Steve,
That's one really excellent build of the new 1/48 scale Spitfire from Airfix. You didn't mention anything about the cockpit. How well detailed is it?
Joel

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Steve,
That's one really excellent build of the new 1/48 scale Spitfire from Airfix. You didn't mention anything about the cockpit. How well detailed is it?
Joel

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Thanks for that.
It's a floor-less 29 parts Joel and a great rendition all round.

Steve.
Sounds very appealing. And the price should be less then the new Eduard kits. How can one go wrong.
Joel

Best regards

Steve

Steve, that looks stunning, I too love the heat effect of the exhausts, and overall an excellent paint job. Airfix really do seem to have gotten their act together, this looks to be very accurate Do you know who the designer is? I ask because I'm interested to know if Airfix have someone else, other than Sam (designer of the big Tiffie) who is also doing this great work I look forward to the mag

I'm surprised to see a Sky, rather than Azure Blue, under surface, if the original upper surface scheme was Dark Earth and Middle Stone? So did it actually arrive in Dark Earth and Dark Green?

Now, I wondered whether this reference to 'Sky' meant Sky Blue or Sky Type S. The camo diagram was clearly 'S'. In tandem with this, I've had the Special Hobby kit SH48051 Spitfire Mk.Vc "Malta Defenders" for some time. The fourth option in the box is a Volkes fitted Vc / BR344 / 3-M, reportedly delivered to Malta on 9 May 1942, in Temperate Land Camouflage of Dark Earth and Dark Green uppers and Sky lowers. The 'Sky' is presented on the painting diagram as the 'beige green' depicted by Airfix.

Photo of McNair's AB264 here:

http://249squadronraf.wordpress.com/2013/12/06/bucks-spitfire/

Also interesting is the pic at the top of the page with a Spit with a Vokes filter in a darker colour - discuss!

I seem to recall that "Malta Spitfire Vs - 1942: Their Colours and Markings" by Brian Cauchi suggests Sky undersides for AB264, though the book concedes ambiguity over the actual colours.

Throughout 1941, the specified colours for undersurfaces on overseas aircraft were Sky or black.
In mid-1942 (after AB264 had been delivered,) overseas day fighters were ordered to be Sky or Azure Blue. Sky Blue is never mentioned.
Also in April 1942 the Air Ministry said that Malta's preferred scheme for Hurricanes was Mediterranean Blue (presumably Dark) over Sky.
The first delivery of Malta Spitfires was shipped to Gibraltar, then erected, loaded onto the carrier, and delivered.
If the sailing date, for the cargo ship, was imminent, there could easily have been insufficient time to do any top surface repainting before the aircraft were crated up.
Edgar
P.S. Incidentally, even though nobody has asked, removing the over-wing strakes, on AB264, is quite correct, since all the evidence points to them not being fitted before July 1942.

That's a beauty to be sure, and it shows how important weathering with an environment in mind is as opposed to general weathering or none at all. Great work Steve.

Steve(!)

I am sure glad this topic is back in the limelight. I have been working on Sword's 70th Anniversary battle of Malta kit(my submission to the Club Med campaign now on Hanger Queen IV) and have been waffling on how to paint the spit. I am going to do GL*J BR-321 as it was 6-7 June '42. From what I have dug up it was originally paint the desert scheme with the Azure Blue undersides, crated up (Glasgow) and then shipped to Gibraltar where it was assembled and supposedly the topside(s) were over sprayed with either Dark Sea Grey or Extra Dark Sea Grey. Then it was put on a carrier and sent to Malta. So now you have added another 'option' to this Malta Blue Spit theory (conspiracy) that only the offending Middlestone was over painted. I await the vast wisdom of this site to enlighten me on this topic.
Oh nicely done Spit. Hats off to Airfix again

Cheers