Hot Rod Spitfire - FR.XIV (Laminar Flow Design Conversion)

[Uncarina]

Very nice work John with integrating the LMD parts into the Tamiya kit! And I agree completely about your perspective of the Spitfire’s beauty.

Cheers,  Tom

[Biggles87]

Great update, not long winded at all.

It’s unusual for Tamiya to miss something like the wing filling, They obviously did not include ‘ Edgar Brooks’ Spitfire Notes ‘ in their research, Eduard made the same mistake with their 1/48 Spitfires.

My favourite method for filling the wing rivets ( also on the P-51 ) is a thick coat of automotive acrylic primer sanded back until only the filled rivets show.

 

John

Edited December 13, 2024 by Biggles87

[Anthony in NZ]

Great update John!  I will take on board the putty job too.  Easy to forget whilst concentrating on other things!

 

Awesome mate...

[John1]

3 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said:

Great update John!  I will take on board the putty job too.  Easy to forget whilst concentrating on other things!

 

Awesome mate...

Just note - from the reference material I originally came across (posted by Mr. Spitfire himself - Edgar Brooks), the factories started doing this in August of '42.  Not sure what date your Vc was manufactured, but it's worth checking.  I'm taking notes on your build, going to be a great reference when I get around to starting my Vc.  

Edited December 13, 2024 by John1

[John1]

4 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

It’s unusual for Tamiya to mss something like the wing filling, They obviously did not include ‘ Edgar Brooks’ Spitfire Notes ‘ in their research

 

They did the same thing on their 32nd P-51D/K's.  Every Mustang that flew in WW2 had puttied wings.    In my "Forgotten War" Mustang build, I lucked out because by the time the Korean War came around, many F-51D's had been overhauled and per period pictures, the putty was stripped off.   Guess you don't have to worry about a few knots of airspeed when you are just using the Mustangs as expendable "bomb trucks".  

Edited December 13, 2024 by John1

[Shoggz]

Great (and informative, not long-winded!) update John. Can't wait to see further progress.

 

Spitfires are indeed addictive, as you are discovering.. 

[John1]

21 hours ago, Shoggz said:

 

Spitfires are indeed addictive, as you are discovering.. 

The crazy thing is this - I haven’t even started on the initial subject I planned to build -  A beaten up IX, based in Italy, most of the paint removed, fitted with a centerline bomb rack.  I’ve got the XIV in progress, waiting on the Vc conversion and still very much want to build that IX because it’s so out of the ordinary.  Here she is, minus the bomb rack and the general filth she was covered with.

 

  Can’t believe at some point I’ll have 3 Spitfires on the shelf.   Did I mention that a few years ago I had absolutely no interest in Spitfires?

Edited December 14, 2024 by John1

[Chek]

I'm musing on how well the XII conversion will fit a Kotare Mark V.

You get the correct oil cooler already and the raised rivets on the rear fuselage.

Plus its a less expensive kit.

Edited December 14, 2024 by Chek
spelling

[John1]

3 hours ago, Chek said:

I'm musing on how well the XII conversion will fit a Kotare Mark V.

You get the correct oil cooler already and the raised rivets on the rear fuselage.

Plus its a less expensive kit.

That’s a bold move.   Maybe reach out to LFD and see if he’s ever tinkered with the Kotare kit?

[Chek]

I've compared the kit parts but without cutting anything up, the principle dimensions seem very close.

[Uncarina]

At the risk of thread drift I’m going that route with my Vc conversion: using the Tamiya kit and Kotare fuselage. I agree that the fuselage dimensions are very close.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[John1]

On 12/14/2024 at 10:26 PM, Uncarina said:

At the risk of thread drift I’m going that route with my Vc conversion: using the Tamiya kit and Kotare fuselage. I agree that the fuselage dimensions are very close.

 

Cheers,  Tom

Following closely.   This may change my plan for my Vc conversion.    At the risk of further thread drift (which is ok because it's my thread), I'm curious how the Kotare kit stacks up against the Tamiya IX detail wise.   Any thoughts?   Does the Kotare kit include the 20mm cannons or are they in the LFD set?

[Anthony in NZ]

11 hours ago, John1 said:

Following closely.   This may change my plan for my Vc conversion.    At the risk of further thread drift (which is ok because it's my thread), I'm curious how the Kotare kit stacks up against the Tamiya IX detail wise.   Any thoughts?   Does the Kotare kit include the 20mm cannons or are they in the LFD set?

Hi John

I had thought about doing this myself in the early days.  However since the LFD set has come along I changed my mind.

Why?  Well a couple of reasons, in the LFD set you get multiple spinner and blade options depending on what type/theatre of Mk V you are wanting to do, Using only one kit. You still have to cut up a Tamiya wing for the oil cooler, or if you get the Va you need to modify the wing to a 'C' which is still a bit of fiddly differences.  All very do-able for a man of your calibre.  The Tamiya fuse is flush riveted, so that's the main reason you would cut up 2 kits.  Or you can use the LFD set which is pretty simple, but no raised rivets. There wont be any canons in the Kotare kit, but you can get Master ones etc. Also in LFD you get a different canon cover option.

 

Dont know if I have helped or confused the situation....which I am really good at LOL

 

Cheers Anthony 

[John1]

Assembly is 90% done.   Time to start painting.   First, all the clear parts are masked off.  It is a nice touch that Tamiya provides masks.   I was never a fan of these but since using them, I really dread going back to kits where I have to use regular old tape to mask off the clear parts. 

 

 

I was pretty apprehensive about doing a hard-edge paint scheme.  I used some play-dough like material (can't recall what it's name is but it's specifically for this application) for the borders and then used tape behind it to prevent any overspray.    Tamya paints were used for the RAF Dark Green and Ocean Grey, AK Real Colors Medium Sea Grey was used for the undersurfaces.    First application is right out of the bottle, I'll go back and add some different tones as part of the weathering process.  I did some initial paint chipping on the wing routes via the "hairspray method" but wasn't thrilled with the way it came out.   I'll attack this area using another approach later in the build. 

 

 

 

 

In this picture, I have started adding some different toned colors.   

 

All in all, I'm content with the way things have turned out.  Got some touch-ups to do but I thought it would have been worse.  The colors seem a bit harsh in these pictures but in RL they look pretty nice.   My workshop lighting isn't conducive to taking decent pictures.  

[geedubelyer]

She certainly looks good on my monitor John. 

 

Smoooooth paintwork