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Airfix's new 1/24 Spitfire IXc - Missing Muscat?


Johnson

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Airfix are offering ML214 / 5J-K flown by 126 Squadron's commander in 1944 Johnny Plagis as one of the options in their new 1/24 kit. This aircraft is much 'profiled', but there appear to be few photos of the whole plane. Here's one I found on the web;

 

s9%20pilot.jpg

 

This profile is from the kit's artwork;

AX17001_13.jpg?t=1641741253

 

And the kit made up from the Airfix website;

a17001_6.webp%3Ffit=1

(I'm not sure the 5J is in the right place if the Spitfire which Flt Lt Plagis is sitting in above is ML214).

 

The plane is featured on the kit box;

a17001_1.webp%3Ffit=1

With no MUSCAT, nor the name Kay, nor his victories (but that may be to avoid having nasty symbols not allowed in some places).

 

 

Here's a profile from Dr Alfred Price's book 'Late Marque Spitfire Aces 1942-45';

y4mJmVM5Xsn6r0gJ6aig94oj90fKLGfeDDiEBKH7

(low res copy for study purposes, will remove if a problem but I think I'm OK in terms of copyright law)

 

Wikipedia seems to think it should be there;

 

At the start of June 1944, Plagis assumed command of No. 126 (Persian Gulf) Squadron, flying Spitfire Mk IXs that had recently been moved from Malta to assist in the invasion of Normandy. Six of the squadron's planes had been purchased by the Persian Gulf Spitfire Fund, and duly named after the donating sheikdoms; Plagis's aircraft, which he chose because of the large letter "K" on its tail (echoing his sister's name), had "Muscat" painted in English and Arabic script on its side. He added to this a full rendering of "Kay" and other personal decorations.[27]

 

I'm very tempted by this plane, not least because RAF Culmhead is in Somerset just up the road from me. Though Airfix think 126 Sqn was based at RAF Harrowbeer in Devon, oh dear, another question...

 

So, should ML214 have MUSCAT on the fuselage? Or am I missing something obvious?

 

Cheers,

 

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Good question and on face value it would appear that Airfix have missed this, or have based their research on another photo.

 

I believe Airfix has hired a chap by the name of Luke (Goodman?) who looks after all their paint scheme research while the well known Jonathan Mock designs their decal sheets. I’m not sure if they are / still are members of BM, however it would be interesting to hear their answer(s) to your question. 
 

Cheers.. Dave 

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Hi Gents, the layout features ML214 at three stages throughout 1944 (June, July & December). June was obviously with the full stripes but before it was flown by Plagis, July when Plagis took it over and had the Kay marking and then late in 1944 when the Muscat decal was added for a photo shoot. Interestingly, the aircraft was apparently damaged at the time of the photoshoot.

 

spacer.png

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Appreciate the reply @JoshWilson, looks like Airfix have covered all bases there. I must admit I would have been surprised if they’d missed this, so thanks for the clarification and I’m sure @Johnson can sleep happier knowing this fact. 
 

Cheers.. Dave (now thinking about getting one!) 

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Thanks Josh @JoshWilson.

 

Looking closely, I can just see the MUSCAT decal underneath the Britmodeller logo (featured in the BM review of the kit).

 

decals.jpg

 

14 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

I’m sure @Johnson can sleep happier knowing this fact. 

 

I certainly will now!

 

Cheers

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Just on the Culmhead/Harrowbeer issue. In June the squadron operated from Culmhead so if you want to do your local scheme then show it in full D-Day markings as per the box art. However, according to the 126 Summary of events for July they moved to Harrowbeer on the 3rd of July as the main profile represents.

 

So plenty of choice! 

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When I do finally get round to building mine, I'll be doing the Harrowbeer version. I have family that live in the general area, and have had a good walk round the remaining aircraft 'e' pens that are there. The other consideration are the Kenley based versions. My wife and her family are originally from the Redhill/Reigate area of Surrey, so whilst any a/c from Redhill aerodrome would be best, this would be another fitting build.

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Does anyone know of a high res version (perhaps PDF) of the various paint schemes for this new kit? I’d be keen to read up on the small text that is difficult to read in the image above.
 

Cheers.. Dave 

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These are the Fundekals instructions for Johnny Plagis' ML214 / 5J-K. They confirm much of the above discussion;

 

 

 

Fundekal sets are incredibly well researched and this set is no exception. If you want to model this plane downloading the .pdf instructions is a probably a good idea. Fundekals allow free downloading of their instructions but this set is no longer available on the Fundekals website. But I found a copy here;

 

https://www.ultracast.ca/Fundekals-48-A07-Spitfire-Mk-IXc-ML214-Plagis-p/fun_48_a07.htm

 

And they still have decals available for 1/48 modellers!

 

Cheers,

 

 

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2 hours ago, Phoenix44 said:

Nitpicking but I'd agree that the "5" is not quite right in the instructions. It appears to be nearer the front and the top part of the curved lower part is almost on the panel line in that photo. There's no crowbar either.

That’s an easy fix. Leave off the crowbar and move the transfer.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 19/11/2022 at 13:45, Johnson said:

These are the Fundekals instructions for Johnny Plagis' ML214 / 5J-K. They confirm much of the above discussion;

 

 

 

Fundekal sets are incredibly well researched and this set is no exception. If you want to model this plane downloading the .pdf instructions is a probably a good idea. Fundekals allow free downloading of their instructions but this set is no longer available on the Fundekals website. But I found a copy here;

 

https://www.ultracast.ca/Fundekals-48-A07-Spitfire-Mk-IXc-ML214-Plagis-p/fun_48_a07.htm

 

And they still have decals available for 1/48 modellers!

 

Cheers,

 

 

We have had to remove your picture due to a copyright complaint from Jennings Heilig of fundekals

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11 hours ago, Julien said:

We have had to remove your picture due to a copyright complaint from Jennings Heilig of fundekals

 

I thought a low res copy would be OK seeing as their instructions are freely available to download, but I was wrong.

 

Sorry for any hassle.

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2 hours ago, Johnson said:

 

I thought a low res copy would be OK seeing as their instructions are freely available to download, but I was wrong.

 

Sorry for any hassle.

Don’t worry we are not blaming you, you only posted up what was freely available else where on the internet.

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1 minute ago, PhantomBigStu said:

I've used a fundekals image in a one of my builds threads guess I should got and remove it? @Julien

Up to you mate, we have had no complaints, and if you bought them for your build then I can see no reason you can’t use them.

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38 minutes ago, PhantomBigStu said:

As I hadn’t purchased the decals and was using them image as I guide as to what I was going to build before the thread took a totally different direction I’ve removed it

Cheers mate, whatever you want on this one.  No "fun" from Fundekals here!

 

 

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19 hours ago, stringbag said:

There's a surprise.  :rofl2:


Well not really; not including his multiple reappearances here under sock puppet accounts, this is funnily enough, his very last post on the forum as Jennings Heilig before he was banned for removing copyright details on an image he posted on BM and then arguing with the mods about it.

 

It of course helps prove three things:

 

  1. For him, irony is obviously something horseshoes are made out of.
  2. Double standards are evidently better than none.
  3. No matter how much you polish it, and sprinkle glitter around in other forums in an attempt to obfuscate your behaviour and true character; underneath, it’s still the same raw material.

 

 

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