The Wooksta! - The Plan, a Spitfire Blog

[The Wooksta!]

"What fish!"

The Seafire 45.7 is coming on but the fit of the kit is slowing this down.  I had to do some surgery to the nose to get the 47 lower cowl to fit and the wing roots needed some work too.

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You cannot view this attachment.

This is earlier on before I started any gluing.  It's got the tailplanes from the 47 here for the hell of it, but it will get the usual tailplanes when it goes together.

The other thing Special Hobby got wrong was the fin.  The contra prop cured the torque issue but introduced critical trim instability. This was cured using the 18 rudder with Z trim tab.  However, whilst the rudder is bigger the fin is shorter by a couple of inches - there's a panel line near the top of the fin on a 14, 21 or 45 that's the start of a wooden block between the metal fin and the rudder itself.

The 14/21/45 rudder is taller than that of the 18 and both rudders in the 21/45 are the same height in the Special Hobby kits, so it'll need a new rudder for the contra prop version which I want. Contraprops are cool.

AZ made the same mistake with their 18, but they did have the revised hatches on the wing correct. It just needs a new rudder, but the revised wing means you can't do the lowback 14s without rescribing the hatches.

Ventura had the fin on their 18 correct but the wing was that of the 14, it didn't have the revised hatches.  It's a late 14, as some had the 18 rudder.

Really, the 14, 18 and the contra prop Spits are a real minefield and the 18 is a tricky one to nail down.  Does it matter?  Depends on the individual modeller.  Personally, I'd like it as accurate as possible on the grounds that the best place to hide a tree is in a forrest. If said tree is an evergreen Douglas Fir in an Oak forest in the middle of December then it's going to stick out as wrong. Especially if covered in glitzy baubles.

I've learned a great deal about Spitfires during the course of The Plan. There's a lot of interesting gaps and roads not travelled to explore.

I doubt it's worth it, given the lack of replies and all that, but comments for those still remotely and vaguely interested, and who can actually be arsed to reply, go here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=34772.msg552036#msg552036

For more information, please reread.

[The Wooksta!]

"Neil, this is snow!"

Another day, more tinkering and sanding, this time several Ventura Spitfire kits.

I've wanted to get a good FR.XIVe high back for a while.  I've done it before, from the Airfix XIX and a new wing, and although I was generally happy, they were always compromised. I did think about trying it with the Sword 14 high back - I still might as it's got a decent shape - and another option would use an MPM 19 fuselage (millennium edition) with a Fujimi wing, but whilst I know it will fit, there's something wrong with the shape of the fujimi kit that I've never quite managed to figure out. And the Millennium 19 fuselage was warmed over Fujimi.

Which left crossing the Ventura 19 fuselage with the wing of the 18, which is fine as Ventura got the hatches wrong on the wing and it's for a 14.  Their 18 didn't have the camera ports either, but if and when I do it proper I'll cross a Sword FR14 lowback fuselage with the AZ 18 wing and a new rudder. Or the AZ wing with an Aeroclub fuselage, of which I have far too many stashed away.

The real drawbacks with the Ventura kits are the lack of detail, the horrendously thick sprues gates (those utter crybabies whinging about the Airfix sprues really should count their blessings), and the flow channels that need power tools to remove. But the shapes are generally bang on, they all cross kit and the canopies - two in each box - are beautifully clear

Anyway, after using the drill, the hedge trimmers and some bleach for far too seriously long enough by half, I got the wings taped up and they fit the already sanded fuselage nicely.

I just need to sort out an interior, exhausts and some wheels, probably Sword or AZ given all the lovely spares they provide, then add some mesh in the radiators and I can try and hammer it together.

I also cleaned up and test fitted one of their Mk IXc kits, but it's an odd mix of late rudder and intake but early wing blisters. The shape looks to be bang on though.  The availability of the Eduard kits has rendered all other late Merlin Spitfire fighters redundant, but I have a good number of these and I'd like to get a few together, with the help of the spares box and a few resin bits, if only to say I've done it.

Think I may have a go at a 21 next.

I doubt it's worth it, given the lack of replies and all that, but comments for those still remotely and vaguely interested, and who can actually be arsed to reply, go here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=34772.msg552036#msg552036

For more information, please reread.

[The Wooksta!]

"Think I'll play murder in the dark."

When I was going through the Cabinet of Doom yesterday, I discovered a pair of Airfix Mk Is that I cannot remember just what I'd intended them for.  I know they were going to be early, and I'd used Sky as the interior colour - it's close to a pre war shade used as an interior colour by Supermarine - but quite what I don't know.

In another box is an Airfix Hurricane rag wing that I think was going to be a night fighter if Munich had gone hot.  Perhaps they were going to be similar?  I know the Hurricane was going to go NIVO Green overall, so at least one of the two Spits will.  I just need to get some NIVO and Vallejo do an equivalent colour to FS.34096.

I'll need to do some research as that pre war period is a bit of a blind spot.

There was also a box with no less than six Mk1s, all part started and again, I have no recollection of quite what I wanted to do with them.  Possibly bomber defence flight squadrons, and at least one is going to be likely a PR.1G, probably on Malta and with that nice bulged camera panel I am wont to use, although I think it will need some kind of tropical filter. Possibly Aboukir as it's a bit less chunky than the Vokes.

The 4 Sqn research has revealed little of any real use.  I did find mention of a PR.XIII, a rather elusive type, with a serial but no codes, but I don't recall which squadron was using it.

There's a few ideas crystalizing around early Griffon Spits as the Brigade 12 conversion will take an Airfix 1a wing, albeit after some surgery.  I have two wings modded and the initial thoughts for the first is for a bounce aircraft with one of the OTUs, with clipped wings and a colourful nose.  Later on, one or more may wind up as PR machines, although I think I did something similar some years back but it could have been rushed.

The conversion also takes an Airfix interior too. Which is nice.

I doubt it's worth it, given the lack of replies and all that, but comments for those still remotely and vaguely interested, and who can actually be arsed to reply, go here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=34772.msg552036#msg552036

For more information, please reread.

[The Wooksta!]

"Not particularly, you got any kebabs?"

You'd think that with having several mk.Is and IIas kicking about, either part started or at the primer stage, that I'd have enough but no, that's just too simple.  I have to start a couple more.

I have a feeling I'd intended, a good five years back at least - 2019 was a very stressful year and much of it is a blur - that some of those were going to be trainers, either with the Navy in early war colours or in South Africa.  There's some interesting schemes worn by Hurricanes that I'd like to try, quite a few are very colorful.  I'll have to hit the references again.

The other options are several PR types, the PR.1G in particular.  Either as Malta based or far East.  I know I did one, but it may have had the larger Australian style roundels and I'm thinking of at least one in overall PRU Blue with SEAC roundels.  There's some interesting Malta schemes in very unstandard colours, so it looks like I'll be investing in more paint.

And the new started ones?  I did think I could cross kit two of the AZ early kits to get a version of a Va airframe with a Vokes filter, but they don't cross kit easily and the way the canopy fits on the  2011 mk V they did is somewhat unique.  I did think I could use the canopy in their similar vintage IIb, but that doesn't fit the airframe it's intended for anyway.  The kicker there is that I have a good half dozen of those tucked away...

The Tamiya kit is another option, but the wing has the oil cooler moulded integral and would require some surgery.  The PR.1G had the Merlin 32, which had the larger oil cooler of the V.  I have some spare and a spare Tamiya wing to play with.

But then I start another couple, the old 1978 Airfix one, which despite being old, a bit rivetty with raised panel lines and somewhat basic, is spot on shapewise.  I need more ideas.

I doubt it's worth it, given the lack of replies and all that, but comments for those still remotely and vaguely interested, and who can actually be arsed to reply, go here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=34772.msg552036#msg552036

For more information, please reread.

[The Wooksta!]

"Well, what have you brought me this time?"

A conversation yesterday with a mate who's currently converting a 24th Airfix Spitfire VIII into the blowback prototype got me thinking about how I could do it in 72nd.

Now I did one some years back, from a Heller 16 and did the cutout for the retractable tailwheel.

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I was quite happy with it at the time, but having learned more over the years since it was done (2011, I think), it could well be time to revisit again and do it will some features that should have been on it but were missed.  I do have an assembled Hasegawa one that I'd acquired which already had the low back mods done, but I'd really like something a bit better.  I think that has some post war features on it and there was some talk of the RAuxAF getting Spitfire mk VIIIs, albeit as trainers, so I may well keep it for that.

So where do I start?  The same package that got me the converted Hasegawa kit also had several sets of AZ mk 8 wings, so that gives me a wing, and a clipped one too.  This is good, as the main objection the RAF had to the low back 8 and 9/16 was the stability issues caused by the rear fuselage fuel tank.  The 8 was rejected outright but the fix on the 9/16 would have been to increase the size of the tailplanes, increasing their effectiveness.  So those from a Spiteful or Spitfire 22 would have been ideal.  However, that would have slowed production, so they simply removed the wingtips, which has the effect of making that tailplanes bigger.  It also increased the roll rate and people have wrongly assumed that's why they did it.

As for a fuselage?  In their boxings of the low back 9s and 16s, AZ give you both low and high back fuselages, so one is spare.  Actually, the AZ 9s are superb for the sheer volume of spares, so if the 16 kit was done as a 9 with the early C wing blister, I get the tailplanes and later wing blisters too. Eduard give me a lot of other spares and I can rob the spares box for a lot of other parts too.

The canopy on the prototype was similar to that of the Seafire 17, with a rounded windscreen and internal armour glass, and I have a spare Sword one.  Which is nice.

Markings?  Anything off a low back 9 or 16 would seem to be fair game, although one of the mk 8 units could be possible too.  Had they been spamming them out, it's more likely they would have gone to 2TAF sqns, as their loss rate was quite high.  I do like their colourful post Jan '45 roundels, the fact that the prop is all one colour and I don't have to worry about that Sky tailbone.  I hate painting them and the decals never really fit properly.  There's also an AIMS decal sheet for 2TAF Spitfires that looks quite tasty too.

And for a second postwar one?  Crosskitting two Sword Spitfires would be easier, using the fuselage from their 16 International boxing, with the wings and internals from their 14 highback.  Already done the test fit.  There's some nice decal options in the Eduard 16 and on the Xtradecal 16 sheet.



I doubt it's worth it, given the lack of replies and all that, but comments for those still remotely and vaguely interested, and who can actually be arsed to reply, go here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=34772.msg552036#msg552036

For more information, please reread.

[The Wooksta!]

"Found it."


Trawling through a link provided elsewhere, I turned up this photo of the mk VIII low back prototype.

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Pretty, isn't she?

I've seen another, from the port side on the ground, but this is much nicer.


I doubt it's worth it, given the lack of replies and all that, but comments for those still remotely and vaguely interested, and who can actually be arsed to reply, go here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=34772.msg552036#msg552036

For more information, please reread.