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Here
is the ICM USAAF Mk VIII
Spitfire finished as Clive Caldwell’s A58-484 (ex-JG543).
Clive
Caldwell was an EATS pilot that finished the war with 27½ kills, twelve German,
three and a half Italian (all in North Africa) and finishing in the Pacific with
seven Japanese. Records show
that Caldwell had at least three Mk VIIIs and four Mk Vcs finished with his
initials on them.
Additions
to the kit include an old Cooper Details seat with harness, Academy 30 gallon
slipper tank, Tamiya undercarriage, rear-view mirror, antenna and gun-sight,
Falcon canopy and Ultracast exhausts, elevators, prop and wheels.
“484”is a bit of an
oddity. References clearly illustrate that it lacked the normal
voltage regulator behind the headrest and was equipped with a reflector
gun-sight (not gyro).
Thanks
to research by Peter Malone, I was able to fit this model with four 20mm cannon,
which it carried, albeit briefly, in Morotai.
Apparently it flew “like a bus”, so this configuration was
short-lived. All Mk VIII were fitted with the “C”, or universal wing (hence
no suffix) and it appears that someone wanted to experiment with four cannon in
place of the more usual mixed machine-gun/ cannon armament.
JG453
was a LF. Mk VIII delivered to the RAAF in June 1944, finished in Mid-Stone and
Dark Earth over Azure Blue. To make
it more compatible with operations in the tropics, the Mid-Stone portions of the
camouflage were over-painted with RAAF Foliage Green, obscuring the RAF markings
at the same time. RAAF “A”
number serials and 32” roundels were then applied.
Caldwell’s
personal markings comprised a white fuselage band with off-centre black band,
initials in RAAF Sky Blue,
scoreboard, pennant and the spinner painted white with a red tip, stripes and
back-plate. The Ace of Spades on
the tail was a Wing marking. White
leading edges were an Allied theatre recognition marking.
The
kit was painted with Aeromaster acrylics for the Azure and Dark Earth with
Polly-scale providing the RAAF Foliage Green and Sky Blue (for the 30 Gal
slipper tank). Testors MM Acryl provided the RAF interior green.
Decals were from Just Planes (codes), Arrow Graphics (serials),
Error-master (roundels, pennant and scoreboard) and Ventura (Ace of Spades).
The codes are Just Planes “Faded Sky Blue.”
Of note is the serial. When
Caldwell had the stripe painted on the A/C, parts of the last three digits (484)
were deleted on the port side. These
numbers were repainted using a different stencil.
It has been assumed that this carried to the starboard (no photo’s
available). Logically, as the
stencil placement was usually
symmetrical, the “58” portion of the serial would have been over-painted.
Soooooo, I have depicted the A/C as A58-484
(port) [backed up by photographic evidence] and A58-484
(starboard)[speculation, if some-one can produce a contemporary picture of the
starboard side of –484, please forward me a copy].
Long story. Of course, ICM has releasd the kit with a correct decal
sheet.
All
in all a pretty good kit, with the main modification being adding a 0.5mm spacer
to the top of the fuselage to the rear of the canopy to address the
“squeezed” look of the ICM kit. Falcon
suggests this fix and the cutting down of the fuselage to the canopy rails with
their canopy. The kit has Ultracast exhausts, wheels, prop blades
and elevators.
Thanks
to Peter Malone for the assistance on the specifics of this aircraft and the
photos of it with four cannon. Thanks
also to Drewe Manton for his explanation of how to get the front end to fit!
References:
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Baker,
Ian K., “Aviation History Colouring Book 26: RAAF Spitfires Special”
Smith’s Book-binding Service, 1996
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Laird,
Malcolm, Mackenzie, Steve, “Spitfire, The ANZACS. The RAF through Colonial Eyes” Ventura Publications, 1997
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Morgan,
Eric B. Shacklady, Edward, “Spitfire: The History” Key Books, 1987
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Pentland,
Geoffrey, “RAAF Camouflage and Markings 1939-45 Vol. 2” Kookaburra
Technical Publications, 1989
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Price,
Alfred, “Spitfire, A Complete Fighting History” Ian Allen Limited, 1974
and 1985
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Scutts,
Jerry, “Spitfire in Action” Squadron/Signal Publications, 1980
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Wilson,
Stewart, “The Spitfire, Mustang and Kittyhawk in Australian Service”
Aerospace Publications, 1988
Greg
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