Supermarine Spitfire F Mk.XVIII

 Next up, another Spitfire! 

This is one I’ve been waiting for the right moment to build as it has a bit of a story. 

Today would have been my father’s 90th birthday. He passed Christmas 2021 and while I was up at my parents’ Cumbria home doing that eldest brother thing, I got a call from Airfix’s Michael Clegg asking if he could use two of my Sea King helicopters in a spread he was working on for his Workbench blog.

See here: https://uk.airfix.com/community/blog-and-news/workbench/mitchells-masterpiece-inherits-griffon-power

This not only helped take our minds off the  reason why I had had to dash north but also introduced me to a fact about one of my favourite aircraft which I had not previously known. 

One of the last fighter versions of the Spitfire, the Mk.XVIII flew on “Operation Firedog” in Malaya during the 1950s Emergency just my father was out there with the British Army, or at least en route. 

At the time I was talking to Michael Clegg about the Sea Kings he kindly offered to send me an Airfix kit in return for using my models and story. I naturally suggested the Spitfire would be the perfect one considering its significance:  my father having served in Malaya at more or less the same time, and for it being unveiled in the same article as my Sea Kings. Anyway, despite many a friendly follow up on my part, nothing ever arrived from Michael and so, I was fortunate enough to have sufficient  Airfix flying hours to ensure I secured a kit before it sold out, and it’s been in my stash ever since. 

It now seems only right to mark this, my father’s 90th birthday, to finally build it. 

Development of the Spitfire F Mk.XVIII the 'Super Spitfire' was started towards the end of 1943 and the first Mk.XVIII Griffin 65 powered Spitfire was delivered to the RAF on 28 May 1945. 99 aircraft were completed for the fighter/bomber role with the provision for wing mounted bombs and rockets. 

One of the first tasks when building this kit  is to drill out holes for either bombs or rockets. Airfix’s painting instructions, state they were in Kuala Lumpur in 1947, but it wasn’t actually until the end of June 1948 that 60 Sqn provided a detachment of their Spitfires to the Taskforce at Kuala Lumpur, which was also the first time they used rockets too which is what I’ve gone for. More on their use in the Malayan Emergency later.

Some will hate my approach with the cockpit interior. Being so beautifully moulded it seems horrifying not to paint and weather every nook and bump. However, having built the Spitfire FR Mk.XIV last year with pilot installed, I know you can see nothing at all of that interior once it's all put together. So as my new mantra is, only paint what you can see I've fitted the pilot in his seat and added a little of putty to his arm joints ready for one of my favourite bits, the detail brush painting. 

Meanwhile, here’s how and when the first Spitfire to be delivered was reported. 

JANUARY 1947 (OPERATIONS)  F/O QUILTER

“There has been little flying on the Squadron this month, principally because of a shortage of aircraft.  On the 15th our first Spitfire Mk.XVIII was flown from Seletar by the Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader Constable Maxwell DFC, DFC but apart from this one Spitfire there has only been our Harvard and another Harvard obligingly loaned by 81 Squadron. 

Our home field, Tenah, only became serviceable for limited flying as recently as the 29th, of this month when our two aircraft were flown over from Seletar. The flying we had managed to do previously had entailed our making the tiresome journey to Seletar by road everyday, thereby shortening our airborne hours even further.

Next month, fortunately, holds brighter prospects as several more of our keenly awaited Spitfires are very near completion and the Tenah runways should become closer to full serviceability.”

I feel my building of of TP222 is one of the Spitfires keenly awaited though it is still some way off being completed 

Lockheed Super-G Constellation

 Next up … Minicraft’s 1:144 scale, 1950’s airliner, the Lockheed Super-G Constellation, “Super Connie”. 

Very much a break from my usual subject matter but a build I’ve agreed to do for, Roy a friend from my Seaton Scale Modelling Group, he’s provided the kit and me the glue!

It looks a straightforward enough kit although light on detail, I guess that’s the a symptom of the small scale.

Time now to let these bits cure. 

This Constellation has to be one of the most unusual aircraft to have taken to the air. It reminds me of those futuristic looking craft the IR Thunderbird’s had to go and rescue when I was a boy! 

This kit is nice and simple though every bit is heavily covered in flash and will need quite a bit of filler along the seams but I’m enjoying it, however, I've discovered that Farrell & Gold’s modelling paste is more like Vallejo’s Plastic Putty which dries like rubber and won’t sand.

Hoping I’d managed to leave sufficient filler in the gaps, I dug out the Humbrol Maskol to mask the smallest glazing I’ve ever seen. I did start off with masking tape, but the canopy was just too small. 

Then, as much of the Constellation’s TWA paintwork is natural metal and I find white sprays best over silver, it was out with the Liquid Metal. Unfortunately this showed up the failings in Farrel & Gold’s filler, as the fuselage seams are still too visible for me. So, once the silver has cured I’m going to give the more chalky AK Modelling Putty a go, this I have found does sand but it also shrinks … I hate filling!!

That seam along the top of the fuselage has been driving me insane! SO much so, that I tried an approach I’ve never considered before and it’s something others may want to make note of. I masked a corridor either side of the seam and loaded it was 'sandable' filler, not the rubbery stuff! I then smoothed the filler and removed the masking tape to leave a ridge like a Mohican haircut along the length of the fuselage. Today, now dry, I sanded the area smooth and the results, not perfect but definitely passable and 100% better than my earlier attempts … did I say I hated filling - almost as much as commissions!

What I neglected to also say was that when smoothing the filler I thought I’d use a wetted finger, you know, just as you would to smooth mastic in a bathroom. However, I’d forgotten that I’d filled my water pot with Tamiya’s lacquer thinner which proceeded to burn off a large section of paint from the wing! Much fine sanding and repainting seems to have restored the wing to its former glory but it was touch and go at one point! 

After waiting a few days for that Liquid Metal silver to 100% cure it was time for some complex upper wing masking. Vallejo’s Liquid Metal is great stuff but it does like sticking to masking tape! I would have shown you the masked area but all you’d have actually seen was a mummified aircraft shape! The end result, I think if you look closely, is much more rewarding.

The next challenge was masking for the painting the fuselage which, inexplicably has to be white. Painting today’s airliners must be so much easier! 

So I’ve masked and applied white to the fuselage and tail fin, leaving just the black for the wing de-icing leading edges and nose cone. 

Oh yes, it’s also suggested I mask up paint thin black lines around that light grey panelling on the wing surfaces and add double bands around the tails. I’ve placed an order for a set of line decals as I’m concerned any masking will remove that paint. For me not only does Liquid Metal  lift easily, not much sticks to it very well either.

I think I’ll start work on the black detailing and engines next.

Having hand painted the wing de-icing leading edges and nose cone, those decals I bought for the wing outlining did not really add anything for the effort required to fix them, so I have gone without!

Time now to tackle those decals.

I first tested the Liquid Decal Film on a set of decals from the kit that I won't be using. While the decal stayed together with the film, because they were already crazed on the backing paper, the cracks in them remained very visible and the deck itself was now noticeably thicker. I, therefore, decided to risk trying to go without the film and fit them piece by piece. 

While challenging, this worked for the OK for the tail, but the large fuselage decal which I first attempted on the port side of the aircraft broke into so many pieces it probably took me an hour to get them anywhere near lined up - but once in place, there was absolutely no way to move them in unison to make those fine adjustments in alignment. So, where they lay was where they stay! 

For the starboard side, I felt I had to go with the Liquid Decal Film and suffer the cracked look. As it happened, the film prevented hidden faults from breaking it into many more pieces as it did on the port side, so this was a plus. It also, however, allowed the decal still to break along larger cracks permitting me to align the decal better on the aircraft. 

I now hope a final application of decal softener will get them sucked down nice and tight to the model, as the edges of these old decals did show signs of curling, just cause a bit more angst!

Next up will be the undercarriage, engines and propellers and then a final gloss coat. Should still be on target for next Wednesday's social.

Well, that’s the Super-G Constellation build complete. I just hope it will live up to Roy's expectations when he sees it in its full plastic glory!

I had to pull out all the tools in my toolbox to complete what I hope is a reasonable representation of this incredible looking aircraft. 

The decals had not aged well over their 27 years in the box and indeed, although Minicraft have rereleased this kit 9 more times through to 2014 this is a genuine 1998 version 1 release! I notice that one of my favourite model companies, Academy, re-boxed this kit in 2024 and released it in a most unusual scheme as a USAF EC-121 Warning Star. 

Meanwhile, I decided to finish this TWA aircraft with a satin varnish as opposed to gloss feeling that airliners are shiny but not usually a high gloss of a classic car. 

I’m pleased I managed to get it finished ahead of our Wednesday evening social, it was a close run thing with those decals! 

Panzer III Ausf J

Having just built Tamiya's Panzer II, I fancy now working my way through Airfix's Panzer III, IV & VI to complete the set. There are no fewer than 11 runners in this Panzer III kit, more parts than you can shake a stick at and it looks like the tracks are made up of individual pieces distributed across 4 runners, so this isn't going to be one of my sprint builds!

This kit can be built out of the box in one of two Eastern front schemes, so to be different, and as my preferred Afrika Korps scheme is not an option, I'm going to go for the long barrelled Scheme B, finished in White. I've not done one like this before, so will be a nice challenge. Also, with hindsight, this decision is a fortunate one, as the first task in the build is to pre-drill multiple 1mm holes in the 9 seemingly random pieces and if you get carried away, as I did, Scheme B requires one to drill all 20+ holes! 

I’ve built the chassis and running gear. I even blasted through the building of those tracks which I thought would be the end of me; just shows how the more you do something the easier it gets!

One interesting feature of this later Panzer III is the inclusion of the additional armour on the front vertical plate. Something that my Haynes Panzer III Manual - essential reading - covers in detail.

On seeing the reference pictures I have actually opened the visor, shown closed here, and will use some canopy glue to add some armoured glass in the gap Airfix have left in the kit.

I’ve loved building this kit … to me, it's definitely on of the better Academy mouldings I've seen … it’s superb. The only thing missing is a figure, however, for once one of my 3DGizmo German tank commanders does actually fit in the cupola; this one is way roomier than Tamiya's Panzer II. So I'm very happy with that!

This is a very interesting kit and probably deserves building in both markings as it covers the evolution of the Ausf J Panzer III. Following the instructions for Scheme B, the later 1943 Kharkov Offensive variant, I get to fit the spare set of wheels, and the additional spaced armour,  on the front vertical plate and 'Vorpanzer' (front armour) to the turret. The order to add extra armour came from Hitler via Field Marshal Keitel on 7 July 1941. It was the combat in North Africa, rather than Russia, that was the driver behind the order.

In addition to more armour I also get to fit the later 50mm KwK 39 gun, increased in length from the KwK 38's 2.1m (L/42) to 3.0m (L/60). Having previously been rejected, fearing that the longer barrel would restrict manoeuvrability if it protruded beyond the front hull, it increased its AP performance by around 30%.

The detailing of the gun's breach is a really nice touch and while there is an opportunity to have the turret's side hatches open, the lack of additional interior turret detail and being able to see my commander suspended in mid air had led me to close mine. There is however, a good opportunity for someone out there to do some nice interior scratch building, as Airfix (Academy) have started us off with a good bit of breach and inner hatch detailing.

Continuing with the detailing, I love the crisp moulding of this rear hull area. Those hatches could very easily be modified to reveal the Maybach engine beneath (scratch builders take note) and the accuracy of the later fitted mushroom air inlets introduced to improve cooling in North Africa is excellent.

Now, I move onto the fun bit … the colouring in. I have left the main wheels unglued so that, if I desire, I should be able to remove them with the tracks to paint separately, however, I have become more inclined recently to paint and weather them in situ, similarly the tools and boxes. My reasoning here is lightly spraying, as I do, the final camouflage colours over a good black layering of primer, I think provides for some nice shadowing, giving the model a better 3D look about it, and this includes the wheels and tracks. But that's just my view.  I will then aim to complete it in the winter markings of SS-Panzer Regiment 2, Kharkov Offensive, Russia, February 1943.

After a good covering of Black primer, which getting into all those nooks and crannies took quite some effort, I applied a layer of German Grey. I was almost tempted to leave the painting here, but the plain red tank number decals required would be probably not be visible against the dark background and I had promised myself the challenge of trying out a white wash winter camouflage scene. Oh yes, and as a last minute change, I added a bucket left over from a recent Fury Sherman build, something I'd seen in an archive photo and there were those hanging chains at the back just crying out for something to hang from them!

I then sprayed on a layer of diluted Vallejo chipping fluid across the whole tank. I had seen hairspray used in the same way before, but as I had the fluid thought using the correct medium would be OK. As it was, it did take a bit more white than I had anticipated to then evenly cover it owing to the paint forming, in places, into a bit of a crazy paving effect. Although dry, perhaps it needed longer to cure? I'm always a bit too hasty.  As you can see from these two pictures, I painted the solid colours with all ancillaries fixed, al be it I did remove the turret.

Once the White wash was dry, I pulled out my stiff Humbrol weathering brush and with a bit of water I worked on the edges and some of the flat areas which would perhaps get knocked, rubbed or walked on to remove some of the white. I had a number of winter Russian front archive pictures to work from and went for recreating a lighter bit of weathering for this one, it having only recently been painted.

I think those individual track pieces form a quite realistic line over the upper return wheels, the way they sag. They take quite an effort to build but I'm starting to warm to them in favour of the rubber tracks.

The 3DGizmo figure fitted in nicely, but I may have another go at detailing his uniform; I'm feeling his all black covering is lacking something.

I do like the crisp detailing on this kit, I found the suspension arms, particularly interesting as that was a unique feature of this model of tank. I decided also to leave a little of the white wash over painting on some of the tools, like the jack, as I am sure they would not have removed everything when applying the camouflage. 

Finally, I decided to leave the numbers off of the side of the turret and just affix them to the rear. I really did not fancy working them over the raised detail and again, reference pictures I've seen often omit them, as I am sure that after frequent reapplication of the white wash, the crews would soon tire of re-stensiling them back on!

I hope you like the final effect. I can see some things I'd do differently next time, but that's the beauty of this hobby, I don't think we ever stop learning

Panzer II

 This is the Tamiya 1:35 Panzer II that I picked up at the Yeovil Model show a couple of weekends ago from Crewkerne Models. 

I’m going to finish it with these Vallejo Afrika Korps colours that I’ve had in my stash since buying 3DGizmo resin figures at least 12 months ago for a Tiger I kit that’s still waiting to be built.

The dropper bottles in these themed sets from Vallejo are diddy little things, so it’s fortunate that the Panzer II is equally diddy! 

I don’t like to gripe but I’m going to. None of my 3D Gizmo  Afrika Korps resin figures fit my Tamiya Panzer II. The Commander’s aperture is no smaller than a Panzer IV or Tiger’s, why would it be when it is the right size for a 1:35 scale tank commander! Now I’ve loved 3D Gizmo for some years but, really, for £28+ I would have expected them to have done a little bit more homework here. 

The only fix I can see is to amputate the resin figures legs and do a bit of hip sanding … though I may just now go with the Tamiya figure and put it down to my long list of scale modelling experiences. I am starting to more frequently find these aftermarket bits and bobs a waste of money … perhaps it’s just because I’m beginning to be a bit of an old hand at this scale modelling lark! 

Using the Vallejo WW2 Afrika Korps AFV Camoflage set to paint my Tamiya Panzer II. 

Don’t know if it’s just the smaller bottles, they are diddy, but although badged their Air range, it was a little thicker and less easily spayed. 

Tamiya’s 1:35 scale Panzer II completed in the markings of R06, of the 15th Panzer Division, Afrika Korps. 

Used for reconnaissance rather than in an offensive role the full sized one was captured by the US Army on the surrender of the Axis forces in North Africa in 1943. 

I finished the kit with Vallejo’s Afrika Korps themed acrylic paints and weathered it with oils. 

LVT-4 Water Buffalo

Next in the bench is that Water Buffalo I picked up from Crewkerne Models a couple of weeks ago.

Such an unusual vehicle!

It is however another Italeri. Same soft plastic as the ‘Fury’ Sherman, equally erratic instructions and this one needs some SERIOUS tape to mould it into shape! 

Making progress with the LVT-4 Water Buffalo!

The kit itself is is a bit hit and miss for a 2000 tooled mould but I think the main issue for me is Italeri’s softer plastic which seems to suffer from warping, the need to drill out some of the holes and a less accurate fit. Italeri have unusually for them, added large pieces of PE for the machine gun pods. Although these add a bit of crispness, I’m not sure they are really necessary considering the lack of detail elsewhere. 

So, you’ll note that I’ve progressed to that favoured position of having it black primed ready for the Olive Drab and detailing. 

Oh yes, one final observation. This comes with no crew nor even hatch openings for the driver, so having seen archive pictures of them carrying SAS Jeeps across the Elbe in April 1945, I’m going to lay my hands on one of those nice Tamiya Jeeps to add to the finished build 

All now ready for some weathering and that SAS Jeep, which I’m looking forward to picking up from Crewkerne Models on Friday! 

I first primed this in SMS Surfacer Black followed by SMS Premium US Olive Drab. These paints are fantastic to airbrush, if not a bit smelly! Detailing has been completed with my go to Vallejo acrylics.

Tamiya’s SAS Jeep and Gecko Models British drivers (soon to join the SAS) for my Water Buffalo crossing of the Elbe, now acquired from Crewkerne Models and construction under way!

Water Buffalo, SAS Jeep and troops united. Now finally time for that weathering! 

Italeri’s LTV-4 Water Buffalo, Tamiya’s SAS Jeep and a couple of Gecko Models British Army drivers now complete this 1:35 scale ensemble. 

This finished look was inspired by a photograph of an SAS jeep sitting inside a Buffalo amphibious landing craft before the crossing of the Elbe on 29 April 1945.

It’s a shame the Jeep is now hidden in the Buffalo as there’s so much additional detail on it  that we’ll never now see … BUT … I know it’s there.

SMS paints were sprayed for the large areas, including the final mat varnish, Vallejo paints were used for brush painting the figures and detailing and Abteilung 502 oils for the weathering.