ITALERI 1:48 SPITFIRE Mk. IXc
This was originally going to be the oddball "beer truck" version as shown on the box-top but investigation has led me to believe that this is now a myth at least as depicted by the aircraft shown. I have found pictures of an aircraft with the kegs attached but could find no info as to which aircraft. Anyhoo...the model depicts the aircraft flown by F/L Stu Tosh. The aircraft was shot down in July '44 and the above photos show the recovery in Aug '44. American AA batteries near St.Lo got carried away and opened up on the 403sqn. Spitfires, hitting 5 of 6, with 3 having to make forced landings. F/L Stu Tosh was able to get out of the aircraft and returned to his base 4 hours later. The aircraft was rebuilt and continued to fly after the war.
What attracted me to this aircraft was that the invasion stripes were removed from the wing tops and only one side of the fuselage. I'm thinking the aircraft was pressed into service before the job could be completed. The fuselage stripes are also smaller than the norm (ask me how I found that out). Also the wings stripes are more inboard than normally seen. This was originally an Ocidental kit released in the 90s. The fit is less than stellar around the separate wing tips (these are one piece as seen on a majority of kits. Why can't they be 2 piece to allow the fit to the separate wing halves first?), rear wing/fuselage area and the upper cowl/fuselage join
Great job! Interesting story, all in all it's still an oddball subject.
Thanks Robert
Nice work...I like it.
Thank you Craig
Nice work George !, A very interesting story, and in the spirit of searching for the weird or unusual markings, you definitely found one here.
I really like your Spitfire George. It turned out great. The original B & W photos are a nice touch.
Happy Easter my friend.
Thanks gents and a Happy Easter to you Louis
Interesting story George, and the Spit turned out quite well. Did you have any issues with the Kit?
Thanks Tom. The upper cowl piece wouldn't sit flush at the rear and was a bit wider than the fuselage. There's a lip on the "firewall" that needs to be removed to get a flush fit. Once glued and set, I mudded up the side seams. The fit of the wings/fuselage fit was almost perfect on top but the bottom rear needed some sanding and mud. The separate wingtips needed mud as well
It makes you wonder why they bothered to remove the invasion stripes at all, but I'm sure there was a good reason, whatever, it certainly makes for an interesting model, and a nice variation on the Spitfire.
Thanks George. I can't give an exact number but I believe there was a small drop in speed with the paint added. The main reason for adding them was to avoid friendly fire from the allied navies during the invasion, so at the time, a loss of a few mph was better than being shot down by your own side
Good-lookin' Spit, and nice choice of an usually painted subject.
Thank you Greg
Interesting article was looking at this when your comment came through. Nice mk ix
Thanks Anthony
My favourite spitty mark. Great model, and thanks for the back story. Agree with the wing fit; the dihedral is everything on a spitfire, and theseb one piece models make it hard to get it right.
12 Group Spitfires used 12" stripes rather than 18" stripes, which is how those came to be.
Nice work on this. Don't know how I missed it first time around.
Thank you very much Tom and thanks for the info. I first had the stripes painted as 18" and when it came time to decal I realized my error and had to redo them