2996 Victor Posted March 7, 2023 Author Share Posted March 7, 2023 I've just come across this page on Facebook: Spitfire PR IB N3069 - Remembering F/O Mervyn Wheatley The entire page is a fascinating tribute to this early PR pilot, F/O Mervyn Wheatley who met his death on 22 March 1940 when he was shot down by Lt. Harald Jung of I./JG20. There are some incredible photographs posted, some of which are well-known but which have been taken from first-generation copies and which are far clearer than any I have seen previously. Such as: PR IA N3069 Colourised PR IB P9331 Colourised PR IA N3069-N3071 Details I'm not convinced by the validity of the colourisation, but I think the clarity of the photos is astonishing. There are many other interesting items and its well worth a look through for anyone interested in PR Spitfires. Cheers, Mark @AliGauld @bigbadbadge @Winded Penguin @Hammer2023 @Troy Smith @mark.au 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliGauld Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 Thanks for that Mark, There are some very high quality photos in there. Cheers, Alistair 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 Thanks Mark for the link to another cracking cause, very interesting with some great photos too. Great start to your Spitfire too. Got my KP Seafires through the other day, they look good, plus spare fuselage too, that's awesome. Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winded Penguin Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 (edited) Thanks for adding me to this thread. I'm looking on with interest / research 👍 Edited March 7, 2023 by Winded Penguin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 7, 2023 Author Share Posted March 7, 2023 Small thought. We in this hobby want the finest, most detailed models possible. Here am I, filling in all that lovely detail just because I want something a bit out of the ordinary. Lol! Cheers, Mark 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 7, 2023 Author Share Posted March 7, 2023 A bit more filling and sanding of the wings has been going on. And also, some additional structure detail: Madness..... 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 While on Facebook take a look for the Sandy's Spitfire page as well Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 8, 2023 Author Share Posted March 8, 2023 19 minutes ago, Col. said: While on Facebook take a look for the Sandy's Spitfire page as well Mark Thanks, Col, yes I've seen it - excellent work going on there and a worthwhile memorial to all the PR pilots in my opinion. I've got their special edition Sword PR.IV kit in my stash that I keep looking at..... Cheers, Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 I've sprayed some Tamiya rattle can paint as a primer to seal in the bits I've added: Ventura Classic Warbirds #10 states on page 5, "all the panel gaps (were) filled with plaster, painted over, then polished." It seems logical that if you're going to the trouble of so treating the wings, then the fuselage should be equally treated, and looking at the photos I linked on the Mervyn Wheatley Facebook page, I would say that's true. Obviously, some panels need to remain detachable, such as those on the engine cowling and obviously the pilot's door, but filling the fuselage is, I think, born out in the photo of P9331 at Reims where there is a pale line where the wing root fairing meets the fuselage side - plaster of paris? As such, I've decided to fill the fuselage panel lines as well, excepting the ones scrawled over in red pen: I suspect the model will look rather toy-like in the end, so I'm considering ways to "highlight" the smoothed-over panel joints. As that's not much to report, here's a photo of Arthur taking up most of my bench: TTFN! 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 For my own PR.I Spitfire projects I found filling the panel lines and giving them a light rub down before the filler had fully cured was enough to leave a hint that showed through the paint as a slightly different surface texture. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 6 minutes ago, Col. said: For my own PR.I Spitfire projects I found filling the panel lines and giving them a light rub down before the filler had fully cured was enough to leave a hint that showed through the paint as a slightly different surface texture. That sounds like a good plan, definitely something to try out - I think I'll give it a go on the fuselage, and if it turns out well I can always use a set of wings from another kit to get them to match. Thanks for the tip, Col, its greatly appreciated. What filler did you use, by the way - I should think PPP would be the best option? Cheers, Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 PPP does give you the option to wipe away with a wet cloth or cotton bud rather than my more medieval method of Humbrol filler and sanding 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 Nice work with the extra detail. This is coming along nicely -- there are a lot of details here I wasn't aware of, so it's been quite educational as well... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 11, 2023 Author Share Posted March 11, 2023 4 hours ago, opus999 said: Nice work with the extra detail. This is coming along nicely -- there are a lot of details here I wasn't aware of, so it's been quite educational as well... Early PR Spits are really just another rabbit hole! There's a surprising amount of info available but it just needs piecing together. I'm finding it's proving a very interesting project, so even though I'm not getting much done on my other builds it's worth it A bit more detail needs to be added to the cockpit walls, but that will have to wait until I've done the external seams as I'm bound to knock it all off with all the extra handling I'm hoping to be able to pick up some PPP today..... All the best, Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 3 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said: I'm hoping to be able to pick up some PPP today I was shocked when I went to my LHS today and they actually had PPP. I'd never seen it before! I've been wanting to try it so I snatched it up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 11, 2023 Author Share Posted March 11, 2023 9 minutes ago, opus999 said: I was shocked when I went to my LHS today and they actually had PPP. I'd never seen it before! I've been wanting to try it so I snatched it up. I'm hoping my LHS will have some - that's where I found it previously. If not, I'll have to order it online and wait..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 11, 2023 Author Share Posted March 11, 2023 A trip to the LMS this morning garnered some PPP, and this afternoon I slapped some onto the fuselage panel lines. I also broke out a spare set of KP Spitfire "A" wings and puttied those as well, to see if I could do a better job second time around. You can see I've already drilled the camera ports in the wings and also the underside light: Would Sidney Cotton and Maurice Longbottom approve, I wonder? Probably not. Cheers, Mark 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliGauld Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Nice work so far. Good to see Arthur taking a supervisory interest. I don't know if you got the big tube of PPP but when you're putting the top back on put a drop of water in first as it stops it all drying out. Go on ask me how I know. Cheers, Alistair 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 12, 2023 Author Share Posted March 12, 2023 39 minutes ago, AliGauld said: Nice work so far. Good to see Arthur taking a supervisory interest. I don't know if you got the big tube of PPP but when you're putting the top back on put a drop of water in first as it stops it all drying out. Go on ask me how I know. Cheers, Alistair Thanks, Alistair! Arthur is always a great help Its only a smallish tube, but even so that's a great tip, thank you, one I'll be sure to use! Cheers, Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 14, 2023 Author Share Posted March 14, 2023 Well now, I think this might have some mileage in it: That's about five minutes' worth. The cotton bud was dampened at one end only, the damp end used to soften the PPP and the dry end used to rub off the excess, working at 45 degrees at all times so that I was never going "with" the panel lines. A little re-working will be needed, I'm sure, but that will wait until after assembly. I wonder if some slightly thinned PPP, so that its a sort of thick slurry, would work as well with a slop-on-wipe-off process (SLOWO!). Thanks for looking in Cheers, Mark 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliGauld Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 Very nicely done Mark, PPP is useful stuff for this sort of thing. Cheers, Alistair 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 15, 2023 Author Share Posted March 15, 2023 34 minutes ago, AliGauld said: Very nicely done Mark, PPP is useful stuff for this sort of thing. Cheers, Alistair Thanks, Alistair, I've gone over to using a scraper to try and keep the PPP level with the surface - a dusting of paint has shown a few small scratches where I've scraped a little too enthusiastically! All in all, though, its coming along and my next job on this is a bit of cockpit detail. Once that's done, I can get the fuselage together and the wings on, and then I can think again about the joint and panel lines! Cheers, Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 16, 2023 Author Share Posted March 16, 2023 A couple of crappy photos - I was trying to catch the light to reveal the filled panel lines: The port fuselage half hasn't been sanded/polished yet, and you can clearly see where the panel lines are due to the texture of the PPP being different to the surrounding plastic. Its quite a good effect, I think, but whether it will perpetuate through to final colour coat seems unlikely. There are a few flaws/missed bits to deal with as well...... Wing panels: Gun access panels for the inboard pairs of Brownings retained as per the IWM photo, and I need to scribe a spanwise line between them for the camera access panel. The various inspection panels have been retained as I reckoned they'd be considered essential for airframe maintenance. Anyways, next job is to detail and paint the cockpit, and given that these were early airframes I'm going to go with the non-"standard" Supermarine Interior Green (that rhymes!). More soon with a bit of luck..... Cheers, Mark 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliGauld Posted March 16, 2023 Share Posted March 16, 2023 Aye that all looks pretty good. Colour me impressed. Cheers, Alistair 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted March 16, 2023 Author Share Posted March 16, 2023 30 minutes ago, AliGauld said: Aye that all looks pretty good. Colour me impressed. Cheers, Alistair Thank you, Alistair, you're too kind to my bumbling efforts! Cheers, Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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