MK356 22nd Jan 2025. Wing and wheelbay work begins.

[geedubelyer]

Hello all of you fine people of LSP.

 

May I share my new project with you please?

 

Although I have already built one of the Airfix 1/24th scale MkIX Spitfires I felt this model was the ideal basis for a tribute to Squadron Leader Mark Long who perished whilst at the controls of his aircraft earlier in 2024.

 

The aircraft was part of the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial flight and had been well known on the airshow circuit for many years. 

 

At the time of the fateful incident she was wearing the desert markings of No. 92 squadron (QJ-3) so that is how I will depict her. 

 

As a restored warbird this aircraft sports a number of elements not seen on period aircraft. I will mention the ones I spot as I go along. 

She will also be quite clean. The BBMF keep there aircraft in generally good condition with the exception of exhaust staining. 

Many reference photos online show plenty of exhaust staining for me to get my teeth into later. 

 

The model will be buttoned up. 

No open panels, canopy closed with possibly even a modern RBF tag on the pitot 

 

This means that I won't be spending alot of time or energy on things that won't be seen. 

Whereas I included the Airscale aftermarket set for the cockpit of my previous build I aim to largely use the kit parts this time around with only minimal extra detail added. 

 

Having said that, here are a couple of pics of the seat. 

 

 

I'm trying to give the impression of a contemporary parachute pack.

I've also replaced the flare holder with a scratch built one. 

 

 

This is quite an obvious feature even through the canopy so I wanted to improve it's look and shape. 

I started out thinking of simply drilling out the kit part but the plastic sidewall is so thick it was easier to fabricate a fresh one. 

 

 

I also re-shaped the seat backrest a little because pics online seem slimmer in appearance. 

 

 

So, we've begun our journey. 

As ever, any and all comments are welcome. 

If anyone can share images of MK356 or knowledge that may help along the way, please feel free to include it here. 

 

There are a couple of superb large scale Spitfire builds going on elsewhere so you can rest assured I will be following those like a hawk for all of the tips and tricks I can glean. 

 

Cheers,

Guy

Edited 13 hours ago by geedubelyer

[Shoggz]

Nice subject Guy. And a great start! 

[Landrotten Highlander]

Great start indeed, and a wonderful reason to build a model.

Will be following along

[geedubelyer]

Thanks guys, I hope you enjoy the build. 

This is not likely to be as in-depth as the previous thread but I will try to include everything that differs from the norm. 

 

Here are a couple of snaps of the painted seat.

 

 

 

 

Looking at the buckles in the cold light I should have bought myself some aftermarket modern belts with etched hardware. 

The only saving grace might be that when viewed through the canopy they don't appear as wonky! 

[Gazzas]

I think the seat looks great.  

[mozart]

Looking forward to this one Guy, what a lovely thought and tribute to do Sqn Ldr Long’s Spitfire. It goes without saying, you know where to come if you need any masks. 

[monthebiff]

Very, very nice start Guy, this will be one to bookmark fir sure.

 

Regards. Andy

[LSP_Kevin]

Lovely progress, Guy.

 

Kev

[Dpgsbody55]

 

Another interesting project to follow.  The seat is a great start.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[geedubelyer]

Thank you folks. I appreciate your support very much. 

 

I have been adding a little detail to the bulkhead. A couple of things differ from an aircraft in period. 

 

There is no armour plate behind the seat on this aircraft and no head pad either. 

Another small detail is the opening for the belts is more of a slit than the oval shape that Airfix provide. 

 

 

I began to scratch build a replacement but spotted the difference in the opening after a couple of tries. 

The other versions are not the correct shape. 

I don't know what the circular disc is.

 

As you can see I took a minute to drill out the lightening holes plus added a couple of small strengthening ribs to the face of the bulkhead which are obvious on the real deal. 

 

On the rear of the bulkhead I added a couple of small details to the plastic part. 

 

 

 

Hopefully I can pick these out with some paint. 

Edited November 24, 2024 by geedubelyer

[geedubelyer]

Turning my attention to the IP next before I begin the detail painting of the cockpit sidewalls. 

 

 

When I researched MK356 I couldn't find any specific images of her instrument panel. 

I did however find a couple of other BBMF Spitfire IP pics. These showed that the gunsight was removed and some modern electronic boxes were placed in the same spot. 

These were scratch built but they're rough.  See#2

This is one of those occasions where the modern technology of 3D printing would have been an absolute boon. 

The boxes are quite simple in shape and would probably have been pretty easy to design. 

They are also small even in this scale and quite difficult to scratch build neatly. 

I keep repeating my mantra....."the canopy will be closed, the canopy will be closed" 

Another slight issue resulted from the clear plastic part settling scew-whiff as it dried. Although I laid the part on a horizontal surface it looks like the clear part floated out of position as the small pool of glue cured. This means the instruments aren't level. 

It's not enormously obvious except from directly head on and we have to remember "the canopy will be closed"   

The placards are out of the box as are the instrument face decals except for the blind flying panel which was borrowed from an Airscale Mk 1/Vb set I had. MK356 has the arch shaped blind flying panel but the kit depicts the rectangular version. 

I'm not convinced by the colours of some of the Airfix instrument decals but didn't have any others to hand. 

These will do because "the canopy will be closed" 

The last piece I made was the fuel selector lever to the right of the compass. This little panel is quite obvious and a surprising omission by Airfix. See#3 

 

Lastly for this update a few thoughts on the kit parts for anyone considering going totally OOTB. 

The instrument decals I actually used didn't fit the dial openings very well. They are all slightly oversized resulting in a dished effect to the instrument face. This is compounded by any gloss clear coat applied to give the appearance of glass because the fluid meniscus increases the unwanted bowl shape. See#1

 

 

My recommendation would be to use the Airscale set even if the canopy is going to be closed. 

You'll be glad you did. 

 

Cheers. 

Guy

Edited December 9, 2024 by geedubelyer

[Shoggz]

That looks great Guy.

 

You're at the same stage as me with my current Spit build - albeit slightly larger versions!

[mozart]

To the uninitiated Guy, and that’s the vast majority of us, it looks great! Too often we agonise far too much over detail which, talking for myself, takes too much of the enjoyment out of the build. Canopy closed or open, it will be fine. 

[Shoggz]

We’ll said Max.

 

And you’re 100% correct!

[geedubelyer]

@mozart & @Shoggz, thanks both. I appreciate the encouragement and support. 

 

We are indeed our own worst critics at times and it is learning to live with what we are capable of that is the challenge. 

Over time I am becoming increasingly more forgiving of myself particularly in this instance because the canopy will be closed  

 

Here's a look at the sidewalls so far. 

 

 

 

During my previous Airfix Spitfire build I really went to town adding detail only to discover that much of it was either obscured or invisible. 

 

This time I've concentrated on picking out the kit details with paint. 

It should look reasonable when it's finished.

 

 

 

 

Cheers. 

Edited December 11, 2024 by geedubelyer