**** DONE: 1/48 Spitfire MK.IXc - Allied Advance and Defense of the Reich WWII.

[Crimea_River]

My theory: KH-T went down when they started to remove the stripes on the upper surfaces. Looking again at the below pic an the one above, definitely no stripes on starboard fuselage. However, definitely non-reg stripes on port side as evidenced above. Top of port wing shows evidence of the stripes having been there. No black lines evident but there appears to be a patch of washed white?

 

[fubar57]

I wonder if that might be the Ocean Grey on the wing. It is in the right spot and looks similar to the color by the guys head and on top of the cowl.


Geo

 

[fubar57]

Bottom done, a bit of artistic license with the rear stripes.

Two questions, would the bottom of the cannons and stubs be MSG or black and should I have gone straight back with the inner white stripe instead of contouring it around the radiators?

Geo

 

[Airframes]

From what I've seen, nobody seemed to bother painting the cannon fairings, just the wings. The stripes would just go straight back, as they appear to do in your photo.

 

[Wayne Little]

doin' good...

 

[fubar57]

MSG it is. One last question before I paint. What's going on with the paint on the tail section? Andy's photo, very clear show what looks like the standard paint job while the one I posted, blurry, the colors look transposed.

Geo

 

[Airframes]

I think that's just the effect of the lighting, with the rudder being swung slightly to starboard as well. Use the first pic as the basis for the 'normal' pattern.

 

[fubar57]

Okie Dokie....morning coffee, then paint. Thanks Terry


Geo

 

[JKim]

Paint looks good Geo!

 

[Crimea_River]

I would not go with MSG for the top of the wing Geo. If they were cleaning off the stripes at the time, it's possible that there was a white haze over the area awaiting a final wash down.

Another nice feature of this new forum setup: I thought I posted the following last night but obviously failed to hit "Post Reply". There it was, when I re-opened the thread this morning, still waiting for me to hit the button!

By the way, another example of non-reg stripes. Photo is captioned 19 June 1944:

 

[Airframes]

I think Geo meant MSG for the underside of the cannon fairings Andy.
Fairly sure that's the aircraft, or at least the Squadron, represented by the BBMF Spit I mentioned previously, with the narrow stripes, aft of the roundel. Got some pics somewhere.

 

[Crimea_River]

My bad. He talked about Ocean Grey on the wing top, not MSG. Either way, I would not paint grey over the top stripes.

 

[fubar57]

Yikes, are we saying the stripes would still be on the wing tops?


Geo

 

[Airframes]

The stripes appear to have been removed from the top of the wings, but as Andy mentioned, there may well have been residue, particularly of the white, where a fine 'misting' of 'ghost' stripes might be seen.
However, as there seems to be little, if any evidence of the stripes where they were removed from the fuselage, it's probably safe to have the top of the wings in the normal camouflage colours, but maybe with a very feint 'pattern' showing where they were, if desired. This can be done by masking the area, and making the grey (and green if needed) slightly lighter.
I've been looking for a pic of what I think is the same aircraft, taken from the port side, where the wings are visible, but haven't found it yet.Probably in a book bot directly related to aviation !

 

[fubar57]

Thanks Terry and Andy. I was thinking of leaving a faint trace on the tops but was unsure of how to go about it. I'll give it a shot.


Geo

 

[fubar57]

OK, screwed up royally so I've been busy fixing it. One last question before I paint. In Andy's photo(Post 126 above) is that a small blob of Ocean Grey on the nose, behind the broken prop?


Geo

 

[Airframes]

Yes, it's a slight deviation from the regulation camouflage pattern. Have a look at the pattern on my 1/32nd scale Mk.XIV.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Crimea_River]

I think it's a combination of the camo and the sun hitting the contour of the cowl. The only thing I might suggest to get the washed out effect Geo, as an alternative to Terry's approach (which would work), is to mask the area and spray a clear coat that has a little light grey paint added to it. Definitely something to try on a scrap piece first though.

 

[fubar57]

Thanks for that Andy. About to start the top coat as we speak. Last last question. Would this aircraft have had replacement parts or is this just trying to read too much into the photos. The yellow arrows point to the Dk. Green running across the fuselage under the exhausts while the white arrow points to the Ocean Grey, which normally would run through the DG to the left of the yellow arrow.

I do think I see a demarcation between the 2 arrows but would like some opinions.


Geo