Tamiya 1/48 scale Spitfire MK V
I'm back !, I cannot believe its been over a year since my last posting. I always new that moving to a new home would take time to make the move and set up shop again, but as with any big event in a persons life you try to get back to things you enjoy the most as soon as possible. Therefore my return to modeling was inevitable and is a must to make my new home a home.
This little gem is Tamiya's 1/48 scale Spitfire MK V, and for those who haven't built one, all I can say is your missing out, its simple and beautifully engineered, and with a few upgrades can be made into a real beauty.
For the Spitfire purist, my apologies, I guess to you guys this a bit of blasphemy, having your sacred Spitfire in a two tone green camo and US markings, however one look at the Eagle Strike decal sheet #48228 showing this aircraft flown by Bob Curtis in Sicily in 1943, I new I had to build it.
The information provided in the Eagle Strike Productions decal sheet does indicate that this particular paint scheme may not be as shown, however this aircraft was different in appearance than others within the squadron. My personal research, I could not find any photographs of this aircraft only artist drawings, that showed this scheme.
Bob Curtis, shot down one Bf 109 flying this aircraft. He later lost this aircraft when the building he was attacking exploded in front of him damaging this aircraft. Lt. Curtis bailed out and later went to fly P-51s with the 15th AF, and destroying 13 more enemy aircraft.
The model was painted with some of the last bottles of Testors Model Master enamel paint in my stash. I added some Eduard PE seatbelts and some thin solder for brake lines. The exhaust pipes and gun barrels were drilled out, and I used stretched sprue for the antenna wire and landing gear lock indicators.
Weathering was done with a pastel chalks and silver pencil.
7 additional images. Click to enlarge.
John vd Biggelaar said on June 12, 2020
Fantastic build, Terry.
What a beautiful scheme on this Spit.
The paint job is very well done.
Dale Cole said on June 12, 2020
Well done Terry! Love the stars and bars on a Spit.
Terry Schuler said on June 12, 2020
Thanks Dale, and good to hear from you, I thought this scheme might catch your eye !
Spiros Pendedekas said on June 12, 2020
This is a lovely built Spifire, Terry!
Your paint scheme is striking!
Haslam Yeoman said on June 12, 2020
Interesting colour scheme and great build.
Tom Bebout said on June 12, 2020
Welcome back Terry, and that's a lovely looking Spitfire in that paint scheme. I like it.
Erik Gjørup said on June 12, 2020
Now, that was a bit off the beaten track! Welcome back - great stuff this green horn... Spitfire.
Greg Kittinger said on June 12, 2020
I have to say, I get bored with all the "purist" versions of Spits and 109's, and love it when they show up in unusual schemes! This really trips my trigger - I want to build one in 1/72, even if the scheme is somewhat "speculative!" Lovely job on this!
Terry Schuler said on June 12, 2020
Ya, It would look very cool in 1/72 scale.
I too always keep an eye out for the unusual schemes, and have to admit, this one really caught my eye, Glad you like it, and thanks for the nice comment.
Walt B said on June 12, 2020
Beautiful work, and know what it is like to be dipping into last of stash of Model Master Enamels. At least yours went to build a beautiful model and didn't just harden in the jar.
Ramon R. Lomeli said on June 12, 2020
Good looking Spitfire!
Tom Cleaver said on June 12, 2020
Nice work. That's a believable "field paint job" of an airplane in desert camo that was re-purposed once they got to Sicily/Italy where the landscape was significantly different.
Terry Schuler said on June 12, 2020
Tom, that's exactly what I thought when I started researching it, or at least its the story I'm sticking with !
Stéphane Bredel said on June 12, 2020
Very interesting camouflage. Never seen it before on a Spitfire. Bravo!
Question: do you apply chalk on a mat varnish coat on directly on the paint?
Terry Schuler said on June 12, 2020
Stephane, The chalk I use is called "Prismacolor NuPastel". I works very well over a mat / flat finish. It doesn't stick very well over gloss. Some art stores carry individual sticks.
I find that you can clean it off with a damp cloth after the initial application, however after a few days its pretty much permanent. A light coat of flat after that usually gives you a little insurance over a greasy finger print.
I really like the stuff !
Marvin Reyes said on June 12, 2020
Bravo! Another masterpiece Terry. We missed you, for sure.
Stephen W Towle said on June 12, 2020
There is a book out ...Spitfires & Yellow tail Mustangs. The U.S. 52nd fighter group in WW II by Tom Ivie and Paul Ludwig. The book has a colored plate and a black and white photo of your Spitfire Terry. Not much info other than to say that the plane did fly and had a one off paint scheme. Nice to see a Spitfire out side of the norm.
Robert Royes said on June 13, 2020
Looks great, nice scheme and welcome back!
Thiago C. M. Pacheco said on June 13, 2020
That is a beauty! This kit is really a breeze to build, everything fits perfectly. Very cool color scheme, too. Thanks for sharing!