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Spitfire Mk.VB trop T M 249 Squadron Malta (Now Complete)


Wackyracer

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Here's my entry, first in progress work and GB on here so go easy please.

 

Hobbyboss as the main kit and canopy and filter from Hasegawa

 

zOQEiI9.jpg

 

Selection of decals and masks (kit was second hand and decals missing from box)

 

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AM

 

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And reference

 

eO7fVtY.jpg

 

And finally the aircraft

 

RgqQgCR.jpg?1

Edited by Wackyracer
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I'll be following along on this one - great subject!

 

Malta is special to me - I have a little Maltese ancestry...

 

And reference

 

eO7fVtY.jpg

And that's where my Grandmother, Rosetta, was born (known in the family as 'Rosetta from Valletta') :)

 

Iain

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Nice choice, in regards of the overpainting. Is there any evidence of that, order etc.? I would say that the surface was just faded by sun. But that is only me :) 

I will follow with interest

Cheers

Martin

attardspit5f.jpg

 

here is T-H , please note how the colours are blending together and judging by the shine of the surface it was fairly new paint job .

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RAF-ground-crew-during-WWII.jpg?w=800

249 Squadron Ta Quali, Malta

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Sunday afternoon bench time.

 

Gave the pit a coat of Mr Surfacer grey then Mr Paint Interior grey green. Instrument panel glued and dials filled with Microclear 

 

FOkIroj.jpg

 

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Other bits of the pit painted

 

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PE belts installed

 

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Gun covers installed into top wing sections. Fit was nearly perfect on this kit. The Trop version although the same took some filing to get a neat join.

 

ZjjmNA4.jpg

 

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Now the biggest challenge for me. Fitting the Hasegawa canopy to the kit. After a couple of hours head scratching I used the incorrect tail sections from my Trop build (the profile was almost a perfect match) to fashion 2 fill-in panels between the pit and the framework.

 

I jointed the fuselage with tape so I could see side to side and also width. The Hasegawa is about 1mm narrow but will 'spread' a touch.

 

OdWUTFf.jpg

 

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And with the canopy 

 

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Need to let the glue fully cure then I can in-tape the fuselage and refine the joins

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Managed some more bench time.

 

Gave the pit some washes and filters

 

ckzWjG7.jpg

 

9IZA0it.jpg

 

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Assembled the wings top and bottom

 

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Sorted the Quickboost replacement stabilisers

 

ELbyBFM.jpg

 

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Joined the fuselage and tested the wing joins. Each side had a small gap, so a shim of 0.2mm on one side and 0.3 on the other.

 

7R4nIAr.jpg

 

Bottom join was almost perfect

 

IoLBvwk.jpg

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Then with the engine cowlings in place I grabbed the Hasegawa trop filter to see how it went. I was guessing the kit base would need fitting then the filter part grafted on but it was almost a perfect fit!

 

I chain drilled the front section to match the rest of the kit.

 

7eXl9Ag.jpg

 

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Then test fitted

 

xl2VvoU.jpg

 

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Before committing to glue.

 

GQ5rPEB.jpg

 

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yPDcbG8.jpg

 

Very happy with the outcome. With the canopy sorted and this it should be straightforward from now on.

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