DONE @p.2 +++ 1:72 Spitfire FR. Mk. 18, Imperial Ethiopian Air Force, mid-50s

Dizzyfugu · September 14, 2021, 11:03:23 PM

Since my current two whiffy German SPAAG projects stalled due to short-notice procurements of aftermarket extra parts, I started an interim aircraft build that neatly fits into this GB: a Spitfire FR. Mk. 18 of the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force from the mid-Fities.

This exotic what-if Spitfire was inspired by a F-5A decal sheet that I had recently bought, which featured – among many others – markings for an Ethiopian aircraft. That made me remember the odd Fairey Fireflies in desert camouflage and I wondered what other aircraft could have been operated by Ethiopia, too? One candidate was the Saab J29 Tunnan, because Sweden provided massive support to build and equip the Ethiopian Air Force, but then I stumbled upon an MPM Spitfire Mk. 18 in The Stash™ that had been lingering there for years because I had bought as a part of a cheap lot, so that I had so far no concrete ideas for it.
While I favored the J29 idea (but it has been added to the list...), I eventually used the opportunity to build this Spitfire short-run kit, and it would, as an FR. Mk. 18, also become a late and suitable submission to the "Reconnaissance and Surveillance" group build.

Stay tuned.

Dizzyfugu · September 15, 2021, 03:18:08 AM

The kit in question and currently on the bench is the simple but nicely detailed MPM kit from 1993 with a vacu canopy and PE parts for cockpit and landing gear. It was basically built OOB. However, it is a typical short-run kit, and so it bears some traps and surprises. What's really positive: very fine engraved surface details all over hull and wings as well as molded structures on the cockpit side walls. But this is countered by a wide range of weak spots.

For instance, the kit lacks any locator pins, the sprues are very thick and crude and some parts like the machine guns or the propeller (with all five blades molded onto the spinner, see picture below) are very soft in shape. PE parts are used everywhere, inside the cockpit (you can build either a simple IP version of an almost fully-photo-etched alternative), the landing gear wells or the coolers, which are otherwise massive IP parts with a blurry interior. The PE parts, however, are crisp and rather thick, so that they can be easily handled. They also fit surprisingly well into the places where they are intended to be mounted.
Wings and fin all consist of two complete halves, so that they are pretty massive, especially their trailing edges. Confusingly, the stabilizers come with pins - but there are no openings for them in the fuselage. And once mounted in place you realize that they do not align with the fuselage shape: the visual axis through the rudders is "swept backwards" and needs additional adjustments. The carburetor intake is molded into the lower wing section and the fuselage halves, and since it pointlessly consists of three thick-walled sections that do not align well, this calls for some serious PSR or even a total replacement. The same goes for the wing roots on the fuselage: they are much too wide for the wings, so that they had to be cut down and the resulting inconsistencies had to be PSRed, too. The radiators, molded as rather massive, single parts, also do not match well to their underwing places. Hrmpf.

So, the kit itself bears already a lot of challenges and work, and beyond this basic stuff I made some additional amendments. Most importantly, I replaced the original single-piece propeller with a leftover alternative from a Special Hobby Griffon-powered Spitfire, which looks MUCH better. It was mounted onto the fuselage with the help of my standard metal-axis-in-a-styrene-tube-adapter construction.
The ventral camera ports as well as the round opening on both flanks were drilled open and will later receive windows created with Humbrol ClearFix.

Some impressions:

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Dizzyfugu · September 15, 2021, 11:22:18 PM

Not much visual progress since yesterday, I got stuck in detail work like the landing gear, gun barrels and especially the vacu canopy, which has dubious fit. Due to some serious gaps I decided to leave the cockpit closed, so I added a (Matchbox) pilot, with chopped-off feet to fit into the seat. Then the canopy was PSRed into place.

1:72 Supermarine Type 394 "Spitfire" FR. Mk. 18; Imperial Ethiopian Air Force (IEAF), mid 1950s (What-if/MPM kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Supermarine Type 394 "Spitfire" FR. Mk. 18; Imperial Ethiopian Air Force (IEAF), mid 1950s (What-if/MPM kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Another late construction site: the front plate behind the spinner is uneven, there's a gap underneath when I add the prop (recognizable in the last picture above), so this will be mended, too. A dorsal antenna is still missing, too, but I assume that painting will start today.

Pellson · September 15, 2021, 11:50:49 PM

I started one of those many moons ago (25 years?) but never got around to complete it. It is still sitting around on the shelf of doom but I still love the shape of the FR.18. It is the prettiest of them all.

Dizzyfugu · September 16, 2021, 12:06:09 AM

Agree, it's a very elegant machine, not as beefy as the later versions. It's probably "the best of two worlds".

But I'd assume that your MPM kit will reside in the shelf of doom for a long time, because the MPM kit needs some serious dedication to take shape. $:-\$

Pellson · September 16, 2021, 12:10:22 AM

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on September 16, 2021, 12:06:09 AM
Agree, it's a very elegant machine, not as beefy as the later versions. It's probably "the best of two worlds".

But I'd assume that your MPM kit will reside in the shelf of doom for a long time, because the MPM kit needs some serious dedication to take shape. $:-\$

...or I just paint it up and carry on. I've been considering a late 1950's recce fighter for outback missions in southern Arabia.

Dizzyfugu · September 16, 2021, 12:44:27 AM

That's just what I do - it is not a bad kit, just a bit crude here and there, and it needs lots of improvisation. A very "classic" short-run experience. I am at the moment really looking forward to seeing it painted!

BTW: South Arabian roundels should look very good on a Spitfire - go for it!

PR19_Kit · September 16, 2021, 12:59:23 AM

Why is it that so many companies that provide vacform canopies for IM kits manage to screw up the fit of the canopy? It's almost a universal fault, Aeroclub being one of the few companies to get it right.

But then John Adams is one HELL of a good modeller!

su27rules · September 16, 2021, 02:45:12 AM

Dizzyfugu · September 16, 2021, 11:05:25 PM

As expected, painting started yesterday and came quite far, and has so far been the more entertaining part of the build.

I wanted to give this Spitfire a mix of desert camouflage, as seen on the Fireflies or the Saab B17 bombers, and, as a recce aircraft of British origin, classic PRU Blue.The two-tone camouflage on the upper surfaces consists of RAF Dark Earth (Humbrol 29) and Light Stone (Humbrol 121), inspired by color photographs from contemporary Ethiopian aircraft – there's a very helpful Air Enthusiast magazine article about the IEAF Fireflies (that can be accessed online under https://issuu.com/mtaye/docs/the_long_life_of_ethiopian_fairey_fireflies). The undersides were painted with ModelMaster 2061 - which looks very dark in direct contrast with the Light Stone! The aircraft received a high waterline just under the cockpit and an all-blue fin – an interesting contrast, esp. with the colorful IEAF roundels, and similar to the Royal Navy post-war scheme, just with different colors.
Even though the IEAF apparently added red spinners to the Fireflies during the Fifties, I kept it camouflaged on the model. No distractions.

The cockpit interior was painted with RAF Cockpit Green (Humbrol 78, according to pictures of real Mk. 18 cockpits – the typical RAF post-WWII black interior must have been introduced later?), as well as the landing gear wells. The inside of the main gear covers was painted in Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165), as if this ex-RAF aircraft from Iraq had only been re-painted externally. The pilot received – using references from the aforementioned IEAF Firefly article – a pale greyish-beige jumpsuit, a dark skin, and I even tried to add a black beard for more authenticity.

1:72 Supermarine Type 394 "Spitfire" FR. Mk. 18; Imperial Ethiopian Air Force (IEAF), mid 1950s (What-if/MPM kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Dizzyfugu · September 17, 2021, 04:49:27 AM

Some more updates, black ink washing and post-shading WiP.

1:72 Supermarine Type 394 "Spitfire" FR. Mk. 18; Imperial Ethiopian Air Force (IEAF), mid 1950s (What-if/MPM kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

NARSES2 · September 17, 2021, 07:13:10 AM

I think the XVIII is my favourite when it comes to Spit's. It just looks right IMHO, mind you the very early Mk I's have an appeal all of their own as well

Dizzyfugu · September 18, 2021, 02:22:44 AM

Building phase finished, sceneic pictures next.

With roundels this Spit looks like a prop from a Tintin comic!

Old Wombat · September 18, 2021, 07:07:21 AM

I kinda liked the camo before you put the Dark Earth on.

The Wooksta! · September 18, 2021, 01:33:38 PM

Well done for getting something decent out of that absolute abortion of a kit. I'm too lazy to list all it's faults, but the whole nose is well off, giving a banana shape. I tried to fix mine with a new cowl but gave up and chucked the bits in the spares box. IIRC the only thing I salvaged was the prop.

There currently isn't a decent mk 18 in 72nd - the Jay's one is the Ventura kit from the late 80s and it's challenging - and whilst there are recipes for scratch bodges and some conversions, the base kits are hard to find.