Stencils on early Merlin powered Spitfires (1939-41)

[WLJayne]

Hi all,

 

I've been reading around as much as I can, both in all my books and using the search function here and google, and it would be great if you knowledgeable folks could give me a bit of a "sanity check" on my plans for stencils in our seventeen (why did I pick so many) early Merlin powered Spitfire schemes in the different 1/144 kit boxes and extra decal sets. From reading books by Lucas, Postlethwaite, Goulding, Scott & Madgwick et al as well as what I can find online, I've come up with this a proposed plan:

 

Spitfire Mk.I Early Box: 

 

K9795, 1939: Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, DTD 308 rudder patch, jacking points, electrical panel.

K9799, 1939: Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, DTD 308 rudder patch, jacking points, electrical panel.

 

Spitfire Mk.Ia Box:

 

P9546 QV-H, Sept '40 [George Unwin:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines , DTD 308 rudder patch, jacking points, electrical panel.

R6595 DW-O, June '40 [John Ellis:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, DTD 308 rudder patch, jacking points, electrical panel.

 

Spitfire Mk.I PR Box:

 

K9969 DP, Winter '41: Upper wing stencils and walkway lines only.

X4784 ZW, Spring '42: Upper wing stencils and walkway lines only.

 

Spitfire Mk.IIa/b Box:

 

P7666 EB-Z, Dec '40 [Donald Finlay:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, fuel and oil cap stencils, trestle lines, full DTD patches, jacking points, electrical panel.

P8342 UZ-N, Aug '41 [Marcin Machowiak:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, fuel and oil cap stencils, trestle lines, full DTD patches, jacking points, electrical panel.

 

Spitfire Mk.I Vs Bf109 Box:

 

N3196 XT-L, Sept '40 [Gerald Stapme Stapleton:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, DTD 308 rudder patch, jacking points, electrical panel.

 

Dunkirk Spitfires decal set:

 

N3250 GR-S, May/June '40 [Alan Wright:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, trestle lines, DTD 308 rudder/elevator/aileron patches, DTD 314 wing underside patches (half white,) jacking points, electrical panel.

N3200 QV, May/June '40 [Geoffrey Stephenson:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, trestle lines, DTD 308 rudder/elevator/aileron patches, DTD 314 wing underside patches (half white,) jacking points, electrical panel.

 

Spitfire Aces 1 decal set:

 

K9953 ZP-A,  July '40 [Adolf Sailor Malan:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, DTD 308 rudder patch, jacking points, electrical panel.

N3183 KL-B, July '40 [Alan Deere:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, DTD 308 rudder patch, jacking points, electrical panel.

 

610 Squadron decal set:

 

P9502 DW-Q, June '40 [William Henry Cromwell:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, DTD 308 rudder patch, jacking points, electrical panel.

P9495 DW-K, June '40[Stanley John Arnfield:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, DTD 308 rudder patch, jacking points, electrical panel.

 

457 Sqn RAAF decal set:

 

X4817 BP-C, Sept '41 [Keith Kolyer:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, fuel and oil cap stencils, trestle lines, full DTD patches, jacking points, electrical panel.

P8175 BP-R, Oct '41 [Alf Glendinning:] Upper wing stencils and walkway lines, fuel and oil cap stencils, trestle lines, full DTD patches, jacking points, electrical panel.

 

Basically, the only spits on that list with a "full house" are the Mk.IIs and very late Mk.Is as far as I can tell. Lots of photos showing a DTD patch on the canvas rudder stbd side from 39-40. I haven't found any photos showing fuselage DTD patches from 1939 to late 1940. There are some other schemes we are doing as bonus decals, and some of those represent pre-sky underside schemes, in which case case I will include the trestle lines and underside DTD patches which would all have been overpainted when the AMO for sky came through. But it seems to me like a full suite of DTD 308/314 patches and other small stencils only start to appear on photos of spits out of factories and MU's close to the end of 1940 and into 41 before the change to DTD 83/517 which is more of a MkV era thing. At least, that's what I have observed from the photos I can find which isn't exhaustive - even the later 1940 sky underside with roundel schemes appear not to have trestle lines. I suppose this is because the ground crew had been ordered to repaint in sky in summer, then add roundels in autumn but never did the stencils in the field.

 

Does that all sound reasonable?  This is the last thing to decide before I start exporting all the final art files for both decals and profiles for the instructions. I really hope that together we can get to a solution that is acceptable, even if some of it may end up being an educated best guess. 

 

Thanks all!

 

Will.

Edited August 15, 2022 by WLJayne

[WLJayne]

I've come up with a much simpler set of guidelines based on periods, and factory or field finish. This might be a bit more digestible! 

 

Rudder DTD 308 patch: All periods.

 

Tail "JACK HERE" and "ELECTRICAL" panel: All periods.

 

Wing walkway lines, "WALK INBOARD," "NOT TO BE WALKED ON," "WHEEL UP WHEN INDICATOR FLUSH" markings: All periods.

 

Filler cap "FUEL 100 OCTANE CAPACITY 85 GALS" on fuselage: Autumn 1940 factory/MU applied Earth/Green/Sky onwards (I can't see this in earlier photos.)

 

DTD 314 patches on fuselage stbd side tail and under canopy: Autumn 1940 factory/MU applied Earth/Green/Sky onwards (I can't see these in earlier photos.)

 

Underside DTD 308 aileron/elevator and DTD 314 underside wing and horizontal stabilizer patches: All periods with the exception of unit applied makeshift "Sky" undersides June-Aug 1940 and pre 1939. Half white on Night & White schemes.

 

Wing trestle lines: All schemes with the exception of unit applied makeshift "Sky" undersides June-Aug 1940 and pre 1939.

 

DTD 472/B oil filler cap on port side nose: Autumn 1940 factory/MU applied Earth/Green/Sky onwards (I can't see this in earlier photos.)

 

"WT OR BALLAST FIRST AID" on port side fuselage hatch over roundel: I haven't found any photos of Mk.I/II spits with this, have any of you?

 

I hope that makes more sense!!

 

Will.

[Olmec Head]

This is a very useful breakdown and I think i will use it on my next Spitfire build.  I interpreted (or read somewhere) that the 19 Sqn early issue Spitfires only had the walk inboard stencils forward of the wing walkway lines on the top wing (although identifying small black text on a grainy B/W photo is open to interpretation on a dark camouflage background).  Also a lower wing shot lacks the below wing stencils on those early Spitfires.  I am more than prepared to be proved wrong!