The Spitfire story, part II

In the second part of our Spitfire coverage (part I) we look at models that stand out from the rest.

In terms of scale, the plane of legoleo is quite similar to others. At first glance the color scheme seems a bit unconventional: instead of using dark green and dark gray seen on many other LEGO Spitfires this aircraft uses a mix of light gray and normal green. It is not the color scheme that puts it above the field though, rather the motor built into the the nose that drives the propeller. We have seen similar things amongst the Messerschmitt builds too, but this model takes it one step further: instead of hiding the engine inside the body, the builder chose to integrate it in the shape of the body and expose it. Clever.

Next on our list is Brian Fitzsimmons. This plane has been built virtually only but still looks good. The fuselage and the wings are a bit narrower than on most other builds. The invasion stripes make the details more interesting. The three-bladed propeller looks a bit out of style though: the Spitfire versions used during the Normandy campaign had four-bladed propellers.

We have already covered Lego Monster in the previous part. As one would expect from a British gentleman he did not stop at building a single Spitfire. This is his second model, built a couple of years later at 1:20 scale. The larger size lead to more details and nicer shapes: in my opinion the wing, the body and the tail all look more nicely shaped and closer to the real Spitfire.

We saved the non plus ultra for last. thirdwigg has been already covered on the blog too, but I think his model is well worth another look. This plane is the largest of all, built at a grandiose 1:12 scale. As one would expect, the larger body makes it possible to have a really nice shape all across the board. But not only the shape is perfect, it is full of working details too, like the adjustable propeller (see video). If you are interested in how one decides to build something like this, it is all covered on his blog. It is also interesting to look at the two work-in-progress photos (1, 2) that show the plane in half-ready state.

And what comes next? As you could expect, I am preparing my own version. Not sure exactly when yet, but stay tuned!

The Spitfire story, part I

We have covered Messerschmitts on the blog earlier (part I, part II), let's take a look at the other side, more precisely Britain.

The Supermarine Spitfire is probably the most well known British fighter from World War II. It was a protagonist of the Battle of Britain when the Royal Air Force defended British airspace in spite of being in numeric minority. According to statistics there were more aerial victories by Hurricane pilots, but still somehow the Spitfire emerged as the symbol of victory. It could have been be due to its slightly better performance, or simply because it is somehow more aesthetically pleasing to look at.

Hence it is no wonder that numerous LEGO versions have been built over the years. Let's start with the model of Exploded LEGO. This is one of the smallest one I have found on the net. It is less colorful than the others, but still has plenty of interesting details. For example the yellow leading edge of the wings, or the small "flag" on the tail. In spite of its size it even has a retractable retractable landing gear!

We have introduced Mattias Martenssonnal (alias eremms) already during the Messerschmitt coverage. His model is a bit more colorful, light gray and dark gray gives you the characteristic camouflage pattern of  Spitfires. Unlike most others, the insignia are built from bricks rather thank stickers. I think it looks really good.

Stefan Johansson has been missing from with his Messerschmitt, but he will not be missing from this one. He also uses a dark / light gray combination. (Maybe this is a Scandinavian thing?) The plane is graceful but still has the typical Spitfire contour:

Scott Peterson has chosen the more typical dark green - dark gray combination. Somewhat unusually though he chose to use the airbrush to reach the perfect color combination. This is a later Spitfire version with four-bladed propeller:

Today's last creation is from Lego Monster who should be familiar to our readers already. He took his fair share of Spitfire building too. Today we look at the 1:36 scale version that was built a couple of years ago. The plane is built from real dark green and dark gray, which looks pretty nice, just like other details: the yellow part of the wing and the flag.

To be continued next week!

USS Intrepid aircraft carrier

Lego Monster is not an average man. Of course there are others playing Lego, but he prefers scale like no one else. Judging from the dates of the photos he started before last Christmas that he builds an aircraft carrier. At scale, of course - as dictated by the size of a minifig. He already had reference material so we had little doubt that he means what he says. This is his previous project, HMS Hood:

His current project is the USS Intrepid (CV-11) aircraft carrier. She served in the United States Navy during World War II in the Pacific theater. The master started with the hull:

He spared no time to get the details right, like the air defense:

Elevator for the aircraft:

Look at this boat:

Slowly it all started to come together. As one can see, size does matter:

The crew is starting to assemble:

An aircraft carrier needs aircraft too. I could not imagine anyone better suited to the task than our old friend Mad Phyisicist. A TBF Avenger and an F4U Corsair are ready for their first mission:

Meanwhile the engineer is working on the island:

The whole project did not reach 100% yet but as I see it it does not need much more. Of course we will report when it is ready. Meanwhile take a look at the gallery of the project and stay tuned for more news bits on twitteren.