“Spit and Polish” – Spitfire Mk. Vb, Jan Zumbach, No. 303 (Kościuszko) Squadron, RAF

[TonyOD]

8 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

the kit reviews are laughably bad in volume 1 I recall,  bloke has no idea what right or wrong....

 

Right or wrong, they seem very thorough. What strikes me as odd is that there's a quite authoritative tone to the commentary on the kits, but the pics that accompany them... I don't like to judge other people's modelling, but there's a whole bunch of close-up shots of Spitfires that have been built to a very, er, average standard. One would kind of expect better given the context.

[TonyOD]

A little more remedial work than anticipated will be required, as the clamp has left a footprint on the fuselage 🙄

 

[bigbadbadge]

Looks good Tony, the tank cover is supposed to be slightly bigger than the fuselage due to the armoured covering.

Chris

[TonyOD]

52 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Looks good Tony, the tank cover is supposed to be slightly bigger than the fuselage due to the armoured covering.

Chris

Ah, that would make sense. This remains the case, although much less than before, it was getting on for 1mm which at 4.8cm was probably excessive.

[TonyOD]

Zipped up, and looking ok after a little bit of work with some PPP and some rescribing.

 

 

 

[Troy Smith]

16 hours ago, TonyOD said:

 

Right or wrong, they seem very thorough. What strikes me as odd is that there's a quite authoritative tone to the commentary on the kits, but the pics that accompany them... I don't like to judge other people's modelling, but there's a whole bunch of close-up shots of Spitfires that have been built to a very, er, average standard. One would kind of expect better given the context.

Writer has no real idea.  It's twaddle. But he thinks he knows....   

the Datafile books vary greatly in quality, depends on the author.  I know the Hurricane one is junk,  sadly same author is still churning out dreck....  on a regular basis.   

Looking through the Spitfire book again, the good bits are the manual diagrams, and the walkround /detail photos, though these don't say how restored or accurate they might be. 

 

Best Spitfire modellers reference these days would be the Wingleader Photo Archive books.       

 

Also well worth picking up are Spitfire at War1, 2 and 3

volumes 1 and 2 were done as one volume

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spitfire-Complete-Fighting-Alfred-Price/dp/1856480151

£3.47 posted....  300 pages,   over 400 photos...

though you can get the single volumes cheap

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spitfire-at-War-v-3/dp/0711019339

 

They are not type histories, but photo collections with each chapter someone recalling their time with Spitfires.   Sort of book you can spot a new detail with each browse. 

 

Model looking good and moving on well..

 

 

 

 

[stevej60]

Look's like it's going well Tony gteat start.

[TonyOD]

Thanks @Troy Smith, purchased said books.

[Troy Smith]

7 hours ago, TonyOD said:

purchased said books.

a couple more, 

 

The Spitfire Story by Alfred Price

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9781856057028

this is the 2002 issue, I have the 1992 one.   Originally from 1982, and then revised. 

 Great run through of the development, good amount of photos, IMO a better mark guide than the tome below.  

Does not cover Seafires though.   

Again, can be got very cheaply.    

 

and, not usually a bargain price,  

Spitfire- the History,

talked about in hushed tones on here, though does have some errors,  and the serial potted history  listing is available now online, which is good chunk of the book. 

Apparently the original 1987 issue,  pictured above has better reproduction of photos and drawings, it's the one I have.

one here for £18 

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31367050033

 

It's certainly worth having, even if just to scare people with.  

 

of note online

5 galleries of Spitfire photos on here

https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/uk/raf/

 

not always well captioned, and in discernible order,  but large clear scans,  and some unusual ones

this is one for your current project

 

lots of useful detail, in particu;ar for the oil leaks streak pattern, note the underwing roundels are slightly non standard, result of the A type being over painted.

 

[TonyOD]

Little bit of progress this evening after a day of Christmas shopping... just trying he wings for size at the moment but starting to look like a Spitfire. The wing root fit looks pretty good, maybe a little bit of work to do on the port side. 

 

 

I've glued the assembled/painted legs in place (I'll have to mask them during painting), again there isn't much to play with by way of attachment points (and I made life hard for myself by gluing in the aft wing brace prematurely) but I've backed them up with some CA glue and they should be good. It's important to get the rake of the legs just so because the wheels have flat bits to simulated weighted tyres, they attach with a tab-and-slot set up and if it ain't right the flats won't sit properly, though I guess it would be easy enough to cut off the tabs. 

 

 

 

Thanks for the further info on books etc. @Troy Smith. I seem to remember a copy of Price's Spitfire Story being in the house when I was a kid. One quick Google later - correction: it was Spitfire, A Documentary History, by the same author. I remember the cover with the view from above of what appears to be a Mk 22 or 24 (odd choice, not a "classic" Spitfire with those redesigned wings). We didn't have that many books around (books? luxury! I used t' dream of 'avin a book!) but we did have this, an Encyclopaedia of WWII and a massive coffee table book about Hitler...

 

[Troy Smith]

7 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

it was Spitfire, A Documentary History, by the same author. I remember the cover with the view from above of what appears to be a Mk 22 or 24 (odd choice, not a "classic" Spitfire with those redesigned wings)

 

Not one I have, I suspect The Spitfire Story is an update of this. 

8 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

not a "classic" Spitfire with those redesigned wings

Actually, the wing outline is the same, just with a halfway between a stand and clipped tip, but likely picked as it a great image, wonder which plane it is. 

11 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

in the house when I was a kid.

I pounced on a copy of FK Mason's The Hawker Hurricane when it appeared in box of random books from the local jumble sale, or that is where I was told it originated from....  my first real aircraft book age 8.... responsible for a lot as you can imagine.

Still a decent book as well.   

I still have my battered copy,  and picked up a really good condition still with dust jacket at an Aviation Bookshop sale week for £5 as a bit of nostalgia.

My next  plane book was a bound set of Aircraft in Profile, vol 5,  which was an odd selection of aircraft just because it was in numerical order.  

I think the first book I bought, age 13,  was the PSL Classic Aircraft, Their history and how to model them, The Hawker Hurricane, which I knew well from the one in the local library.    I picked up the Spitfire volume in the series in a shop in Brighton which had been greatly reduced a couple of years later, which is what give me the information to try to convert the old Airfix Spitfire VB to a Seafire,  though it was before I'd discovered photocopiers and so used a ruler and divided the measurements for the B to C wing panelling....  

If you find the Spitfire one cheap it's worth picking up,  but only if say under a fiver,  unless you have insatiable desire to see how much modelling has moved on,  if so you may want to spend a little more.  

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spitfire-Classic-Aircraft-Their-history/dp/0850590825

They were groundbreaking titles  in their day,  some of the first books really aimed at the modeller, with sections on super detailing and conversions.  

There ended up being 8 in total,  the first five were tied into the Airfix Superkits, Spitfire, bf109, P-51, Hurricane, Stuka, the next 3 were more general, Lancaster, Mosquito and B-17.  

I knew the first 4 from my youth (the P-51 and bf109 were in the library)  and have picked up the others when found cheap,   though it was only fairly recently I got the bf109 book which was better than I remembered, with some neat illustration from the manual....  

Some of the conversions are pretty poor these days... you can't make a P-51A with a new nose and a high back for example...  

41 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

The wing root fit looks pretty good, maybe a little bit of work to do on the port side. 

have you considered gluing the upper wings to the fuselage, and the attaching the lower wing,  it a very good way of dealing with wing root gaps? Not sure if you have already attached the wing upper though....

 

cheers

T

    

 

 

[Biggles87]

I also have most of the PSL ‘ Classic Aircraft ‘ series and still use them for reference occasionally.

If you don’t like the idea of attaching the upper wings first ( or already have ) you could try a sprue spreader bar across the lower fuselage,  if you haven’t glued the cockpit tub sides to the fuselage.

Hope you manage to keep the undercarriage legs intact for the rest of the build.

 

John. 🇺🇦

[TonyOD]

15 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

have you considered gluing the upper wings to the fuselage, and the attaching the lower wing, 

 

9 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

If you don’t like the idea of attaching the upper wings first ( or already have ) you could try a sprue spreader bar across the lower fuselage,

 

Both good shouts, but the wings are indeed glued together. It's no drama and won't be as bad as it appears in the photo where the fuselage is just sitting on the wing, I've dealt with worse!

 

I've spent a bit of time with those library pics @Troy Smith, there's some wonderful stuff. They're particularly useful from the point of view of clear views of wear and tear/weathering (or not, as the case may be) patterns in different theatres, environments and circumstances. Going forward as I try to get to grips with the skills for this I'll be keenly aware of how much/how little - my previous Mk I build had practically none (which is borne out by a great pic of one of its 19 Sqn. contemporaries on those library pages), however the near future has a MTO Seafire Mk IIc for the Salty Sea Dog GB, and those things took a beating.

 

I turned up a great pic of 303 Sqn. Spits in flight, I'd bet that the one second from front is Zumbach - probably coded "D", and note extended rear view mirror on top of the canopy.

 

[TonyOD]

All set for a pit of primer, with everything masked that needs to be masked, including the legs, which are schlonked up with Maskol. Bit of PPP and sanding required here and there, but no dramas.

 

 

 

And after application of the grey stuff and a rub down with some micromesh. Time for some slap soon.

 

[AliGauld]

It's all going very nicely.

Looks good from here.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Troy Smith]

On 05/12/2022 at 16:30, TonyOD said:

I've spent a bit of time with those library pics @Troy Smith, there's some wonderful

Part of the reason for some of rambling nostalgia of old books, and something I bang on about, keep studying photos, the more you look the more you see, and new ones can help you see details you missed in familiar ones.  Did any of those books turn up? 

Build progressing well.

 

[TonyOD]

1 minute ago, Troy Smith said:

Did any of those books turn up? 

 

Yes, first two volumes of Price's Complete Fighting History (combined in one book) arrived yesterday. I've only had time for a quick dip in but there's some fantastic stuff in there. Heck of a lot of book for £3.47!

[Troy Smith]

40 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

 

Yes, first two volumes of Price's Complete Fighting History (combined in one book) arrived yesterday. I've only had time for a quick dip in but there's some fantastic stuff in there. Heck of a lot of book for £3.47!

Indeed, I've been recommending them a serious  bargains on here for a while. Proper coffee table job! It can be worth adding multiple bookmarks when browsing so you can find the image again.  I've nor been through the Spitfire one for a while, but pretty much all the British subjects are excellent, and most can be got for basically  post online.

The US and German titles are good, but not as good as the British ones. And some fascinating insights in them.... like bomber crews were formed by putting a load of newly qualified  crew trades in a big hall and sort it out yourself! 

[TonyOD]

@Troy Smith I have inbound the third volume of the above, plus A Tale of Ten Spitfires by Andrew Critchell and Supermarine Spitfire The Mark V and its variants by Lance Cole. Excellent Black Friday prices. I'll have a little Spitfire library of my own before long.

[Troy Smith]

On 09/12/2022 at 15:25, TonyOD said:

Excellent Black Friday prices. I'll have a little Spitfire library of my own before long.

I have had a few books off them.   Bargains can be had indeed, but it's a random selection.  I should ask if you can visit,  they are based near me.

Note,  The Aviation Bookshop sale is on at the moment, their site isn't great, but they hold an amazing amount of stock.  

If all goes to plan I'll be going up with a friend tomorrow....   I have taken the bus a few times but for some reason they all go the scenic route round Crowborough which take 25-30 min.... making it a bit of a chore.   if I'd not got the chance of a lift, I'd have been on the bus today...

 

Not really viable for you I suspect but they do mail order 

The shop is just incredible, and I usually find some fascinating and unusual books in the second hand section

this was one of my finds last May

 

They have kits as well,  though less than they used to and not such good prices....   not that I need any more kits. or books.  

 

[bigbadbadge]

Looking good with the paint going on 

Chris

[opus999]

Nice progress since I last looked in!  I'm glad it's going well with few issues.

[TonyOD]

After somehow making life hard for myself with the grey at a cost of several days I've got a bit of green on. The little dots of Maskol are there to remind me where not to paint green. Looks a bit messy but I think another thin layer of green will help, and once it's been varnished and weathered things should even out.  The question is, will I be able to get this and my IIb over the line before the Salty Sea Dog kicks off on 7th January? With a couple of weeks off work imminent it's possible...

 

 

 

 

[Biggles87]

Another thin coat of green should do the trick as you say. Sorry if you’ve already said, but are you using enamel or acrylic paint?

I airbrush the varnish on my brush painted models which usually  covers up any left over brush marks,using a cheap and cheerful airbrush set which includes a mini- compressor, inherited from a friend. You can get them for around £35-£50 on Amazon and are ideal for ‘blanket’ coverage such as varnishing.

 

Cheers

 

John

 

[TonyOD]

26 minutes ago, Biggles87 said:

Sorry if you’ve already said, but are you using enamel or acrylic paint?

 

I brush paint with enamels, which is the main reason my builds progress at a glacial pace - always waiting for paint to dry. I thought I'd put the second coat of grey on a bit thick, so decided to thin it in situ by "painting" the whole thing with white spirit - didn't go well, pooled into a sticky mess in some places that needed a lot of drying time and a bit of a sand. I don't have the space or the ventilation for an airbrush unfortunately, but I'm sure it'll come good(ish) with a bit more TLC.