Some Soviet Spitfires - Float Spitfire & Some WIP Added

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Comrade, a most excellent collection of glorious Communist engineering, improving on the decadent Western aircraft.

It would be counter-revolutionary to disagree with the comments of the esteemed peoples representative, therefore I agree... Tovarich.

Ian(ovich)

[Jay-Jay]

Hello, regarding rocket installation, spitfire's fuselage offers little room to arrange tanks/regulator/nozzle but to let you know while surfing the web I noticed a very interesting article about P-51 rocket equipped at Retro Mechanic (great source of ideas  ).

[Tophe]

Belated congratulations for these models, Spitfires in uncommon colours

[kitbasher]

Good use of a Matchbox Spitfire!

[McGreig]

Another completed Spitfire, this time an Airfix Mk.Vb. And an example of me breaking my new decluttering modelling rule of disposing of broken kits, especially if they are small and easily replaced.

Three things saved this kit. Firstly, apart from having no undercarriage, propeller or aerial, it was actually in good condition, secondly, it dated from about 1985 and was one of my oldest surviving completed models, so it seemed a shame to throw it away and, thirdly, by coincidence I had a gift set boxing of the MkVb (bought from Sainsbury's for half price) which I had robbed of its canopy and which was destined for the bin but which could obviously provide the missing parts.



Actually, there was a fourth thing - I didn't realise how much work was going to be involved! The original idea was simply to replace the missing parts. However, apart from the colour scheme,  this kit had been built straight from the box at a time when I hadn't realised how badly out the ailerons were on the upper wing. So I ended up filling and rescribing the upper wing aileron line which resulted in considerable sanding and paint removal. Also, the starboard wing root turned out to be cracked and fixing this led to more filling, sanding and paint removal!



The photos show the kit with the new undercarriage legs fitted and after the rescribing of the ailerons but prior to repainting.

Apart from the obvious problems of touching up white paint, there was the additional problem that the original finish had yellowed a bit over the years (at this stage I was still trying to retain the original finish). I solved this by giving the whole airframe forward of the wing trailing edge a thin spray of white after I had finished respraying the areas where the original paint had been removed.  The area aft of the trailing edge, where I wanted to retain the decals, was polished with toothpaste which improved things a lot even though it didn't remove all the yellowing.



So that should have been that - missing parts replaced and kit restored to original appearance. Except that I then realised that, apart from the difference in the style of the fuselage number and the fact that it had the original wing, this was pretty much identical to Red 21, the Mk.Vc that I'd just completed a couple of weeks ago (see Reply 1 above). Even the "what if" is the same - a Soviet winter scheme on a Spitfire.



I didn't want to repaint the model into an entirely different scheme but, on the other hand, I didn't want two nearly identical models on the display table. After a bit of thought, I decided that the way forward was to try to add some extra markings or colour to differentiate Red 65 from the previously completed Red 21. I would have gone for red wing panels as shown on the well known photo of MiG-3 "02" but I'm already doing this on another (as yet uncompleted) Mk.Vb. Eventually, I came across an Airacobra decal sheet with a red lightning bolt which I thought might do the trick. I applied this upside down (it was designed to climb from the bottom of the star to the upper fuselage, but this didn't look right on the Spitfire) and I'm happy with the result - old model successfully restored and now looking just that little bit different.



Hmm - rereading these posts, I see that this thread is taking on blog-like tendencies. I must try to be more concise in future - - -

Good use of a Matchbox Spitfire!

Thanks for that - I've realised since that a bubble canopy  Spitfire should probably have an E wing rather than the C wing that I used as per the kit. Och well, too late to change it now - - -

And one last photo of the restored Mk.Vb:

[NARSES2]

Nice restoration 

[Tophe]

Yes, congratulations.

[Jay-Jay]

Great work.
That give me hope to recover some kits lying on my desk..... 

[McGreig]

The next completed Spitfire is this Airfix PR XIX.



Oddly enough, I didn't enjoy this build that much. Partly it was a little disappointment with the fit of the kit  - the large moulding gates were a nuisance, the fit at the wing roots was poor and the fuselage didn't fit too well together (although slightly enlarging the locating holes on one fuselage half would probably have solved that) - but mostly, I suspect, it was just lack of enthusiasm for the project.



I hadn't built a Griffon engined Spitfire before and, for some reason, I just couldn't convince myself of the plausibility of a Soviet one. The late Merlin engined Spitfires did everything the Russians required of them, their aircrew and mechanics were familiar with Merlin engines and they presumably had a reasonable amount of Merlin spares. So why would they go for a Griffon engined version?



Because I couldn't believe my own back story, the kit (bought on the first day that the PR XIX appeared in the local MZ!)  languished on the bench and was overtaken by the various other Spitfires shown above.



Eventually, I decided that, as the Yugoslavs had Spitfires in real life and used Western aircraft in the late Forties and early Fifties, a post war Yugoslavian PR XIX wasn't too improbable (and it still had red stars!).



But even then, the model continued to be dogged by bad luck - two of the propeller blades snapped, I had to sort out some decal silvering for the first time for years and the final coat of matted Klear varnish didn't look right and had to be resprayed.



And the finished model just doesn't look as I'd envisaged when I started (although this may change - I've noticed before that, where I've not particularly enjoyed a build, I've been unhappy with the finished model only to wonder, six months later, what the problem was!).

[McGreig]

This is another Airfix Mk.Vb. However, unlike the restored model in Post 19  above, this is a relatively recent re-issue and the age of the mould is beginning to show. There are gaps at the wing roots, small missing triangular sections where the wing trailing edge meets the fuselage and the propeller spinner has an odd sink hole distortion.



Also, this is another kit which should have been binned under my new, hard line no-clutter policy as its canopy had been stolen and used on an Airfix Mk.Vc.



However, I have the Falcon vacform Spitfire Special canopy set and I thought that I'd try one of these. Well, as you can see from the finished model, this worked in the end, but it was not a fun experience. I don't know what kit the Falcon canopy is designed for - Tamiya Mustang? Italeri Stuka? - but it's not the Airfix Spitfire Mk.V and a lot of trimming and cutting was needed to get it to fit! The photo also shows the incorrect upper wing aileron line filled and rescribed.



And then it was on to the colour scheme. Taking my cue from Eric Morecambe - "I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order" - I've been going through genuine Soviet colour schemes and putting them on the wrong aircraft (Spitfires). This time, the colour scheme is based on the well known red-winged MiG-3 of the 120 IAP of the Moscow Air Defence Forces (PVO) photographed in March 1942 when the Regiment was being redesignated as the 12 Guards IAP.



Although the MiG scheme might be a whiff in itself. There has always been some dispute as to whether or not the MiG's wings are actually red or green. Based on the study of good quality prints of the black and white photos I've always been convinced that the wing is red. However, about a year ago I read an analysis (which, of course, I now can't trace!!!) which argued convincingly from the same prints that the wing was green. I still favour the red school but I'm not as certain as I once was.



My main reason for sticking to red is that the second aircraft in the line appears to have the same paint scheme. Advocates of the green wing suggest that this is a replacement panel which has not yet been painted white and, while this is a perfectly reasonable argument, it seems to be too much of a coincidence to have two aircraft with replacement starboard wings in a neat line.



The truth is that nobody knows. Massimo Tessitori states categorically in Mushroom Publishing's MiG-3 book that red is wrong and that the wings are gloss green but in reality he has no more grounds for that statement than I do for saying that they're red.



Where I do agree with Mr Tessitori is on the engine cowling. This is traditionally shown as aluminium but the Mushroom book shows it as light grey and I do think that white or light grey is more likely. However I've stuck with aluminium for the Spitfire because I like it better!

[NARSES2]

That's nice 

[The Wooksta!]

The Falcon complete set is intended for various kits, but not the Airfix Vb.  The older set for RAF fighters *might* have been, although the PR canopy doesn't fit the Airfix Ia it's intended for.  The age of the mould was starting to show back in '91!  The only Vc canopy that I know fits it is the Airkit one, long since gone, although the one in some of the Model Alliance conversions also fitted.  Then again, it should have done as it was by Paul Lucas aka Airkit.

Rather than chuck out any incomplete Spitfires, pass them to me at Telford.  I should be able to find a use for them somewhere in The Plan.

[McGreig]

Rather than chuck out any incomplete Spitfires, pass them to me at Telford.  I should be able to find a use for them somewhere in The Plan.

At the moment I've got a an Airfix Mk.Vb minus canopy and prop, a couple of Airfix Vb wings, the wing/nose sprue from an Italeri Vb and a couple of other odds and ends. I may also have a spare Mk.V fuselage from a (Sword?) Seafire kit. If you want them, I'll bring them to Telford.

[comrade harps]

All are wonderful! 

[The Wooksta!]

Rather than chuck out any incomplete Spitfires, pass them to me at Telford.  I should be able to find a use for them somewhere in The Plan.

At the moment I've got a an Airfix Mk.Vb minus canopy and prop, a couple of Airfix Vb wings, the wing/nose sprue from an Italeri Vb and a couple of other odds and ends. I may also have a spare Mk.V fuselage from a (Sword?) Seafire kit. If you want them, I'll bring them to Telford.

Happy to take anything.  Can find a use for most airframe bits.  See you at Telford.