Spitfire Stuff

[dr_gn]

I picked this book up yesterday at Duxford:



I'm a bit wary of the multitude of books of this type, but this one stood out. For less that £10 I thought it was great: Paperback, 274 fine print mostly wartime original pages and diagrams including brief background and history, pilot's notes, log book, personal combat reports, movement card, forget-me-not notes for fighters, notes on air gunnery and a lot more.

The forget-me-not notes are simple cartoons and do's and don'ts for air combat. In many ways they tell as much as what it must have been like to fight in the BoB as any pilot biography. Some of this stuff light heartededly or at least flippantly deals with pretty dire situations. My favourite is:

"DON'T! go into combat without goggles over you eyes. Splintered glass is not good for them, and some pilots are now paying extra insurance premiums for their cars."

or

"If you have been wounded and feel you may pass out before you get home, turn the oxygen full on - it will help you a lot."

Also saw this:



One of the nicest I've seen of the metal model type. Over £500, but I wasn't surprised at that given how great it looked.

[killingjoker]

Amazing stuff. And it's BoB day today. I'm currently reading a book about a pilot who was killed during the Battle of Britain - Peter St John, makes you think.

[Lost soul]

dr_gn said:

must have must have must have must have

[Eric Mc]

There's a lovely large scale metal Spit model in the foyer of the RAF Museum, Hendon.

Some of those Pilots' Notes type books are very good. I have one on the Lancaster.

[HereBeMonsters]

Eric Mc said:

There's a lovely large scale metal Spit model in the foyer of the RAF Museum, Hendon.

Some of those Pilots' Notes type books are very good. I have one on the Lancaster.

I bought my Grandfather the Meteor one for his birthday early this year.

"Well, it's a nice present, so thankyou, but the book is still bloody useless 60 years on!"

[Eric Mc]

HereBeMonsters said:

I bought my Grandfather the Meteor one for his birthday early this year.

"Well, it's a nice present, so thankyou, but the book is still bloody useless 60 years on!"

Is that a reflection on the book or the Meteor?

[perdu]

A very lovely model Meteor won the Aircraft section at the Sutton Coldfield Modellers Show yesterday.

I think it said Hasegawa on the card, lovely paint finish.

Really just like High Speed Silver and with a scratchbuilt Derwent that was a credit to its builder.

Which takes us nicely to the metal models doc and Eric have mentioned.

I saw the Hendon one and kinda stood back in awe, it was wonderful and doc that one in Duxford really ticks the boxes too.

I might just get that book next time I'm there, I'm driving down past there in October. Pop in the shop if I can avoid having to pay for a visit.

[Eric Mc]

I don't recall Hasegawa ever doing a Meteor (I may be wrong).

In 1/72, the Meteor's I'm aware of are -

Airfix (Mk.III)
FROG (Mk.8 - very old (mid 1950s) and now a collectors item)
FROG (Mk.4)
MPM/Special Hobby (Mk.4, 8 and T.7). The Mk.4 has also been released by Revell, the Mk.8 by Airfix and the T.7 by Xtrakit)
MPM/Special Hobby also do a prone pilot Meteor
Rareplanes did a vacform Mk.8.
Matchbox did an NF11 and 14 which is available again from Xtrakit.

In 1/48 Tamiya do a Mk I and III.

In 1/32 there is a the new HK models Meteor 4

Welsh Models do a 1/144 Vac Form Mk 8.

[dr_gn]

Hasegawa reboxed the Frog Mk.4.

[anonymous-user]

Interesting stuff OP! In 2014, i think we forget the relative "simplicity" of the air war conducted during WWII. Ok, we had basic radar, and a decent, but rudimentary system for flight direction / targeting, but it still pretty much came down to "Get up there, in this plane, if you see the enemy, try and kill 'em before they kill you"..........

[Eric Mc]

That did cross my mind. Hasegawa and FROG used to box some of each other's kits back in the early 1970s.

I don't think I've ever seen a Hasegawa boxing of the Meteor 4.

[perdu]

Could have been Tamiya maybe, looked to be about 1/48 scale.

Lovely metal rippling between engines and fuselage, a real delight of a model.

I think I still have a Frog MklV.

doc how did you enjoy the day?


(says me, typing one handed whilst holding the canopy of my latest helichopper down with my left hand letting the formula '560 cockpit glue set)

(probably be able to let go in another ten minutes)

[Eric Mc]

Don't glue yourself to the model

[dr_gn]

perdu said:

Could have been Tamiya maybe, looked to be about 1/48 scale.

Lovely metal rippling between engines and fuselage, a real delight of a model.

I think I still have a Frog MklV.

doc how did you enjoy the day?


(says me, typing one handed whilst holding the canopy of my latest helichopper down with my left hand letting the formula '560 cockpit glue set)

(probably be able to let go in another ten minutes)

Enjoyed it a lot - as always! Ta.

...despite the considerate person who'd tied his chairs - plural - to the fence before returning (alone) half way through. He then pushed his way to the front, sat down in one of the chairs muttering that he 'needed to see' and then read a magazine for the rest of the display, in the comfort of enough space for about four or five spectators. Selfish tt.

[Eric Mc]

Airshows would be great if people didn't turn up