Now that it works...one more spitfire pic

Looks awfully good to me...

Very nice work...

Looks like you stayed up all night, Bob. Thats a beautiful Spit. Nicely done, indeed. Could you post more photos of that please? Thanks.

Looks great! Good job.

Looks Great Bob.

Great work there Bob, thats one great looking spitfire. Greg

WOW! Super job on the Spit, Bob!

Regards, Dan

Looks great Bob, glad you got it all lined out. Do you have more pics to post?

OK
Here is another shot of the same model. It depicts a post war 308 Sq. a/c. Postwar Spits displayed their serials under the wings. I used SP decals from Poland for the markings and they are excellent.

OOPs
Here is the photo from the above post.

and a view of the underside with the oil which is there. I know, I have wiped it off the belly of a Spitfire for many years.

I used a full load of Ultracast Spitfire parts including-
-seat with late "Q" type harness
-door with crowbar
-Rotol propeller and spinner
-exhaust stacks
-four spoke wheels
-"e" type cannon bay covers
-elevators (in the full "down" position where the elevators always go when you let go of the controls on the ground)
The ICM Spitfire range of kits are the most accurate kits of the "long Merlin" Spitfires. The Hasegawa kit is a mess. Too short fuselage and the goofyest spinner I have ever seen on a Spitfire.
Cheers
Bob S.

Say, that's a nice Spitfire!

Nice work on the Spitfire, Bob.

Hey Bob, just curious, I've seen spits with Polish markings like that before...were they polish pilots that went to England to help liberate their country?

Hi AJ
Yes they were.
Cheers
Bob S.

Superb Spit!

Bob-
sorry, I missed the scale on that model? 1/48th?
it's a beautiful model!

Hi Sam
ICM's Spitfires are all 1/48th scale

If you ever need a volunteer with wipeing the oil off another Spit Bob give me a shout ! - what a privilage it would be

Hi Migs
OK, but believe it or not, the one that I worked on lately (Mike Potter's Mk XVI s/n SL721 in Ottawa Ontario) doesn't leak oil. I saw this and couldn't believe it. The Packard Merlin was rebuilt by Zandroid's in Chicago and when we took the lower cowl off there wasn't a half cup of oil in the bottom. I worked on Cliff Robertson's Mk IX from 1976 through 1998 and she leaked oil all the time. It starts around the base of the lower cowl and spreads from there. Of course the breathers and overflows were peeing oil because of all the inverted flight. (Mike doesn't do aerobatics with his Mk XVI.) Even the tailwheel gets covered. But, lying under the a/c while wiping it down, you get to check for anything amiss such as loose fasteners etc. It was while doing this that I found serious cracks in the radiator fairing. We were at a Canadian Armed Forces air base and a tin basher was called in from home on a Sunday and was glad to work on a Spitfire once in his career. He did a good job and as far as I know his patch is still on her.

Here is a photo taken around 1979 with me finishing up a post flight wipe down. Jerry Billing, the pilot, is also in the picture. He is 82 yrs young now and still flies his Aeronca Champ. He was amazing in a Spitfire with an unlimited aerobatic license. He flew them for 52 1/2 years (1942 -1994), a world record, that still stands. We both look a bit younger here than we do now I'm afraid. We had a lot of fun. The Spitfire is a beautiful a/c to work on.
Cheers
Bob S.

That's one of the best parts about this hobby learning the history...for me anyway.

Thanks for sharing your pix

great to see the 1:1 scale pic of you guys with the Spit Bob !
lots of ref pics from WW2 show the oil smeering and when i fist realised it was oil i was a bit shocked but i'm familiar with British motorbikes and theres a saying that - 'if it does'nt leak oil then its run out ' !
i'm nearing completion of all the Airfix 1:72 Spitfires, Mk Ia, 50th Mk Ia, BOB MkII, MkVb (US & Polish) & MkIX
The bold ones are built and i've added a S6B. Hopefully i'll get a pic up later of the set.
Thankyou for sharing your latest excellent build Bob and telling us about Jerry and the a/c - migs

Hi Migs
You are welcome. You are right about British bikes too. I used to race motorcycles (flat track) and rode a Triumph 650 TT special in a flat tracker frame. The engine was built by a guy in Welland but that thing always leaked oil. I put it through a fence one night and was hurt so the owner let another a friend of mine ride it and he was winning with it so I never got it back. He went on to ride for Harley Davidson. His name was Corky Keener, from Michigan.
That Mk XVI isn't my latest build. I built it when ICM released their Mk XVI. I have built others since. In fact I have been comissioned to build one for Chris Woods, the previous owner of SL721. He wants it built the way it was when he owned it and it was painted a powder blue. Life Like decals have a set of decals to do this a/c.
It sounds like you have quite a project going with your 1/72nd scale Spitfires. I would like to see them and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Cheers
Bob S.

Great job! Always nice to see a nicely done spitfire.

Thanks Tango
I'm glad that you like it.
I'll post some other photos later sometime now that I have the capability. I feel like such a dunce when it comes to computer stuff. I have oodles of photos of the real Spitfire both iside and out (including photos of things seldom seen in books), and lots of Spitfire reference books including the shop manual for the Mk V, the Mk IX, and the Mk XVI.
Cheers
Bob S.

Bob S.,

Its even better up close! Great work! I thought that was you beside the Spit. LOL. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Allan
Yes it is sort of ironic. I spend a lot of effort weathering a model Spitfire and working on a real one I am constantly removing any weathering. We used to have a real tough time with the exhaust stain. Last year when I was in charge of painting a real Mk XVI, I jokingly asked the owner if he wanted me to weather it like I do my models? He laughed. This past summer he was apologising to me for having flown it in the rain and some of the paint coming off on the elevator balance horns.
The chief engineer showed me how he uses Testor's Model Master paints for any touch ups. On the Mk IX that I used to take care of I used Humbrol that I custom mixed to match the paint.
Cheers
Bob S.