Daniel460

And now I get to show you the biggest folly I have committed yet on the R-2800 project - the carburetor.  Why did I spend two weeks on a component that is going to be practically unseen?  Well - part of the reason is that when I finish this engine, I intend to display it on it's own for a while, as I do other things for the Corsair like the cockpit or the wings, or the cowl.  And partly because R-2800's had big bad-a__ carburetors, and it would just be neat to do one.  Pretty weak....
 
The R-2800 had many variations, and part of those variations were the carburetor.  "A" and "B" series engines all had some version of the Bendix-Stromberg PT-13 carburetor.  In the case of the F4U-1's  and everything up until the F4U-4, it was the PT13-D4, which was an upside down (updraft) version:  
 

 
I have no idea why Vought wanted a carburetor on the bottom of the engine instead of on top like almost all other R-2800-equipped aircraft.  Any of you know?  That is the reason this work is such folly - it almost cannot be seen down there.   
 
Up until I found actual drawings of PT-13 carburetors and their components at AirCorps Library, I really had very little to go on to model it.  Vought drawings of the engine compartment stuff showed outlines but no good details.  My R-2800 book had some decent pictures:
 
  
 

 
That helped some but I could not scale much of anything.  Note that it looks like a great big single-lens-reflex camera.  It has a throttle body, a regulator unit, and a control unit.
 
Then I discovered that Aircorp Library had Fuel System information in their "components" section.  Thank you, Thank you!  Look:
 

 
Amazing!  And there were drawings of the components too (all three - body, regulator, controller, and more too).  Only thing is - there was nothing on the updraft -D4 version.  Only several versions of downdraft versions (right side up).  But that's OK - the versions shared many components or very similar versions of those components - some opposite hand, some upside down, etc.  That eliminated some of the guesswork.  And sadly, the drawing pictures are not crisp enough - where most of the dimensions cannot be read.  But I figured out a few though, which allowed me to scale everything else.  And using some pictures I have of the actual F4U engine which include the carb, I was off to the races.
 
Just using all types of EV plastic stock, and dozens of Meng nuts, I made the basic body (on the right) and the control unit and regulator unit (on the left):
 

 
Finished:
 

 

 
And temp placed on the (upside down) engine:
 

 

 
These super-duper close-ups reveal things I'd rather not reveal!  Looks much better from a foot or two away:
 

 
OK, here are the engine components completed  to date (after about 9 months of work):
 

 
Next is the aft section which is two components:
 

 

 
 
Good god - these are complicated.  With any luck I will complete these before the election!  Please stay tuned.

I decided to do the back sections of the engine at this time.  I am not sure I have seen anyone model these details, because they are normally hidden.  Not so for this model (I hope) - as the engine accessory compartment is going to be openable if I can pull it off.  
 
Boy, there are untold variations of the R-2800 even if you ignore the modernized "C" versions.  The Corsair had a "B" version which looks very similar to the "A" version which was the original.  R-2800's had a single stage two speed supercharger as standard.  I think most R-2800 equipped aircraft had this.  The Thunderbolt for example had that kind, but it also had a separate turbocharger that fed compressed air into the R-2800 supercharger.  These engines have a kind of stubby aft section.  The Corsair (and Hellcat) had two-stage superchargers which were contained in the engine.  These engines were characterized by longer back ends with an extra section for that second stage.  Here is what the Corsair engine looks like:
 
   
 
Bad to the bone.  Check out all that stuff aft of the cylinder banks.  That is my challenge.  Note the carburetor on the bottom behind the cylinders.  It attaches to the auxiliary blower section, which is that extra section I was talking about, and what this post is about.  Here is a picture of it from one of the R-2800 part catalogs (complements of AirCorps Library):
 

 
My plan was to create a basic lathe turned part, and carve it up with the end mill to accept a number of plastic inserts for mounting surfaces.  Also the aft flange would be a separate part made from plastic sheet. 
 
Here is the lathe turning:
 

 
Three flat surfaces must be provided on this part (also the sides are flat) - one on the bottom for the carburetor, and two on top for the air intake ducts.  Here it is with slots milled in, and plastic inserts added:
 

 
You also see Meng nuts, and to the right the very ugly diaphragm with its upstanding housings for the exhaust pipes.  It'll be fine; don't worry.
 
And basically finished:
 

 

 
Just a bunch of plastic work.  On the engine (dry fit):
 

 
There are two sections that fit behind this aux blower section.  They come right after the carburetor, which is my next task.  Stay tuned.   
 
 
 
 
 
 

Exhaust stacks are basically finished except final top coat of paint.  That will be down the road a bit.  Here:
 
  
 

 

 
While the stacks are not perfect, they are better than what I expected.  They are only temp installed onto the engine, and every time I take them off and put them back on, the orientation of the six scarfed ends seems to change a bit.  
 
 
 
You got it Craig.  Not sure, but I highly suspect copper or brass tubing would have been stiffer.  Even what I used (annealed aluminum and silver solder) was pretty stiff.    But in truth, I just didn't consider it at the time I committed to the materials I used.  
 
So what color to paint these, once it's time.  The drawing says the tubes are made of 18-8 stainless steel.  That stuff doesn't rust, and when new, it looks kind of like titanium - a dull darker shade of silver.  Have seen this stuff in my prior professional career.  But when subjected to high temperatures, I am pretty sure it discolors, and maybe more and more with time.  I know alot of modelling folks like to paint their exhaust stacks a rust color, but in this case I think that would not be right.  I have a "burnt iron" lacquer I could use, or I could use the titanium metalizer spray that I used on the s-shaped short stacks coming from the front row cylinders.  I am accepting ideas.
 
OK, it is on to the engine mount ring and "Lord" mounts.  Stay safe and healthy folks. 

I have been fretting about the ignition system for this engine.  Material selection issues, lack of good definition from drawings. etc.  Well I am now a little more confident I can produce well scaled distributors and the magneto, and I have settled on 2 MM aluminum picture hanging wire, which I will bet is very similar to suggested Bonzai wire (it was cheaper too).
 
The distributors are made from a piece of .375 inch diameter plastic tube, and a little .08 thick block, then "skinned" with .020 sheet to get the right diameter (I think), and the right teardrop shape.  Like this (ignore arrow please):
 
 
 
The basic build part:
 

 
From there a top was fashioned from three layers of plastic sheet, and concentric tubes added to mount to the reduction gearbox:
 

 
That is a prototype with some problems.  The real ones will look better.
 
Now the harness - I am going through great lengths to make sure it fits well and looks the part.  Perhaps overkill.  First I had to create the initial circular shape - I used a simple tool for that:
 

 
Do you like the color of the anodize?  This annealed aluminum is only slightly stiffer than .08 solder. 
 
Then, I needed to add some spacers which represent four clamps, and two distributor attachments, before I forced those severe bends on the lower ends of the wire:
 
  
 
Now the interesting part - the assembly fixture:
 

 
This accomplishes a few things.  It maintains shape while the harness is being assembled, it locates the "buds" that sprout from the sides (where the wires attach), it locates the clamps, and it provides the posts in which to bend the ends.
 
Like this (note the all-important tight bends, which dictated material selection):
 
  
 

 
Now the method to the madness is revealed....
 
The "buds" are .078 brass thin tube, filed and cut under heavy magnification.  Three are bonded on here:
 
 
 
Next post the harness will be complete and so will the distributors.  I am currently wringing my hands (that's just what I do) about how best to handle the spark plug wires.  Currently leaning toward first attaching to the harness on the table, then installing the harness to the engine block, and then feeding the individual wires to the cylinder heads, etc.  Not sure if I join the two cylinder rows together before or after attaching the harness.....  Lots of concerns about clearances - things are getting tight!
 

Small bits and stuff
The Zipper sits on a shelf but it's not the SoD.
So I tackled some small stuff to keep the momentum going.
The wheels were painted, weathered and assembled.

 
I shamelessly copied Thunnus' technique from his Me 262 - tyre black followed by beige and brown for the dust and wear and a black wash to show the clean tread pattern.
To add another colourful spot the ladders were painted yellow and recieved a heavy weathering:

 
Scrolling through the DACO book I noticed that the Zipper's overall finish is quite shiny or more precisely everything but dead flat.
Altough there's one exception: the faded dayglo has no sheen at all. Tried to replicate the effect with a coat of ultra matte from AK

 
And the last one for today:
the elcectronics bay is finally assembled and ready for its acces door (will be added at last)

 
The dreaded macro shot - I can now celarly see the edge of the decals in the upper right corner of the picture

I have been jumping around with this build trying to get all of the internal components "roughed in" before any serious detailing is begun. I need to make sure the the main components fit into the fuselage without interfering with each other.
 
Next the intakes. First I wanted to add depth the these areas and also the plastic is very, very thin on the edges of the intakes. Adding an internal component will strengthen this area considerably
 
Here are the 2 intakes. One fresh off of the printer and the other dry fitted to the kit intake.
 
 .
 
Next is a photo showing how the 3d part slides into the kit. Note how thin and ragged the plastic is on the fuselage.
 

 

 
How do you design this shape so that it fits? I traced the intake shape onto paper,  then take a photo of it and download to my computer. From there it is uploaded to Fusion 360 as a "canvas". That canvas is used to create the working shape and then extruded to length.  I have had an extensive learning curve to get to this point but things are beginning to click. Many of the parts needed for this build would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to produce by hand.
 
Dan
 
 

I have been working on printing several parts for the engine/exhaust/nozzle.
 
First here is the new 3d nozzle next to the vac version that comes with the kit.
 

 
Next is the end of the engine that the nozzle will attach to.
 

 
And together.
 

 
Here are the parts of the afterburner and flame holder. Light grey part came from the spares box.
 

 

 
And all of the parts from one end to the other.
 

 
This is an important step as I needed to know how the back end of the fuselage was going to interface with these components.
 
Dan
 

More basic construction.
 
Exhaust assembly. Painted and with the interior parts added.
 

 
End plug with slot added to glue into the keel.
 

 
Additional tail support. A popsicle stick.
 

 
Kit intake with a second layer of plastic to add strength.
 

 
Interior of fuselage/intake area with additional plastic sheet glued in for rigidity.
 

 
Iteration 3 of the weapons bay. I have added many internal details to the 3d print.
 

 
Main landing gear bay.
 

 
Dan

February 4/21
 
 
Not a lot of progress lately, since I took a week off to recharge my modeling Mojo and decide what the heck to do with all the wide panel lines.  Since about 80% of the panel lines are too wide, fixing all of them was not really an option, especially the curved ones.  As noted by others above, however, there are some longitudinal panel lines that are extra wide and extra deep, so I decided to “fix” those by filling them with thin CA glue and rescribing them.  The trick to this is to not make them too narrow, or they will not match the other panel lines, so it’s really a “50% fix”, rather than 80-90% fix, to keep the model balanced.  I’m really happy with the results and took some before/after pics, but they don’t really show that much improvement due to lighting and the dark washes I used before the changes, so I won’t bother here.  I also believe (hope?) that with the metallic finish and no dark weathering washes planned, they will be much less noticeable than they are now with the panel line wash I use for checking errors.
 
 
Another fix required is the width of the windscreen which is too wide, as noted earlier.  Checking other builds of this kit, this is a common problem and putty is often used to fill the resultant gaps on both sides.
 
 

 
 
Since the width isn’t excessive, I did two things.  The first was to cut off the small L-shaped curve on the right side, which stuck out too much due to its length.  More on that below.  The second was to sand the clear plastic on the sides, but before I did that, I drilled out small depressions where the recessed fastener detail was present, so that I wouldn’t lose it by sanding.  As we all know the hard way, you can’t heat, bend, chip or otherwise stress clear hard plastic without the risk of cracking it, but you can erode it by sanding and gentle drilling.  Here it is after some of the detail has been deepened.  Note the overlap at the base of the windscreen.  Not horrible, but not good either.
 
 

 
 
Next was sanding at the base, with masking tape to protect the mask on the windscreen.
 
 

 
 
After sanding the other side, with dust filling the rivet depressions.  The width is now completely on top of the sill, rather than overlapping it on the side.
 
 

 
 
Now back to that L-shaped curve.  At the rear of the right side of the windscreen is a curved lip that is often missed and is too small for scale on the kit parts, which is why it is often cut off by mistake.  The other 3 corners of the canopy are squarer, so there is no curved lip.  Here it is on the real deal and thankfully it even has a small panel line, which I have as well.  Unfortunately, this pic also shows raised fastener detail on the outside, which is wrong and likely due to this being a restored bird, so maybe they were temporary?  All other pics of the windscreen that I can find have these fasteners flush on the outside.
 
 

 
 
With the windscreen narrowed, I made a small curve out of styrene and glued it in place.  Here I also have painted and dry fit the brass cockpit sill parts, which cleans up the overall look of the sides.  I will leave these off during painting and attach them later with all the little gizmos attached to them off the model.
 
 

 
 
A side view.  This will be painted aluminum on the outside, along with the other parts of the windscreen frame.
 
 

 
 
There are four lights on the tail that have raised surround detail, which is kind of rough and also wrong.  Like the navigation lights in front of the wings, they should have flush circular rings around them with 12 fasteners instead, so I sanded them off. 
 
 

 
 
After modifications, along with other details enhanced with a scriber and rivet tool.  These lights are quite complex in the DACO book with certain quadrants different shades, but the top ones are predominantly red and the lower ones predominantly white/silver, so I just left them that way since they are so small.  One cool thing about the tail section is that it shows some subtle “oil-canning” due to ribs on the inside of the tail, which are barely visible in this pic.  Normally I would sand this ribbed imperfection off, but since the real deal often has a rippled effect in this area, I left it as is.  I hope it shows up better later with a metallic finish that tends to show every ripple- and flaw- in the plastic.
 
 

 
 
The other side, which shows it a bit better.
 
 

 
 
This model gives you the option to leave the tail off, exposing the engine during maintenance with a stand for both, which is why there are brass plates to finish off the rear of the fuselage and front of the tail.  For most builds like this one, I want to glue the front to the rear, which has nothing but a weak join of the plastic parts with no tabs or other reinforcement.  To strengthen this join, you could leave off the brass and add styrene strips to the inside before gluing everything together.  Instead, since I like the tab of the brass at the top holding the engine in place with CA glue, I added styrene strips to the sides of the brass, making it flush with the join.  I then gobbed on plenty of regular Tamiya cement to the styrene strips and the circular join, and held everything together tightly with my hands until the glue set. 
 
 

 
 
The join was then rock solid, but also lumpy with a wobbly fit with a few gaps.  After many hours of sanding and filling with CA glue, the join now looks pretty smooth, with lots of attention paid to the join on the vertical stabilizer to get it closed and smooth.
 
 

 
 
This pic shows the other side and how the longitudinal panel line is now a bit narrower, matching the width of the other panel lines.
 
 

 
 
My small photo booth will need some modifications to fit this long lawn dart into it from now on- and I don’t even have the nose cone installed yet!
 
 

 
 
All that’s really left to do to the fuselage now is to attach the wings and nose cone before I begin to paint, but there is still much more to do.  I plan on adding more raised rivets to the rear with Archer decal rivets before paint, along with a few thousand of the HGW wet transfer rivets after the first coat of paint.  This should be fun- or not- so we’ll see what transpires!
 
 
 
NEW TOYS!
 
I have noted in a few forums that some of you have purchased some of the David Union line of routers and sanders from Troy Molitor.  As you may know, I love new modeling gadgets and if any of them can make my modeling a bit easier, I’m all over it like a cure for Covid, so I contacted Troy and bought the following:
 
 
#400 Ergonomic Sander with several head shapes for different sanding tasks.  I haven’t used any of this stuff on plastic yet, but this little sucker can go from slow sanding to lightning speed in an instant by turning the rear wheel.
 
 

 
 
Self-adhesive sanding pack selection, along with two Madworks handles for many future scribing and other tools I plan to buy soon.
 
 

 
 
And what I could really have used on this build with all the resin that I’ve been dealing with, is the #550 Elite “Router”, which is basically a small "Dremel tool".  With a wide spectrum of speeds, both left and right rotation, and many bits that come with it, it’s like a fine dental drill that makes my Dremel tool feel like the blunt instrument that it really is.  I am really looking forward to using these new toys, but that will likely be on my next build, since all the heavy lifting on this project is now over.
 
 

 
 
If any of you are interested in these and other cool David Union products, contact Troy at his email below.  FYI, I have no commercial interest in Troy's business or discounts for promoting his products.  I'm just trying to help you and another LSP regular with his growing business.
 
 
Trexxtools@gmail.com 
 
 
 
That’s it for now boys.  Continue to stay safe while you enjoy one of the best pandemic hobbies possible!  We are so lucky.
 
 
 
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Hi Don, thank you! The Astra decals are super accurate having used them on 4-5 F-104s of various scales now, I could not find a fault in any of them, amazing research and time gone into those, way better in accuracy than the Italeri ones from the box. IIRC they may be a tad bit thicker than some decals and you need a stronger type decal softener to make sure they really bed down into the panel lines. I certainly won't build any German F-104 without them. 
 
 
 
Thanks Chuck, glad you like them! 
 
I have these below on file showing some of the extra details around the cockpit, I intentionally didn't add so much detail on the canopy sills so I could close them up to keep dust out over time . Some of the things I was working towards are in this real photo: https://www.airfighters.com/photo/22760/M/Germany-Navy/Lockheed-F-104G-Starfighter/26-82/ . Others like the notepads/books are taken from pics from various references of the subjects, the front covers take a few different forms from my searches depending on the user, as does the equipment located on top of the avionics bay behind the seat. The late Marineflieger jets had chaff and flare dispensers fitted to the rear fuselage and the box located behind the seat was for setting these.
 
 
 
 
 
 
I cannot remember tbh about the front canopy fit but here is a pic of mine. I think I blended it with CA and called it that at the time but probs should have pinched it slightly as I applied the glue. 
 
 
The Hasegawa extras,
 
 
And speaking of canopy shapes, you can see here the difference between the Italeri (top) and Hasegawa. I don't think either are 100% correct and reality is somewhere in between the two imho. 
 
 
 
 
Chuck, have you seen this F-104 build before? http://nabe3saviation.web.fc2.com/modelF104.html
 
It is probably the best F-104 model I've ever seen and lots of serious skill and details going into it that maybe would interest you. I only found it after I did my models but I wish I had earlier. In particular the stressed skin around the rear of the F-104s fuselage is something I'd like try on my next 1/32 Starfighter. I have had a bash at it on a 1/48 F-104 (yet to be finished), quite difficult to do, but does add another level of realism certainly. On my 1/48 kit below I looked at plenty of pictures to replicate it in various areas and in a non uniform fashion. Masked the areas first, then ripples created with a curved scape blade and then plenty of sanding and tweaking. It was very hard to photo however unless it was too exaggerated. 
 
 
 
 
Anyways, thanks for the nice words about my F-104s, really look forward to more of your build!
 
And to everyone else kindly commenting, thank you and I'm glad you like the pictures and the models too!  
 
David
 

Hi guys,
 
Here are some photos of my Italeri F-104Gs. Modelled as the Marineflieger airshow demo pair called 'The Vikings" during the 1985 airshow season, shortly before their retirement and replacement by the Tornado IDS in MFG2. These models are about 5 or so years old now but IIRC they are mostly from the box with the addition of Eduard seats and Astra Decals. These particular jets, now looking a bit tired at this time, did not have the full complement of stencils the German F-104s usually had from my references which saved some time thinking back. Unfortunately I broke the SD card containing most of the photos I took at the time but stumbled over some on my computer recently, so I've uploaded what I have as there was some interest in Chuck's CF-104 WIP thread. A few jazzed up for sure!  Amazing what a little tweaking can do to an average model. 
 
Here is a little video on youtube showing the Vikings: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For the final few shows before retirement, two F-104Gs were repainted in a lovely red, white and blue scheme. I made this model from the Hasegawa kit and those interested in this F-104 can check out further photos in this thread: 
 
 
 
 
The photos are highly complementary I assure you but hopefully the period scene is hinted at somewhat. I built these models before I really started to get serious in the hobby so no close up detail shots as the details aren't really there so much compared to the masterpieces often displayed here. Next time I would use some resin wheels, the kit ones are awful! Other mods done to the Italeri kit included shortening the nose gear in height and filling+rescribing some of the heavy panel lines the kit gives us. In may ways I actually think the ancient Hasegawa kit is better than the newer Italeri but a lot more work.
 
Thanks for looking,
 
David
 
 
 
 

Thanks for posting your models and video in the RFI forum.  Wow!  Both are so cool.
 
While I appreciate your heads up on the level of the sealant glass at the rear, another reason I'm going to leave it as is, is because I use vinyl tape on the inside of the glass like my F-5E below, so I really need to stick with what the kit parts give me rather than modify them.
 

 
Cheers,
Chuck

Well, everything was going on way too smothly.
Sprayed a flat coat (Tamiya acyrlic) and started to remove the masks after a decent drying time.
All good until I tackeld the windshield:

 
it's not fogging but some other dirt/sludge/whatever inside
 
At least I guess it's inside since wiping down the windshield with alcohol made no change not even for a second.
What now? - rip it of and try to polish everything out?
rip it of but replace with a new one?
Relocate to SOD?
 
One soothing overall shot before I enter my thinking bubble.

Last step of weathering: a filter
 
The idea is to reduce the overall contrast, especially of the bright decals and blend everything together.
Of course there are dedicated products for this procedure, although I tend to mix them from oils.
The paint is as thin like a wash but the amount of paint on my brush tends to be as low as with dry brushing.
Using a flat coat as a base is important to prevent paint running all across the surface. This time I used Tamiya LP-23 and well it's more a satin coat than real flat..
 

 
In the picture above the filter is only applied to the port side get you mates an idea of the subtle effect.
As I'm posting this the Zipper is left to dry. A final flat coat will seal up everything tomorrow.

Thanks Alex.  Like most print magazines, FineScale Modeler has undergone a lot of new changes lately and with the demise of Scale Auto magazine in October 2020, car subjects have now migrated over to FSM.  With my focus on aircraft models and only aircraft, my interest in FSM has dwindled as more Star Wars subjects, Tanks, Figurines and now Cars fill the pages of the latest issues, including the March issue.  Nothing wrong with this, since I believe most modelers are more well rounded in their modeling interests than me and FSM needs to cater to the widest range of modeling subjects in order to survive.  FSM has been very good to me over the years and I wish them nothing but success in a very tough genre.
 
This is why I have migrated my last two models (Kitty Hawk T-6/Harvard and Special Hobby Tempest Mk V) over to KLP Publishing instead.  As an aircraft modeler and professional writer, LSP Kevin understands what we want to see and how to explain it clearly, so rather than sift through pages and pages of one of my typical build threads full of background noise, there will be an eBook guide that will be easy to follow and read.  I'm really looking forward to the first one on the Tempest!
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Well some progress on basic airframe construction today. Sometimes after pondering for a few days I just decide to cut plastic. Today was one of those days.
 
One of the biggest hurdles was how am I going to attach the wings? They need to be level and well attached.
I decided to use wooden paint stirring sticks from the hardware store. They are straight, rigid and lightweight. I determined where the wing should sit, red dashed line, and then cut some openings that would accept the sticks. Everything is just dry fitted for now but you can get a sense of what the final shape will be.
 

 

 
I really need to finish my other projects so I have room to work on this beastie on my desk.
 
Dan

Some good news for me, since my F-5E build is now in the upcoming March issue of FineScale Modeler, with a kind of crappy screen shot below which is the best I can do.  It was probably one of the worst kits I've ever built, so if I can get it looking fairly decent, this build should look pretty good as well when finished.  Through lots of trial and error, I think I learned a lot about spraying a clean blemish free coat of gloss black lacquer on this Tiger, which I will need as a base coat for several different shades of Alclad metallic lacquers on this CF-104.  Time will tell if I can match or improve this finish.
 
 

 
 
Cheers,
Chuck

They look perfect for what I need! I can convert those to get me close.
 
You have been a great help as usual Thierry! Thanks!
 
Dan

This may already help somewhat:
 
http://soyuyo.main.jp/spit5b/spit5be-1.html#drawing
 
His drawings are quite good 

Aircorps Library has Spitfire blueprints, but I'm not familiar with specific mk's they might have.

This is indeed a good run down but alas it is not comprehensive.
 
For instance the voltage regulator evolution, IFF box addition, radio changes and battery location move are not mentioned.

No plans, but the Wingleader publication on the Spitfire 1 is an excellent run down of the changes, when they happened, why they happened, lovely big photos of the mods, colour profiles very good reference for any Spitfire 1 project.   www.wingleader.co.uk , Photo Archive Number 1 is the book you want.
 
No commercial links, just a very happy customer, and perfectly times as my granddaughter, aged 5, bought me an Airfix Spitfire for Christmas ! Looks like I might actually have  to finish a model!

Thanks Thierry,
 I've picked up an 1/24 Airfix Spitfire and wanted to check shapes on her. This is my first venture into 1/24 scale, kind of easy on the eyes at my age.  In the little research that I have done the Mk.I is a bit confusing with all the changes/upgrades. It's just going to be fun build so close will be good. I'm learning the issue with plans and details on my Defiant. 
 I'll see if I can find the Cox plans.
 
Thanks again,
Dan

I'm looking for a source for scale drawings. There is a online source that I had the info on and lost it, anyone have any ideas?
 
Looking for some 1/24 scale Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a scale drawings.
 
Thanks, Dan

I think the best published Spitfire Mk.I plans are the Cox ones. I'm not sure they are still available. However, some copies were published on websites and forums. Besides that, I do not think there are many other good options for the Mk.I. Out of my memory Arthur Bentley only published outline comparison plans of various Spitfire variants. So they are just good to check overall shapes and dimensions. With regard to details, do not trust plans. I invested a lot of time to make my BoB Spitfire Mk.I as accurate as possible and found many errors or omissions on the plans. Last, the Mk.I is probably the type that saw the highest amount of changes along her production. So 'Mk.I' plans are rarely covering all the possible configurations.
 
Hth 
 
Thierry