SPITFIRE GROUP BUILD 2007-2008

The warm-up build has commenced!

Here is the port side cockpit PE

Chris,

Check out this website, they have a wealth of info that might help.  I don't think MM makes most of the colors you need, but the site gives some approximate color mixes.

http://ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_uk.htm

Hope that helps!

Hi all, I just recieved my Tamiya 1/48 MKI.  I opened the box this morning and relized that all of the paint is in Tamiya color.  My LHS does not sell Tamiya, just Model Master and Testors which is what I have.  Can someone give me a quick color reference so that I use the right colors.

Thanks, Chris

Triumf-

Sounds like you're off to a great start in your resin future!  Never hurts to have a back-up plan, either.

Today I started smallish on my Spit for this GB. If its a success, it will turn out as a norwegian MkIX from september 1945,a month or two before RNOAF got their own roundels. It will be FN-Z from 331 sqn, in the familiar RAF colours with the norwegian flagstripes on the rudder and on the spinner.

This will be a first for me. The first time I have ever wandered in to the dark abyss of resin-cocpits I`ve bought an Aires cocpit for it when I ordered the kit, and today I cleaned the resin parts from the pourstubs and sanded them carefully in water. And also thinned down the walls in the kit. When dryfitting the sidewalls they seemed to fit reasonably well;)

If it turns out to be a failure, I have a backup plan.Trow on some decals from the danish airforce of 1947, and do kit No2 as the norwegian one oob Isn`t that a sweet plan????

Thanks,

I ordered two 1/48 Hasegawa Mark IX. 

1. Hasegawa 1/48 Mark IX - Gabreski's Spitfire during his time (1943) with 315 Polish Squadron RAF

2. Hasegawa 1/48 Mark IX - 145 RAF in North Africa (Skalski's (Polish) or S/L Wade's (Texan)).

3. Mark Vb (Tamiya 1/48) - 303 Polish Squadron RAF flown by Jan Zumbach (RF-D)

4. Mark IIb (converted Tamiya 1/48 Mk I  - I hope there is a need of just adding guns on wings but did not do my research yet.

Greg

I will be presumptuous enough to say that I am sure Darren will add you to the roster.  He posted on the 18^th in the FAA GB that he is going be tied up at work for a bit and will post when he can.  So hang in there.  Hopefully our fearless leader will be back... and with a Spitfire building vengeance.

if its possible - I would like to join you all with my pick of:

Tamiya 1/48 Spitfire Mk Vb 

Hasegawa 1/48 Mk. IX

and possibly converting Tamiya 1/48 Mk I into IIb , but I may need some help of more experienced fellows here :) (and some book research as well)

Greg 

TANGO 1 wrote:

The Roll call: who's doing what to which kit! Tango 1..................Hasegawa Mk.IX "Nose Art"  JWB ......................Mk.I to  Mk.22/24   Wyoroy...................undicided.  Darson ...................Eduard 1/48 Mk.22/24 BobBaily .................Hasegawa 1/48 Mk.IX Ruddrat ..................Tamiya 1/48 Mk.I/Mk.V Jeaton01.................Possible 1/32 K5054?  Daywalker...............Spitfire Mk.? Wingnut ...................Tamiya Mk.V 1/48 ModelMan8................Mk.? Revell 1/48 Chester 101................undicided Arki30 .......................Not in----but not out! Harvs73.....................Hasegawa Mk.IX 1/48 Joe Rugby....................Mk.IX   1/72  Texreb.........................1/72 Mk.?  TryintoModel..................1/24 or 1/32 Mk.Vb  Kingthad........................something from the stash.  Razordws........................Mk.I ?  Silentmodeler................Mk.Vb 1/32 Hasegawa.  TGregory........................Mk.XIVc 1/48 Academy Phoenix7187...................Mk.Vb  1/24 Trumpeter.

Yo Tango...do you please count me in on this here GB??? please

And it will most definitly be a Hasegawa MkIX from either the norwegian (RNOAF) or the danish airforce,,,Maybe with som stash from Aires in the cocpit as well;);)

Got all the pieces in place for the practice build, warm up build... whatever you wanna call it.  Gonna start the Academy Mk XIVc as soon as I finish my little rat.  It will be a Belgian post-war photo-recon version.  From a photo I have seen it is just a round glass covered hole on the port side behind the cockpit. 

I ask the guy at the LHS to order the Eduard detail set... very nice.  Too bad not color though.  And he took it upon himself to order the landing flaps too.  The nerve of that guy... assuming I was gonna buy them too.   OK so I did buy them (like there was a chance I wouldn't)... and I thanked him for thinking of it (he knows me to well).

(Just kidding John... if you are out there)

Jon I know what you mean about the old big book 'o' Spitfires.  Mine has a green cover and is titled something like Merlin powered Spitfire Mk.I to Mk.IX (Can't remember exactly as I'm at work).  It is beautifully illustrated with photos inside and out as well as scale plans for every mk from the 1 to the 9.

Cheers

From what I know your right jeaton. The letter wing description refers to weapons that can be carried on that wing. I have seen  the b,c and e wings clipped. which like you said they just unbolted. I have been told they clipped the wings and carried less ammo to stay with the fw190's. The development of the XI was a direct result of 190's huge advantage over the MK.V. 

I think they got beefer as well. higher loads, more ammo, fuel, and bombs. The spitfire evolved much like the 109. The eariler spits were the most maneuverable and as they progressed they got faster and carried more firepower but at the cost of higher wing loads and thus less maneuverability. I have been told the MK. IX was the best compromise between firepower, speed and handling, but was a hand full to control compaired to the later marks. This is way many pilots liked the old mk.V  still a good fighter but much more pilot friendly and in the right hands very lethal. marks after the IX maneuverability fell off fast, especially the griffon powered birds that became nose heavy.  I don't know the numbers off the top of my head but the MkV normal weight was like 6000 lbs. some of the later spits or very late versions exceeded a ton over that.  (all this info may not be rightI know far more about the luftwaffe stuff than the RAF stuff) If I messed something up fell free to correct me. most if what I know about the spits is from casual talk and not research. for all I know most of this could be worng?

The manhole cover raises slightly, an eye is briefly visible....Is it a Spitfire Fanatic or is it a Groundhog!!!!

About his new book you have, Scott, how well illustrated is it?  It sounds pretty good.

Thanks for the history, Darren.

jeaton01 wrote:

I'm gonna throw these things out here so they can be agreed with or found wanting: The L, nothing, or H before the F refers to the engine, whether it has a low, normal, or high altitude supercharger fit. a, b, c, or e refers to the wing, specifically its armament fit possibilities. The wing tip is not inluded in any of these descriptors, because they all were bolt on fits, and were interchangeable on any of the wing types.  A photograph would be the only way to tell the wing tip on a particular Spitfire, although I think the Mk. 22 and on all had the clipped tip shape. OK, time to practice the old Duck 'n Cover!

I concur with all! (For whatever it's worth..... that and $.89..... or $3.49 depending on your tastes.... will buy you a cup of coffee. LOL)

That's the simplest explanation I've heard for the LF, F and HF designation. Well put. My big book 'o Spitfires has so much info, sometimes it's hard to find a simple answer.

And good info on the wingtips! Clears up a lot knowing that.  

Oops I kinda forgot to mention in my last post that I agree with you John re the LF, F & HF designations. In the case of the Mk.IX these designations were used to differentiate altitude rating of engine, the Spitfire LF Mk IX used a Merlin 66, the  Spitfire F Mk IX used a Merlin 61 or 63 and the Spitfire HF Mk IX used a Merlin 70.

Cheers

jeaton01 wrote:

The wing tip is not inluded in any of these descriptors, because they all were bolt on fits, and were interchangeable on any of the wing types.  A photograph would be the only way to tell the wing tip on a particular Spitfire, although I think the Mk. 22 and on all had the clipped tip shape.

John my uncle was an RAF spitfire pilot with 93 Sqdn RAF and served in Italy during the war.  He said that in his squadron the choice of wingtip was completely left up to the pilot and some proffered the 'C' wings on the Spitfire Mk.VIIIs without the wingtip bits as it gave them a better roll rate.

Cheers 

I'm gonna throw these things out here so they can be agreed with or found wanting:

The L, nothing, or H before the F refers to the engine, whether it has a low, normal, or high altitude supercharger fit.

a, b, c, or e refers to the wing, specifically its armament fit possibilities.

The wing tip is not inluded in any of these descriptors, because they all were bolt on fits, and were interchangeable on any of the wing types.  A photograph would be the only way to tell the wing tip on a particular Spitfire, although I think the Mk. 22 and on all had the clipped tip shape.

OK, time to practice the old Duck 'n Cover!

The more I learn about Spitfires, the more I realize I know very little about them. LOL 

I know, for some reason I can look at a 109 and tell you just about anything you want to know about it. Sometimes more than people want to know I'm sure. For some reason I find spirfires confussing? What I really need to do is just sit down one day and figure it all out.

That MK.V is the personal aircraft of ace jack sheppard EN921. I read an old book about spitfire V aces. since the book only covers the V varient I thought (the text is very misleading) he shot down 5 fw190's with this aircraft. In fact I was wrong, anton correct me later.  Yah the b denotes the wing type.   

jboutin wrote:

Hi Jon, does it look like this?  This was a spare I forgot about that came in the hasegawa kit in addition to the mk9 tail wheel.  It looks like it wouldn't be too hard to modify, if yours is different would it be easier than this one??

Yep.... that's basically it..... looks like the Mk. VIII tail wheel. Same thing I was going to send- lloks like you've got what you need though!

jwb wrote:

phoenix7187 wrote: and since the Vb has clipped wings that would be the late Vb most likely? I'll have to run down the Mark Vb question further. The "b" designation had to do with the type of wing armament, I believe, not necessarily whether the wing tips were clipped or not. I'll see if I can find something more concrete.

OK..... more info on that V.... EN92x.

It was built as part of contract # B981687/39 at Castle Bromwich, under the 4th order (9 orders were issued under that contract.). That order was built as Spitfire F Mk. Vs, both as B and C variants in that order.  

I can't tell what the last digit is in the photos you posted, but all of the a/c built under EN92x are listed.... doesn't say if they were B or C. And though I'd always thought that the LF denoted clipped wings, I've since found out it did not always mean that, as some Spitfire Fs were clipped wing. (I need to read more obviously.)

So having said all that, it's definitely a Mk. V, and it looks darn good.... F, LF or wotever!  

The more I learn about Spitfires, the more I realize I know very little about them. LOL 

phoenix7187 wrote:

jwb, thanks and since I have your attention and I'm too lazy to go look it up If that's the VIII that this ones the XI correct? and since the Vb has clipped wings that would be the late Vb most likely? I did not catch the tail wheel, good eye.

TB 476 had me perplexed. It looks like a Mk. IX, so I checked the serials.... it should have been there. But TB 475 & 476 were missing from the TB series under the Mk. IX lists. So I checked the Mk XI serials..... sometimes a few aircraft from one Mark would be converted to another Mark.... no TB 475 or 476 either. Then it hit me- the Mk. IX and XVI were essentially the same aircraft, only the XVI having Packard built Merlins. (Basically) Bingo!

TB 476 (and 475) were built in the 17th order for Mk. IXs, fulfilled as Mk. IXs and XVIs between Dec '44 and June '45. TB476 was built as a Mk XVI. Went into service Feb. 14th, 1945, and went off the books in Mar. '46.

I'll have to run down the Mark Vb question further. The "b" designation had to do with the type of wing armament, I believe, not necessarily whether the wing tips were clipped or not. I'll see if I can find something more concrete. 

Hi Jon, does it look like this?  This was a spare I forgot about that came in the hasegawa kit in addition to the mk9 tail wheel.  It looks like it wouldn't be too hard to modify, if yours is different would it be easier than this one??  

Dave, Congrats on 2000 Posts!   I'm still a long ways off for that milestone.  Dito on hoping the forum will be around for a while!

jwb wrote:

That would be neat to build wouldn't it?  A little Spitfire trivia for all: Before the prototype Spitfire, ser. no. K5054, also called the Supermarine Type 300, their had been the Supermarine Type 224.... a very un-Spitfire looking aircraft that is part of it's lineage. Here's a vac-formed kit I found at IPMS Stockholm:   Look's like somebody beat us to it Andy!

Ah well, there goes my chances of being a pioneer!  Good find, Jon, looks pretty nifty.

Wish my weathering skills were at your level, Phoenix!  Spits with clipped wings look right too.  The elliptical wing is beautiful but the clipped wings are just different enough to have their own appeal!

At one point in time I had all in 48th scale Mk's V, Vb, VI HF, VII, VIII, XI,. With kits to do the MkI, II, IIb, but still have never built any of them. I think that gives me every major varient between I and IX? MKIII I think there were only 1 built and the MK X there were only a hand full built.

jwb, thanks and since I have your attention and I'm too lazy to go look it up If that's the VIII that this ones the XI correct? and since the Vb has clipped wings that would be the late Vb most likely? I did not catch the tail wheel, good eye.

 My VI did a swan dive off the top shelf and is now in the parts box, not to mention it looks very different. I have another one of these. I think my VII is MIA at this time. So I had the choice of IX or VIII. 

Daywalker, I painted the base color of the stick. then added the wear with flat black with some gray added to give it worn scale effect with a small 00 brush and just dry brushed it on (that example is a little heavy IMO). Next I added some wear to metal parts by dry brushing some flat aluminum lightly on the edges of levers and controls. Finally I give it a light black wash to blend it all together and bring out small detail. I work with flat acrylic paints.

Pics are not good, I took them quickly in less sun light.

thanks for the comments guys, this one's an early build and my weathering skills were still being tuned.