MK XVIe Spit

[Paulw]

Well after the last build everything in my stash seemed to be a bit blaaaahhhhh. I looked at all my Navy type planes and nothing there seemed to trip my trigger then I dug this Spitfire out.

I did its stable mate about two years ago and it came out a travesty but it still hangs on my wall as a testament to how far I have progresses in two years. I think I am ready to tackle it now.
I did the last one in a bout a month by working night and day on it and I was excited to paint it up in something different, a sort of clipped wing Aussie whiffer if you will. This time will be a bit different as I do it in either one or two different profiles and it will be oob mostly, I do have some tires and pe cockpit things to use.

I hope to do this one justice and maybe redeem myself from two years ago.

 

[MrT]

Terry B)

 

[jknaus]

Awesome
James

 

[phantom II]

A beauty ! :v I have to confess to having a soft spot for them . :drinks

Of all the old planes I remember flying around the house when I was just a knee high an old Belgian Spit was my favorite.

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[paddy]

Glad to see you doing this, its also my next project and this will save me having to do WIP :laugh: Like you i did the MkIX a couple of years ago as well.

 

[Paulw]

Well I think I shall get new glasses, After all day looking through that opti-visor trying to assemble this pit insert and getting the paint on it. the photos tell me I need to pay a little more attention to details and get a finer detail brush.

I think I did better on this one than I did on the MkIX two years ago. Well we shall see...

 

[jknaus]

Looking good
James

 

[moon puppy]

Your glasses are fine, so's that pit

 

[MrT]

Terry B)

 

[Paulw]

Well I did some more weathering to the ip and the inside of the pit but I am afraid Sir Rodney is hiding it all from vie
. This seems to have come together rather well so far and I think it will be fine once I get the wings and things on it and all that good stuff. One place that I did have a bit of difficulty was the ip fitting in the fuse sides. Every thing has to be perfectly straight or it will be too long to fit anywhere. It tends to want to lean forward and you have to be on top of those things in order to get it to come out plumb.

I used a home made wash for the post shading effect in the pit and I dont know if it worked well or not. You guys let me know ok?

Sir Rodney in his office and ready for the next FW 190. I hope he is successful.

 

[moon puppy]

Home made wash works as well as anyone's, looks fine to me Paul

 

[Arturius]

what amazing kit!!!! :yipee

And of course, a great build!!!

 

[Paulw]

I didn't bother to count the parts and pieces to this engine. I figure I did better than I have done in the past and even though this is not painted I am afraid that the detail wont show because it will be all black as the full sized Packard Merlin was from the factory. I am surprised that this thing is going so quickly. Already I have the wing assembled mostly and the engine done. The wing is installed on the fuse with very minimal gaps and steps.

I think now that I could do a wire harness for the ignition wires since there isn't one in the kit.

 

[Dragunov]

Hi Paul,

You just must love the sound of the Merlin engine!!

Her some footage of Bob Jr. being late for work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX629ZjWD68

Great detail on a great plane !!

Erik

 

[Brokeneagle]

B) Cool subject Paul.
Can you give us a bit of a background on when and where it was used? I love the spits but I don't know a lot about the later Marks.

Ian.

 

[moon puppy]

Love that motor Paul, check out my mustang build cause I wired her up also, yet sealed up the cowls :idonno .

It really looks like Tamyia intends or intended on parts being added for the ignition harness. Looking good so far.

 

[paddy]

Broken Eagle
Please dont ask questions about Spitfires or i will bore you all to tears :laugh:

Basically a MkXVI is a MKIX with clipped wings, Packard Merlin and of course, low back spine.
It was developed for the middle east where most interceptions took place at lower altitudes than the home front. there were minor differences from a MkIX like radiators and a taller rudder as the low back changed the longitudinal characteristics in flight but essentially it was a modified MKIX

Hi Paul..Loving this build and really looking forward to starting mine now so thanks for jolting my enthusiasm

 

[Paulw]

Any time my friend. I have been busy, busy, busy today and I have completed the engine and engine mount. I did these in black and a sort of custom blend for Britt interior green. I know it isnt exactly the right shade but I think it is suitable. Sir Rodney got an update also with a little dry brushing and a flat coat. I used metallic gray for a highlight on the engine and my own formula for a pin wash on the fire wall and the piping. This kit came with a little tube of light grease for the canopy sliding mechanism and I also used it for the prop shaft also so it may spin more freely as it should.

I really have to apologize for the poor pics but I was not using a tripod as I should have.
Comments welcome.

 

[moon puppy]

Looks fine to me Paul

 

[Paulw]

I am well pleased with the way that this build went. I finally have some paint on and the only thing left to do is fiddly bis and decals. With a touch up here and there I think this may be one of my better builds. I did,however, have some difficulty with the panels over the engine. Try as I may I just could not make them fit properly because their corners would pop up and cause gaps so I tacked them down to get the paint on.

Here are the pics from the paint session.

I can hardly wait to get it finished I hope it turns out well.