Those undersides look fantastic Louis. It amazes me how so much information can be ‘lost’ in such a short time, historically. When I was first able to recognise a television, we had 3 channels in the U.K! Now everyone shoots video from their phone and can edit too if they ‘download the app’. I got a book on Dunkirk recently based on photographs taken by the German army as it inhabited what was left of that part of Europe. Lots of the photos came from personal cameras. The Malta situation is difficult. Not so many cameras. We have spoken about it on pms in terms of each convoy of planes potentially ending up in different colours due to painting in ships and on the island - and based on some pilot preference. Not to mention the lack of official paint. Ships’ paint known as ‘boson blue’ has been one suggestion as you know. Add in the wealth of ‘artists impressions’ to distract and the lack of/inconsistency in eye witness accounts and it becomes a bit of a minefield, even in the case of known planes which may have changed colour, on ships and then on the island.

All of that said, Azure blue as in the med scheme would be a fair bet for some and ‘sky’ also. Your undersides look like they could be used in a reference article on the history of RAF paint jobs!

Hello again everyone, and thank you for the replies.

Chuck, you are absolutely correct with your statement about the multitude of various colors used on RAF planes. Part of what I wanted to accomplish on this multiple Spitfire build, was to model as many variations of the planes using these colors that I could. Unfortunately I don't think I have a Spitfire for use in the SE Asia theater, but I do have a 1/48 Hasegawa Hurricane that will have these colors...eventually. I don't think I will get to build it before this 100 Years of the RAF group build is over. In my next posting I will show the different colors I have used so far. Thanks my friend...

David LS,
It's always great to hear form you... Thanks for your input. Chuck is on to something here.

Paul B.
I sincerely appreciate the fact that you took on this massive endeavor to moderate the 100 Years of the RAF group build. It was a fantastic idea, and since I have started working on these builds, I have been diving into the research in my typical fashion. I have had some help from my friends... (sounds like a Beatles song)...
What amazes me is how much I have learned on the subjects of the men, the various colors used, and the machines they flew. I hope that you will be pleased with tonight's update. I have the various Spitfires posed in a photograph that will show a small portion of the evolution of the camouflage colors. So please stay tuned, and thank you for the kind words.

Tom C.,
Thanks for posting the pictures, and for telling the story about P/O Smith. I knew that McCampbell was an LSO and had served on the Wasp, but didn't know that he was present on the second trip to Malta. I also had read where a Spitfire had returned to the Wasp after having a fuel "issue", but never knew that the actual slipper tank fell off ! That must have been one hell of a shocker ... and the "pucker factor" was in full effect having rolled within three steps from the edge of the deck... WOW. I can only imagine what was going through his mind at the time. Do I throttle back up and try to take off, possibly stall out in the process and get ran over by the ship, or get ready for a swim, and still get ran over by the ship ?

So I learned something new here and for that I thank you.

Ironically, I had originally intended to install an under fuselage slipper tank on one of the Mk V's I'm building. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it... They are too darned ugly and take away from the lines of the Spit... They also remind me of the Dachelback tank used on the Bf-110 for the same reasons... you can see what I'm talking about on the old Fujimi kit box art. U-G-L-Y to the "nth" degree... Sort of like putting a bumper sticker right on the flawless paint of a Porsche, Ferrari, or a Maserati. You just don't do that kind of thing.

Cool photos by the way. It's good to see the underwing roundels present on the Mk Vc in the picture.

Thanks again.

So pleased stay tuned for the next installment which is coming up in a few minutes... and I think you all will like it... hopefully.

Just beautiful!

Keep em coming buddy I'm enjoying the view.

Today I spent some time masking off the Hurricanes in preparation for paint. Since I was doing that, I figured I would try masking one of the Spitfires too...

I masked one of the Tamiya Mk 1's.

Thanks Paul !

Please stay tuned, as I hope to get some more of these Mark 1's and Mk V's ready to spray... hopefully tomorrow.

as usual,
Comments are Encouraged.

Tom C,
Thanks for the suggestion.

I just finished adding the decals to the Airfix PR Mk XIX Spitfire. This one has been sitting idle for a while on purpose. It was sprayed with several coats of Future clear floor acrylic, in order to prep the surfaces for decals.

Here's how it looked just prior. The D Day Invasion stripes were sprayed on.

Having learned this lesson the hard way, now I'm letting all of my builds sit for several days just to be safe, when the Future has been used as a decal prep surface agent.
Here's how the Airfix PR Mk XIX looks now that the "stickers' have been installed. There were not too many decals to ad on this one.

I'm very pleased with the overall look on this one, and especially happy with the choice of markings with D-Day stripes. It was also a great idea to open the camera doors.

Thank you to all who voiced their opinions on this. I feel your thoughts helped to make this a better model.

I'm headed back out to the hobby shop, to continue the masking work on some more Spitfires... maybe later tonight I'll post a picture or two with some painted in "Dark Earth".

Getting closer...

As always,
Comments are encouraged.

“I’ll have to mask the clear parts off again to keep them from frosting“. Yep, good idea, Louis...

Stripes are looking just great. Good choice.