Patton: The Final Generation

Historical Background

During the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, a captured Soviet T-54 was driven onto the British Embassy's garden at Budapest. After the armour and the gun were inspected, it was concluded that the armour is able to withstand hits from 20-pounder rounds of British Centurion tanks and 90-mm rounds used by the US M47 and M48 Patton tanks. Royal Ordnance took note of this development and consequently developed and produced the famous L7 105-mm gun. In Europe it led to a discussion between the UK, France and West Germany to develop a 'Europanzer' based around the gun (the programme broke down and the parties went with their separate ways with the UK adopting a 105 mm-armed Centurion, the French with the AMX-30 and the West Germans with Leopard 1). In the US, it led to a decision to adopt and produce the gun under license (as the M68) and design a new platform based on the M48A3 Patton. Studies were started in 1957 and was designated M68 in 1959. However the Bureau of Ordnance renamed it as the M60, after the year of its acceptance.

The M60 is based on the M48, with a one-piece steel cast hull divided into three compartments : driving at the front, fighting in the middle and engine to the rear. The bottom hull is still boat-like although it has a straight front slope (the M48 has rounded slope). The M60 series was powered by a Continental AVDS-1790-2 V12 air-cooled, twin-turbo diesel engine, allowing a range of up to 480 km while reducing fuel consumption and servicing. Initially, the M60 had the same clamshell-shaped turret as the M48, but this was changed to a 'needle-nose' shape in 1963 on the M60A1. The new turret face presented a smaller frontal profile to the enemy, while at the same time optimising the layout of the turret on the same width as before. The original M60 had no commander's cupola, which was introduced in the M60A1. The fully rotating cupola is armed with a 12.7mm M85 machine gun, allowing the commander to operate it from behind cover. A M73 7.62mm machine gun was provided as a co-axial weapon. The main armament is a licence-built L7, known as the M68. The M68 can fire a whole range of American-built rounds: be it APDS, HEAT, HEP (HESH) and APERS (HE) but also foreign-manufactured ones should the need arise.

The original M60 was upgraded to M60A1 in 1963. Apart from the new turret, it was two tons heavier, requiring a shock absorber on the second wheel pair and the relocation of the first return roller. The armour was thickened further (e.g. 254mm RHA equivalent for turret face compared to 217mm RHA equivalent for M60). In 1972, the Add-On Stabilization system was fitted, but still not allowing the the tank to fire on the move. In 1974-75, the M60A1 received the RISE (Reliability Improvements for Selected Equipment) upgrade program, which include upgraded engine design and a new track type. In 1977, they were given RISE Passive program, consisting of passive IR sights for the driver, gunner and the commander, eliminating the need for the IR searchlight above the gun. USMC M60A1 RISE Passives were outfitted with Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) blocks in the 1980s. In 1969, the M60A2 appeared. Nicknamed 'Starship' because of its 'space age' looks and technology, it was intended to be an interim design pending the introduction of the MBT-70. It has a different, low-slung turret than the rest of the family, which was somewhat spoiled by the rather high machine gun cupola. The main armament was the M18E1 152 mm gun-missile launcher, similar to the one arming the M551 Sheridan and capable of firing the MGM-51 Shillelagh missile. The M60A2 was a disappointment, with many rebuilt as M60A3 or converted to AVLB vehicles when the MGM-51 Shillelagh system was withdrawn in 1981. 

In 1978, work for a vastly enhanced version, designated M60A3 was begun. The hull and turret remain as the M60A1, but it was fitted with two banks of smoke grenade dischargers, AN/VVG-2 laser rangefinder, M21 ballistic computer and turret stabilisation system. From mid-production onwards, the commander's cupola was eliminated, as it actually created a shot trap, and was replaced with the Israeli-style 'Urdan' cupola. Some M60A3s were fitted with AN/VSG-2 thermal sight, creating the M60A3 TTS (tank thermal sight). Other variants of the M60 family include M60AVLB (Armored Vehicle-Launched Bridge, with 60-ft scissors-type bridge) and M728 CEV (Combat Engineer Vehicle) with a folding A-frame crane and winch and armed with a M135 165 mm demolition gun. It was also commonly fitted with a D7 bulldozer blade.

The M60 family first saw action with the Israeli Defence Force during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The M60 proved superior to the T-54/55 and T-62 facing them, but suffered losses when confronted with the portable 9M14 Malyutka (AT-3 Sagger) anti-tank missiles. The Israeli M60s were later upgraded to Magach 6/7 standard and saw further combat during Operation Peace For Galilee in 1982. Iranian M60s saw combat during the Iran-Iraq War despite being handicapped by spares problems and acquit themselves well against the Soviet-made Iraqi tanks, including the T-72.  In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, 200 Marine Corps M60A1s took part in the battle at Kuwait Airport, destroying some 108 Iraqi T-54/55, T-62 and T-72 tanks for the loss of just one M60A1. The M60, by this time relegated to training role,  was phased out of US Army service in 2005. The type however still see service with several other countries.

The Kit

The Academy 1/35 kit of the M60A1 RISE Passive was released in 1993. The parts are spread among five dark green sprues, upper and lower hull halves, vinyl one-piece tracks, polycaps and tyres, plastic mesh and a decal sheet. I have never actually seen the Tamiya version of the M60A1 but the Academy seemed to be a reworked copy of the Tamiya kit (the motorization hole under the hull gives the clue). The parts are well-moulded, with the usual exceptions for injection-moulded parts, such as solid fender support brackets (which should be hollow). The kit also allows one to build an M60A1 without the ERA blocks while equipped with the passive IR sight. A small number of accessories are also included. Decals provide markings for two tanks : 'Rolling Thunder' in desert camouflage and an anonymous M60A1 in NATO 3-colour camouflage.

Construction

As usual with armour kits, construction starts at the bottom of the hull. Another attack of laziness strikes again and I decided to leave the motorisation hole as it is, afterall, the hole is at the very bottom of the hull and not visible to the casual observer. The upper half of the side hull was cemented into place which resulted in a small gap. Nothing to pull my hair about, it just need a bit of putty and sanding. Next, the assembly of the shock absorbers. It was quite a shock (pun intended) when I realised that the struts don't meet up with the suspension. So I used a road wheel to see if this would be unsightly. Luckily the road wheels hide this major problem and I left the absorbers as they were. The suspension arms are of a very tight fit and I have to sand them down. I decided not to fit the wheels at this time and finished the lower hull by cementing the rear panel into place.

Construction then moved to the upper hull. There weren't much to do here, just assembling the exhausts, some stowage bins, the headlights and their guards and some other items on the rear deck such as the gun travel lock. The driver's hatch was made moveable but I decided to glue it shut. The ERA blocks that need assembly were done so but I decided to leave them off the model at this time to facilitate painting and decaling later on. The upper and lower hull were then mated together. There are gaps at the rear which need to be filled. Next was the turret. The turret shell was assembled and there is a gap where the mantlet meet body of the turret. The turret is also the place where most of the options for building an ERA-less M60A1 were noted. Having already decided to build an ERA-equipped M60A1, most of the parts for the plain M60A1 were discarded. The gun barrel is the usual two-piece affair but no gaps was encountered the halves were cemented. For the bustle rack, Academy provided jigs to assemble it, easing the task. They also provide templates for the wire mesh (somewhat inexplicably, I used the one for the floor of the rack only). The commander's cupola was also assembled but remain separate from the turret. The hatch cover remain loose as I was still undecided whether to use the commander's figure or not.

Painting and Decaling

I decided to paint my M60A1 in the desert scheme. I used the same concoction I used for my M1A2 SEP, that is 40% XF-59 Desert Yellow, 40% XF-57 Buff and 20% X-2 White. The tracks were painted XF-64 Red Brown and washed with AK Interactive's Track Wash. The rubber parts of tracks were painted H77 Tyre Black. The vision blocks were painted Gloss Black - a colour I believe more suitable for a buttoned-up tank. I then sprayed some Gloss Clear to help the disreputable Academy decals conform to the surface, although I still doubt their ability to cling over raised details, such as the bolt heads on the ERA blocks. The decals were then applied and as I thought, their cardboard-like stiffness made them unable to cling over the raised details, tearing them. I ended up using only the decals for the lines and the nickname on the gun barrel and the tank serial number. The ID markings, of which a few were torn, was done using paint. The stencil on the left rear fender has a spelling mistake: 'Two' instead of 'Tow'! It wasn't used however as it folded upon itself and cannot be salvaged. The rest of the decals however suffered from silvering despite repeated baths in Mr Mark Softer. The model was then washed with a wash mix of Flat Black and Red Brown.

Finishing

I started off by putting on the tracks. They are of the old-style heat-type and I have to hide the joint underneath the fender. They are also quite loose and I have to superglue them onto the return rollers. The commander's cupola was then inserted into place and I finally decided to close the commander's hatch. The ERA blocks can now be placed. However, Academy chose to simplify matters here (not always a good thing) by having the blocks attached directly to the main body while the Tamiya kit (upon which this kit is apparently based on) include the mountings which were placed onto the turret before attaching the blocks. This apparently affected the fit of the blocks. To make them adhere better, I used superglue rather than the normal cement. I then apply Mig Productions' Gulf War Sand pigment in enamel thinner all over the lower hull and rather sparingly on the wheels and the tracks. Once dry the excess was removed with a stiff brush while those on the track pads was removed with a tissue paper dipped in thinner.

I then add some of the accessories that came with the kit ( 'some' because the rest were used in my M1A2 kit). It looked bare and I added more stuff from Academy and Tamiya accessory kits and also the spares box. They include MRE boxes, 105mm ammo crates, water cans, 40mm ammo box, a sleeping bag, an M60E3 machine gun and a portable stereo.

Conclusion

Being the main battle tank for the US Army for decades, there are a number of kits dedicated to it. However they are all  using 1980s (or even earlier) technology for kit-making. However of all the existing M60A1s to date (the AFV Club M60A1 is yet to be released at the time of writing), the Academy offering is the best (well at least to me). I heard that the ESCI kit is better but as it wasn't readily available, the Academy kit took the top spot. The Academy kit have generally good fit although the ERA blocks should be better represented a la the Tamiya kit. Above all it does look like an M60A1 to me!

The Last Of The Weasels

Historical Background

In 1953, the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation began designing the replacement for its F3H Demon fighter. In the chain of events that followed, the US Navy ordered the prototype of the F4H-1 to be evaluated as a fleet defense interceptor. McDonnell named the F4H-1 (redesignated F-4 post-1962) as Phantom II, continuing the tradition naming their aircraft with 'spooky' names. The suffix 'II' reflects the fact that this was the second aircraft named 'Phantom', after the first Phantom (FH-1) of the late 1940s. Although designed as a fleet interceptor, the-then Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara pushed for the Phantom to be used by the USAF as part of his attempt to create a unified fighter for all branches of the US military. A F-4B was used in a fly-off competition named Operation Highspeed against the Convair F-106 Delta Dart, in which the Phantom won. Following this, the USAF swallowed its pride and borrowed 29 USN F-4Bs in January 1962 for evaluation. Liking what they saw, the USAF ordered their version of the Phantom, with the designation F-110A Spectre. It differed from the F-4B by being an all weather tactical fighter and able to carry a wide selection of weapons, including nuclear. The wheels are wider, resulting in distinctive wing bulges. The engines were the Dash 15 version of the J79 with option for cartridge start. Refueling system was changed to the USAF's boom method, primary sensor was the AN/APQ-100 radar and a duplicated flight controls for the second pilot at the back. With the introduction of the Tri-Service aircraft designation system in September 1962, The F-110A was redesignated F-4C.

The F-4C was developed further into the F-4D with upgraded electronics, allowing the usage of 'smart' munitions such as laser-guided bombs. Other F-4C variants were the RF-4C tactical reconnaissance aircraft and the EF-4C Wild Weasel IV SEAD aircraft. The EF-4C was equipped with AN/APR-25 Radar Homing and Warning System (RHAWS) aerials, AN/APR-26 missile launch warning system, ER-142 ECM receiver and AN/ALQ-119 external ECM pod. The offensive weapons were AGM-45 Shrike ARM and cluster bombs but was unable to carry the AGM-78 Standard ARM. The definitive USAF Phantom variant was the F-4E which finally introduced a built-in General Electric M61 Vulcan 20mm cannon. The nose profile was also slimmed down with the introduction of the AN/APQ-120 radar. The 'E' was the most numerous variant with 1,370 built for USAF and various export customers. 116 of USAF F-4Es were converted into F-4G Wild Weasel V SEAD aircraft. While retaining the radar of the F-4E, the cannon and its associated equipment were removed to make way for the APR-38 RHAWS (later replaced with AN/APR-47). External ECM pod include the ALQ-87, AN/ALQ-101, AN/ALQ-119 and AN/ALQ-131. The F-4G can carry the AGM-78 and later on, the AGM-88 HARM, AGM-65 Mavericks can also be carried. A further 18 F-4Es were converted as attrition replacements.

The F-4G entered squadron service in 1978 and were deployed to three active fighter wings: the 35th at George AFB, California; the 3rd TFW at Clark AFB, The Philippines and the 52nd TFW at Spangdahlem AFB, Germany. While earlier Wild Weasel aircraft fought in Vietnam, the F-4G were only used in action during Operation Desert Storm, with only the 3rd TFW not deployed to the Gulf. The Weasels flew 3,942 sorties, fired 1,000 missiles and destroyed 200 missile sites. The Weasels used the same tactic used during the Vietnam War: the 'Hunter-Killer' team where the Weasels destroy the site's radar emitters allowing conventional attack aircraft to destroy it using normal munitions such as cluster bombs. Another tactic used during Desert Storm was enticing Iraqi SAM sites to radiate by using unmanned drones simulating attack aircraft. The active sites were then subjected to ARM (especially AGM-88) barrage. Following the war, some of the 35th TFW were assigned to the 190th FS, 124th FW Idaho ANG while the rest of the F-4G fleet were transferred to 561st FS, 57th FW at Nellis AFB. The F-4Gs remained in service until 1996, being the last of Air Force Phantoms.

The Kit

Fujimi came up with new-tool 1/72 Phantoms in 1985 and like Hasegawa, has sprouted various versions and boxings (from what I read, it seems that it was Fujimi who started this trend). The F-4G was originally released in 1986 and the kit I used is a 2006 reboxing. From initial observation, it looks OK to me with good details, although not as good as Hasegawa's when I compared it to my F-4B. In fact, I think the Fujimi engraved detail is too fine and might be lost under the paint. The cockpit is what is expected from a 1980s kit - sparsely detailed with the instrument and side panels being decals. Stores include two 370-US Gal wing tanks, one 600-US Gal centreline tank, AN/ALQ-119 ECM pod and most inappropriately, an air combat load of four AIM-9 Sidewinders and four AIM-7 Sparrows. Three planes are represented in the decal sheet, all in SEA camouflage scheme:

1. 69-582, tailcode 'WW', 39th TFTS, 35th TFW, George AFB, CA

2. 69-290 tailcode 'GA', 39th TFTS, 35th TFW, George AFB, CA

3. 69-210 tailcode 'PN', 90th TFS, 3rd TFW, Clark AFB, The Philippines

Construction

The cockpit parts and the sidewalls were first painted Gunze H317 Dark Gull Grey. As mentioned beforehand, the instrument and side panels are in the shape of decals and were applied accordingly. The rear cockpit lacked the details of a vanilla F-4E, let alone an F-4G! The ejection seats are so-so although they do have the face curtain handles moulded (out of scale of course). The cockpit assembly was then cemented to the nose wheel bay cum forward fuselage bottom. The fuselage halves can then be cemented together. Next were the intake assembly which were made up of the outer wall and the splitter plate/inner wall. Fit is not that good however, with seam lines running between the intake and the fuselage. The next step is concerned with the wing but I skipped it and continue with the fuselage. The APR-38 fairing was assembled and then cemented onto the nose. There is a bit of fit problem with the halves but the fairing fit nicely to the fuselage. This was followed by the ram air intake on the cheeks.

Moving on to the wings, holes were drilled into the bottom half of the wing in order to place fairings located there - there is however no need to drill holes for the pylons as they were already pre-drilled. The wing halves were then cemented together and the assembly was then mated with the fuselage, more or less finishing the initial part of the build. I did not cement the tailplanes at this time and would paint it separately.

Painting and Decaling

All three marking options feature the T.O-1.1.4 camouflage and since all three feature the same pattern, I proceeded with the painting, and only thinking about the marking options afterwards. The bottom colour (FS36622) was painted using Tamiya AS-16 Light Grey. The upper camouflage colours were FS30219, for which I used a mixture of Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow and XF-64 Red Brown; FS34102 was Tamiya XF-67 NATO Green and XF-13 JA Green was used for FS34079 while the radome and the forward part of the fairing were painted XF-1 Flat Black.  The  exhausts were painted Burnt Iron while the metallic parts of the tailplanes were painted Steel and and Steel mixed with Silver. For markings, the 35th TFW Weasels were quite boring, so I chose the 3rd TFW F-4G with the shark face. The Fujimi decals are comparable to Hasegawa's but without the off-white decals plaguing Hasegawa kits of the same vintage. The decals were then received the Mr Mark Softer treatment.

Finishing

The remaining parts can now be permanently cemented onto the model. Nothing of issue here except for the loadout which came with the kit. The air combat loadout was replaced as follows: an AGM-45 Shrike ARM on each of the outer wing pylons, an AGM-78 Standard ARM on the starboard inner pylon and a AGM-65 Maverick on the port inner pylon. Two AIM-7 Sparrows on the rear fuselage missile recesses and an ALQ-119 ECM pod on the port forward missile bay. All the missiles and the ECM pod came from Hasegawa Weapons Set. While OK, the fit of the AGM-78 halves was not good, resulting in a visible seam line. I decided not to enhance panel lines of this model and just doing it on the control surfaces only.

Conclusion

This is my second Fujimi kit and like the MiG-21, the Phantom is a nice and easy build. There is some fit problem but the fix wasn't tough either. The cockpit however really needs aftermarket help as it featured not even an F-4E cockpit layout. Anyway, the Fujimi Phantom is cheaper than the Hasegawa counterpart. Sure, the detail and accuracy is less than its more well-known rival but it could still be made into a nice representation of a F-4G. 

Fighting Viper

Historical Background

Analysis of the aerial campaign during the Vietnam War showed the need for better air combat training for USAF pilots and air superiority fighters. Based on his experience during the Korean War and as a fighter tactics instructor in the early 1960s, Col. John Boyd, together with mathematician Thomas Christie developed the Energy-Maneuverability (E-M) Theory to model a fighter aircraft's performance in combat. Their work called for a small, lightweight aircraft that could maneuver with minimum energy loss and incorporating an increased thrust-to-weight ratio. In the late 1960s, Boyd, together with defence analysts Pierre Sprey and Tom Christie, aeronautical engineer Harry Hillaker and test pilot Col. Everest Riccioni formed the core of the so-called 'Fighter Mafia'. The Fighter Mafia worked quietly behind the scenes to pursue a lightweight fighter as an alternative to the USAF's F-X project (which eventually become the F-15 Eagle). In 1969, Defense Secretary Melvin Laird and his deputy, David Packard, became interested with the proposal and threw their support behind the idea. The Fighter Mafia won a $149,000 to study the concept and the money was split between Northrop and General Dynamics to build the embodiment of the E-M concept: a small, pure fighter with no provisions for ground attack capability. Northrop build the P-600 while GD build the Model 401.

In May 1971, the Air Force Prototype Study Group was established for the now-named F-XX programme, with Boyd a key member. One of Boyd's proposal was for a Lightweight Fighter (LWF) and a Request For Proposals was issued on 6 January 1972 calling for a 20,000 lb-class air-to-air day fighter with a good turn rate, acceleration and range and optimized for combat at speeds between Mach 0.6 and 1.6 and altitudes of 9,100-12,000 meters. Apart from Northrop and GD, three other companies responded. The Air Staff selected Northrop's and GD's proposal as the YF-17 and YF-16 respectively. The USAF hierarchy opposed the concept of a Lightweight Fighter, viewing it as a threat to their F-15 programme. To overcome the resistance, the LWF proponents led by the Fighter Mafia advocated, successfully, the idea of complementary fighters in a high/low mix. The first YF-16 was rolled out on 13 December 1973 and the maiden flight was made at Andrews AFB on 20 February 1974, although the USAF was still non-commital to the LWF. At the same time NATO members Belgium, Denmark The Netherlands and Norway were looking for the replacements for their F-104 Starfighters. They reached an agreement with the United States that they would consider buying the LWF if the USAF bought the aircraft.

To reflect these renewed interests, the LWF program was turned into a new competition called the Air Combat Fighter (ACF) program in April 1974. In addition to Northrop, the DoD invited other competitors, namely Dassault's Mirage F1M-53, SEPECAT Jaguar and Saab's proposed J37E Viggen Eurofighter. The Secretary of Defense at that time, James R. Schlesinger also made it clear that the ACF order would be in addition to F-15s, ending resistance to the LWF/ACF. On 13 January 1975, the YF-16 was declared the winner of the ACF competition on the grounds of cost, range and performance. The YF-17 was selected to fulfil the parallel Navy ACF program, eventually becoming the F/A-18 Hornet. The production-version F-16A flew for the first time on 7 August 1978 and was accepted by the USAF on 6 January 1979. On 21 July 1980, the official nickname 'Fighting Falcon' was bestowed on the F-16 and the type entered operational service on 1 October 1980 with the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, Utah. The pilots gave the nickname 'Viper', due to a perceived resemblance to a viper snake or to the Colonial Viper starfighters from the popular late 1970s TV series Battlestar Galactica. 

The F-16 is a highly-maneuverable, supersonic multi-role aircraft. It was the first fighter aircraft designed to pull 9-g maneuvers and can reach speeds exceeding Mach 2. It was also designed to be relatively inexpensive to build and simpler to maintain than previous fighters. It was also the first operational fighter aircraft deliberately designed with a built-in aerodynamic instability to improve maneuverability. To counter the tendency to depart from controlled flight, the F-16 has quadruplex fly-by-wire flight control system, with no hydromechanical back-up. A key feature of the F-16 is the superb visibility from the cockpit. The single-piece canopy provides 360° visibility with a 40° look-down angle over the sides and 15° down the nose. The pilot sits on a ACES II ejection seat with a tilt-back angle of 30°, which increases tolerance to g-forces. The F-16 also pioneered the HOTAS controls where various switches and controls were on the control stick and the throttle lever. It is also controlled through a side-mounted, rather than centre-mounted stick. Targetting information was supplied by a Westinghouse AN/APG-66 multi-mode radar in F-16A/B and AN/APG-68 from F-16C Block 25. Block 40/42 F-16C/Ds introduced the AN/APG-68(V)1 version compatible with the LANTIRN pods and with a high-PRF to allow it to illuminate SARH missile like the AIM-7 Sparrow. The F-16 was powered by a Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-200 afterburning turbofan rated at 23,830 lb thrust. Later on, General Electric also became the engine provider for the F-16 with its F110-GE-100 turbofan, from Block 30 onwards. To differentiate between aircraft equipped with those engines, blocks ending with '0' are powered by General Electric while blocks ending with '2' are powered by Pratt & Whitney.

The F-16 first saw combat with the Israeli Air Force when a Syrian Mil Mi-8 helicopter was shot down over the Bekaa Valley on 28 April 1981. On 7 June 1981, eight F-16s executed Operation Opera, severely damaging the Osirak nuclear reactor near Baghdad, Iraq. During the Soviet-Afghan War between 1986 and 1989, F-16s of the Pakistani Air Force shot down at least 10 intruders from Afghanistan including four Afghan Su-22 'Fitters', one Soviet Su-25 'Frogfoot', one An-24 'Coke' and two An-26 'Curl' transports. One F-16 was shot down in clashes with Soviet-Afghan forces. The USAF's first combat actions with the F-16 was during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The Falcons were armed with AGM-65 Mavericks, Mk.80 series of bombs and CBU- and Rockeye-series of cluster bombs in the medium-level bombing role. The F-16 was also used in the 'Wild Weasel' (Supression of Enemy Air Defences - SEAD) missions alongside the older but more capable F-4G Phantoms. The 138th TFS, 174th TFW, New York Air National Guard flew F-16s equipped with 30 mm GPU-5/A Pave Claw gun pod but wasn't successful and finished their deployment using cluster bombs. 249 USAF F-16s took part, losing seven of their number. The Falcons were used in numerous other US deployments since then.

F-16 models are denoted by increasing block numbers to denote upgrades. The original F-16A/B were given block numbers 1,5,10 and 15 with the last-mentioned the first major upgrade to the family. The F-16C/D variant first entered service in September 1984 with Block 25 being the first in the line. Block 25 introduced the Westinghouse AN/APG-68 multi-mode radar and improved night attack capability and cockpit avionics. Today, only Air National Guard and the USAF Air Education and Training Command units use Block 25 F-16s.

The Kit

Hasegawa came up with a new-tool 1/72 F-16 kit in 1986 when they released a model of the F-16A Plus. A year later, they came up with this kit, entitled F-16C Fighting Falcon, It wasn't mentioned on the box but it's pretty clear that this is a Block 25 model. The model features nice surface detailing with engraved panel lines while interior parts have reasonable raised details. Holes were already pre-drilled for pylons. And unlike other Hasegawa aircraft kits, the F-16 came loaded with one 300-gallon centreline tank, two 370-gallon wing tanks, two AIM-9J and two AIM-9L Sidewinders, and bafflingly, a pair of British BL.755 cluster bombs. Also included is a pilot figure. The canopy is moulded in the normal clear plastic, even though the real thing is normally tinted. Decals are for three aircraft:

1. 363rd TFS 'Gamecocks', 19th TFW, Shaw AFB, NC

2. 512th TFS, 86th TFW, Hahn AFB, Germany

3. 312th TFTS, 58th TFW, 'F-16C No.1', Luke AFB, AZ

Construction

Work, as usual, started at the cockpit. The cockpit, as befitting a 1980s kit, is made up of just four parts. The cockpit parts and the sidewalls were painted FS 36375 using Gunze Aqueous H308 with the control stick XF-1 Flat Black and the seat cushion XF-62 Olive Drab. The kit seat is so-so, without much detail. I cut a bit of Tamiya tape, paint them khaki and stuck them on the seat, pretending to be seat belts. While I do have a resin Neomega ACES II ejection seat in my stash, I did not use it as the seat fitted to the F-16 has a larger incidence of reclination. Once the paints are dry, decals for the instrument and side panels were put into place. I have no intention to use the pilot figure. However, I believe that if used, the pilot would be in an awkward position as his right hand is moulded to pose a centrally-mounted control stick, which is non-existent in the F-16! The front and the rear bulkhead for the mainwheel bay were then cemented onto the lower fuselage half before the upper and lower fuselage halves were cemented together. Fit was generally OK although there is a slight step on the right of the nose.

Next up was the intake/nosewheel bay assembly. The wheel bay was assembled first and I did not concern myself much with seams on the upper part as it will be hidden underneath the fuselage. The intake mouth was then inserted into the wheel bay assembly and the whole thing was then cemented to the fuselage. Next, the one-piece wings were attached to the fuselage, together with the tailplanes. This was followed by the tailfin and the ventral fins. The two antenna bumps on the forward fuselage were glued in place. Finally, the bulkhead separating the main wheels and the pylons were cemented prior to painting.

Painting and Decaling

With the exception of the F-16s of the USAF (and the USN) Aggressor units, all USAF F-16s were painted the same pattern consisting of FS 36375 (bottom), FS 36270 (radome), FS 36320 (forward fuselage and tail) and FS 36118 (rest of the fuselage). The paint of choice was Gunze's Mr. Hobby Aqueous paints and they were painted accordingly. I believe I added too much white (for scale effect) to the gunship grey (36118) and it ended up just slightly darker than FS36270. The exhaust can was painted Burnt Iron and a custom mix of silver. The inside of the exhuast was painted XF-2 Flat White. As I mentioned earlier, many F-16Cs have their canopies tinted with gold (to reduce radar reflectivity or for better protection for the avionics). To replicate that, I mixed Tamiya X-19 Smoke and X-24 Clear Yellow and painted the inside of the canopy. I rushed this part, hence the paint application was terrible (plus I used a paintbrush, rather than an airbrush). For markings, I chose the decals for the first option, an F-16 from the 363rd TFS. The decals are typically 1980s Hasegawa although the ivory-coloured white decals weren't really a problem here.

Finishing

The landing gears were assembled and inserted into their places on the model. This was followed by the bay doors. As for the external stores, I decided to hang the wing tanks first while contemplating what my model should be armed with. While the air-to-air loadout is acceptable (although I have yet to see photos of both AIM-9P and -9L being carried on the same aircraft), the bombs included are not, since as far as I know, the US armed forces use the Rockeye and CBU-series of cluster bombs and not the British-designed BL.755. Anyway, I decided to model an F-16 during the Gulf War (the 363rd TFS was deployed to the area) and managed to find a website listing the typical weapons loadout carried by Coalition aircraft. The loadout chosen was an ECM pod on the centreline station (ALQ-119 or ALQ 131), two 370-US Gallon wing tanks, a Mk.84 2,000-lb AIR bomb on each middle wing pylons and two AIM-9L Sidewinders on the wingtip missile rails.

The Sidewinders and the fuel tanks came from the kit while the ALQ-119 came from Hasegawa's weapon set. Hasegawa did not have the Mk.84 AIR (Air Inflatable Retard) bombs in any of their sets but I found a pair in Italeri's NATO Weapons Set. The external difference between a 'slick' Mk.84 and a retarded version is that the latter has a shorter tail with a larger fin. The problem is that, while Italeri more or less got the tail right, the bomb body look undersized, looking more like a Mark.82 than Mk.84. I decided to cut both bombs, using the main body from Hasegawa and the tail from Italeri. The cuts weren't perpendicular to the bomb axis though and I have to cover up the gaps with putty. The model was then put through the sludge wash treatment and finally finished with a spray of Semi-Gloss Clear.

Conclusion

The Hasegawa kit can still hold its own despite being surpassed by the more recent Revell, Academy and Tamiya kits. The parts are well-moulded, have good details and good fit. Furthermore, it was one of only a small number of Hasegawa kits which include weapons and accessories. On the other hand, the kit has some accuracy problems but very minor ones IMHO. Another shortcoming, if you can say that, is the lack of alternative 'big mouth' intake and the relevant exhaust nozzle. But, overall, still a nice kit, especially for an early-block F-16C.

Spitfire Part II : Mythical Beast Power

Historical Background

Supermarine's (or rather, Vickers-Armstrong's) Spitfire was the most celebrated British fighter of World War 2. The prototype first flew in 1936 and it eventually became the only British fighter in production throughout the war, As a type, the Spitfire was ranked as one of the finest combat aircraft, thanks to its involvement in the early, dark years of World War 2, especially during the Battle of Britain. The Spitfire was built in numerous variants, called Marks, eventually totalling more than 20. While the Marks identify the variants, they were not in chronological order (for example, the Mark IX appeared before Mark VIII). The early Marks were powered by versions of Rolls-Royce's excellent Merlin V-12 engine with power output ranging from 1,030 hp Merlin II in the early Mark I to the 1,720 hp Merlin 66 (and Packard-built Merlin 266) in the Spitfire IX/XVI.

As early as December 1939, Supermarine staff mooted the idea of using the Rolls-Royce Griffon 37-litre, V12 inline engine with a predicted speed of 423 mph at 18,500 ft. However constant problems with the Griffon delayed the installation of the engine until late 1941 with successful trials of the Spitfire Mk.IV. The Griffon IIB which powered the Mk.IV was a single-stage supercharged engine rated at 1,735 hp. Stronger main longerons were needed to cope with the increased weight of the Griffon. The new engine had a lower thrust line than the Merlin and the engine was set with a -0.5 degree of downthrust. The lower line of thrust and greater engine capacity changed the contour of the cowling with more prominent bulges over the cylinder heads, a teardrop-shaped fairing over the upper cowling to clear the magneto and a deeper curve to the spinner. The lower cowling lost its 'pigeon-chested' looks. The Mk.IV was then designated Mk.XX to avoid confusion  with a renamed PR version.

The Mk.XX was eventually redesignated Mk.XII. The MK.XII suffered from poor high altitude performance due to its single-stage supercharged engine. By 1943, Rolls-Royce had developed the 61 series of the Griffon with a two-stage supercharger. The Griffon 61 entered service as the slightly modified Griffon 65 and was installed in Spitfire Mk.XIV. To harness power from the Griffon, a new five-bladed Rotol propeller was used. The nose was made longer and because of this and increased slipstream from the propeller, a larger fin was installed. And because of the greater cooling requirement, the radiators were bigger, which required bigger housings. Improved VHF radio meant that the aerial mast can be dispensed with and was replaced with a whip aerial.

Griffon-engined Spitfires entered service in early 1943 when No.41 Squadron received their Mk.XII in February and No.91 Squadron in April. These two squadrons were the only users of the Mk XII. In June 1943, the two squadrons moved to RAF Westhampnett, forming the Westhampnett Wing.  The first kill by a Griffon Spitfire was scored on 17 April 1943, when a Ju 88 was shot down. At low altitudes, it was one of the fastest aircraft at the time. However, the advantage was not fully exploited as German Jabo pilots refused to be drawn into dogfights below 6,100m. When the Mk XII was able to engage enemy fighters, it was indeed a formidable combat aircraft. The low-altitude performance became useful again towards the end of its front line service in Summer 1944 when it was used to intercept low-flying V-1 flying bombs. The Mark XII was retired in September 1944. The Mk.XIV entered service in January 1944 with No.610 Squadron, being the first full production of the Griffon Spitfire. When the V-1 attacks began, the Mk.XIV was also used in the 'anti-Diver' patrols together with the Mk.XII, P-51 Mustang, Hawker Tempest and later, the Gloster Meteor jet fighter. The interception was dangerous as cannon rounds may (and did) detonate the warhead, resulting in the loss of the interceptor. Other methods were used to down these early cruise missiles, such as by aerodynamically tipping the V-1 using the wingtip of the intercepting aircraft

Following the invasion of Europe, the Mk.XIV was used as the main air superiority fighter by the 2nd Tactical Air Force in North-West Europe.The Mk.XIV can also be used as a fighter-bomber, for which four squadrons of Mk.XIVe were set up for this task. In the Far East theatre, the Mk.XIV was only delivered in June 1945 when No.11 Squadron became the first unit so equipped in the theatre. It was however too late to make any impact as there was hardly any Japanese aerial activity in-theatre by that time. The Mk. XIV was actually supposed to be an interim design, pending the availability of the definitive Mk. XVIII. However, in a repeat of the Mk. VIII/ Mk.IX story, 957 Mk.XIVs were built compared to 300 Mk.XVIIIs. The Mk. XIV came in two versions - Mk.XIVc with 'C' wing and 'fastback' fuselage and FR. XIVe with 'E' type wing (4 x 20mm Hispano cannons or 2 x 20mm cannons and 2 x 12.7mm Browning MGs) and 'bubbletop' canopy.

The Kit

Academy's 1/48 kits of the Spitfire XIV came out in 1996. In fact, as of November 2014, the Academy kits are the only 1/48 scale models of the Mk.XIV (I believe the Kitech kit is a knock-off of the Academy kit and do not count in my books). Both versions of the Mk. XIV were kitted. The joy of hearing the news soon turn into dismay when the models hit the shops. The kit suffers from many shortcomings, of which the most noticeable is the shape of the nose. While the nose of Griffon-powered Spitfires are longer than Merlin-powered variants, the profile still looks sleek unlike the Academy kit, which looks bloated. Other problems include:

- sidewalls of the oil cooler housing not perpendicular to the ground

- poor propeller blade profile

- 'fishtail' exhausts not included

- four-spoke wheels (Mk.XIVs use three-spoked wheels)

- ...and have I mentioned about Academy decals?

Otherwise, the kit looks very good with nicely engraved surface detail. Only one marking option is supplied: AP-D/RM619, No.130 Squadron RAF.

Construction

The cockpit parts and the side walls were first painted. Instead of using Tamiya's mixture to get the British Interior Green, I used Tamiya XF-71 IJN Interior Green. Well, the shade is almost similar, plus even the real pilots can't remember minute details of the aircraft they flew and were amused (even bemused) when modellers asked them about the intricate details! The instrument panel was painted X-18 Semi-Gloss Black and Gunze Silver was then dry-brushed to pop-up the details. Other details in the cockpit were painted XF-1 Flat Black where approriate. The Spitfire is another of the floorless cockpit design. To assemble it, the front and rear bulkheads were first cemented onto the right fuselage, together with the instrument panel. The control stick and cable assembly was then inserted between the bulkheads and was then followed by the seat assembly. The fuselage was then cemented together, but before that, the propeller 'shaft' was inserted in its place. The two-piece tail planes were then assembled and inserted into their places and to finish the fuselage at this time, the pilot access door and the bulges at the nose were cemented - there was no positive placement markers for the bulges however.

Next were the wing sub-assembly. Academy included rudimentary parts for the cannon bay i.e. just the cannons/machine guns. While not really necessary and adding thickness to the wing, the gun assembly was wrong for this kit as the parts are really for the 'E' wing configuration (1 x 20mm Hispano cannon and 1 x Browning 12.7mm HMG) - modelers who want to open their cannon bay can either replace them with aftermarket parts or cut the inner gun off. I didn't and the cannon bays were closed. The cannon barrels and the cannon port plugs were then cemented and was followed by the separate wing tips. The insides of the radiators and the air intake was then painted before I moved on to painting.  

Painting and Decaling

European-theatre RAF fighters were painted 'Temperate Day Scheme' of Dark Green, Ocean Grey and Medium Sea Grey from mid-1941 onwards. To paint these colours, I used Gunze Aqueous H335 for Medium Sea Grey, the Dark Green was a 5:1 mix of Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab and XF-58 Olive Green respectively and the Ocean Grey was a 1:2:2 mix of  XF-18 Medium Blue, XF-21 Sky and XF-24 Dark Grey. The prop blades were painted XF-1 Flat Black with XF-3 Flat Yellow tips while the spinner was painted XF-21 Sky.

Next came the dreaded part of building an Academy kit OOB - the decals. They showed all of the typical Academy decal characteristics of being thick, not easily conform to raised (and recessed) details and totally unresponsive to decal softening solutions. As if that weren't enough, the aircraft code and serial number, together with the fuselage roundel were printed together and therefore depriving modellers the choice of painting the invasion stripes (unless an aftermarket set is used). I quite struggled to get them in place and totally gave up with the ones covering the cannon bulges. I ended up painting the portion Flat White and Flat Black. And, on other thing, Academy did not include any stencilling in the decal sheet, just one for the inside of the cockpit access door. The model was actually left for a long time on the shelf unfinished and the decals cracked in the meantime. I have to touch up using paints, not satisfactorily I might add.

Finishing

There wasn't much to do at this stage with this model - just installing the landing gear and its doors, the tail wheel and its doors and finally placing the canopy and the propeller. The sliding portion was however too thick and there is something odd-looking between the sliding portion and the fixed rear portion of the canopy. The rear-view mirror became a victim of the carpet monster and I yanked one from my Spitfire V to replace it. It wasn't terribly accurate (the kit mirror is a circle while the Spit V mirror is a rectangle), it will have to do. I decided not to wash the entire model, just on the flying control panels only.

Conclusion

Despite the numerous shortcomings, as of November 2014, the Academy kits of the Spitfire XIV are the only ones available for this mark in 1/48 scale.  The kits' problems can be rectified through aftermarket parts but that was a rather expensive option. Another method is to subject the kit to plastic surgery, for urm, 'nose job' in order to correct the worst of the mistakes plus a number of others to correct the rest. I can live with the mistakes however (until somebody came out with an accurate, new-tool 1/48 Spitfire XIV!).

Spitfire Part I : Dogsbody's Spitfire

Historical Background

In 1931, Reginald J. Mitchell, the aeronautical engineer for Supermarine Aviation Works (Vickers) Ltd (later Vickers-Armstrong (Aircraft) Ltd) began working on a monoplane aircraft designed Type 300. The proposal was submitted to the British Air Ministry in July 1934 but was not accepted. Mitchell then revised the design, incorporating a faired, enclosed cockpit, oxygen-breathing apparatus, smaller, thinner wings and a new engine, Rolls-Royce PV-XII inline engine, soon to be known as the Merlin. In November 1934, detailed design work for the improved Type 300 was begun and in January 1935, the Air Ministry formalised the contract with Vickers-Armstrong and Specification F10/35 was issued around the aircraft. In April 1935, the original two 7.7mm Vickers machine guns in each wing was increased to four upon recommendation by Squadron Leader Ralph Sorley of the Operational Requirement section at the Air Ministry.

On 5 March 1936, the prototype, registered K5054 flew for the first time. The subsequent test flights found that the aircraft was good, but suffered from over-sensitive rudder and with a top speed of just 330mph. The latter was cured by using a better-shaped propeller, allowing K5054 to reach 348mph during its delivery flight to the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down in mid-May 1936. Based on raw reports by test pilots, the Air Ministry placed an order for 310 aircraft on 3 June 1936. The aircraft was named 'Spitfire' by Vickers-Armstrong's chairman, Sir Robert McLean after the affectionate name he gave to his spirited elder daughter, Annie Penrose. The name was actually opposed by the Air Ministry and Mitchell himself, who favoured the name 'Shrew' but eventually Sir Robert's choice prevail. The first production Spitfire however only left the production line at Woolston, Southampton in mid-1938,as the Supermarine factory was working at full capacity producing Walrus amphibians and Stanraer flying-boats.

The Spitfire's fuselage was of streamlined, semi-monocoque design. The skins were secured by rivets: flush headed where uninterrupted airflow was required, and dome-headed elsewhere. But the most distinctive part of the Spitfire was its elliptical wings. The shape was chosen as it offered the best compromise between thinness (to avoid creating excessive drag) and the need to house a retractable undercarriage and armament and its ammunition. The wing tips were detachable, allowing it to be fitted with extended wingtips for the high-altitude fighter role (such as the Mark VI and VII) or fitted with fairings to create the 'clipped wing' versions for low-altitude work. Armament was eight .303 Browning machine guns, four in each wing. While they worked perfectly at low altitudes, they tended to freeze higher up, especially the outer two guns. The problem was not solved until 1938 when Supermarine added hot air ducts from the engine radiators to gun bays. Fabric patches were also doped on the gun ports to protect them from the cold, moisture and dirt until they were fired. Despite their numbers, the .303 machine guns were really too light to destroy enemy aircraft, especially larger bomber-type aircraft. Power for the Spitfire was provided by a Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 inline engine delivering 1,030 hp at 5,500 ft (Merlin II) or 1,310 hp at 9,000 ft (Merlin III). Subsequent variants of the Spitfire were fitted with more powerful versions of the Merlin and were then replaced with a Rolls-Royce Griffon for the later marks.

In the last summer before World War 2 erupted, a Spitfire I was fitted with a Merlin XII engine. It was a success and it was decided to use the engine in the Mark II version, to be built exclusively at Castle Bromwich. The Mark II is basically similar to the Mark I. The major difference was that it was powered by the 1,175hp Merlin XII which included a Coffman engine starter, instead of the electric system. This resulted in a small teardrop-shaped bulge on the forward starboard cowling. In early 1940 a decision was made that the Rotol wide-blade propeller characterised by a bigger, more rounded spinner would be exclusively fitted to the Mark II. The new engine/prop combination increased the rate of climb and made the Mark II 6-7mph faster than the Mark I at altitudes below 17,000 feet. The Mark II entered service in June 1940 and was fully pulled out of front line service in August 1942 . 921 Mark IIs were built.

The Spitfire entered service with the RAF on 4 August 1938 when the first Mk.I was delivered to No.19 Squadron based at Duxford. The first batch of Spitfires were delivered at the rate of one per week to the two Duxford-based squadrons: No.19 and No.66. The next unit to be equipped was No.41 Squadron at Catterick and this was followed by squadrons based at Hornchurch. At the outbreak of World War 2, 306 Spitfires were in service with the RAF. The Spitfire first saw 'action' on 6 September 1939 in a friendly fire incident known as the 'Battle of Barking Creek', where two Hurricanes of No.56 Squadron was shot down by Spitfires of No.74 Squadron over River Medway, Kent. The first true combat action Spitfires was on 16 October 1939 when aircraft from No.602 and 603 Squadrons intercepted nine Junkers Ju 88 bombers of I./KG 30 over Rosyth, Scotland. The six Spits managed to shot two of the attackers and damaging another. Spitfires also flew cover for Operation Dynamo, the Allied evacuation from Dunkirk. 

Undoubtedly, the Spitfire's finest hour was during the Battle of Britain (officially from 10 July 1940 to 31 October 1940), where it faced its major test. It was also during the battle that the Spitfire's capabilities and drawbacks were learned. Its counterpart in the Fighter Command, the Hawker Hurricane, had a thicker wing, allowing the Brownings to be grouped closely together, concentrating its firepower. The Spitfire had a more dispersed gun arrangement, diluting the firepower. Therefore, whenever possible, Hurricanes were used to attack bombers while Spitfires dealt with the fighter escorts. The armament for both fighters however were too weak for effective killing of enemy planes. Many Luftwaffe planes managed to get back to their bases with numerous .303 bullet holes but none were critical as the bomber especially were protected by armour over critical areas and were equipped with self-sealing fuel tanks. The one advantage the RAF had was that pilots who survived their shooting down and crashes with no or just minor injuries can quickly return to action. At the end of the battle, despite its reputation, the Spitfire actually shot less aircraft the Hurricanes. This was not due to problems with the aircraft, but mainly because of the larger numbers of Hurricanes taking part. In 1941, Spitfires took part in fighter sweep (codenamed Rhubarb) and bomber escort missions ('Circus') over occupied Europe. Spitfires of various Marks continue to fly and fight until the end of hostilities in 1945.

The Kit

The Tamiya 1/48 kit of Spitfire Mk.I was released in 1993, heralding their return to the world of 1/48 aircraft kits. The kit came in 50 parts, spread among two medium grey and one clear sprues. The low parts count bode well as they mean Tamiya's simple, quick build ahead; in fact, this kit was the first of the so-called 'shake and bake' kits. While many manufacturers sacrifice detail for buildability, this was not the case with the Spitfire (apart from the usual hard-to-capture-in-plastic shapes). There isn't any display option in the kit, save for the opened or closed canopy and entry door. There are two marking options: The first is DW-O from No.610 Squadron in the standard Dark Earth/Dark Green upper camouflage and Sky bottom. The second QJ-B of No.92 Squadron with the same upper colours but with the left-hand bottom half in Flat Black and also a Sky band on the rear fuselage. Tamiya also included a 1/48 scale drawing of the aircraft to be used as a template for colouring. The decals are well printed, and have white backing for the roundels to avoid colour bleed-through.

The Revell Spitfire Mk.II was an earlier product, dating from 1978 and  was re-tooled in 1994. Despite that, the outer details are pretty good for a 1970s kit. The panel lines are all of the raised type with just the canopy rail and control surface hinges being engraved. The interior was simple as befits a 1970s kit. The radio aerial was moulded together with one half of the fuselage, posing a risk during assembly. Decals provided markings for two aircraft: P7966/D-B which was the mount of ace Wing Commander Douglas Bader in November 1940 and P8088/NK-K of No.118 Squadron, flown by Pilot Officer ASC Lumsden in 1941. The particular kit used here was re-released in 2004.

Construction

Before assembling the cockpit interior, I first painted the parts and the cockpit sidewalls British Interior Green using the recommended Tamiya mixture of 1 part XF-5 Flat Green, 3 parts XF-21 Sky and one part XF-65 Field Grey. The details were painted X-18 Semi-Gloss Black with the raised detail of the instrument faces dry-brushed silver. The pilot's office was then assembled and the scars were cleaned up and retouched. Things to be attached to the cockpit sidewalls were cemented and the fuselage halves were mated. There is a slight gap on the forward fuselage but I believe that was just due to my carelessness. The cockpit assembly and a bulkhead was then inserted from below. Although the tailwheel are to be inserted at this time according to the instructions, I chose not to. The tailplanes however were cemented onto the fuselage.

Rather than continuing with canopy assembly as per the instructions, I jumped to wing assembly first. The two separate upper wing halves were cemented to the one-piece lower half. Fit was again excellent. The engine radiator, oil cooler and carburettor intake were then cemented. There is a bit of a fit problem however with the carburettor intake inlet and the main body. The wing assembly was then mated to the fuselage. This was followed by the lower nose cowling, finishing the initial build.

Painting and Decaling

Early mark Spitfires were painted the day fighter scheme of Dark Green/Dark Earth upper camouflage colours and Sky undersides. The bottom colour was painted using Tamiya XF-21 Sky while the upper colours were painted according to the Tamiya instructions: the Dark Green was a mixture of five parts XF-62 Olive Drab and one part XF-58 Olive Green while the Dark Earth was a 50/50 mixture of XF-52 Flat Earth and XF-64 Red Brown. I decided to finish my Spitfire in the markings of No. 92 Squadron so the bottom of left wing was painted XF-1 Flat Black. The markings were then applied in the usual manner.

Finishing

The rest of the parts can now be cemented onto the model. I started by assembling the landing gear and then cementing them onto the model and was followed by the tailwheel to allow the model to stand on its own. This was followed by the exhausts, aerial, pitot and ID lights on the top and the bottom of the fuselage. The gunsight was cemented into place before the canopy was added. I however lost the rear-view mirror to the carpet monster, which greedily devoured it. Finally, the propeller assembly was fitted but since Tamiya did not include the ubiquitous polycaps, the assembly was rather loose. The model however met an untimely end when at the hands of a visiting relative.... Several months ago, I bought a Revell Spitfire II with the intention to build it as it is. However, having recalled that basically, the most recognisable external difference between the Mk.I and the Mk.II was that the latter had a fairing on the starboard nose covering the Coffman starter and had the blunter Rotol spinner and wider prop blades, I decided to use the relevant parts and decals from the Revell kit to turn the Tamiya Mk.I into a Mk.II.

I started by stripping the decals and paints off using Kiwi Window Cleaner and denatured alcohol. The model was then washed with soap to remove the residue. To turn the Mark I into a Mark II, I first sliced off the fairing for the Coffman starter off the Revell kit and transplanted it onto the Tamiya kit. This inevitably resulted in some deformation of the fairing and I used Tamiya epoxy putty to re-form the shape (more or less). The original Tamiya kit exhausts were removed (easily, as I only apply just a bit of cement during the original construction). The Revell kit exhausts are slightly too wide for the opening so they were sanded down. Dry-fitting also showed a gap between the exhausts and the front of the recess, so putty was used to cover the gap. The Mk.II also had extra armour behind the pilot seat. This time I can't pull out the original seat and had to scratchbuild the armour using sheet styrene and cemented it onto the seat back. Also at this time, I found out that Tamiya got certain things wrong with their Spitfire kit, most notably the projecting barrels for the outer two machine guns. So, the barrels were cut and I drilled new ports for them.

To repaint the model, I used Tamiya XF-21 Sky, XF-81 Dark Green 2 (RAF) and Gunze Aqueous H72 Dark Earth. For markings, I'm quite at a dilemma. The No.118 Squadron option is more 'busy' while the other is the mount of one of the more notable pilots of the RAF. In the end, I chose Wing Commander Douglas Bader's aircraft. The reason? He was one of only a few of front-line pilots with a permanent disability. He joined the RAF in 1928 and was commissioned as a pilot officer into No.23 Squadron in 1930. On 14 December 1931, he attempted a low-level aerobatics in a No.23 Squadron Bristol Bulldog IIA at Woodley Aerodrome. The aircraft crashed and he was rushed to the hospital where both his legs were amputated at knee level. Following the crash and after receiving a pair of artificial legs, he fought hard to regain his former abilities. Although he was declared fit to fly, he was invalided out of the RAF in May 1933. With increasing tension in Europe in the late 1930s, he repeatedly requested that the Air Ministry gave him a posting and eventually on 27 November 1939 he flew solo again and in January 1940 he was posted to No.19 Squadron.

Bader got his first victory (with No.222 Squadron) on 1 June 1940 when he shot down a Bf 109 over Dunkirk, Following the Battle of France, Bader was selected to command No.242 Squadron, flying Hawker Hurricanes during the Battle of Britain and on 12 December 1940 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his services during the battle. On 18 March 1941, he was promoted to acting Wing Commander and stationed at Tangmere with Nos.145, 610 and 615 Squadrons under his command. One of the wing commander's perks was permission to have his initials marked on his aircraft as personal identification. Thus 'D-B' was painted on the side of Bader's Spitfire (Mk.II and later Mk.Va), giving rise to his radio call-sign 'Dogsbody'. On 9 August 1941, while carrying out a 'Rhubarb' fighter sweep patrol over the French coast, he either collided with an enemy Bf 109, shot down by the Germans or became a victim of friendly fire. In any case, he baled out and was taken prisoner. During the escape, his right prosthetic leg was trapped inside the aircraft and was severed when he pulled the ripcord of his parachute. On 19 August 1941, a replacement leg was flown to St. Omer airfield, after Adolf Galland, with Hermann Goering's approval, offered a safe passage for the RAF aircraft to deliver it (the mission was part of a Circus operation, and the aircraft involved then proceeded on its bombing mission). He attempted a number of escapes from POW camps until incarcerated at the 'escape-proof' Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle. He remained there until Colditz Castle was liberated on 15 April 1945.

I have read about Revell decals, none of them good. The stories were substantiated when I saw that the aircraft code decals are pixelated and the stencils are quite oversized, especially when compared with the (now gone) Tamiya decals. The final 'attribute', not conforming to panel lines was dispelled when I found that they settle nicely into the panel lines (although not as good as many aftermarket ones). Apart from the issues mentioned above, there was another problem: I believe Revell got their instructions wrong regarding the walkway decals. The instructions have the chord-wise port wing walkway further inward toward the fuselage than the actual location. This in turn affected the span-wise walkway with the 'walkway inboard' stenciling partly obscured by the roundel. The starboard span-wise walkway decal was well, span-wide, (but with the stenciling in the right place) plus there was no chord-wise walkway decals. I cut off part of the span-wise decals and used decals from my spares box to create the chord-wise walkway. Needless to say, there is no 'Walkway Inboard' stenciling for it. At least it looked better! Revell also included decals to pose as the tapes used by ground crew to seal the machine gun ports, but they were too small to cover the Tamiya gun ports. So, I ended up using painted strips of Tamiya tapes. They looked slightly overscale however because of the paint I used to colour the tapes. I then subjected the model to a sludge wash, and finally, a spray of Flat Clear finishes the build.

Conclusion

An absolutely 'easy' kit to build (the Tamiya kit that is). Almost everything falls in place together with no fuss. Although there are areas having fit problems, I guess that was all because of me. As for the Revell kit, I am now left with a Coffman starter bulge-less cowling and the original Tamiya propeller assembly....maybe I'll finish it as a Mark I, pending availability of decals.....(am I crazy or what?). Oh one other thing, I found that apparently Revell missed a number of markings pertaining to P7666 - Bader's personal insignia on the left nose and 'Manxman' on the right fuselage.