1/32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk XVIe No. 485 (NZ) Squadron RAF, OU-V, Fassberg Germany, 1945

[kahunaminor]

Well time to belly up to the bar. I will attempt to stand in such esteemed company as I see gathered here already and offer my 1/32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk XVIe to the modelling Gods. In honour of our 100th Anniversary of the Gallipoli Landings and the birth of the ANZAC legend in 1915, it will be finished in the scheme of 485 Squadron (NZ) RAF, based at Fassberg in Germany in 1945. Coincidentally, my construction of said aircraft will be guided by the build of Dave Johnson, whose build appears in the September 2011 (issue 005) of MIM and has been an addition to the latest iteration of Tamiya's "How to Build.." series on the 1/32 Tamiya Spitfire.

Enough waffle on with the obligatory pre build layout:





Some marking options and accessories (I have also ordered a set of Miracle Masks from Mal as he originally did a set for Dave's build):



The aftermarket emporium (I should have bought shares in Barracudacast), Master E wing barrels, RB harness and intakes and some MDC oxygen hose:



The reference library (short version):



Now to actually hit the books and articles to see what the fun is about and maybe put blade to plastic sometime over the next few days.

Thanks for having me and good luck to all who sail in this GB.

Regards,

[rieser]

And don't forget to put the vodka in the freezer...

[Dave J]

Good Luck! I will be watching this one Kent!

 

Be interesting to see if you end up going with the brass barrels! I dropped them in the end.. was to much work to get them to fit nicely!

[kahunaminor]

Thanks guys,

I will keep that in mind Dave.

 

Regards,

[repeater]

Good aftermarket selection there!

 

I'm watching with interest.

[JeroenPeters]

Good choice!!!

Godspeed with this

[Dave J]

Indeed Jeroen!

 

[kahunaminor]

Well I'm off to a cracking start...

Drilled the holes in the seat frame, cut the fuselage halves from their sprues and attached the canopy retraction handle so I could say I have glued something! I also punched out some discs to fill in the mould ejection pin marks that will be visible. I have also marked out the kit area to be removed so I can install the resin starboard wall:

 

 

Time for a breather!

 

Regards,

[kahunaminor]

I have spent most of the past 48 hours pouring over references and the www for information on the Mk XVI. I did manage to actually do some work on the build. I also decided to start by putting the sidewalls to the fuselage. The kit part was ground down on the starboard side and the kit sidewall cut off the accomodate the Barracudacast piece:

 

 

The port side was simply attached:

 

 

I hope t add more to the sidewalls tonight before laying down some paint tomorrow.

 

Regards,

[rkranias]

love the discs to cover ejection marks. 

[kahunaminor]

Thanks guys,

I use discs as instinct from putty or Mr Surfacer as I generally get a better result. Note cause it is a better option but rather because I just seem to suck at using Mr Surfacer!

 

Regards,

[kahunaminor]

No build time today nut the post did bring the Miracle Masks! Thanks Mal!

 

Regards,

[kahunaminor]

A little progress today...

 

All the lightening holes have been deepened just a tad with a .80 drill bit. I have attached the MLG control to the starboard sidewall after deepening the holes to accept the wiring which will come later:

 

 

I then went over the to port sidewall which doesn't have a resin insert and added some wiring and a few of the pieces such as the radio and relocated voltage regulator:

 

 

I have started on the cockpit assembly, gluing the lower seat assembly to the support and the PE armour plate:

 

 

 

The front firewall and lower instrument panel, rudder pedals and assembly have been joined:

 

 

Thanks for checking in and regards,

[kahunaminor]

Slowly moving forward. Finished adding the wiring from .3 and .4 lead wire. I added some more to the starboard sidewall. I had to cannibalise my Mk VIII kit for one of the two switches just aft of the morse key. Moved the morse key forward a bit and added the fuse box just above. Gunsight selector added and all wired up. There are a couple of more wires from the fuse box to the gunsight to be added later.



Added the voltage regulator and wires plus wired the fuse panel on the port sidewall:



Then shot MM RAF Interior Green:









Also coloured the large armour plate, control column and door interior as well as some other bits.

Thanks for looking,

[Wingco57]

Kent,

Nice solid modelling.

Cees

[RalphSarc]

Looking fantastic!!

[kahunaminor]

Thanks Ralph, it is a lot easier than the Boomerang (touch wood).

Worked on the seat assembly. I have a reference with an unrestored Mk XVI that shows the flare rack so in it goes:

 

 

 

I hollowed out the flare rack holes to make them a little more realistic. The seat was painted MM Rust. The back pad will be either black or leather (I haven't decided yet). I have some small touch ups to do on the mounting points then the work on the harness before weathering.

 

Regards,

[rieser]

Great progress.  Noted your info about the seat colour on the other thread - appreciate the input.  I've read elsewhere of seats being painted IG and black - can't offer any definitive evidence though.  Love that armour plate!!

[kahunaminor]

Thanks Ralph,

I hope to do as well as your effort for weathering in the office. You tell me there is an IG seat, who am I to doubt? All good here!

 

Regards,

[Wingco57]

Interior green seats were metal and generally superseded starting may 1940. Have never seen black seats, but that doesn't mean there weren't any.

Cheers

Cees

[kahunaminor]

Back again,

Made a decision and painted the seat back MM leather. I will weather it with oils to try and get a more worn look then a wash to bring out the details:

 

 

I addes some highlights with a Faber Castell water colour pencil (cool grey III) toi areas of the sidewalls that were Interior Green and the same (cold grey III) to the black areas. A lot of the cables were shielded so they got a touch of silver and grey. Brass fittings for the oxygen control:

 

 

Same for the port side. The throttle is WEM colour coats Sky Grey:

 

 

Same for the lower IP and firewalls.Picked out some instruments and a few highlights. I also added the compass mount before I forgot!:

 

 

 

A little test run to see how it will fit together:

 

 

Finally the compass in Sky Grey and MM Aircraft Interior Black (which I have used throughout):

 

 

It all looks a bit stark at the moment but after a gloss coat, stencils, oil wash and dullcote it will all hopefully blend in nicely. 

 

Regards and thanks for looking,

[kahunaminor]

Just a quick update. Now I don't know about you lot but one of my pet peeves with PE belts is the dreaded "floating belt syndrome". No matter how much adhesive you apply it will not stick or there is a puddle of CA left in the seat. These are not a new product, RB productions have been around a while but they have now been reproduced by others such as Eduard and HGW. The set I have used is the RB Productions "Sutton QS/QL/QP" set P32024.

 

My research tells me the Spitfire Mk XVI (and others of that ilk i.e. RAF bubbletops) did not have a "Sutton" harness as such but an interim beast known as the QL harness. The lap straps were moved to the rear edges of the seat to go over the pilots hips and the shoulder harness did not "all" go over the roll bar and down below the seat as Tamiya has set out, but were attached directly to the support plate behind the pilot's head by use of a simple attachment, as seen below. It was all secured by a parachute type buckle, the precursor to the later bulkier buckle on the later harnesses. I get that information from a reputable source, Mr Edgar Brooks, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for his assistance. Here is one of a number of photos he has been kind enough to share:

 

 

Armed with such information and my RB Productions harness, I have produced this:

 

 

 

 

About 2 hours work to actually assemble the belts using needle nosed tweezers, the instructions, good light and Gator's Grip PVA glue. The first is a bit daunting but you get the hang of it. CA to the lower belt side buckles and let them set on each side of the seat. Then gently tease the belts into shape. I found it easier to dampen them with water and lay them out then a drop of GG to secure. I looked at scratching the upper harness securing points but it was never going to be seen so a touch of GG to the end and inserted into the slot in the armour. Allow to set then the same teasing technique with water to get a natural drape.

 

Regards and thanks for looking,

[rieser]

"Keep-a-dancin-Maria!"  as Con the Fruiterer used to say!!

[kahunaminor]

Progress in the cockpit, gloss coated, oil wash, decals from Barracuda and placards from Airscale . The fuel tanks got a coat of AS-12 Bare Metal direct from the spray can and a wash as well. It came out looking quite nice which is a pity because once the fuselage is closed up it will never be seen!

 

 

 

I think I will give the harnesses some attention as they look a bit insipid, I need them a tad darker so maybe another light brown wash. Also need to add some cabling from that hole in the IP bulkhead.

 

The sidewalls look a little busier:

 

 

 

And the main IP has had some attention:

 

 

Regards,

[kahunaminor]

Well the cockpit is in! I must admit a little trepidation as I worked the cockpit components and firewalls I had joined to the "floor" towards the starboard fuselage. I had dry fitted and dry fitted but this was to be the actual install and the place where invariably the gremlins strike! I had shot a coat of Dullcote the previous evening and I was satisfied it was well cured. I added the remainder of the IP decals and fiddled with them. They are very thick and for a moment would not settle but a liberal coat of Micro-Sol saw them set well and in position! A little bit of fenagling and the application of some Tamiya tap to hold them tight against the fuselage and it was out with the cement. A combination of Tamiya Extra Thin and Zap thin to the resin/plastic mating surfaces combined with good engineering and the component was in and seated in position:

 

 

I had pre painted (tan) and attached an oxygen line from MDC's range (0.8) at a point under the No.11 frame and CA to the front of the seat right hand corner. I added a piece of 0.75 plastic rod and painted in brass for the connector. It was then CA to its position a little at a time:

 

 

 

The IP was secured in place followed by the blind flying panel and the wiring from the Gyro II gunsight to the distributor box installed:

 

 

 

 

The port side had a few touch ups, the red cable for the throttle was added and som general tidy up:

 

 

Then it was time to install the control column. I had previously removed the guide pins during assembly and it was merely a matter of positioning it and applying a medium amount of downward pressure to have it seat snuggly enough to not require adhesive:

 

 

 

 

I have test fitted the fuselage halves and they fit like a dream. Truly amazing engineering from Tamiya. I still have a couple of house cleaning duties and touch ups and the fuselage halves should be joined later today (note to self do not forget the sliding part!). The gunsight will get two 1.5mm little cars lenses for the top, construction completed and then the front canopy will be painted and attached, hopefully protecting the lot from my fumble fingers!

 

And all buttoned up. Small incident with the gunsight but that can be attached again:

 

 

 

Regards,