Laminar Flow Design + Tamiya = Spitfire XIVe

[TBC]

31 minutes ago, Uncarina said:

Thank you! I haven’t fully decided yet, was thinking of DC Gordon’s MV256 AE*K, but still haven’t come across any photos. Do you have any recommendations?

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

I'm sort of surprised that neither of those guys responded, especially Steve, as he is with IPMS Canada. I wouldn't dare recommend something to you. Discounting aircraft with nose art or a different colour spinner or rudder (if you can find a photo), they are all rather nondescript, really. You're doing a straight F.XIVe, correct?

[MDuv]

4 hours ago, Uncarina said:

No worries Mathieu! It’s already fixed. I managed to gently remove the rudder and straightened the profile. It would have bugged me otherwise.

 

Cheers,  Tom

Awesome! I know that feeling too well…

[Uncarina]

6 hours ago, TBC said:

 

I'm sort of surprised that neither of those guys responded, especially Steve, as he is with IPMS Canada. I wouldn't dare recommend something to you. Discounting aircraft with nose art or a different colour spinner or rudder (if you can find a photo), they are all rather nondescript, really. You're doing a straight F.XIVe, correct?

 

To be sure, I commented in their forum thread, but still need to message them directly. And yes I am planning a XIVe version, and will keep researching. Thanks for your interest!

 

2 hours ago, MDuv said:

Awesome! I know that feeling too well…

 

Haha yes! It's something that you cannot unsee. By the way, thank you for the instructions on trimming the tailplanes--it is spot on.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Uncarina]

As a postscript to TBC's question I am now leaning towards the Spitfire XIV of 41 Squadron flown by F/L F. A. O. "Tony" Gaze, EB P/MV 260.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Troy Molitor]

Looking fantastic Tom.  Love the looks on this aircraft.       

[Uncarina]

58 minutes ago, Troy Molitor said:

Looking fantastic Tom.  Love the looks on this aircraft.       

Thank you Troy! I certainly do as well.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Tolga ULGUR]

Looks better that excellent, Tom

[Uncarina]

8 hours ago, Tolga ULGUR said:

Looks better that excellent, Tom

Troy thank you! You are very kind.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Uncarina]

Like the Spitfire V and Spitfire IXC, the Spitfire XIV was an "interim" type pending production of the "definitive" Spitfire XVIII, which utilized a "beefed-up" Mk. VIII airframe with larger radiators and first appeared with the "C" wing. The first squadron to equip with the new type was 610, a former RAuxAF squadron which had been among to equip with the original Spitfire. The Mk. XIVs arrived in January 1945. By March, 350 (Belgian) Squadron was also equipping with the type, as was 130 Squadron. These three would form the Newchurch Wing, which became operational in May 1944, just before the invasion. The thre squadrons were in a long work-up period to get used to this very different Spitfire, in which the prop rotated the opposite of all previous Spitfires and required judicious application of throttle and rudder on takeoff to avoid a torque roll on takeoff, not to mention the new type was far more nose-heavy than the Spitfires the pilots were used to. A few fighter sweeps happened before D-Day.
https://modelingmadness.com/review/allies/cleaver/gb/spit/tc14e.htm

 

I've added the tailplanes after following Mathieu's instructions to remove 1-2 mm from the upper tailplane halves. To do this I carefully drew the contour inset one millimeter back from the edge and cut/sanded to the line. After this I repeatedly test fitted until each side fit. The right side was done relatively quickly but I oversanded on the left and had to add a shim, sanded to blend, before fitting.

 

 

 

 

In this last photo you can see how I straightened the profile of the vertical fairing where it meets the rudder. I would have missed this if Mathieu hadn't pointed it out. You can also see some of the wonderful detail on the rudder. Wings next!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Uncarina]

"Hoof asked me on the Sunday morning at West Malling whether I had read the book on the Mk IX Spitfire, which I had, and he said, ‘Well come and sit in it and I’ll show you what everything does.’ I wondered where this conversation was going… Then after the show, it was a beautiful evening with the sun setting and he said, ‘Right, you might as well take the Spitfire home’. My first flight in a Spitfire was from West Malling back to Duxford on a summer’s evening in August. Perfect! I remember that I scurried back to White Waltham as quickly as I could and I bought myself a pint and was standing there in the bar just itching for somebody to ask me what I’d done that day, and nobody did! Eventually I had to say, ‘Look, you miserable bastards, why don’t you ask me what I’ve done today?’ They said, ‘Go on, what?’ and I said, ‘Well, I’ve flown a Hurricane and a Spitfire today!’ They said, ‘…Yeah, right!’ and that was the end of that!”
https://vintageaviationecho.com/spitfire-mkxiv-mv293/

 

I've reached the major milestone of completing the main airframe assembly. The Tamiya wing fits like a dream to the fuselage, while the LMD underwing intakes take careful and repeated test fitting. I ended up removing the Tamiya blocks that assist alignment altogether, and this helped the fit. Once in position they look great. The centerline intake also took a bit of time to get to fit, and it didn't help that I dropped the piece on the floor, breaking off part of the fairing. I ended up replacing this with CA sanded to shape. I also had difficulty getting the forward part of the wing assembly to fit in to position, and found a major culprit to be two knobs that project from the bottom of the firewall; I removed this and this helped considerably. The other modification is to shorten the aelerons per the Mk. VIII airframe (you could avoid this by also ordering the "DD" sprue from that kit). In any case, I'm closing in on paint!

 

 

 

 

Here you can see that a bit of filling is necessary, but the gap is smaller than it appears.

 

 

And for perspective here is my Kotare build to compare with:

 

 

Cheers,  Tom

[John1]

Nice work.    What are you thinking for markings?  That upcoming Zotz decal sheet has some enticing subjects. 

[Uncarina]

36 minutes ago, John1 said:

Nice work.    What are you thinking for markings?  That upcoming Zotz decal sheet has some enticing subjects. 

Thank you John! It’s taken a fair amount of work to get to this point but my mojo is up and running. I have been leaning towards DC Gordon’s MN256 AE*K Spitfire XIVe with the white spinner and rudder, but absent specific reference photos the decal sheets that depict this aircraft are just conjecture for me. I’m leaning towards a WWII subject however.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Shoggz]

Glorious stuff Tom!

 

You're really making me want to break out my conversion kit and get cracking - [[must resist]]

[Uncarina]

4 hours ago, Shoggz said:

Glorious stuff Tom!

 

You're really making me want to break out my conversion kit and get cracking - [[must resist]]

Thank you! That AS-12 really brings out the wonderful lines of this aircraft (and items I need to address). The LMD conversion is splendid to use, just need a careful approach at times. Overall I’m really impressed with how well it fits.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Dennis7423]

Go Tom, go! You're doing great, and it's looking great. Sure is a splendid looking aircraft, isn't it?

 

- Dennis S.

   Mount Juliet, TN USA