1:24 Airfix Spitfire Mk. IXc..or is it E?- June 5th 1944

[Craigyboy]

😁🍻

[Craigyboy]

Phew it's been a busy couple of weeks. I had my eyes lasered on the 4th then went away the following Sunday for a week, hence no posting. I had done some bits pre laser but not enough to post.

So, first I set about getting the empannage sorted. The elevators and rudder are actually fabric stretched over the ribs and they're reinforced with extra fabric all the way along the rib as you can see here:

 

The ribs on the kit elevators aren't pronounced enough to cover them but I thought I'd have a try with the rudder. Various materials later, I opted for Tamiya masking tape which I fitted then sprayed the whole lot Ocean Grey, then lightened along the ribs and very lightly shaded around that:

I don't like it. I still don't think the ribs are raised enough to be able to do this so I think it'll be getting removed and the ribs themselves lightened up

 

Onto finishing the engine. The last things to do are to make up the carburettor intake, and fit the frames that the panels fasten to.

 

First, before anything else, I want to say a huge thank you to Nic and the guys at the Duke Hawkins company who contacted me and asked if I'd like a copy of their Spitfire Mk. IX edition. The photos in there are fantastic, particularly around the engine and I don't think I could have got the engine finished to my liking without it. So THANKS ALL 

The intake was straightforward except I thinned out the opening being a clever dick and after 20 minutes work found I'd opened out the wrong end, the end which attaches to the carb and can't be seen

Otherwise, it just needs the flap at the front and a rod assembly running back to the firewall and into the cockpit so the pilot can choose filtered or un filtered air.

The frames for the covers scared me. Whenever I see that thin a plastic on a sprue, I always think that when I clip it and release the tension, something will snap. Thankfully nothing did. Again the holes aren't drilled so that needs doing, then I primed them, sprayed aluminium, followed by Vallejo chipping medium then finally a coat of interior green.

Scrubbing with a toothbrush and picking with a toothpick, I got the desired degree of wear on both sides. Now the tricky bit. The real aircraft has what looks like thin strips of hessian running all over the frames, presumably anti static???

 

I improvised with very thin strips of masking tape painted brown then the whole lot varniched to keep the strips in place

 

When it came to fitting they were a bit of a nightmare. There are two pins on the back of each frame where the exhaust stubs are going to go which locate into two holes on the cylinder block of the engine. Pins too big and holes too small. Files and knives in evidence

 

Once they fit, glue those first as it firms up the whole assembly then glue in the front and back. Obviously dry fit first to check all is well.

I just needed to link up the wires from the generator to the suppressor and through to the firewall and By God I think it's done. Except for the exhaust stubs of course. Come on Hannants, get your finger out.

 

As ever thanks for looking and tonight, on this special night, remember that 80 years ago in around 80 minutes from now, nineteen Lancasters set off on one of the most daring missions of the war. As we speak, a good friend is flying around all the WWII bomber bases in Lincolnshire in one of the only two Lancasters still flying to commemorate the men and the mission. THE LUCKY SOD!!

[harv]

Wow....harv 

[Martinnfb]

Lovely engine Craig. 

[Irishman1]

10 hours ago, Craigyboy said:

Phew it's been a busy couple of weeks. I had my eyes lasered on the 4th then went away the following Sunday for a week, hence no posting. I had done some bits pre laser but not enough to post.

So, first I set about getting the empannage sorted. The elevators and rudder are actually fabric stretched over the ribs and they're reinforced with extra fabric all the way along the rib as you can see here:

 

The ribs on the kit elevators aren't pronounced enough to cover them but I thought I'd have a try with the rudder. Various materials later, I opted for Tamiya masking tape which I fitted then sprayed the whole lot Ocean Grey, then lightened along the ribs and very lightly shaded around that:

I don't like it. I still don't think the ribs are raised enough to be able to do this so I think it'll be getting removed and the ribs themselves lightened up

 

Onto finishing the engine. The last things to do are to make up the carburettor intake, and fit the frames that the panels fasten to.

 

First, before anything else, I want to say a huge thank you to Nic and the guys at the Duke Hawkins company who contacted me and asked if I'd like a copy of their Spitfire Mk. IX edition. The photos in there are fantastic, particularly around the engine and I don't think I could have got the engine finished to my liking without it. So THANKS ALL 

The intake was straightforward except I thinned out the opening being a clever dick and after 20 minutes work found I'd opened out the wrong end, the end which attaches to the carb and can't be seen

Otherwise, it just needs the flap at the front and a rod assembly running back to the firewall and into the cockpit so the pilot can choose filtered or un filtered air.

The frames for the covers scared me. Whenever I see that thin a plastic on a sprue, I always think that when I clip it and release the tension, something will snap. Thankfully nothing did. Again the holes aren't drilled so that needs doing, then I primed them, sprayed aluminium, followed by Vallejo chipping medium then finally a coat of interior green.

Scrubbing with a toothbrush and picking with a toothpick, I got the desired degree of wear on both sides. Now the tricky bit. The real aircraft has what looks like thin strips of hessian running all over the frames, presumably anti static???

 

I improvised with very thin strips of masking tape painted brown then the whole lot varniched to keep the strips in place

 

When it came to fitting they were a bit of a nightmare. There are two pins on the back of each frame where the exhaust stubs are going to go which locate into two holes on the cylinder block of the engine. Pins too big and holes too small. Files and knives in evidence

 

Once they fit, glue those first as it firms up the whole assembly then glue in the front and back. Obviously dry fit first to check all is well.

I just needed to link up the wires from the generator to the suppressor and through to the firewall and By God I think it's done. Except for the exhaust stubs of course. Come on Hannants, get your finger out.

 

As ever thanks for looking and tonight, on this special night, remember that 80 years ago in around 80 minutes from now, nineteen Lancasters set off on one of the most daring missions of the war. As we speak, a good friend is flying around all the WWII bomber bases in Lincolnshire in one of the only two Lancasters still flying to commemorate the men and the mission. THE LUCKY SOD!!

I forgot to drill my frames holes out until after it was installed!!! I used a piece of wood to support the frame as I drilled. It didn’t break!!!!

[Irishman1]

On 4/17/2023 at 7:35 AM, Craigyboy said:

I think I've sepent more time than ever scouring books and the tintiweb over the last week trying to get a definitive set of pipework for this flipping engine. There's quite a lot for the Mk.V but that didn't have a Merlin 60 something in it so there's an intercooler and other stuff that means the firewall arrangement is different, even if the general circuit diagrams for oil, pneumatics etc. are basically the same

Airfix don't do the low pressure oil system or the hydraulic system driven by the hydraulic pump. Lots of that sits on the front of the firewall which means I needed diagrams. The pneumatics, on the other hand, are all behind the firewall and were dealt with earlier. All I need there is a line from the compressor to the firewall.

Anyway, I managed to find enough stuff to give me a pretty good idea of circuits and lines as well as a lot of good shots from MK356 herself, courtesey of a friend at BBMF (Thanks Rick). 

The front of the firewall with the hydraulic lines went together quite easily

Just need the two lines from the pump which run to the two filters.

After that it was just loads of fiddly pipes running from the constant speed unit, the vacuum pump(brass wire), thermometers for oil and water, airscrew control cable, boost cutout, boost control,(various sheathed wire) air compressor(braided cord), oil tank vent pipe and generator main electrical line(braided cord again) and finally, engine speed connector (D string wrapped guitar string) so all knocked off in a couple of hours or 15.

I'm just going to post the pictures of the finished engine and hopefully all will become apparent as what I really need now is a lie down and a stiff measure of Lagavulin 18 year old

Thanks for looking

 

Simply wonderful craftsmanship right there!

[Craigyboy]

1 hour ago, Irishman1 said:

Simply wonderful craftsmanship right there!

Thank you. Same with yours. Looks great

[Craigyboy]

It's been a while and I've been doing a few bits between holidays ( I really need to stop letting her book so many). 
First up, while we were away, my resin exhaust ports from Eduard arrived. Beautifully  tooled, they're a huge improvement on the kit part (that wouldn't be hard TBH)

 

There are many and varied pics of the exhaust stacks on a Mk.IX, some have a brassy hue, others a more steely look. I painted them up to have a steely look. 

 

 

What does stand out in most of the pics of the real thing is that the stack nearest the prop is quite "clean" whereas the ones behind seem to have sooty openings.
So after a prime with Mr Surfacer 1500 black. I sprayed with Vallejo Metal Colour "Exhaust Manifold". After that, I went in with my recently aquired Mig Jiminez Oilbrusher set "Bare Metal Colours". I finished of with a fine patina of tamiya clear blue and brushed some black around those exhaust openings that needed it.

 

The fit is a bit tight and I had to shave a bit off to get a neat fit but they definitely beat the kit bits.

 

Next I had to make good this mad decision to turn it into a Mk.IXe not Mk.IXc.
I'd attended to the upper and lower gun covers earlier now it's time for the gun openings in the wings. In essence it's not too difficult a job. The C wing has the Hispano on the inside then a blanked off bay outside that where another Hispano would go in a B wing.

 

 

So on the model, you can lop off the end of the "spare" cannon bay to put the Hispano in. DON'T throw away the rounded stub end for reasons we'll see in a bit.

 

The cannon fairings on the C wing are too long for an E wing since, on the E wing, the cannon sits further forward hence the fairing is shorter. The fairing is also the wrong shape on a C wing, it's long and tapers evenly from back to tip. On the E wing it begins its taper part way along the fairing. Airfix come to the rescue here with this sprue of spare parts that don't seem to fit anywhere but which are obviously for a future E wing. Monforton gives sizes for the fairing lengths so it's an easy matter to cut them to size and fit them. The little muzzle type fitting at the front of the fairing is blanked off and not very good so I replaced it with a length of very thin tube and "voila" your outboard hispano is done!

 

 

The 0.5 Browning is next. The E wing arrangement looks like this:

 

 

Remember that little nubbin I said not to throw away? Lop the end off and ream it out on a taper and you have the stubby fairing for the Browning. Glue everything up and it's done. The ordnance will come later.

 

 

 

So, onto the main body of the planeMasking up with white tack under the masks to give a soft edge, I adopted my take on black basing. I start with light primer not black followed by a very dilute coat of the base colour to just cover the primer. Then I go in with shades of the base colour to begin some tonality.

 

 

All looks a bit anaemic here

Then a blend coat with a dilute base colour to cover the tonal coat. I use MRP paints which are totally wonderful and also quite dilute to begin with so I dilute them 50:50 with Mr Levelling Thinners then go slowly, stop short of whqat you think is right and walk away for a bit then come back and do more if you feel it needs it.

 

Once it's all done it gives some texture hopefully

 

After the camo is finished, I used guitar string to add the push/pull rods for the trim tabs and the rudder actuator.

 

Finally for today, I started on the upper wing roundels. I'm using Sven from 1ManArmy's brill kit for the 1:24 Spit. Place the masks the, because I've learned from bitter experience, I always spray a thin white base before the roundel colour. I spray in a mottled pattern

 

 

because then, when I spray the base coat, I can automatically get any sun bleaching/fading effect I want simply by varying the amount of top coat I spray on. As MK356 only rolled off the production line in March 1944 and my intention is to portray her on June 4th 1944, I don't want too much fading. I hope this is about right.

 

 

That's it for now, I have to get the rest of the markings on, and then the tiny stencils Sven produces for the oil and hydraulic covers etc. and then I'll start to look at the invasion stripes.

Thanks for looking

[KevinM]

Craig looking wonderful there and I myself find quite a few instances were guitar strings come in handy rigging being one they stay straight until you kink it.

[Craigyboy]

Just now, KevinM said:

Craig looking wonderful there and I myself find quite a few instances were guitar strings come in handy rigging being one they stay straight until you kink it.

Exactly Kevin. Thank the Lord the father in law had been a pro guitarist for 60 years so I have an inexhaustible supply 🤣

[Craigyboy]

Just now, Craigyboy said:

Exactly Kevin. Thank the Lord the father in law had been a pro guitarist for 60 years so I have an inexhaustible supply 🤣

*HAS been a pro guitarist* not had...he'd never forgive me. Still in a band at 71

[Craigyboy]

Just a short little post to say I've just finished my first ever session using the mask and stencil sets from Sven at 1ManArmy and I've got to say that IMHO they're a game changer as far as fine detail goes. 

 

So, for all the stuff such as roundels and squadron markings etc. , I've used masks for years. In my opinion, if you're working in any bigger scale than 1:72 then decals just don't cut it, however good they are. At 1:24 they're big, difficult to get the air from under and prone to rip, especially thin ones like walkway marking lines.

Have a look here comparing a sprayed on upper wing roundel and the kit decal which has been micro sol and setted to death BTW. The mask roundel wasn't heavily sprayed. I was testing a few effects so it looks a little washed out but it shows how the detail is retained

 

 

The 1Man Army set for the Spitfire comes with all the roundels and squadron markings for any of the five variations on the Airfix decal sheet and very good they are. But the tiny stencils that that have things like "BATTERY" and "ELECTRICAL" and are designed to sit on hatches etc. are something else. the WT square here is around 3mm across.

You can airbrush them in a graded style to represent fading and wear, something you can't do with kit decals and to my eye, they give the kit even more of an aircraft and less of a model/ toy look. See what you think. These have just been done so no weathering or otherwise added yet.

 

So, I think they're fantastic. Thanks Sven. Available at Hannants in the UK and just superb.

BTW, just to be clear, these aren't a freebie. I bought a set and I love em LOL

[KevinM]

They look excellent Craig and as you said very realistic.Rob used some on his 1/32 Corsair and look very good also.

[Craigyboy]

40 minutes ago, KevinM said:

They look excellent Craig and as you said very realistic.Rob used some on his 1/32 Corsair and look very good also.

Wish I could have had them for the 1:32 Lanc 

[Bomber_County]

18 hours ago, Craigyboy said:

Wish I could have had them for the 1:32 Lanc 

Craig, stunning build, congrats. Your engine is gorgeous…..

[Craigyboy]

2 minutes ago, Bomber_County said:

Craig, stunning build, congrats. Your engine is gorgeous…..

Thanks. Most kind🙏

[Craigyboy]

Right we're coming to the factory finished, ready to roll off the production line Spitfire, all ready to dirty up a bit after.

I have yet another MK356 problem. There's no stencils or decals for an MK356. I tried doing my own using a kitbash of the stencils from Sven for ML214 and my own non existent art skills and it didn't look good. 

 

As you know my trials and tribulations with Maketar didn't end well so I was even rethinking going with ML214 and saying this was MK356 when she was painted up as ML214 a few years ago but I didn't fancy that idea. Bit of a wimp out IMHO
Hat's off to Sven at 1manArmy yet again, I asked if he knew anyone who produced one offs and he's very very kindly done an MK356 stencil for me. I'm not biased but support this guy. We need his like in modelling. He truly is what it says on the tin...a 1 Man Army and his stuff is exquisite. Nigel's Modelling Bench has reviewed many of his products and Nige feels the same way as I do about them.

 

Moving on, I also realised I'd totally forgotten to paint the sky band around the fuselage. I've seen archive shots of 243 squadron planes with and without but the "withouts" tend to be post war so I've painted it in. It meant I had to redo the tiny stencil but luckily you get spares in the kit.

 

Time to address another itch I've been avoiding scratching, the E wing undersides. The new gun arrangement means I need to:

a) Move the breech blister for the cannon over the other side of the bay
b) make a new shell ejector port in the wing
c) remove the old breech cover blister

Removing the old breech blister is a cinch, Making a new one isn't. It's longer and wider than the original so I've tried making various resin molds around other parts but nothing looks right. Aerocraft have just produced an E wing mod set for the Airfix Spit  See Here and it's lovely but the only bit I'd need would be the breech blister. The Yorkshireman is musing. Do I pull off all the stuff I've done and use the exquisite stuff Ali has made or go with what I've done up to now and use a mould I took of the smaller blisters to fudge up the bottom?? Hmmm.

 

On the topside of the wings, it's a simple task to drill the ends of the kit Hispanos and insert a bit of brass tube for the barrel. It needs this as it sits further back on the E wing than on the C. 

 

 

 

 

Airfix very kindly sent me two 1:24 0.5" Brownings from the Hellcat kit that fit nicely into the bay. I've got a band of 0.5" ammo from Mig Himinez to complete the look.

 

 

Thats about it for now. Next time I'm hoping I've got the serial number painted and the underwing complete than it's a seal and weathering

 

As ever thanks for taking the time to look.

[KevinM]

Craig late to the Show but this is looking Good!!

[Craigyboy]

4 hours ago, KevinM said:

Craig late to the Show but this is looking Good!!

Thanks Kev. Never too late🤪

[Craigyboy]

Last push with the Spitfire now while also finally finishing the base for the Lancaster (and the women tell us men we can't multi taks LOL)
So, with the E wing conversion, I decided the take the plunge and buy the conversion set. It means I've the correct upper cannon covers and the blisters below. I've not used the old .303 lower gun covers as I've painted all that end and they sit right on the roundels. The guns have a centre mg muzzle and some rivet work around the cannon shroud. Neatens it off nicely 

The last one is the real AC of course, just for comparison

 

I've made up the canopy handle from the Airscale kit (thanks Peter, saved me a job) but my God, even with the new eyes, threading a bit of fishing cord through and gluing it was a nightmare.

 

Airfix have thoughtfully moulded the canopy shattering device so that just needs highlighting

The stencils from Sven at 1ManArmy have arrived and have been duly painted on. Better than my fudged effort, all thanks go to him for helping me out.

 

 

So, that's almost everything on the wings and fuselage done, last thing is to fit the engine. It feels really weird because the engine is usually on much sooner than this but, I have to admit, it's been much easier to work with the fuselage without any worry about the engine. It fitted in with no bother at all, as has the rest of the kit really, superb. 

And the real thing

The finishing and fitting of the side door comes next. The hinge assembly isn't moulded on the part so it looks a bit like its hanging in space. I filed three grooves to scale and slipped three slivers of number 4 guitar string in there to make it look a bit better. Crowbar and scale map of the English Channel and it's done.

The prop's been weathered and fitted and the spinner the same although it'll only be sitting on the grass along with the other panels around the engine which will be off.
Weathering wise, I've been quite light for me. Undersides just the residue of the pinwash plus a bit but lots of long oil streaks down the fuselage as seems to be the norm on all Spitfires. Also the cover for the oil tank and air inlet has been oiled up where it meets the spinner.

Topsides, some light panel shading with my (Chis Wauchop's) red brown mix and some general grime. Lots of chipping with a prismacolour silver pencil in tiny dots. The wing roots were done with chipping effects solution and then muddied (see below) with mud pigment.
I've added some rain mark effects on the fuselage and wet effects to the rear of the engine compartment as these always seem to be oiled up on reference pics

Next, the armament for the 0.5" Brownings. The roll of ammo I bought is great but VERY brittle. Brass with a black band was a doddle to paint then fit it across the wing witha length trailing out as if being re loaded. I fashioned a chute to the gun which runs under the Hispano as well.

The undercarriage is a VERY tight fit. If I build another, I'll ease the holes for the struts out a little before I finish building the wing. A few squeaky bum moments as I pushed it in. I fitted the brake hoses into the axle and ran the other ends into the fuselage. The wheel covers were weathered with dark earth pigment and then the bottoms muddied with mud pigment in little heaps and fixed with pigment fixer. The days leading up to D-Day were plagued with poor weather so I think a little mud is appropriate. I put a bit up into the wheel wells as well. same with the rear wheel which is also a tight push fit.

The gun camera isn't provided with the kit as the covers would conceal it. With the panels off though it needs to be shown really. The actual one looks like this so I used the body of a .303" MG and added a couple of red decals and some cord for the connection back into the cockpit and glued it in place.

Fitted the pitot head and the VHF ariel and fitted the radio hatch cover open which, if you remember that far back, I stupidly cut out very early on. I like it though

So basically, the aircraft is finished. Just the diorama to sort and it's labelled finished. That'll be the next and last post before it all moves to RFI.

Thanks for looking 

[KevinM]

Nice Craig!

[GusMac]

Absolutely stunning Craig, all the effort has really paid off.

[HubertB]

Fantastic 👍 !

Hubert

[Craigyboy]

25 minutes ago, GusMac said:

Absolutely stunning Craig, all the effort has really paid off.

Thank you. I really appreciate it

[Craigyboy]

24 minutes ago, HubertB said:

Fantastic 👍 !

Hubert

Thanks Hubert