Sounds great, my friend @gblair!

I am now equipped with the Eduard D-Day Spitfire Mk Vb in the Weekend edition. I also got a set of masks and an Eduard "Look" set for the interior. I hope to get started on the Spitfire in the next few days. I am trying to get a good cleaning and straightening of my hobby room, so I want to get that done before I jump in. I keep finding more online photos for these planes, as well as more detailed history of the squadron. I have also found some conflicting information. I found a sight that says these planes were painted in the FAA camouflage of Dark Sea Gray, Dark Slate Gray, and Sky, although all of the other sources I have say the planes were wearing the standard RAF camo of Dark Green and Gray. I would really like to do my model in FAA Camo, but I really think they were Gray/Green. I am a little surprised how much information is available for a squadron that only existed for 3 weeks. Pretty cool.

3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

@gblair - The Fleet Air Arm Seafires were done in the Temperate Sea Scheme. The Spitfires flown by the USN were RAF airplanes in RAF camo - Ocean Grey, Dark Green, Sea Grey Medium.

A good book that includes the author's account of commanding the FAA part of the observes is "They Gave Me A Seafire" by CDR R. "Mike" Crosley, RN. It's also good for accounts of Seafire usage in the Med, Norway and the Pacific.Published by ParaPress Ltd, and you can find it at Amazon in Used, where I did. Answers all your questions.

Nice to see you have received the Spitfire, George @gblair
Looking forward to it and how this scheme will turn out.

I got started today on the Eduard Spitfire Vb that I am using for this build. As usual, I began by looking through the instructions and then making the first sub-assemblies in the cockpit. Something I should probably admit up front is that although I have purchased a number of Eduard kits over the years, I have never actually built one. So, if it sounds like I am reacting like I have never seen an Eduard kit before, it is because I really have never looked inside the box before. The instructions are very complete and are more like a book than a pamphlet of instructions. The first think I noticed is that there are a lot of parts that aren't used for this kit. A couple of the sprues are marked for "Spitfire Mk. I-V. What this actually means is that you really need to be sure that you are using the correct part for your model. For instance, there are two complete sets of cockpit side panels, four or five different canopies, and so on. Making this even more confusing is that I got an Eduard "Look" set for a Spitfire Mk. V. So, there are pieces of etch and 3D decals that aren't necessarily appropriate for this particular Spitfire. So, I check the instructions for the model, then check the instructions for the accessories, then check them again, before I do anything. What this means is that it is slow going. I got some sub-assemblies assembled and painted today. Many of the parts are very small and fine, which is good until you bumble them into the carpet. I have managed to find everything so far. More tomorrow. Cheers.

5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Hi Eric (@eb801): I have built several Hurricanes, but this will be my first Spitfire. This Eduard kit became available at exactly the right moment. I wanted to build a model of one of the planes used by the Navy spotters on D-Day, and this is that exact plane with the exact decals. Perfect timing. This Eduard kit will really be a good was to ease into Spits.

George: The “new” Airfix Spitfires are worth trying as well. Especially the Mks with Griffin engines.

You might want to consider a revised title for your now 1/48 WIP.

Thanks, John (@johnb) and Spiros (@fiveten). This should be a fun one.