MikeC

Just been away for a few days in the Channel Islands, and apart from some nice walking and visiting relatives, I found that modern-day rarity, a real life model/hobby shop. And in that shop I found one thing I did not expect to find: one of the Revell glider series at under a tenner! Yes, really. And it's an LSP that is small enough to fit in my small hold bag, so it just had to be bought, it would have been rude not to.

I'm away from my ref library for a few days, I'll get back to you with a "told you so" plus chapter and verse, or an apology, as applicable.

Mk Va

Revell have also reboxed some of the ICM kits, one that springs to mind is the Tiger Moth. This can get somewhat confusing, as Revell have also, in the past, reboxed the venerable old Matchbox Tiggie.

"...Supermarine's designers refused to have cameras or fuel tanks installed in the fuselage behind the cockpit. They feared this would shift the centre of gravity too far aft. So, in these two Spitfires [ie the two PR As], the modifications were limited to installing an F.24 camera with 5" focal length lens, in each wing, replacing the inner machine guns. The cameras were fitted almost vertically, with a slight outward bias to cover a wider area in a single run. [my bold] The fields of view of the cameras overlapped only slightly." P5 of Merlin PR Spitfires, Wojtek Matusiak, Ventura publications. The 5" F.24 is pictured on P25 of the companion volume, Merlin PR Spitfires in detail , Malcolm Laird and Wojtek Matusiak, Ventura publications, and on P38 a photo and diagrams of the installation.

You'll need to find a PR G/VII or XVIII in that colour. They often wore camo, though, but in interesting colours.

The PR G/PR VII (not to be confused with the HF VII, very different beasts) plus its development the PR XIII retained the 8 x .303 armament, and the fighter-type windscreen, as they were intended for tactical reconnaissance. The "FR" designation only came into use a but later, I think. Most PR Spits were without armament, being designed for strategic reconnaissance.

Already answered

And just think, in a couple of years you could do an F-4 recon version as a limited edition. Bring it on!

There's a word for that: progress.

Indeed so Although to be picky, the two PR As were in "Camotint" (similar to/the same as Sky) From this one? The Type G was based on the Mk Va, and retained armament as it was a specific FR version. But it looks as though it will be coming, at one a year I make that 2032.

Tamiya tape, a steel ruler, and a sharp knife with new blade This would also accord with the retro vibe of the build. Good luck with your Seafire, I look forward to seeing what you do with it.

They were officially a light-medium grey, but bear in mind that as these were squadron (and individual aircraft) identification, they were painted on the unit after delivery of the aircraft. There was thus scope for some variation between units. Grey codes were introduced around March 1939. If you can get hold of it, Michael J F Bowyer's Fighting Colours is still a very good basic work by one who was there at the time. Kotare are good, but I'm not convinced by the colour of those codes - they look a little too blue on my monitor.

It certainly looks feasible: with good airbrushing work you should be able to get a better result than a decal could give you. Good luck!

Indeed, and also "The poor man's Spitfire".

Interesting, thanks.

Thanks Ali, that's fine. I (and doubtless everyone else) would rather hear the true situation than optimistic puff. So no apology needed .

Hi @Ali62, Just wondering how this is progressing? Thanks.

It's not just recently and it's not just LSP scale. Back in the late 1990s/early 2000s, when I did almost exclusively 1/48, I remember there was a particular kit announced, I put it on my list and waited ... ...and waited ... ...and waited. I can't even remember what it was now, but I don't think it's ever appeared, because if it ever had I think it would have jogged the memory.

We do have the Swiss Garden https://www.shuttleworth.org/explore/swiss-garden/ Plus various information boards relating to pioneering women in aviation and motoring.

Glad you enjoyed it

I couldn't put it better myself. Life's too short!

How did I miss this: it is excellent! Interestingly, the nose art is very much the same as another Ie Shima-based aircraft, the B-24J "Barbara Jean" of the 43rd BG. Given that both were based at Ie Shima, I'd say it was the work of the same artist, Sarkis Bartigan, who was also responsible for "Dragon and his Tail". Later, in 1989, it appeared briefly on a MiG-21 from 4.lsp, Pardubice: the Czech AF authorities were no happy, not so much because of Anca (Annie) as she was apparently known but because the crew had also painted the base and unit on the other side of the nose - major security breach!

"It followed me home, can I keep it???" Snagged this from a trader's stall at the MAFVA show* yesterday, for what I will modestly call "a good price". So having got it home and fondled the plastic (as one does), I looked at aftermarket availability, intending to just browse, and ended up ordering these seats: they look rather excellent in the pic, but we'll see. https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/RSU32-0094 * Why was I, a confirmed aviation geek, at an AFV show? Let alone the Nationals? Mainly because it is held in my local area, and I popped along, as one does, to see if I could pick up a couple of bottles of Tamiya Extra-thin, and whether anyone I knew was around. Also, whilst I'm not an AFV modeller by any means, I do like looking at other genres, and appreciating the skill and workmanship. The only other aviation-related kits on the trader's stand were three or four helicopters, and they were in what I call "AFV scale" , so as you can imagine, this immediately stood out to me.

Carried out by 245 Sqn.