A Very Early Spitfire - Finished

[Dpgsbody55]

So while I wait for the last part to arrive for my Vampire, I thought I'd start the next project which will be the Kotare Model's early Spitfire Mk.I.  And when I say early, I do mean Early. 

 

 

And this is the only aftermarket I'm using.

 

 

So I had to glue something together as soon as I'd opened the box, so I assembled the pilot's seat. Notice that the lightening holes on the seat support brackets are already opened.  Nice one Kotare, and so-oooo nice after battling with every part of the Vampire build.

 

 

These very early Spitfires had an apple green interior, so I've dabbed a bit on the seat to check the colour.

 

I've also made a small start on the wings, which need alteration as these early planes had no gun heat exhausts in the outer wings.  These were filed off and the kit supplied blanks fitted in place.    The gun heat ducts have also been removed from the radiator as this plane didn't have gun heat.  These will need some small amount of filler.  The wing spar has also bee added.

 

 

Once I'd figured out which parts needed paint, I immediately sprayed all the relevant cockpit bits in AS12, then applied the green to as much of the cockpit as I could.  Then construction began in ernest with the instrument panel.  This benefited from the Eduard Space 3D decal set, and the picture below shows it almost finished.  Still to go are some paint for the fuel selectors (Mk.I's had two; one for each of the upper and lower tanks - later marks had only one for the lower tank and the upper tank fed fuel into that via gravity) and also the landing light selector.

 

 

The rudder pedals were built up next then the IP could be glued to the floor, quickly followed by the rudder pedals and the forward firewall, which was a rather flimsy affair on early Spitfires and provided the pilot with little protection against a burning fuel tank.

 

 

That's it at the moment.  Next up will be the control column and seat area.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Shoggz]

Nice start - and a complete contrast to that vicious Vampire.

[dennismcc]

Looking good.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[mozart]

I like it Michael….mine’s going to be very early too (I think). 

[MikeC]

Nice. I shall follow with interest, as I've just started one of these myself.

[geedubelyer]

Swift (and pleasurable?) progress Michael. 

 

I can easily believe this might be a sea change from the previous build? 

 

Good to see you getting stuck in.

[Dpgsbody55]

11 hours ago, Shoggz said:

Nice start - and a complete contrast to that vicious Vampire.

 

Thanks.  I need a quality kit after that model, which is not quite finished.  Stress reduction .

 

11 hours ago, dennismcc said:

Looking good.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

Thanks Dennis.

 

10 hours ago, mozart said:

I like it Michael….mine’s going to be very early too (I think). 

 

I wanted to do a very early Spitfire because it's so different to most other kits on this subject.  So mine will be the one on the box lid.

 

10 hours ago, MikeC said:

Nice. I shall follow with interest, as I've just started one of these myself.

 

Thanks.  This is the first Kotare model I've built.  It looks very similar to the standards of the WNW kits in terms of parts fidelity, instruction booklet etc.  Not that I've ever built a WNW kit, btw, although I do have four in my stash.   This might encourage me to have a go at one of them.  Good luck with yours.  Perhaps we can compare notes.

 

10 hours ago, geedubelyer said:

Swift (and pleasurable?) progress Michael. 

 

I can easily believe this might be a sea change from the previous build? 

 

Good to see you getting stuck in.

 

Thanks Guy.  I think I'll have to make myself slow down a little as I got into the mindset of forcing myself to finish the Vampire, which was definitely a challenging build.  Still, it does no harm to do one like that occasionally as it tests yourself.  It will be nice to give the files a rest on this build, though .

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

Edited October 31, 2024 by Dpgsbody55

[Greif8]

Very nice start Michael!  I like your interpetation of the Supermarine Green shade, I think it looks great.

 

Ernest

[MikeC]

1 hour ago, Dpgsbody55 said:

This is the first Kotare model I've built.  It looks very similar to the standards of the WNW kits in terms of parts fidelity, instruction booklet etc.  Not that I've ever built a WNW kit, btw, although I do have four in my stash.   This might encourage me to have a go at one of them.  Good luck with yours.  Perhaps we can compare notes.

Yes, the experience is just like a Wingnut, although with fewer mainplanes and less rigging .  The fit so far is excellent, the filler bits in the wings for when you remove the gun heating fit well, I did not need much actual filler.  What colour/mix did you use for your "apple green"?

[MikeMaben]

Looks like fun Mike 

[Biggles87]

It’s a Spitfire, what’s not to like?
Good start, looking forward to more.

 

John

[Dpgsbody55]

On 10/31/2024 at 2:03 PM, Greif8 said:

Very nice start Michael!  I like your interpetation of the Supermarine Green shade, I think it looks great.

 

Ernest

 

Thanks.  It's a Vallejo paint and looks just like a good Granny Smith apple, which is my idea of apple green.  I've applied a slight wash over it, so it's a bit darker now.  Pity the lid isn't supposed to be removed or I could have lightened it a bit first.  I've not used washes before, so I put this down to inexperience on my part.

 

On 10/31/2024 at 2:42 PM, MikeC said:

Yes, the experience is just like a Wingnut, although with fewer mainplanes and less rigging .  The fit so far is excellent, the filler bits in the wings for when you remove the gun heating fit well, I did not need much actual filler.  What colour/mix did you use for your "apple green"?

 

I haven't finished that part of the build just yet, but the parts to fill the gap do fit well.  The interior green is a Vallejo paint, 71.095 pale green.  It's the first time I've used on of this brand and it airbrushes quite well, but a bit awkward to brush paint for touch ups.

 

On 10/31/2024 at 3:45 PM, MikeMaben said:

Looks like fun Mike 

 

A lot more so than that Vampire....... 

 

On 10/31/2024 at 5:18 PM, Biggles87 said:

It’s a Spitfire, what’s not to like?
Good start, looking forward to more.

 

John

 

Totally agree.  I've got a Tamiya Mk.IX and both the new Airfix Spitfires in the stash, and two of these three will be getting built over the next year.  Stay tuned .

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Dpgsbody55]

A bit more progress on this model, with the control column and seat going in.  I've also corrected that slightly wonky rudder pedal apparent in my first update on this project.  It didn't look like that when I glued it in place....    Gremlins......

 

Starting with the control column and radiator flap lever, the control column consists of three parts for the upper and lower column and the operating links to the elevator cables.  These are painted in interior green/gray according to the instruction book, hence the slight colour contrast.  Here it is with the parts in place.  I think the detail on the column render any aftermarket column redundant, and it's good to see someone has provided the rad flap lever which is usually missed on these planes.

 

 

 

I've painted more of the cockpit floor in green than is usual, because I've read a few accounts by pilots who've said that early Spitfires had more paint on the insides of the fuselage and that the standard of finish was higher than later planes.  This is part of the pressure of war, I guess.

 

Next, I finished the seat and mounted it on the frame, then added the next two frames.  The lower seat belts have been added, but I still have to add the upper belt.  Note no armour plate on my chosen subject.

 

 

So the upper belt will go in next, and perhaps I'll add the rigging that represents the control cables.  However, there are two reasons I may not do this starting with the lack of suitable wire to hand, and finishing with their apparent invisibility once the model is built.  I did this on my Airfix 1/24 Spitfire Mk.IX that I built for the Operation Overlord GB and the only wires visible in the finished model are the rudder cables where they pass under the seat and pass through the seat supporting frame.  However, I need some supplies and will be raiding a local hobby store on Monday, so if they have any suitable wire, then I'll reconsider.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Gazzas]

Nice start!  I like to see them early.  Love that Kotare made this possible.

[Greif8]

Good work on the cockpit Michael.  The contrast in green shades is nice.

 

Ernest