Spitfire Part III : Most Numerous Of Them All

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 late 1940, the RAF predicted the start of a new high-altitude bombing campaign by the Luftwaffe using pressurised Junkers Ju 86P bombers. As the high-altitude variant (the Mk VI) would take some time to be developed, an emergency measure was needed. Thus the Mark V was conceived. The Mk V was basically a Mk. I powered by a Merlin 45 engine incorporating a single-stage  supercharger. Power was rated at 1,440 hp at take-off. Improvements to the carburettor allowed the Mk V to make zero g maneuvers without any problems with the fuel flow which plagued the Mk. I.  Several Mk. Vs were converted Marks I and II airframes and they started joining line squadrons in early 1941. The Mk. VB with Merlin 45 and 'B' wing (one Hispano 20mm cannon replacing two inner .303 machineguns in each wing while retaining the outer two .303s) was the main production version. The round section exhaust stacks were replaced with the 'fishtail' type, allowing marginal increase in thrust. 

With the receding threat of invasion, the RAF decided to go on the offensive (or as Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory put it 'leaning forward into France'). The new policy entailed fighter sweeps (called 'Rhubarbs') and bomber escort missions ('Circuses') over France and other occupied territories. The Spitfires used for these missions found themselves having the same tactical disadvantages as the Bf 109 units faced during the Battle of Britain, namely their rather short range. The 'F' versions now equipping Jagdwaffe units on the Channel coast have performance closely matching the Mark V of the Spitfire. The introduction of the Fw 190 gave further shocks to the RAF, being 25-30 mph faster while having better acceleration and rate of climb and not to mention more powerful armament, making the Fw 190 the highest scoring Spitfire killers. This hastened the introduction of the 'interim' Mark IX but in the meantime, some Mark Vs received 'clipped' wingtips (being the first Spitfire variant to have this option). The clipped wingtips allowed a greater rate of roll and airspeed at low altitudes.

The Kit

Hot on the heels of their Spitfire Mk.I, Tamiya came up with VB variant in 1994. The parts are spread among two light grey and one clear sprues and feature nicely engraved details. The clear parts include both armoured and non-armoured windscreens and two styles of the sliding portion of the canopy. The one problem I see with the kit engineering is that the cannon barrels were moulded together with the upper wings, increasing the risk of breakage. The wingtips are separate allowing modellers to chose between the normal and the clipped wingtips. While cockpit details are reasonable, there are no seat belts included, not even in decal form. Also, while the separate cockpit door (to depict it in the open position) has better details than the one moulded with the fuselage. The decal sheet includes the wing leading edge ID strip together with the machinegun muzzle patches (separate patches for the third option as it does not have the ID strip). Three marking options were provided:
1. SN-M/EN821, No.243 Squadron
2. SZ-X/BL479, No.316 Squadron*
3. AGM, Fighter Command, Wing Commander A.G Malan

*No.316 was a Polish Squadron (with squadron ID 'SZ'). Most if not all aircraft in the unit featured the Polish checkerboard pattern on the nose while this particular aircraft did not. It was actually the personal mount of Group Captain M.W.S. Robinson, Station Commander of RAF Northolt where No.316 was stationed at the time.

Construction

Before assembling the cockpit interior, I first painted the parts and the cockpit sidewalls British Interior Green using XF-71 Cockpit Green. Yes, it's a Japanese colour but to my eyes it looks similar to British Cockpit Green. The details were painted X-18 Semi-Gloss Black with instrument dials in XF-2 Flat White. Although Tamiya has the modeller paint the seat in the same green (with the cushion in X-18), photos show that the seat is actually red brown in colour (it was made of bakelite) and the cushion looks like Buff. hey were therefore painted XF-64 and XF-57 respectively. The pilot's office was then assembled and the scars were cleaned up and retouched. Things on the cockpit sidewalls were cemented and the fuselage halves were mated. As Tamiya expected the included pilot figure be used by everyone, no seat belts, even in the shape of decals, were included. 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 were then cemented onto the fuselage.

Rather than continuing with canopy assembly and exhaust manifolds as per the instructions, I jumped to wing assembly first. The two separate upper wing halves were cemented to the one-piece lower half. Decision has to be made here as to whether to finish the model as a regular or a clipped-wing variant. 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. Oops! I almost forgot - the wing reinforcement ribs on each upper wings need to be removed (they were museum additions). The lower nose cowling was then cemented into place, finishing the initial build.

Painting and Decalling

The camouflage pattern for all three marking schemes are the same so that simplify things. The Medium Sea Grey, Ocean Grey and Dark Green colours were done using Tamiya XF-83, XF-82 and XF-81 respectively. Only then I have to make up my mind as to which markings to do. With the clipped-wing option out of the picture (as I used the original rounded wing tips), that left me with either the anonymous No.243 Squadron machine or the one belonging to ace 'Sailor' Malan. It was rather obvious that I would choose Malan's plane. Adolph Gysbert 'Sailor' Malan was a South African who joined the RAF in 1935 and was confirmed as a pilot in 1937. he was posted to No.74 Squadron at RAF Hornchurch.At the outbreak of war, Malan was involved in the so-called Battle of Barking Creek, a 'blue-on-blue' incident on 6 September 1939. As leader of 'A' Flight which attacked the unfortunate Hurricanes of No.56 Squadron, Malan denied responsibility and instead blamed pilys under his command. The court eventually dismissed the case and acquitted all pilots involved.  

During Operation Dynamo, No.74 was one of the squadrons giving cover to the evacuation and on 28 June 1940, Malan was awarded a DFC, having achieved the ace status. On 5 July he rose to the rank of Flight Lieutenant and on 8 August, he was promoted to acting Squadron Leader and took charge of No.74 Squadron. It was around this time that Malan and other senior pilots decided to abandon the RAF's 'vic' formation and adopted the looser finger-four formation. On 13 August, he was awarded a Bar to his DFC. Malan commanded No.74 with strict discipline and also reluctant to hand out decorations. Apart from being a force to change the RAF's tactical fighter formation, Malan also developed a set of simple rules for fighter and was disseminated throughout Fighter Command.On 24 December he received a DSO and in July 1941 received a Bar to the Order. On 10 March 1941, he was appointed as the leader of the Biggin Hill Wing - one of the first persons so appointed. He was rested from active fighter duties in August of the same year by which he has amassed 27 solo kills, 7 shared kills, 2 unconfirmed, 3 probables and 16 damaged, becoming the highest scoring RAF pilot at that time. He was transferred to reserve on 6 January 1942.

After tours to the United States and the Central Gunnery School, Malan was promoted to temporary Wing Commander on 1 September 1942. He was later appointed as the station commander for Biggin Hill and receiving promotion to war substantive Wing Commander on 1 July 1943. Malan however was keen to fly on combat operations, often ignoring the standing order for station commanders not to risk getting shot down. In October 1943, he became the CO for 19 Fighter Wing of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force. Later he became the commander of No.145 (Free French) Squadron and led a section of the squadron during the afternoon of 6 June 1944 over the Normandy beaches. Malan resigned his commission in the RAF on 5 April 1946 while retaining the rank of Group Captain. He returned to South Africa and joined the anti-apartheid movement. Malan passed away on 17 September 1963 of Parkinson's Disease.

Although no specific time was mentioned, I believed the markings in the Tamiya kit is for during his tenure as Biggin Hill Wing commander (or maybe later, when he was the Biggin Hill base commander as this option lack the wing leading edge ID strip and the armoured windscreen as base commanders were not expected to fly combat missions). The decals are fairly thick, causing visible bumps where the wing roundels overlap the walkway decals. I think that the fin flashes were too wide and need trimming to fit properly (which I did). I also believe that the instructions for the starboard wing walkway is wrong as it doesn't show the chordwise strip (the decal is on the sheet by the way) while the lengthwise strip goes all the way to the wing root (it was cut to the appropriate length before application). All decals then received an AK Interactive Decal Softener treatment. Ak Interactive Paneliner was the applied to the panel lines.

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. Speaking of the canopy, Malan's plane used the 'regular' rather than the armoured windscreen (probably for the reasons I mentioned above). As luck would have it, my old friend Murphy came back for a visit during this build - I managed to smear the windscreen with cement! While it can be sanded back, I left it as it was as a lesson to myself. Finally, the propeller assembly was fitted. A final coating of Flat Clear finishes the build.

Conclusion

Another 'easy' Tamiya Spitfire kit to build, just like their Mark I. Almost everything falls in place together with no fuss. Some modellers point out the inaccuracies of this kit (and also the Mark I) such as the fuselage being 'fat' around the cockpit and also a bit short. The wing is too wide at the middle and some issues with the wing curves. To my eyes the model still looks like a Spitfire V. Short of shooting a shrinking ray at an actual Spitfire, these mistakes which virtually all kits have, would still be around  and most of us would still be happy (save a small percentage who suffered from acute and incurable level of AMS).  

Hail To The Chief

Historical Background

The Centurion tank, despite being one of the most successful post-war tank designs, was not seen to have an ideal firepower to deal with the heavy IS-3 and T-10 tanks, armed with a 122mm gun. In 1955, the British fielded the 64-ton Conqueror heavy tank armed with a long 120mm gun but its mobility left something to be desired. A more mobile tank, with similar or heavier armament as the Conqueror was needed. In 1956, Leyland Motors built their prototypes of a new tank design which led to a request by the War Office for a Centurion replacement, known as Medium Tank No.2. The specification drew on the experience of the Centurions tanks during the Korean War as well as the operation of the Conqueror. It was expected to engage the enemy at long range from defensive position and proof against medium artillery. The gun therefore need to have a depression angle of more than 8 degrees, achieve a firing rate of 10 rounds per minute in the first minute of an engagement and 6 rounds per minute in the next four. It also needed to have a new, thicker, sloped frontal armour.

Design of FV 4201, as the vehicle is now designated, started in 1958 and the first prototype was ready in 1959. From 1961 to 1963, a further six prototypes and 40 pre-production vehicles were built. These were extensively used in troop trials, identifying changes needed for full-service vehicles. To assist in engine cooling and reducing engine vibrations, the rear deck was redesigned. This however increased the vehicle's weight, so that the suspension had to be strengthened. Track pads were also added to reduce damage to roads while increasing ground clearance. During the later stages of development, Israel was invited to join the programme with an eye for an Israeli purchase and licence-building the Chieftain (as the FV 4201 was named). The British decision of not to sell the Chieftain to Israel resulted in the latter leaving and pursuing their own tank development programme (eventually emerging as the Merkava). The Mk. 1 of the Chieftain was accepted for service in May 1963 with operational units receiving the Mark 3 in 1966.

The original Mark 1 was powered by a Leyland L60 two-stroke diesel engine designed for multi-fuel use but it proved unreliable and underpowered. Issues with the engine and the overall weight resulted in a high rate of breakdowns of the Mark 1 during exercises. In 1967, the power rating was increased but never fully resolved the problem. In 1974, the so-called 'Belzona' variant of the engine increased power output to 850 hp, improving the road, but not cross-country speed. The main armament was the 120 mm Royal Ordnance L11A5 rifled gun firing separate-loading ammunition. The propellant charges were encased in combustible bags, stored in 'wet' storages. 64 rounds were carried, comprising of HESH (High Explosive Squash Head) and APDS (Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot) rounds. Secondary armament consisted of a co-axial L8A1 7.62 mm machine gun and an L7 7.62 mm AA machine gun in the commander's cupola.

The initial fire-control system consisted of a Marconi FV/GCE Mk.4 12.7 mm ranging machine gun mounted above the main gun. The ranging gun was ballistically matched to the main armament and have a maximum practical range of 1,800 meters. On the left side of the turret was a large searchlight which can be fitted with an infra-red filter. The ranging machine gun was replaced with Barr and Stroud LF-2 laser rangefinder from Mark 3/3 onwards. This was later replaced with a Marconi Improved Fire Control using a digital ballistic computer. The Chieftain also introduced the supine driving position which lowers the overall height while allowing a more sloped front hull, improving protection. In the 1990s, in addition to the IFCS, the Chieftain received the 'Stillbrew' armour package (named after a Colonel Still and Mr. John Brewer of Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment) while the searchlight was replaced with a TOGS (Thermal Observation Gunnery Sight). The Chieftain was produced in several variants. Marks 1 through 5 were original versions with the later marks being rebuilds and upgrades of the original versions. Mark 11 was the last operational version of the Chieftain, incorporating the changes mentioned.

The Chieftain, like the Centurion before it, enjoyed considerable sales in the Middle East but unlike the Centurion, was not adopted by NATO (who mainly bought German Leopards) and Commonwealth countries. Chieftain users in the Middle East were Iran (the largest), Iraq (who operated captured Iranian examples during the Iran-Iraq War), Jordan (who designated their Chieftains as Khalid Shir - they were ex-Iranian order for an upgraded Chieftain variant, basically a cross between the Chieftain and its successor, the Challenger), Oman and Kuwait. Iranian Chieftains were used against Iraq with mixed results due to chronic engine problems and lack of spare parts. Kuwaiti Chieftains saw action during the Battle Of The Bridges against elements of the Iraqi Hammurabi and Medina Guards Divisions on 2 August 1990.

The Kit

Takom was a new company, being established in 2013 with the Soviet Obyekt 279 heavy tank being their first kit. After a number of World War 1 and unusual / less kitted vehicles, they came up with three Chieftain kits in 2015 - Mk. 5/5P, Mk.10 and this kit. The medium grey-moulded parts were spread among seven sprues, upper and lower hulls, one-piece turret and shell and turret bottom, separate track pads, brown-moulded separate (and loose) track links, a PE fret, two poly caps and a vinyl mantlet cover. All the parts are very well-moulded featuring sharp and intricate details. The diagram in the instructions are CAD drawings but looks clear and not confusing. A small addendum sheet is also included. The decal sheet provide markings for five vehicles:

1. 5th Iniskilling Dragoon Guards, British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS), Canada (2 vehicles)

2. That famous 'Unknown Unit', BATUS

3. Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, Germany

4. A Sqn, 1 Royal Tank Regiment, Tofrek Barracks, Hildesheim, Germany 1992

As with the Marks 5 and 10 kits, the majority of British Army markings option were from BATUS. I just wish there were more BAOR marking options.

Construction

Before I start, I must mention that the kit's sprue gates are quite thick and square, requiring a bit more care. As with many other vehicle kits, construction started with the suspension units. The thick sprue gates almost made me broke the shock absorber arms on the front pairs of the Horstmann suspension. On other thing, I might be just me but Tamiya cement took a bit of time than usual to weld the parts together so I resorted to superglue for certain parts. The diagrams are also printed downside up so might want to have it well, upside down so that the images were oriented 'correctly'. Apart from that, there wasn't any problems with the lower hull and the suspension. Some might have an issue with the moulded springs as they look way simplified. The outer wheels was a multi-part affair to maximise details. The inner wheel on the other hand was a one-piece affair with less detail. Well, they would be mostly hidden from view, so why bother?

The instructions have you attach the rear hull plate to the lower hull after the tracks were put in place and after dry-fitting, I decided to do so as there won't be a good enough space to work the tracks if the rear plate is in place prior to the tracks. Takom has the track links already removed from the sprue a la Dragon's Magic Track. The track pads were however separately moulded. I took the route of least resistance by leaving the top run altogether as the side skirting would be in place, hiding the area from view. The tracks were not cemented to the wheels at this time in order to paint them and they were also separated into three segments to ease handling. In the meantime the wheels were removed and I painted the lower hull. When the tracks have cured, I painted them XF-64 and later washed them using AK Interactive Track Wash. The track pads were painted Tamiya XF-63 German Grey and were then then cemented into place. The cut scar was then retouched. The three segments for each track run was then cemented together and fitted to the wheels.

The upper hull was then cemented to the lower hull assembly. Logically, the rear plate was cemented first to make a stronger assembly before further work. The engine air filter(?) / exhaust system box on the rear plate was next and here the first PE part was encountered. The exhaust pipes themselves are of a split design with seam problems but the seams were mostly hidden from view by the stowage boxes on the mud guards. The spare tracks were left off at this time. Moving to the front of the hull, holes were drilled as indicated. The raised details on either side of the driver's vision block need to be removed but since my hobby chisel is too wide for this particular area, the cut wasn't clean. It actually didn't matter as the area was later covered by the add-on armour. Storage boxes were assembled but the fit was not great. The headlight brush guards were split into three parts and the best way to assemble them is by cementing the posts onto the hull first followed by the central bars, aligning them as you go. Oh, add the splash guard support strut before you do anything with the light guards - it was easier that way.

As for the turret, Takom has you add all the details first before joining the turret halves together. From past experiences, this may lead to broken parts. So the turret main body was assembled first. But before that the gun mount was assembled and put into place. I found that it was quite hard to get the turret shell to fit through the soft vinyl gun mask (but as usual, it might just be me) but in the end it was all OK. Nevertheless there was a sizeable gap around the gun mantlet which was quite fiddly to fill and sand. The well-detailed gun barrel is a two-piece affair and needed care in assembly to avoid ugly seam lines (and I took time admiring the details!). Before doing anything else (and hence forget about it later on), the addendum sheet was consulted and the not-needed detail was removed. After consulting various photos on the internet, I also removed the mounting for the rotating beacon on the turret roof (I believe the beacon was part of the 'laser tag' system used in maneuvers only and I wanted to have the model in 'combat-ready' posture...but the I might be wrong). The rest of the turret assembly went on without a problem, except for the stowage bins, which are a bit fiddly.

Painting and Decalling

I have decided early in the build not to finish this model in the BATUS scheme and leaves me with just the two BAOR schemes. Both schemes have NATO Green as the base colour and so Tamiya's XF-67 was used. I originally wanted to finish the model in the Royal Scots marking scheme, as it was single-colour and faster to finish. But I was having second thoughts about it, as most of my post-WW2 tank models are of single-colour schemes and adding another monotonous vehicle might not really a good idea. And so, the 1 RTR Chieftain it will be. The disruptive pattern was painted using Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black. However, during painting, I found that the pattern on the side and top elevations did not match. Turning to the internet, I found the build log of a modeller building the same kit and I copied the pattern he used on his Chieftain. The thermal sleeve was painted a mixture of XF-57 Buff and XF-49 Buff while the straps were painted straight XF-49.

The few decals were applied. They adhere with no problems although I still apply AK Interactive's decal setting solution, just in case. I deviated a bit from the instructions by placing a Union Jack on the front left fender. It wasn't on this particular tank but I have seen photos of other 1 RTR Chieftains sporting them. It might not be accurate per se but it was possible.  

Finishing

To tell the truth there aren't many things to do by this time, and mainly it was concerned with further weathering. The commander's machine gun mount was assembled and finally put in place and followed by the towing cables. As many photos, and also mentioned by the said modeller above (who was a Chieftain tank commander) showed the absence of the side-view mirrors, they were left off permanently. No other accessories were provided with the kit and I have run out of British accessories in my stash. I however managed to try some other methods to create camouflage nets. I tried to replicate the type usually used by the NATO armies by using the regular bandage gauze as base and adding tea leaves from used teabags. However the brand I drink has been using granulated leaves without me realising it. The gauze was soaked in white glue and the contents of teabag was poured onto it. Since the tea leaves are granulated rather than pieces of broken leaves, they look weird, to say the least. Nevertheless I used them.It was painted XF-49 Khaki , and then folded and placed onto the left-hand side turret bin.

No paint chippings were done as the same modeller said that these tanks were regularly repainted and that tank crews were not wearing hobnailed boots. I however made the model look dusty by applying thinned XF-55 Deck Tan all over it (I have run out of the usually used XF-57 Buff but found Deck Tan to be a very good substitute).  The lower glacis plate and part of the forward portion of the RPG skirt was then washed with AK Interactive Mud Wash. The exhaust nozzles receive a rather thick wash of X-19 Smoke. Finally guitar string was used as radio aerials although I manged to cut the one shorter than the other. The shorter one was used on the turret roof while the other was used on the turret side. As the model has already looked as flat as it is, I did not finish the build by spraying a final layer of flat finish.

Conclusion

This was my first Takom kit and frankly speaking I was quite impressed with it. While originally buying the kit with some reservations, having images of 1000+ parts a la Hobby Boss and Meng kits dancing in my mind, the build process was more akin to a Tamiya. In general the parts fitted nicely while having fairly respectable details. Painting directions however was a bit 'off' and I wish Takom had more BAOR markings. Well, at least it was better than their Mark 10 kit which featured an Abrams stand-in for a popular TV show and a static target at BATUS (yes, a static target waiting to be blasted by Challys, what was Takom thinking?).