A Gaggle of Spitfires

[user 22148]

I built these three recently for a 90th anniversary of the Spitfire GB I was running on a small UK forum - they're all 1/72 and painted with a brush and water-based acrylics.

Airfix mk.Ia Starter set converted to a RAF/USSR operated PR mk.IV.

Airfix mk.Ia Starter set converted to a Spitfire mk.II LR (Long Range) with the addition of on old '3D-kits' conversion set along with their mk.II conversion set. For a bit of nostalgia I painted it with Humbrol #29 Dark Earth and Humbrol #30 Green. The DE is ok but the green is completely wrong. It probably would pass for the foliage green RAAF Spitfire mk.VIII's were painted in though.

A Tamiya mk.Vb operated by the USAAF.

All three together....

Cheers and thanks for looking in.... And remember....

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Love me some Spits! Awesome!

 

[blakeh1]

Great looking group there!

 

[user 22148]

Love me some Spits! Awesome!

Thanks! I've lost count of the amount of Spitfires I've built over the years - far too many!

Great looking group there!

Thanks!

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Thanks! I've lost count of the amount of Spitfires I've built over the years - far too many!

Yeah, I've got three built with seven more in the stash. With plans to acquire several more kits.

Built quite a few when I was a kid too.

 

[BarleyBop]

Very cool - to see three in different pyjamas; and you've built more, with even more to come? An addiction within an addiction!

 

[Littlemarten]

Very impressive—and I love your display backgrounds!

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Airfix mk.Ia Starter set converted to a RAF/USSR operated PR mk.IV.

I'm curious where you found reference photos on the PR IV? I've got several books on Spits sitting on the shelf but I've never seen photos of the PR IV.

I did recently finally find some photos of the Mk VI that I plan to use as references to convert an Eduard Mk V.

 

[user 22148]

Yeah, I've got three built with seven more in the stash. With plans to acquire several more kits.

Built quite a few when I was a kid too.

They're addictive it's true, and you can never have too many Spitfires LOL! I've built well over thirty now and have at least four more in the stash... I need help!

I truly wish I still had them all, they'd have made a great display together, but I've binned a few over the years to make room for newer builds, and I lost most of my collection when I moved house four years ago.

Very cool - to see three in different pyjamas; and you've built more, with even more to come? An addiction within an addiction!

Thanks! As I said above, I must have built well over 30 Spitfires now - it probably is an addiction, which is strange as it's not even my favourite aircraft. I guess one of the interesting things about them is that there were so many different types, and types of marking, that no two builds need be the same.

Very impressive—and I love your display backgrounds!

Thanks - I appreciate it. The backgrounds I picked them up from a company here in the UK called Coastal kits.

I'm curious where you found reference photos on the PR IV? I've got several books on Spits sitting on the shelf but I've never seen photos of the PR IV.

I did recently finally find some photos of the Mk VI that I plan to use as references to convert an Eduard Mk V.

It was a mix of just trawling the internet and using the reference books I have at home - early PR Spitfires are a PITA to sort out.

Here's some text from my GB thread where I built it - see below (I'll PM you the link to the GB thread if you'd like). The books I used where...

So I've been doing a bit of research on early PR Spitfires, and the Soviet PR Spitfires, and it would appear that I have my PR.IC mixed up with my PR.ID. The Soviets operated a PR mk.IV which for some reason I assumed was the type with the chin radiator and the under wing camera pod and fuel tank, but it's not - that's the PR.IC. The PR mk.IV was in fact the PR.ID.

(From Wikipedia)

''The Mk I PR Type D (also called the Extra Super Long Range Spitfire) was the first PR variant that was not a conversion of existing fighter airframes. The Type D carried so much fuel that it was nicknamed "the bowser". The D-shaped wing leading edges, ahead of the main spar, proved to be an ideal location for an integral tank. Accordingly, in early 1940, work started on converting the leading edges, from rib four to rib 21, by sealing off the spar, outer ribs and all skin joins allowing 57 gal (259 L) of fuel to be carried in each wing. Because the work was of low priority and with the urgent need for fighters the first two, hand-built prototypes of the PR Type Ds were not available until October. These prototypes also had a 29 gal (132 L) tank in the rear fuselage. An additional 14 gal (63 L) oil tank was fitted in the port wing. The cameras, two vertically mounted F24s with 8 inch (20.3 cm) or 20 inch (50.8 cm) lens or two vertically mounted F8s with 20-inch (510 mm) lens, were located in the rear fuselage. With the full fuel load the center of gravity was so far back the aircraft was difficult to fly until the rear fuselage tank had been emptied. Despite these difficulties the type quickly proved its worth, photographing such long distance targets as Stettin, Marseille, Trondheim and Toulon.

Once the first two Type Ds, P9551 and P9552[58] had proven the concept the production aircraft, which were soon renamed PR Mk IV, were modified to increase the leading edge tank capacity to 66.5 gal (302 L) and by omitting the rear fuselage tank. These aircraft were better balanced and had the more powerful Merlin 45 engine as used by the Mk V, along with heated cabins, which were a great comfort to pilots on such long flights. A total of 229 Type Ds were built.''

So no chin oil tank - no under wing pods. This is actually going to be an easier conversion than I thought.

Some photos of the Ruskie Spitfire

 

[Jakko]

you can never have too many Spitfires

May I suggest you have the wrong avatar?

 

[VegasAWACER13]

It was a mix of just trawling the internet and using the reference books I have at home - early PR Spitfires are a PITA to sort out.

Here's some text from my GB thread where I built it - see below (I'll PM you the link to the GB thread if you'd like).

Thanks for info! I would be interested in the GB thread. You just can't have too many Spits! I've found it can be a challenge finding detailed info on the more obscure marks.

 

[user 22148]

Thanks for info! I would be interested in the GB thread. You just can't have too many Spits! I've found it can be a challenge finding detailed info on the more obscure marks.

No worries - pm sent.

They can be a pain, but that book Spitfires Revisited is well worth a look - it has a huge amount of info, including some tables.