sobre las travesías de Aragón
ESQUEMA GLOBAL DE LISTAS DE CHEQUEO
6. PROBLEMAS ESPECÍFICOS DE CADA TRAVESÍA
6.6. Puebla de Híjar
When Brett sent me the new Tamiya Spitfire Mk. IX and asked me to write a chapter for this book, I decided to do something a little different. As far back as I can remember as a modeller, there is one two stage Merlin Spitfire that has
CHAPTER 7 SPITFIRE HF Mk.VII, 131 SQN RAF
CHAPTER 7 SPITFIRE HF Mk.VII, 131 SQN RAF
HIGH ALTITUDE
FIGHTER
Roy Sutherland converts his 1:32 scale Tamiya Spitfire Mk.IXc
to the refined high altitude fighter variant, the HF Mk.VII.
always held a special place in my heart; MD111, an HF VII of 131 Squadron, in the high altitude scheme of Medium Sea Grey over PRU Blue. I am not sure where I first saw the photo, possibly in the old Arco- Aircam on the Merlin engined Spitfires. I have always wanted to build this particular aircraft, so when the opportunity came up to build this model, it seemed like the time had come to scratch that itch.
In hindsight, it might have not been the best decision. The scope of the conversion
The first step in the conversion was to cut back the fuselage for the deeper rear fixed canopy fitted to the Mark VII Spitfire. A new rear canopy section will have to be created.
The resin plug that replaces the cockpit door is shown installed. The door was deleted on the HF VI and VII due to the pressurisation of the cockpit. Note the repositioned crowbar.
The lower cockpit sidewalls were attached to the fuselage halves to allow adding the wiring and plumbing that was prevalent on every Spitfire from the prototype to the last Seafire 47. The square tank at the bottom of the sidewall is for windscreen deicing fluid.
I have built a lot of models in my life, but I think it is safe to say that this is the best aircraft model I’ve ever had the pleasure to build. It is labour intensive and a little fiddly here and there, but in the end, it is a stunning piece of work.
CHAPTER 7 SPITFIRE HF Mk.VII, 131 SQN RAF
CHAPTER 7 SPITFIRE HF Mk.VII, 131 SQN RAF
The seat mounting bracket is a complex affair, and Tamiya have done a nice job representing it. I added detail by drilling out the lightening holes, but it’s not really necessary as it is very hard
to see once the seat is installed. I drilled out the lightening holes in the cockpit bulkhead to add depth. Again it is not really necessary, but it’s an easy upgrade and looks good to my eye. I brushed the drilled out holes with liquid cement to clean up the fuzzy edges.
I scratchbuilt the rear pressure bulkhead for the Spitfire HF VII. It required a lot of clever engineering to create seals for the flying controls that would keep pressure from escaping, while allowing unrestricted movement of the control cables. The scratchbuilt patterns for the upper sidewall for the MK VII,
as well as the oxygen hose, made from a carefully bent wound
guitar string with mounting bracket made from styrene. The seat mounting bulkhead with seat mounting bracket installed. I also opted to drill out the holes on the bulkhead. The moulded in detail on the bulkhead is very impressive. Controlled chaos! I am deep into work on the interior,
and the inevitable encroachment of the workspace with tools and paints should look familiar to most modellers. Evident in this image is the exhaustive nature of the kit cockpit.
CHAPTER 7 SPITFIRE HF Mk.VII, 131 SQN RAF
CHAPTER 7 SPITFIRE HF Mk.VII, 131 SQN RAF
in this scale turned out to be more work than I bargained for, especially given that this chapter had to be done to a deadline. The work necessary to make a Spitfire IX into a VII is, in itself, not that complex, and could be done quickly on a simpler kit in a smaller scale. Doing the conversion in 1:32 required more detail, and parts that could have been robbed from other kits in a 1:48 or 1:72 build, needed to be scratch built. This is only a problem when you have to make a deadline!
The conversion work comprised the following: • Fabricate retractable tailwheel and doors • Shorten ailerons by 8 scale inches • Seal up cockpit door and move crowbar • Fabricate rear pressure bulkhead • Fabricate other variant specific cockpit
details
• Fabricate pressurisation intake • Scribe wing tanks and filler caps • Create external canopy rails • Vacform deeper rear fixed canopy
section
MD111 is an odd mix of features. While it has the late style gun bay blisters, four-slot main wheels and double cutaway elevators of a later production aircraft, it has the early style carburetor intake. At the time the only known photo was taken, sometime shortly after D-Day, the high altitude wingtips had already been replaced with standard elliptical tips, which was fine with me as they look better on the Spit.
The starboard cockpit sidewall with basic painting completed. A wash will soon be applied to help pop out the detail. It is a good idea to not be too subtle with washes and drybrushing in cockpits. They are small and dark, and detail easily gets lost under these conditions.
The port sidewall painted Interior Grey Green. Tamiya have you paint the ribbed chain guards black, but they are painted green in the sole surviving Spitfire HF VII, on display at the Smithsonian. The cockpit on this aircraft is completely original.
The reworked and cast copies of the throttle and gear quadrants are shown painted in this view. Careful painting really adds to the look. A Winsor-Newton Series Seven 000 brush was used to paint the white stenciling in the cockpit.
The Compass mount was moved to the starboard wall, so a new mount had to be scratchbuilt. Thankfully, I made resin copies of this part, as this one flew off into the ether, never to be seen again.
The kit instrument panel built mostly out of the box. The engine priming pump was moved to the lower right hand side of the instrument panel on the HF VII, next to the red ringed gauge. Careful painting brings
this part to life. My reworked control column casting with pneumatic hoses added from fine wire. The retract quadrant with its hydraulic hoses attached.