1/32 Spitfire Mk. VIII Part 1 Decals

Spitfire Mk. VIII, Serial unknown HL-K
308th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, 15th Air Force, USAAF.
Pilot - CO of 308th FS. Flown by Lt. Leland P. Molland. Castel Volturno, Italy. February, 1944.
Molland was a 10.5 victory ace, 5 of those while flying the Spitfire. Finished in Dark Earth and Middle Stone over Azure Blue. All demarcations are tightly hand sprayed. Finish is worn and matt, with moderate exhaust staining and heavy wear on the wingroots. Note the yellow stripes on the outer wings. Spinner red. Blades black with 4" yellow tips. Wheel hubs Dark Earth or possibly dirty Aluminum.

Spitfire MK. VIII, MT982 UM-C
152 Squadron RAF. SEAC. Flown by Warrant Officer Eric Clegg.
Sinthe Airstrip, Burma, 1945
152 Sqdn alternated between ground support missions and escorting transports in Burma. Finished in Dark Green and Dark Earth tight soft-edged uppersurface camo over Medium Sea Grey. Spinner in white with yellow tipped black prop blades. White theatre bands on wing, stabilizers and fin.

Spitfire Mk. VIII, A58-517 (RAF serial MT594) UP-F
79 Squadron RAAF. Flown by Flt. Lt. Norman Turnbull (surname legally changed in August to Smithells). Based at Morotai, Indonesia. Late Spring, 1945.
Finished in a factory painted scheme of Dark Green and Ocean Grey over Medium Sea Grey. Shown before incorrectly in other upper surface camo colors. Note tail unit and wing leading edges painted in very worn white paint. Pilot stated that the Elephant was painted grey. Yellow leading edges showing through the badly chipped paint. Standard roundels overpainted in camo colors. Spinner in light blue, not green. Note Sky band completely painted out in OG.

Spitfire Mk. VIII, JF476 QJ-D 92 Squadron RAF. Desert Air Force. Pilot unknown.
Based at Taranto, Italy. September, 1943.
Finished in Dark Earth and Middle Stone over Azure Blue. All demarcations are tightly hand sprayed. Finish is relatively clean, with light exhaust staining and some wear on the wingroots. Note no yellow leading edge stripes on wings. Spinner red. Blades black with 4" yellow tips. Wheel hubs probably Azure or Dark Earth.

Spitfire Mk. VIII, JF835 UM-T
152 Squadron RAF. SEAC. Flown by Flying Officer Paul "Gus" Ardeline.
Sinthe Airstrip, Burma, 1945
Ardeline, a Canadian, shot down a Dinah on 24th September 1944 while flying this aircraft. Finished in a Dark Green and Dark Earth tight soft-edged uppersurface camo over Medium Sea Grey. Spinner in white with yellow tipped black prop blades. Note green maple leaf on fuselage roundels and lack of white theatre bands. Very heavily weathered with prominent lead deposit staining from exhausts.

How to apply water-slide decals:
1. Preparation: to achieve better result, a gloss or semi-gloss coat is very important. It will make a smooth layer which the decals will suction to and make it much easier to apply and set them.
2. Cut out the decal you need (do it on cutting mat)
3. Grab the decal with tweezers, place it on the surface of the water and leave it for about 20 seconds.
4. Remove the decal from the water and place it on paper towel to remove any excess water.
5. Apply decal solution to the part where the decal is to be placed.
6. Slide the decal off the backing paper on to the model. Using a paint brush or cotton bud is a good way to do this without damaging the decal.
7. Use the brush, knife or cotton bud to position the decal. Using your paper towel, gently dab the decal and soak up the excess water (decal softner is also recommended at this stage. After applying softner, the decal will suction to the part and flatten out smooth.)
8. When the decal is completely dry, give another coat of varnish or Klear/Future to seal it.