Thread: Skins by Aelius
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Old 11-04-2011, 07:48 PM
aelius aelius is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Mill Valley, California
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In the Photo Archive to Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945, Kenneth Merrick includes a large captioned photograph of Q1+VB, which he identifies as a F-2 sub-variant, although the plane usually is described as a G-2.



The two sub-variants essentially were the same except for the more powerful (but problematic) DB 605B engine of the G-2, which required the addition of an air inlet above the exhaust pipes that seems to be visible in the photograph. The F-2 was fitted with hard points beneath the wings but so was the G-2.

Merrick does observe that the undersides of the wing tips were yellow, and in the photograph one can just discern the coloring. But he goes on to say that the spinner tips were yellow as well, indicating that the plane belonged to the Stab of III.Gruppe. Given how much darker the tips appear to be when compared to the yellow band at the rear of the fuselage, they more likely were green, the color of I.Gruppe Stab, an attribution seemingly confirmed by the white "V" and Staffel letter "B."

NAGr.1 was a Nahaufklärungsgruppen (reconnaissance unit) and one wonders, looking at the photograph, whether the apparent absence of gun ports for the two 20mm canons signifies that the plane was fitted instead with a camera, in which case the sub-variant would be a F-3 or G-3. All of this, of course, is completely beside the point, given that the plane being skinned is a C-4!

I've reskinned Q1+VB with the underwing tips in yellow, moved in the Balkenkreuze, and, with yellow now displayed on the undercarriage, closed the tail band around the fuselage. The RLM 74/75 mottling over RLM 76 also has been darkened. The revised color scheme is available here.

Here are some additional screenshots.







I've just discovered "Piece of Cake," by the way, a six-part miniseries produced by London Weekend Television in 1988. Our British cousins likely have known about the program all along but for me it's been a treat to see so many Spitfires in the air.

Last edited by aelius; 03-28-2019 at 01:41 AM.
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