection, great work Chris Cheers Chris, glad you like it,... but crikey mate,... you don`t have to be sorry! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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