Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk.22, Belgian Aeronautique Militaire

[Spey Phantom]

looking through the stash, i thought i'd start off with the Airfix 1/72 Spitfire F.22.
the kit itsself looks excelent, and im gonna be building it in Belgian markings.
belgium did operate spitfires (Mk.9, Mk.16 and various versions of the Mk.14), but not this type.



decals will be a combination of DACO, homemade and kit decals.
i will post some inbox pictures later.

if i still have some time left, i might even build a second spitfire F.22, this time in Dutch markings 

[ysi_maniac]

Love this small pearl. Nice kit. :) :)

[Spey Phantom]

well, today the GB begins, and that means i can start painting and pasting 

i started last night by looking for decals.
i remembered i made decals for the serials some time ago, but the roundels never come out that good on a metallic surface.
so i decided to cut out the roundels from the DIY decals and replace them with those from the DACO spitfire decal set, witch has been released very recently.

as for a unit, im gonne be paining this one up in 31 "Tiger" Squadron markings.
color scheme will be all metal with a yellow spinner and yellow/black trimmed rudder.
serial will be SQ 31, 8S*K.

reason i chose the SQ-xx serial is that the SM-xx was used in Belgium on the Mk.9 spits and SG-xx on the Mk.14.
since there were no F.22 spitfire's in Belgian service, i had to make up my own serial code.

dont worry, there will be a '46 themed backstory to it 

[perttime]

F Mk.22 fits the time period perfectly on its own ... but a story always makes a whif even better.

... of course, you could call it F Mk.24. (which came a year later) I don't think there are any (or significant) external differences.

[Spey Phantom]

i started last night on some sub assemblies.

painting the wheelwells and cockpit, then putting the wings together.
also started on the cockpit painting and assembly 

[Spey Phantom]

cockpit assebly is done and has been fitted in the fuselage.
i had some problems with the fit, but it isnt that bad.
the wing fit went quite well, although it needed a good clamping.
the rudder got a second coat of yellow, with the black trim expected to be applied tomorrow.

tonight im gonna do some work on its rocket armament.

[Spey Phantom]

im quickly nearing completion of this build.
paint on the the prop, engine exhausts and front wheels are currently drying.
main assembly and fitting of the rockets is now completed, and a first layer of paint has been applied.

pic of the aircraft with the rudder on the side 

[father ennis]

Fantastic !!!  Great looking build !!!

[GTX_Admin]

Coming along nicely.

[Cliffy B]

Shiny!!!  And RPs under the wings!!!  Please continue 

[Spey Phantom]

Finished it.

the aircraft depicted is a Spitfire F.Mk.22, operated by 31 Squadron, from Kamina Air Base in the Belgian Congo.
the aircraft saw action in the Africa Theater in August 1946, where it defended the colony against German and Italian forces.
it was primarily used in a ground attack role against enemy convoys and armour devisions, but was also a high performance fighter. it was also the first Belgian aircraft to shoot down a German Me262 over german occupied French Equatorial Africa.
the Belgians also used the Spitfire F.22 over Egypt and Libya. 31 squadron returned to Belgium in september 1947, when the Germans were pushed back into the defensive.

[Cliffy B]

I'll say it again, shiny!!!  Well done sir!  Nice and clean :)

How did you handle the NMF finish?

[perttime]

I like it!
Do you plan to add any smoke stains and dirt?
The last photo reminds me about a discussion on the correct order of the signal lights on the bottom 

[Empty Handed]

That is reaaallly quite something!!!

[Spey Phantom]

How did you handle the NMF finish?

everything is brushpainted, i applied 2 layers of Revell 60 (aluminium) topped of with a coat of Gloss varnish (Revell 1)

[ysi_maniac]

Beautiful!!!
 :)

[GTX_Admin]

 :)

[jetboy]

Hi nils,thats looking rather nice,whats the payload on that then?....cheers Don

[Cliffy B]

How did you handle the NMF finish?

everything is brush painted, i applied 2 layers of Revell 60 (aluminum) topped of with a coat of Gloss varnish (Revell 1)

You forgot to add brush painted very well!  You have a very nice brushed aluminum texture thanks to the brush painting; ME LIKEY   

Only suggestion would be to add some color/tonal variations to the fabric surfaces to make them look like they were painted silver to match the bare metal.  Providing Spits had fabric covered control surfaces...they did didn't they?

[kitnut617]

Providing Spits had fabric covered control surfaces...they did didn't they?

Morgan/Shacklady book would say no for a Mk.21/22/24

[Cliffy B]

Providing Spits had fabric covered control surfaces...they did didn't they?

Morgan/Shacklady book would say no for a Mk.21/22/24

I stand corrected then, please disregard!  Thanks Kit  :)

[father ennis]

Great job on both the plane and the backstory,too !!! I do agree that some exhaust staining,etc. would be a good touch.

BTW, I hate you !!!   I had to order TWO Spitfire kits because of you and how nice yours is !!!!!!!

[apophenia]

Very nice Nils! Love those Belgian wing roundels  :)

[Spey Phantom]

Photo(sh*t)bucket bandwidth issues, at the worst possible time.
here's a backup from my second account.