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Tamiya Spitfire Mk IX Kicked Up A Notch: Last Post


chuck540z3

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If we're talking late 1944 period, I would think the cannon blisters would be the narrow type.  Spotted the Barracuda wide cannon blisters in the aftermarket stash, and I believe they would have been superseded on the assembly line by then.  If the aircraft you are modelling is in your signature, then MJ5XX would have been built during or after November 1943.  The Tamiya exhaust stubs are a bit plain, so I would recommend the Quickboost Spitfire VIII exhausts (same as for the Mk IX).

 

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/QB32143

 

Other than that, I'm looking forward to the show and it might help me get my own large scale Spit off the shelf of doom.

 

Jens

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If we're talking late 1944 period, I would think the cannon blisters would be the narrow type.  Spotted the Barracuda wide cannon blisters in the aftermarket stash, and I believe they would have been superseded on the assembly line by then.  If the aircraft you are modelling is in your signature, then MJ5XX would have been built during or after November 1943.  The Tamiya exhaust stubs are a bit plain, so I would recommend the Quickboost Spitfire VIII exhausts (same as for the Mk IX).

 

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/QB32143

 

Other than that, I'm looking forward to the show and it might help me get my own large scale Spit off the shelf of doom.

 

Jens

 

 

Thanks for that.  Those exhausts look beautiful, so they are on their way!

 

Some of you may have noticed that I changed my sig pic to the generic Tamiya box art.  The reason is that I have not chosen a subject yet and it won't be "YO-B" any more, now that I know that code was flown by Justin's Great Uncle.  That code belongs to him, at least here at LSP!

 

One thing I learned when doing research of the Lancaster and Bomber Command is that the aircraft codes were usually recycled, sometimes many times.  Sadly, this was due to attrition as Lancs were lost in battle, but the codes lived on and were applied on replacement aircraft.  It appears that the very same thing happened with Spitfires, because I have found the same "YO" code letters on Mk V's and Mk IX's with obviously different serial numbers.  I may wind up with a bit of a "what if" as a result, with a code that doesn't match a serial number, which brings up another early thought.  All of my prior builds have painstakingly attempted to replicate a specific aircraft, which has been fun to a point, but sometimes a real pain as I sweated tiny details that almost no one would notice.  Since I don't have a specific aircraft to replicate, yet, I'm not going to worry about historical accuracy as much as I usually do.  If the gun-sight I use isn't accurate for the instrument panel I wind up with, I don't care.  The "Spitfire Snobs" may grimace, but I'll be able to live with it.

 

Right now I'm leaning toward an early Mk IX in order to avoid big black and white invasion stripes, which I generally dislike.  I placed these stripes on my Mustang build and they were a pain- and broke up the lines of the aircraft which I love.  Having said that, I usually change my mind many times within a build, so we'll see what happens down the road!

 

Cheers,

Chuck

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Chuck, YOB doesn't belong to me but I'm very honoured and I appreciate that. Don't sweat the small stuff. In those times, planes were modded all the time, you could almost argue any piece or part you throw onto your airplane model. Specifically on YOB, it's serialed as a LF.IXb, which in turn would signify that it should have maybe had clipped wings, different rudder and possibly a "B" wing. All of which were incorrect when I spoke to the U.K historians. I can honestly tell you, figuring out specifics for a serial number is very exhausting and not very fun. Stick with your plan, you'll much more enjoy the process.

 

Justin

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Chuck, YOB doesn't belong to me but I'm very honoured and I appreciate that. Don't sweat the small stuff. In those times, planes were modded all the time, you could almost argue any piece or part you throw onto your airplane model. Specifically on YOB, it's serialed as a LF.IXb, which in turn would signify that it should have maybe had clipped wings, different rudder and possibly a "B" wing. All of which were incorrect when I spoke to the U.K historians. I can honestly tell you, figuring out specifics for a serial number is very exhausting and not very fun. Stick with your plan, you'll much more enjoy the process.

 

Justin

 

 

Thanks for that feedback Justin, none of which surprises me, because there are a lot of  "experts" out there that can suck the fun out of a Spitfire build with 3rd hand information.  I have witnessed some of them at a model contest pointing at a model and snickering that this was wrong and that was incorrect for the specific Spitfire on display.  I found the very same thing with my Mustang build and the debate on gear bay paint color and puttied wings still rages on.  Who really cares?  If the model is nice and was fun to build, that is the only thing that really matters, at least to me.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

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Yes, Yes, Yes oh boy am I happy to see you take this on Chuck :)

 

I am bereft without my Spit, so I can relive it through yours :popcorn:

 

One thing you absolutely MUST do is buy the Monforton ebook - I think I paid $29 - it is the best money I have ever spent on a project... full stop. It has everything meticulously drawn, and I mean everything, it has every part, nook & cranny photographed - it is a masterpiece of reference

 

I love the personal touch too, you must be invested in a project to really do it justice and I just can't wait to see this one come together

 

lovely - made my day

 

Peter

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Yes, Yes, Yes oh boy am I happy to see you take this on Chuck :)

 

I am bereft without my Spit, so I can relive it through yours :popcorn:

 

One thing you absolutely MUST do is buy the Monforton ebook - I think I paid $29 - it is the best money I have ever spent on a project... full stop. It has everything meticulously drawn, and I mean everything, it has every part, nook & cranny photographed - it is a masterpiece of reference

 

I love the personal touch too, you must be invested in a project to really do it justice and I just can't wait to see this one come together

 

lovely - made my day

 

Peter

 

 

Hi Peter!  Have you come down from Cloud 9 yet?  What a home run- right out of the park- accomplishment at Telford!  We are all very proud of you and happy for this huge accomplishment, although nobody is really surprised, because you deserved every single award.  You are the Usain Bolt of the Telford Olympics!

 

If ever there was a "Hard Act to Follow" with a Spitfire, this is it, although my model will be a totally different animal than yours in just about every way.  I have the Montforton book already, but in digital pdf form, which was a lot cheaper than what I could find in print on this side of the pond. 

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

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Chuck if you are still deciding which one to do, look here:

 
 
scroll down to 27.4.45 to MH.283, perhaps a relative of yours?
 
Jari

 

 

 

Nope!- but pretty cool coincidence anyway.  My father never flew because he was color blind.  That log book is a gold mine.

 

Thanks,

Chuck

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