Martin's Spitty Dual Build

[Martin R]

I have two of Heller's Spit Mk XVI to make, Telford is out of the way, and I only have a lounge to decorate before Christmas. What could possibly go wrong?

My first introduction to Heller kits came courtesy of the Mk XVI. We were on a school trip to the Isle of Man in 19oatcake, and I had just enough pocket money to purchase one of these when I came across a model shop in Ramsay. (Heller as a brand was unknown - and unavailable - to schoolboys in Dumfries in those days*). Shame really, because if I'd had a couple of quid more, I wouldn't have had to choose this over a Heller Tempest Mk V, which is another really nice little kit.

Still swithering a bit about how to do this build, but one idea would be to build the first aircraft out of the box, and have a bit of a play with the other one.

Things what I might like to try**:

- Reducing the depth of the radiator / oil cooler underwing fairings,
- Playing with the upper cowling contour to get a subtle Packard Merlin 'bulge'
- Replacing the underside of the cowling ahead of the wing with same from a Hase Mk VIII / IX. (Some say the kit is a bit 'pigeon breasted')
- Doing a bit of scribing of removable panels (well, I've got to practise with my new Trumpeter scribing tool)
- Increasing the length of the spinner (or replacing with another suitable).

Personally, I don't see any of the above as absolutely necessary to building a good representation of a Mk XVI (insert your own definition of 'good' here and come to your own conclusion). However, a back to back comparison may be of interest in allowing us to see whether these differences make any discernable difference to the 'look' of the finished article.


* Much like today.
** Without prejudice or commitment, as the contracts bods say

regards,

Martin

[Old_Tonto]

That sounds like a good plan.

Will be watching this one.

[Martin R]

OK,

I think you all know what the sprues look like by now. Here's the box art:



The original one with the silver Spit is my favourite. The artist has caught the lines of the Spit beautifully imho, but Heller seemed to have a thing for 'fussy' backgrounds that detracts from the object of the picture. But so what! Art criticism has never been one of my strengths.

I have one with silver plastic and one with mid-grey. One of my canopies has also been short-shot, so I'll have to find a replacement (probably vac form). Apart from that, everything is there. I have the resin bits from a Smer HF Mk VI spit that I bought many moons ago and never made. I plan to use the spinner and prop blades to replace the Heller one on one of the Spits. I also have some white metal bucket seats and spade type control grips, but I'm unsure whether I'll use these; the Heller items look fine to my eye.

The only other aftermarket that will be used is the decal sheet. I bought the Top Colors book on the Spit XVI:



Nice colour profiles! One of my builds is planned to be 2I-V, with a spiralschnauze. That should be fun to mask. I will have to scratch a centre-line mount to hold the 250lb bomb I found in my old Lanc kit.

Here are the actual decals:



The decals themselves look nice, but I have to admit, modelling only in 1/72nd as I do, this is an expensive way to model a particular machine. I'm also open to offers for the 1/48th and /32nd bits

Finally, and to paraphrase a famous N London boy, "The first cut is the deepest one". I know it's not the best shot, but this is intended to show the difference in depth of the oil coolers after I removed one set, reduced its height by a couple of mils and reattached it. There isn't a lot of difference really, is there, but FYI the modified set are on the upper wing. I will try to get some in-focus shots tomorrow to see if I can get a better view. However, unless you're a scale Nazi, this particular 'fault' shouldn't be a biggie.



regards,

Martin

[Jagewa]

The original one with the silver Spit is my favourite. The artist has caught the lines of the Spit beautifully imho, but Heller seemed to have a thing for 'fussy' backgrounds that detracts from the object of the picture. But so what! Art criticism has never been one of my strengths.

It is a lovely painting, I like the pilot in it too. It looks quite mucky as well, like one of those Burmese ones might look

I will have to scratch a centre-line mount to hold the 250lb bomb I found in my old Lanc kit.

Aha your bomb query post becomes clear now...

but FYI the modified set are on the upper wing.

Don't put them on the upper wing!

[Martin R]

Don't put them on the upper wing!

[Martin R]

I had intended to do some modelling tonight, but two hours spent after work painting the first coat of the lounge upper wall colour (yes, the lounge has a dado rail and my wife "thought it'd be nice" to have 2-tone walls) convinced me otherwise.

However, I did stir my carcass to give both sets of sprues a jolly good scrub in hot soapy water, so hopefully my acrylics will stick. If, of course, I get round to doing any Spitfire-related painting anytime soon.

regards,

Martin

[Martin R]

The good news is I got some modelling done tonight

I got both sets of upper and lower wings joined.

The oob build had the radiator blocks painted anthracite, added as is, with the inner sides of the upper wings painted interior green to impersonate the roof of the radiator ducts. By way of contrast, the modded kit had the radiator blocks sanded down to match the height of the reduced height ducts, sheets of fine copper mesh were superglued on to the front and back of the blocks, then trimmed, painted anthracite, dry-brushed aluminium, and popped in place. Radiator duct roofs were added from painted styrene sheet and the wings were joined.

Also various bits of the respective cockpits were painted interior green, and the prop blades were given a couple of coats of semi-gloss black.

The bad news, though, is that my camera appears to have given up the ghost, so no pics. I will try to get some shots with my wife's camera tomorrow.

I was wondering how to tart up the cockpit a bit on the non-oob build, but I may not bother as little enough will be seen.

regards,

Martin

[Martin R]

There we go! Unmodded front, modded rear.



I will be painting the lounge all day tomorrow but will hopefully try to get the unmodded aircraft's cockpit installed and fuse together tomorrow evening.

I have been racking my brains thinking how I could finish the unmodded Spit XVI. I like the high speed silver finish as per the kit, but a number of you are doing that one. So, I've been thinking: a Whif, perhaps? SEAC roundels, TLS, white ID bands. Any views?

regards,

Martin

[PaulBradley]

I think HSS on top, and maroon below the dado rail......

[Martin R]

I think HSS on top, and maroon below the dado rail......

Strangely 'er indoors didn't think much of a FAA camouflage scheme for the lounge: ("But honey, anything looks good in TSS.") It's more a desert motif, being shades of earth and sand . . .

regards,

Martin

[Martin R]

Well, I put the second coat of darker brown paint - "chalk blush 1" from Dulux - on the upper lounge walls today, then applied the first coat of lighter brown paint - go on, guess the name: that's right, the fabulously original "chalk blush 2" - on the lower. Then . . . oh, you expected to hear about the Spitfires! Sorry.

Well, as dearest has nicked her own camera back to take with her to a concert (Kate Rusby. No, I hadn't heard of her either. From the CD, very soulful and mellow vibes). Anyway, as I was saying, no camera. Hence, no pictures. So, you'll have to take the following on trust:

Unmodded Spit has had its interior bits painted, and added to the fuselage halves, which were then joined. Fuse added to wings. Tailplanes on. Everything now drying.

Modded Spit is, unsurprisingly, a bit behind. I've decided to use the Aeroclub white metal stick and seat; these have been painted and wine bottle foil has been used to make seat belts. I've removed the raised detail on the IP and added a card IP that came with the 3D Kits Spitfire upgrade set that I bought at Telford. I've also flooded the 'indent' beneath the IP with a mixture of Tamiya smoke and black, which has added a little depth. I've got some detail painting still to do on the fuse halves before I join them together though.

I also sawed off the Smer prop spinner, cleaned up the pour stub on the back and deepened and widened the pre-drilled holes for the prop blades. I'll probably leave it there for the evening. Pics tomorrow, hopefully.

regards,

Martin

[Martin R]

I forgot to mention: a number of you have mentioned the excellent fit of this kit. I have to agree. Any issues thus far are down to me, not the kit.

As well as that, has anyone noticed how delicate / thin the mouldings are? I said in my last post that I used a 3D kits paper IP. This was designed, I believe, for the Airfix kit. Interestingly enough, it is slightly undersized compared to the Heller IP frame. Why? Assuming both kits are approximately the same cross-section (OK, big assumption) then it could be because the Airfix IX interior (what there is of it) needs to fit inside big chunky bits of plastic. The Heller, being all Gallic and elegant in its moulding, can be a bit more expansive inside.

I know that the Heller Tempest (smashing kit!) and Vampire 5 (ditto!) date from about the same era (mid - late '70s, I think). Which other Heller kits date from this era? I may have to buy them.

regards,

Martin

[Martin R]

Photos taken, but not uploadable due to Photobucket faff!

Cockpit of modded Spit installed and fuselage halves joined. Unmodded Spit had the carburettor inlet added. With the latter added, the undernose contour looks much less convex.

Tomorrow the surgery begins on the modded Spit.

regards,

Martin

[Jagewa]

This is like a radio build....

[PaulBradley]

Kate Rusby has a very unique voice, I think. Her northern accent is very prominent as well. There are three or four of her tracks on my Kate Bush station on Pandora.