Aptivaboy

Sorry, no. The PR IG was based upon the Mark I airframe and engine. This is from, "On Target Profile #8," which is citing Alfred Price's, "The Spitfire Story." I also find it odd that they were using Mark I's instead of the newer Mark Vs, but perhaps they needed the Vs to combat the Focke Wulfs, and the Mark Is were available, so...

A proper 1/32nd Hellcat would also be most welcome, and it was flown by the Fleet Air Arm, so there is a British connection. The nice thing about this PR Spitfire model is that it wouldn't take much to convert it to any of other other PR I variants. Depending upon the version you'd mainly need some combination of a new chin oil cooler for a small number of later planes, wings modified for cameras or camera add-ons, a lower spine with two camera portholes, a wing fuel tank blister, and a one piece windscreen. Not every version would require all of those. A lot could be accomplished with resin if the cost for injection molded parts was prohibitive. The PR IG, which was an armed reconnaissance Mk. I might require even fewer fiddly bits as it retained its mostly stock eight gun wings. I'm hoping that this release will lead to a small flood of proper PR versions. Thank you Kotare! Bob

Preorder for two PR Spitfires is in! I have the AIMS and Alley Cat PR goodies for the later marks and I'm really happy to see an earlier PR bird getting made! I would second Tim's idea of early Lightnings. There are also a number of Warhawks that are rare in 1/32nd, like both long and short tail Ks and the Merlin-engined variants, and the wonderful Typhoon. Given Kotare's concentration with European models, the Typhoon might be a nice place to start.

Dennis, that is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing her! I have the wings glued up and rubber banded. I'll clean up the leading and trailing edges today and then attach the wings to the fuselage and start working on masking the canopy parts. I'll likely get back to the Mark IXc in a day or two, as well.

Many thanks, John! I'll go with Sky both for the band and the undersides, then. Its so odd how the box art has a VERY light grey instead of the understated colors that the Fleet Air Arm used. The fuselage is all sealed up, the gear and bay doors are painted, and I'll do the wings tomorrow. Then, I'll go back to the IXc that I'm also working on. Bob

PS. could someone check me on the colors? The undersides should be Sky, as per the Fleet Air Arm painting practices. However, should the vertical band in front of the tail also be Sky, or some form of white? The instructions give ZERO painting information. Many thanks! Bob

That's actually what I did! For the wheels, at least. I used the top of a Tamiya putty tube and used it as a cutting template. It was nearly the exactly correct size. As soon as the clear coat dries, I'll assemble the wheels and use the handmade masks to mask off the hub area, then hit the rest of the tires with Nato Black.

The cockpit will need to be tweaked a bit in alignment. Am I the only one who hates British cockpits?

Apologies for my messy outdoors modeling area. The Revell Spit Mk. IXc is lurking there, as is a Hurri. I'm alway sin awe and jealous of those of you with dedicated modeling rooms. Anyway, I've moderately upgraded the interior of the Seafire. Having said that, there's a lot of warpage and very little is absolutely straight.

These were fun to build as kids, right? I added the Revell Mk. IXc's instrument panel, chopping and trimming to make it fit. I also used the Barracuda seat and mounting assembly, shoehorning it in. A major issue with these old kits is that they've lost pieces, many kits being open boxes. Both of my donor kits are missing the seat mounting brackets, but the Barracuda one has everything including the armor plate behind the pilot. What's amazing is how nice the surface detail is for the era. I mean, the rivets and all are very petite. How accurate they are, I'll leave to others. I'll post pics tomorrow.

Work has begun! Any ideas on masks for the clear canopy parts?

The fuselage is all sealed up! The Brassin cockpit is inside! It looks great! I just need to find the after canopy part which has gone MIA. Otherwise, I'll start working on the landing gear tomorrow, and then priming the rest of the assembled model.

I didn't get the email, but its all fine with me. A small delay is worth the wait if it means getting things just right. I have enough to work on right now, anyway, Don't we all?

https://imgur.com/gallery/working-on-eduard-brassin-cockpit-bsNE68v#RD3Md25https://imgur.com/gallery/working-on-eduard-brassin-cockpit-bsNE68v#RD3Md25 https://imgur.com/gallery/working-on-eduard-brassin-cockpit-bsNE68v#PnF3eFy https://imgur.com/gallery/working-on-eduard-brassin-cockpit-bsNE68v#gxAXIOc https://imgur.com/gallery/working-on-eduard-brassin-cockpit-bsNE68v#f3YK9M9 Sorry, the grab a direct link function is still missing. The Eduard PE is incredibly small and delicate. The flare rack that goes in front of the seat literally disintegrated. Other than that, its all gone together really nicely; fiddly, but nicely.

Thank you! I got delayed (AGAIN!) by the cockpit. Turns out the danged thing was warped and wouldn't fit properly. The fuselage sides wouldn't close up since it wouldn't mount as it should. So... I ordered a Brassin cockpit and am slowly working on that. Seriously, this thing is amazing! I doubt all of that detail will be visible once the model is all closed up, but the amount of detail Eduard packed in is impressive. Word to the wise - magnifying glasses and tweezers. Some of the parts are super small and easy to lose. The compass bounced away and I still haven't found it! I hope to have the cockpit finished by close of business tomorrow. Then, I'll post pics.