Tamiya Spitfire Mk.VIII - 79 Squadron RAAF

[repeater]

Hi All,   

 

Time to get started.    I'll (slowly) build the Tamiya Spitfire Mk.VIII, in RAAF markings, 79 Squadron - either 'Hava Go Jo!!'  or 'Avagrog'.

 

79 Squadron was formed in 1943, originally equipped with Vc's before replacement with VIII's.  In 1944-45 they were based in Morotai (now Indonesia) and conducted a variety of operations (fighter sweeps, bomber escort, strafing, but mostly ground attack and attacking Japanese installations, etc).   

 

Colour schemes for RAAF spitfires seem to generate a lot of debate  - however I don't have any special knowledge so I'll be following conventional wisdom (or.. maybe just reputable decal instructions !>?! ) 

 

Here's the kit.. 

 

 

 

I'll be using aftermarket from BarrracudaCast:

• BR32001 -  Seat with leather backpad
• BR32003 - Cockpit upgrade set  (stick, throttle etc. includes cockpit stencils)
• BR32002 - Door with separate crowbar
  
  and of course
   
• BR32010 -  wheels:   Z-block 4 slot mainwheels (for Australian Spitfire VIII's)

 

Aftermarket pic.. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[repeater]

Now..  decals..  hahah I have hit my first hurdle..    ..   I ordered the  Barracudacals 'Spitfire Mk.VIII Part 1'  set  and.. it arrived.. 

 

 

 

 

hmm.. these look a little small?    Hang on.. my bad..   WRONG SCALE    

 

1/32 set seem hard to find..   maybe plan B..  Kits-World set?  

 

[nmayhew]

And there was me about to ask you for the QJ-O markings if you weren't going to use them...

[Jamme]

Will be nice, Great choice.

Cheers,

Jamme

[Dave J]

Do you need the Aussie markings from the 32nd sheet? I have them and won't using them. More than happy to send them your way.

[Daywalker]

That kit is one of the finest I have ever worked on, you will love building it!  Really looking forward to your take on this one.

[repeater]

Thanks all.. ! 

 

 

Ohhhhhhh man, im looking forward to following this one (pulling up a chair), fantastic subject choice ;-)

Martin.

 

Thanks Martin..   I'm looking forward to your Harley Davidson..

 

 

And there was me about to ask you for the QJ-O markings if you weren't going to use them...

 

Late night surfing on the iPad mini.. and I end up with 1/48 decals.. ah 

 

Well, you're welcome to the 1/48 markings of QJ-O...   (maybe Eduard Mk.VIII if (when) released !?) 

 

 

Will be nice, Great choice.

Cheers,

Jamme

 

Thanks Jamme

 

 

 

Do you need the Aussie markings from the 32nd sheet? I have them and won't using them. More than happy to send them your way.

 

Hi Dave.. that would be brilliant!  PM sent.  I'm in your debt. 

 

 

 

That kit is one of the finest I have ever worked on, you will love building it!  Really looking forward to your take on this one.

 

Thanks Daywalker.. !  Looking forward to your Corsair.. now that is a great kit. 

[repeater]

Here we go. 

 

I'm late coming to the Tamiya superkit party - I've had the Mk.IX and Mk.VIII Spitfires and P-51D kits in the stash (oh.. and just bought the Corsair kit! Wasn't planning to, but my local hobby store here in Hong Kong had it for approx $80 USD.. I couldn't afford not to!)  - but, like a fine bottle of wine, I didn't want to 'waste' it.. 

 

After some 'cheap plonk' (eg. Dragon 1/32 P-51D - I wanted it to be ok and disprove the naysayers, but what a TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE kit), it's time to crack open the good stuff. 

 

I've started construction of the Merlin.  It's been said many times, but this kit really is superb! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dave J]

Off to a great start Tim!

[repeater]

Construction of the Merlin is complete..

 

The easy bit is done..  next steps - cleanup, painting, weathering, etc.   

 

 

[repeater]

Firstly, to recap, a HUGE thanks to Dave J for the decals   .    Dave - this one's for you. 

 

Slow slow progress..   and sorry for the drip feed...hopefully some progress is better than none ?  Lucky we have 12 months for the GB... however.. the Fw 190 A-8 (Focke-Wulf GB) and P-40M are basically complete (pending final photos and finishing touches).  This means more time for the Spitfire. 

 

Since the last post, some aftermarket items arrived in the mail: 

- Eduard exterior PE set 

- HGW Sutton Harness

 

I have precious little to show for this weekend's effort.  Most of it relates to the laborious task of applying the PE. I'm currently grappling with the ignition wiring, fuel lines, etc. 

 

What I can say is the Merlin is painted Tamiya X-18 semi-gloss black and drybrushed with a gunze metallic.   Rolls-Royce badges are courtesy of the Eduard PE set.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tim

 

 

[Jamme]

Nice engine, Tim 

congrats,

Jamme

[Dave J]

Awesome! Glad to see that your back onto this one!

 

Glad I could help with the Decals

[Crossy]

Looking Great mate. Will be watching closely. Thanks for your advice

[repeater]

Once again..  back to the Spitfire.  This sounds like deja vu..

 

Engine is mostly done.  Still some finishing touches. 

 

Cockpit work is now mostly complete.   This is the kit cockpit with

- Barracuda seat

- Barracuda cockpit upgrade  (control stick, throttle and retract quadrant, stencils, oxygen hose (not shown in these pics)

- HGW harness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for watching!   All comments welcome.  

[rkranias]

looking good...

[Paulster]

Really liking those HGW harness'. Got a set for when I do my IAF Mk. IX.

[repeater]

Really liking those HGW harness'. Got a set for when I do my IAF Mk. IX.

They're great Paul - labour intensive but worth it.

[RalphSarc]

Love the seats and seat belts!

[repeater]

Love the seats and seat belts!

 

Thanks Ralph!

 

 

I've finished the cockpit now.  Still plenty more that could be done.. more wiring, weathering, etc.   I'll save that for next time. 

 

Cockpit was painted with Tamiya, Vallejo, Gunze.   FYI the seat was painted Gunze  H-47 Red-Brown .   

 

Weathering was fairly simple - gloss coat, followed by an  oil wash and flat coat.     (Same approach for the HGW belts). 

 

Getting ready to button up the fuselage halves! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[repeater]

Fuselage halves together...   wings dryfitted.. it's taken a while to get to this point!

 

It's been a hugely enjoyable build so far.. 

 

Engine still needs a few touch ups.  You might remember I had the Eduard PE set for ignition wiring, fuel lines, etc - but I wasn't happy with the result and I didn't use much in the end.. however I did add a little wiring myself.. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All comments, criticism and feedback is welcome! 

 

Cheers.. Tim. 

 

 

[Paulster]

Question Tim. Was the seat made of bakelite? The color would indicate that.

[repeater]

Question Tim. Was the seat made of bakelite? The color would indicate that.

Yep Paul. It was a plastic seat made from phenolic resin and usually left unpainted.

 

Spitfires were fitted with both metal and plastic seats. I haven't seen many metal seats tho...

[repeater]

Wow I can't believe it's 11 months since I started this build!  Only one month remaining for the Pacific War GB.  Time to finish this off.  

 

I'll attach all the cowling and get ready for painting..   (as others have pointed out.. the cowling fit is not spectacular and a bit fiddly.. one of the compromises of having detachable cowls, I suppose_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[repeater]

Painting in progress.    I'll be using Mr. Color  - my favourite - great results and sprays beautifully.   Matching the colours may be an issue - although this scheme starts with the standard  dark green & and ocean gray over medium seagray -   Let's see. 

 

Starting with a rough pre-shade.. 

 

 

 

Followed by Mr Color  C335  Medium Seagray ,  and post-shading with a lightened C335  (mixed with flat white).  

 

It does seem to be a little too dark...   thoughts?  

 

 

 

 

 

All comments, criticism and feedback is welcome. 

 

Cheers, 

Tim