Spitfire V Trop - Aces of the Malta

Started by capt. R · 191 · 2 years ago
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    Louis Gardner said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Lis, @lis
    Sometimes we have days where things simply do not go as we would like them to. On other days it seems as if everything we touch, it turns out perfectly. The trick is to know which day is which 😉 something that I struggle with to this very day.

    I like how you are doing your own research. To me, this is just as much fun as the actual building portion is. These Malta Spitfires changed in appearance as time went on. So the early planes would look completely different from the later versions. Everything that has been said about the colors and the confusion that was generated by this was spot on.
    This color picture set was taken of a Spitfire that was "visiting" Malta. It was not stationed there. It was flown in by one of the 'Higher echelon Brass" officers as he was making an inspection. (I believe this might actually be Air Marshal Parks). The top side looks to be the typical Dark Green and Earth colors, while the lower side looks more like a light blue, possibly Azure.




    Now this next picture is "supposed" to show a Malta Spit that was downed and made it to the beach. I don't know if this photo was colorized, or if in fact it is a true original color.

    Lastly, this is supposed to be a color chip showing the various colors that were available to the RAF.

    Personally, I would take a guess and make a choice based from what you decide. My choices would include the Low Contrast colors for the Beauforts used in the Mediterranean. They are located in the bottom row, on the left side.
    Hope this helps you.

    The work you have done to the cockpit is incredible ! You are doing things in this scale that I would have a hard time doing in something much larger. I commend you on your attention to detail. 🙂

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Currently looking great already, Lis @lis
    Painting nis indeed a step where you finally see you aircraft getting together.

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    capt. R said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    @lgardner I very carefully read your article about Spitfire EP706. Very informative! I like your photos, and painting scheme. Yes, Like you, I noticed the dark blue Mediterranean. Under this Dark blue there was Desert scheme high contrast I think. Your EP706 have some kind of Dark Seagrey?

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    Louis Gardner said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Lis, @lis
    Thank you for the kind words on my EP706 Spitfire article. Yes I originally painted this airplane using exactly as you described, using the High Contrast Desert Scheme, with Dark Earth, Middle Stone and Azure Blue. Then I gave it several light, (almost transparent in some places) coats of a dark gray. The color I used for this was called "Gunship Gray, FS 36118". This has the same equivalent Federal Standards number as the RAF color called "Extra Dark Sea Gray" and this would have likely been available at some point on Malta.

    I made sure to not cover the base camouflage entirely. I wanted some areas to show through. My thoughts here were this paint would likely have been used sparingly, so that many planes could be toned down while using less paint, due to the shortages created by the Luftwaffe and Italians. Then in the high wear places, like the walkway areas near the wing root, and the ammunition covers, I lightly sanded the Gunship Gray color, making it look as if the paint was scratched or worn from everyday use. I also masked off the area surrounding the aircraft's serial number "EP706" so the desert scheme is visible here. I didn't think the ground crews would have had the time to neatly paint markings like these back on, or take the time to carefully mask them off. Finally, I used a regular #2 lead pencil, and drew on the back sides of the propeller blades, in an effort to make it look like the paint had been worn off, exposing the metal blade. Malta airfields were sandy and dusty. This would have worn the paint off the back of the propeller in no time, similar to how the coral dust affected aircraft that were operated in the South Pacific.

    I'm sure that whatever you decide on will look very good.

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    capt. R said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Your describe is very informative! I will use your experience in EP706.
    Last night I used mr surfacer to prime model. I need to make some corrections. I have a lot of sanding but work going on.

    2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    From the picture it looks quite ok already, Lis @lis
    After primer those minor correction areas always pop up.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Looking great, my friend @lis!

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    capt. R said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    @fiveten @johnb the lower surfaces were controversial mainly. Connecting the wings to the rear of the fuselage and tropical filter.

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    capt. R said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Due to the rather strange shape of the fairing, which also has a piece of the fuselage inside it (simplification of the casting mold), for the first time I decided to glue the fairing during construction. I tried to seal its lower part well with Micro Kristal Clear glue, because fairig is not perfect in fit. Next I polished all model by Tamiya compound paste.

    1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

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    capt. R said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    work is going on

    2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Keith said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Great job with the shading!

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Nice progress and nice shading, my friend @lis!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Indeed nice work on the shading, Lis @lis

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    capt. R said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Preshaiding second level. Desert Scheme Dark Earth&Middle Stone

    2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 2 years, 9 months ago:

    Great paintwork already, Lis @lis