denders

These came today. I'll have to spend some time and choose which aircraft.

Working away on the flaps yet. Slowly. These are the mirrored pieces that go into the wing. Should be interesting cutting the plastic. I really didn't plan the picture, but you can see where the cut out is located. I did receive the decal sheet that I ordered. They are DKdecals 32005. There are three aircraft shown in the colors that I want to use. There are markings for 12 Spitfires total. There is one Spitfire V, two Spitfire VI, four Spitfire IX, and five Spitfire VII. I've read that by the middle to late June '44 the extended wing tips had been removed, and they were repainted in the gray/green camouflage scheme. So, I'm going to paint this one Medium Sea Gray over PRU Blue with D-Day stripes. The stripes were 9" in the case of these aircraft. Since I have a Cameo cutter, I can pretty much mark it whatever particular aircraft that I want. And the 'Squadrons' book shown above contains a thorough list of matching Serial Numbers/Squadron codes too. I will stick to 131 Squadron because I have the impression that they were all the desired paint scheme around D-Day. It should be fun.

Okay, almost time to get started. I'm still waiting for a set of decals. I want to see what information it contains about the specific aircraft represented on the sheet before finally selecting a particular subject. I also started looking through the Barracuda resin addons that were in the kit. That will take some time to create a plan on what to use and what I'm not going to use. I've also found some variations in the colors. The top color is either referred to as Medium Gray or Medium Sea Gray. I'm assuming both references are really the same. The underside color has been called out at Azure Blue or PRU Blue. Obviously, they're not the same. I'll also note that I found color references to the Prototype VII noting that it was PRU Blue on top and Dark Sky undersides. Soooo, I decided to start with the PE flap set. I'll see how well I get them built before I do any cutting on the model.

This came this afternoon. It appears that Squadrons 124, 131, 154, and 616 used the Mk. VII. Squadrons 131 and 154 used the paint scheme that I'm interested in modeling. But I'll wait 'til the Osprey book and the decal set arrive before deciding which specific aircraft I'll model.

The remaining AM has arrived, so I guess it's time to start.

I happened upon this Osprey book that I don't have. It's on the way. Looks like it should have some useful information. I also found this photo on the internet.

Thanks!

Okay, where do I find that book? And what color is that aircraft? And thanks!

This is for a GB elsewhere but I'm going to share it here too. For those who are interested, this is the contents of the box. Now, I'm patiently awaiting the decal sheet from AIMS so I can choose a subject and be sure of the options available in the kit. BTW, this will be my first Kotare kit to build. I do have some of the Spitfires in the stash.

So, it's done. The room and table that I use for taking RFI photos is piled with Christmas decorations and will have to wait 'til the decorating is done and the containers put back in the storage area. But here are a few photos on the work bench.

I may be getting a bit too much with what I'm starting (P-40 and Bf 109K (GB elsewhere)) but here goes. I like the 'pointy' vertical tail and the extended wings. Unfortunately, the markings in the kit use one or the other. And it appears that is the case for the MK. VIII. But it appears that the MK. VII used both. So, some more research into any differences is in order. I picked up this kit at the IPMS Murfreesboro show in November. The box contained a bunch of AM that the original purchaser had added and I have additional AM on order.

Thanks, Chris! After I've installed the radio antenna, I'm going to call it finished.

Okay, I think I have all the PE that I want. I guess it's time to get started.

She has legs and a few other bits. A few more small bits and then some weathering.

I was at the IPMS Middle Tennessee show today. Didn't buy too much. The Spitfire kit includes a bunch of Barracuda AM for it and an Eduard 'Look' instrument panel and seat belts. The metal landing gear appears to be for the Trumpeter A-10. I'll have to get the kit down and check it out.

Update, the top wing is on. I attached the cabane struts first, then the wing struts.

I bought this shirt at the EAA Museum gift shop when I visited the museum a couple days before the 2024 NATS in Madison, WI. I wore it one at the 2024 NATS, but wore it every day at the 2025 NATS. I don't have a P-40 on the shelf but decided that I needed to build one of the GWH kits. So, I bought one when SB was having a discount going. Since the shirt has 77 on it, I was thinking that would be the markings. I have some AM for it and some more AM that I ordered last evening. I'll post photos of the AM when I have it all. This should be fun.

So, the cowling didn't turn out too bad. But it certainly isn't perfect. But, in preparation of attaching the landing gear I realized that I didn't look at the assembly diagram for the landing gear nearly enough.

Thanks, guys!

Well, I've gotten to where I paint the larger areas first regardless of color and do the thin stuff last. I find it easier to re-locate the larger areas than the tiny, thin stuff. So, I've placed the only decals that I'm going to use (5). They went on very well. The engine cowling was next. I had pre-painted the cowling pieces and expected the need to touch them up. I was also aware of other folks having issues with a somewhat large gap in the end. (There are 9 pieces to the cowling.) Something else I did was to scribe the part number on the inside of each piece so they wouldn't be incorrectly placed. There is a thread that DrDave posted over on LSP showing how he worked it out. I couldn't find it when I went to install the cowling but after having taped the pieces together to fit, I came to the same conclusion on how to locate them. I just didn't glue sections together. I did them one at a time. It didn't reach a perfect solution, but it is a bit less of a gap than other folks had. Here is a link to the thread over LSP in case anyone is interested. ICM HENSCHEL. How to avoid cowlings fit woe! - Works in Progress - Large Scale Planes

Thanks, Rob. I'm calling this one done, sorry for not keeping up with updates. Weathering, small bits, etc. I'll try to do some RFI photos in the coming week.

Update, all the markings that I'm going to paint. (I think.) There are a few stencils that are decals. There is something in the stash that I need to dig out. IIRC it's either 1ManArmy or HGW.

Another update.

So, I noticed this anomaly on the head rest after gluing it in place. I've also test fitted the engine cowling pieces, just tape, no glue. They do fit without gaps. It is a precise fit and must be done very carefully. There is a lot more painting to do before this is permanently attached.

I've been a little lax in showing progress. The top wing has been painted. The engine is mounted. I've been painting the cowling pieces, inside and out. I'm planning on assembling the cowling with tape, first, to make sure I don't run into problems that some other folks seem to have run into. The bracing for the tail surfaces appears to have a "direction". I didn't test fit it and the tail surfaces before gluing the bracing piece into the fuselage and it resulted in the need to 'bend' the braces to hit the correct spots on the horizontal stab. Of course, before I installed the horizontal stab, I managed to break both bracing sides while working on seams at the nose area. Of course, when I finally did glue the horizontal stabs and the bracing 'pieces' it didn't look very good. So, out with the styrene and new braceing. I've been painting LG, wheels, bombs, struts, and other bits. Also, the fuselage and lower wing. Referencing the photos that I was sent. I'll note that the yellow area on the underside of the lower wing seems to cover more of the wing than what the kit instructions indicates. So far, all the markings are painted.