Tamiya 48th Spit Mk.I 602 Sqn.

[rafalbert]

I can't believe I haven't noticed this before! Being a former member of the "current" 602 setup, it is always heartwarming to see any of the squadron machines being built. Considering the history of the squadron and some of the "celebrities" involved I am amazed how few decal sheets have been created for 602 aircraft (kudos to Italeri for their MKIX kit). Anyway, rant over, this is looking lovely, I can't wait to see the completed model!

Dave

[JMChladek]

I'm taking some notes as well for my build. Looking good, especially after the recovery from the paint disasters.

[Col.]

Cheers for the comments chaps. Hope it helps you avoid some of the mistakes I'm making!

You are correct Dave, massive potential for a very interesting decal sheet covering multiple Spitfires from 602 Sqn. alone, planning another with the earlier ZT codes and thinking of a 21 or 22 as well so that's three or four to start with.

Spent last night making an early straight aerial from brass rod and glued into place after masking the undersides,

Still to mask the wing roots then time to point some paint at her again.

[Col.]

Revell 82 loaded and fired on,

Seems to have covered well and gone on smoothly. Drying quick as well so with any luck the green should follow soon.

Forgot to say; the wingroots were masked with Winsor & Newton Watercolour Art Masking Fluid. A test on another section showed it didn't react against the Alclad but was a bit hard to control over the smooth silver. Hopefully it'll catch the pattern of scuffs and wear in my reference photos.

Edited September 27, 2012 by Col.

[Metallicus]

looks great!! You inspired me to get out my 1/32 Spitty!!

[Col.]

looks great!! You inspired me to get out my 1/32 Spitty!!

Thanks Brenden. Was looking at your new thread yesterday and look forward to watching your progress. 602 markings for her?

[Col.]

Another few colours plastered on, first Revell 65 ( I think, it's been a few days ) then masks cut for the fuselage codes and a blast of Humbrol HX4 from the old Authentics range,

happy with the wing root wear,

less so when the lower surface masking was removed,

Partly tempted to strip and repaint the lover wings but will let it sit for a while and check later.

[Metallicus]

Hi Col

Looking really good! Pity about the underside, cant you just respray the affected area or would there be a noticeable step?

Thanks Brenden. Was looking at your new thread yesterday and look forward to watching your progress. 602 markings for her?

Not sure which marking I'm going with yet... I decided to have my first attempt at masking and painting the markings so probably the most simple scheme will be chosen.

Cheers

Brenden

[Col.]

Minor update while waiting for more paint to get the roundels done. The undersurfaces are touched in so made the prop from a piece of clear plastic and the spinner painted gloss black to represent the effect of a turning airscrew,

[Mr B]

nice job thus far.......i am in the final stages of the 1/24 airfix kit and can relate to your buid

rgds

mr b

[Col.]

nice job thus far.......i am in the final stages of the 1/24 airfix kit and can relate to your buid

rgds

mr b

Thank you, can't say I've noticed your Spitfire, do you have a thread around here for it?

[Navy Bird]

Quite nice work this is, Col. How come I haven't seen this one before? I must pay better attention!

Love the extra detail work you've added, and this is sure to be a great tribute to your Dad. These personal touches really bring it all home, if you know what I mean.

Cheers,

Bill

[VFR750FK]

I hadn't spotted this one before Col either.

Beautiful done and extremely useful to me, with all the photographic details.... I will be following on with my f22/24, so any info I can get off you and others is much appreciated.

Keep it up with the beautiful work mate.

And what a lovely tribute too.

[Col.]

Thanks chaps, afraid to say I've not touched her again even though the paint came for getting the roundels done, you're almost shaming me into getting her finished though.

[Gustavo Bunger]

Cracking job, specially the camo !

[Col.]

Really should update this thread since stuff has happened.

Got the insignia red and blue from the Xtracolour range and made a set of masks for fuselage and wing roundels. Stuck them in place, sprayed some blue and let it dry, removed the fuselage masks to check and... DISASTER! Pulled a large chunk of the underlying paint away with it and lots of bleed into what was left. Was so haked off I didn't even swear about it or take photos At least the wing roundels looked alright.

After Micromeshing the damage to smooth the edges the green and brown were touched up and another set of masks made. Sprayed white at it last night so here's hoping it works out this time. No photos yet but perhaps this evening if it looks alright. At the moment almost the entire airframe is covered in tape and bits of plastic carrier bag so not much to see anyway.

[dadgaddad]

oh dear, you aren't having any luck, are you.

[Col.]

oh dear, you aren't having any luck, are you.

Sure it's my own fault one way or another

Plenty masking to avoid overspray;

Second go at the fuselage roundel blue and after two rather heavy coats it seems to have covered the underlying white. Next time I suspect spraying the blue over a dark undercoat will produce better results as the wing proved no problem at all over the green and brown.

[Col.]

Red paint on, masks off;

The prop and spinner are only sat on to see how it looks.

[JMChladek]

Wow, all these issues you are having with the paint probably would have made me bin my build weeks ago (okay, maybe not, but still it is annoying). I am curious as to if the thinner being used for the Revell 82 might have something to do with it, or perhaps the lack of a primer coat. I am glad to see you are pressing on though in any event.

Granted, in my experience if paint is going to peel, a primer coat may not do much anyway as it seems the problem is primarily due with how fast the paint dries. I had the exact SAME problem happen to me when I tried Model Master Gloss Gull Grey acryl thinned with normal Testors acryl thinner on an F-14 Tomcat model. It went down okay, but it pulled up BAD (even over primer) when I masked over it (thankfully I only sprayed the tails with it at the time). I switched to Tamiya acrylic thinner and the stuff went on MUCH better with no compatability issues (I think Tamiya has a mild retarder in their paint to keep it from drying too fast). Perhaps similar thinking might work for the Revell paint as well. It is worth a test anyway.

[Col.]

So far as I can tell the common factor is the initial coat of white paint; either not sticking to the model or repelling paint from itself. I've no doubt that it's something I've done to contaminate the surfaces but can't for the life of me think what. All I hope for now is the varnish coats go down alright!

[Jennings Heilig]

Very nice so far! Jonathan and I have been doing some serious research on LO-A of 602 Squadron circa early 1940. Here's a quick teaser of a decal sheet we'll have coming before too long (in three scales) from fündekals. K9962 was flown by S/L Andrew Farquar. He shot down an He111P-2, saw the German crewmen trying to pull their injured comrade out of the burning wreckage, **landed** his kite in a field nearby, crashing in the process, trying to gallantly help his foes. They in turn ended up rescuing him!! K9962 was repaired and issued to 222 Sqdn, where it was shot down in October 1940. Quite a story.

One other thing - it's almost certain that the upper wing roundels on LO-B at the time you're depicting were the original 56” factory applied Type A1 modified to 24” Type B with an incorrect 8” center spot. The wing walkway lines terminated where the edge of the 56" roundel was, well inboard from the resulting Type B roundels.

The progression of the roundels on these aircraft is pretty convoluted. A time of great changes in Fighter Command markings.

J

www.fundekals.com

Edited December 4, 2012 by Jennings Heilig

[Col.]

Thanks for showing us this Jennings, great to see at least one of the many escapades of 602 Sqn. pilots and their machines celebrated on a decal sheet, dare say I'll need this when you release it

The roundels I measured and extrapolated from a photo of LO-B in David Oliver's Fighter Command 1939-45. The same photo guided my weathering of the wing roots and if there are any wing walkway lines they must be very thin as I can't make them out so have left them off for the moment.

[Miggers]

Wasn't that the Heinkel shoot down and subsequent Spit landing where the German pilot,

who'd been educated at Oxford,said to Farquar in perfect "posh" English

"I say Squadron Leader,that was a bloody awful landing".

Col,it sounds like "greasy finger print syndrome" to me mate.

A dodge I use is to coat my primer with a thin coat of Kleer before going with my

top coats.

It barriers against any reaction and gives the top coats something to "grip".

[Col.]

Pretty certain you're correct on both counts Miggers.

In the latter case it's annoying but my own fault due to poor preperation.

In reference to the former point I still say a comprehensive decal sheet with a matching booklet covering some of the highlights of 602 Sqn. history would be a wonderful thing.