Kotare + Laminar Flow Design + Tamiya = Malta Spitfire Mk. Vc

[Uncarina]

I've been waiting a long time to build this one, a Spitfire Mk. Vc that flew over Malta, perhaps one that participated in Operation Bowery flying from the USS Wasp:

 

 

 

 

I also purchased this book as a reference:

 

 

When Matthieu at Laminar Flow Design offered his exquisite conversion set for the Tamiya Spitfire IXc I didn't hesitate. I also purchased the supplemental raised rivet set (being somewhat obsessed with rivets). This ingenious design allows you to drill 0.2mm holes in the recessed rivet locations on the Tamiya fuselage, then insert a raised head rivet into the hole. Mathieu recommends a handheld powered drill to facilitate the process. After trying out the procedure with a pin vice I realized that while I could do this, I wanted to do something novel. The Kotare Spifires have the raised rivets already molded, and after a comparison of the respective fuselage halves I was encouraged to purchase the appropriate sprues from Kotare and incorporate this fuselage into the conversion. Since some cutting and splicing would be involved I ordered a spare fuselage sprue from Tamiya as well.

 

Some cover art:

 

 

 

 

While the dimensions of the Kotare and Tamiya fuselages are almost identical, the Kotare fuselage has the wing fillet molded separately while the Tamiya fuselage includes the fairing. My first step then in the conversion was to separate the Tamiya wing fillet:

 

 

I then carefully reduced the cut edge of the fillet to allow it to fit to the Kotare fuselage:

 

 

And another view showing a better fit:

 

 

Note the matching panel lines and the raised rivets on the new fuselage. I'm pretty encouraged so far!

 

Cheers,  Tom

Edited December 27, 2024 by Uncarina

[monthebiff]

Good to see you back Tom and a very interesting project indeed! Nice start and intrigued to thus come together!

 

Regards. Andy

[Martinnfb]

This looks like an exciting project Tom. Will follow with interest.

Cheers

Martin

[Uncarina]

17 minutes ago, monthebiff said:

Good to see you back Tom and a very interesting project indeed! Nice start and intrigued to thus come together!

 

Regards. Andy

Thanks Andy! Nice to be back with another LSP, and I am looking forward to the adventure.

 

7 minutes ago, Martinnfb said:

This looks like an exciting project Tom. Will follow with interest.

Cheers

Martin

I’m glad to have you aboard Martin!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Anthony in NZ]

Ohhhhh Tom!

A man after my own heart. I’ve come soooooo close to going about the conversion this way myself too. I chose the other option where rivets will challenge me!

 

All looks great so far! I have a feeling this is going to be another spectacular build from you.

 

 All settled in and ready to take the journey with you mate

 

Cheers Anthony 

Edited December 28, 2024 by Anthony in NZ

[John1]

I'm so into this build.   One comment - as you know, the colors of those Malta spitfires are hugely debated.   The Cauchi book is well respected but from what I've heard over on Britmodeler, the newest "bible" on those colors can be found in the first "Color Conundrums" which can be purchased over at Sprue Brothers.   I've got it and it's an excellent reference with much new info on these color schemes. 

[Biggles87]

Interesting to see another approach to this conversion.

 

John

[Uncarina]

11 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said:

Ohhhhh Tom!

A man after my own heart. I’ve come soooooo close to going about the conversion this way myself too. I chose the other option where rivets will challenge me!

 

All looks great so far! I have a feeling this is going to be another spectacular build from you.

 

 All settled in and ready to take the journey with you mate

 

Cheers Anthony 

Thanks Anthony! Your encouragement means a lot, and I’m looking forward to seeing this build unfold. In the meantime, please let me know what you think of the riveting process.

 

9 hours ago, John1 said:

I'm so into this build.   One comment - as you know, the colors of those Malta spitfires are hugely debated.   The Cauchi book is well respected but from what I've heard over on Britmodeler, the newest "bible" on those colors can be found in the first "Color Conundrums" which can be purchased over at Sprue Brothers.   I've got it and it's an excellent reference with much new info on these color schemes. 

Thanks for the reminder John! I just placed an order after reading through the table of contents.

 

7 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

Interesting to see another approach to this conversion.

 

John

It’s the most extensive conversion I’ve set out to do so far, but I am really looking forward to making more progress.

 

Cheers, Tom

[mozart]

Brave man Tom, but what an intriguing project! 

[Uncarina]

3 hours ago, mozart said:

Brave man Tom, but what an intriguing project! 

Here I’m hoping fortune favors the bold. An obvious consideration here is the fit of the cockpit, and fortunately most of the cockpit parts are included on the Kotare sprues I purchased. I now have to figure out what sidewall parts to bring over from the Tamiya kit, and which Kotare parts to omit.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Uncarina]

Just a brief update as I finish my Non-LSP build: I’ve purchased a complete Kotare Spitfire Mk.Va as insurance that I will have whatever is necessary for the conversion. My hope is that it will just be used to check for alignment with corresponding Tamiya parts, but we’ll see. I’ll keep you posted!
 

Cheers, Tom

Edited January 4 by Uncarina

[Anthony in NZ]

2 hours ago, Uncarina said:

Just a brief update as I finish my Non-LSP build: I’ve purchased a complete Kotare Spitfire Mk.Vc as insurance that I will have whatever is necessary for the conversion. My hope is that it will just be used to check for alignment with corresponding Tamiya parts, but we’ll see. I’ll keep you posted!
 

Cheers, Tom

Hi Tom, do you mean Va?

 Not aware of a Vc yet 

[Wouter]

Of to a nice start Tom, looks like sawing and hacking different kits together, is name of the game at the moment here on LSP 😉

[Uncarina]

8 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said:

Hi Tom, do you mean Va?

 Not aware of a Vc yet 

Yes, I realized that I had mis-typed as I lay awake in the middle of the night! It’s now corrected.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Uncarina]

3 hours ago, Wouter said:

Of to a nice start Tom, looks like sawing and hacking different kits together, is name of the game at the moment here on LSP 😉

Thanks! It’s our way of ensuring that a new state of the art release of our respective subjects becomes imminent.

 

Cheers,  Tom

Edited January 4 by Uncarina