Hi Dylan9391

I am so sorry for not spotting and responding to your kind offer sooner, my apologies.

Thank you very much indeed for the offer of your Spitfire, I would love to see photos of it, what an amazing project! Unfortunately though, the budget overspend, with nearly a month to go, is such that as it is, the replicas that we will feature have been reduced from a Spitfire and Hurricane to just a Hurricane, as sadly we cannot afford the cost of the extra aircraft that was offered. 🙁

The whole planning of the shoot has been very tricksy indeed for the poor producer, and she’s doing a great job of getting as much possible for the incredibly modest budget involved. It was always known that CGI would have to play a major role in certain parts of the film (dogfights and general flying) but now it seems even populating the airfield with other aircraft sadly will have to go that way too.

As it stands, it may interest those of you here who showed initial interest when I first posted, that the main featured squadron of the film is now going to be flying Hurricanes! This came about for a variety of reasons, none least through the very supportive approach taken both by Peter Vacher and his R4118, and Rocketeer from on here. Against all our hopes and expectations, Peter made it affordable for our budget to have the sole surviving airworthy Battle of Britain Hurricane in the film – and just as importantly, Bob Foster is involved in the project and he flew R4118 with deadly efficiency and success in the Battle of Britain, which is another great connection! Whilst we were never in the realms of funding any aircraft to fly for us, the fact that R4118 can start up and taxy will add that extra authenticity which is very exciting for us.

The difficulties involved in squeezing an adventurous storyboard out of the budget, the logistics of availability, etc, has meant some fairly lateral thinking and so we are essentially using R4118 for all the green screen ‘studio’ action, alongside Rocketeer’s fantastic Hurricane cockpit which I have had the pleasure of seeing for myself. With this combination, we are hoping to get the various authentic shots of the pilots in their cockpits in action and from their view that we need, as we can get the authentically accurate details necessary of the cockpit interior and instruments, etc, that we wouldn’t get from any replicas that were both the correct Mark and geographically near enough to work with the budget. We will then get some exterior shots of R4118 starting up and taxying. The tricky part (avoiding mention that we’re totally screwed if the weather doesn’t hold up for us!) will be that any exteriors will have to be matched up with the majority of the rest of the filming that will have been shot the days before at a totally different location, over at Ashdown Camps!

We’ve had to split the filming locations because at Ashdown Camps they have Nissan huts for us to film the interiors, the pilots’ scramble, running to the aircraft, and for filming exteriors around the cockpit. As such, we are going to have a Hurricane replica at Ashdown for this purpose, and ideally we would have had a Spitfire in the background, as the script starts with a squadron of Spits returning to the airfield from a sortie, before we are introduced to our main characters on Hurricanes. Like I say, we always knew the flight’s arrival would be CGI, but now budget means even a static Spit in the background will have to be CGIed too, which is a shame.

As previously mentioned in posts on this thread, much effort has been, and is continuing to be, made into the authenticity of the uniform and flying gear, as well as the casting of background extras. This has turned out to be a fairly mammoth task, which we half expected, but what hadn’t been banked on, was that our shoot clashes with some rather big events around the country, at which the leading re-enactors are committed to appear. This has greatly diminished our resources of both kit, which we are now gradually making headway with, and appropriate looking young men to be non-speaking background actors (as pilots and ground crew). We’re pretty much there tbh, but if anybody does know of anyone who lives close to the Evesham area, aged 20-40, would be prepared to have their hair styled and/or cut to an appropriate style please and would be interested in being involved in a historic project, please feel free to PM me here. The shoot dates at Ashdown Camps, nr Evesham are 22nd and 23rd May. Obviously if they do have any appropriate BoB era uniform and kit, brilliant, but if not, uniforms will be provided. Like I say, we are mostly sorted, so at this stage, even if it’s just for having some names and numbers in the book that we could call upon in the event on no-shows, anything would be greatly appreciated.

Apologies for the long old essay once again, but I thought it may be of interest to some on our developments, as so much fantastic help was offered from many folk on here when I first posted.

Finally, apologies and many thanks once again, Dylan, for the offer, we obviously would love your involvement, but sadly with the budget stretched as it is, I don’t think we can offer fair recompense for your replica’s involvement – especially disappointing as we were always hoping to have a Spit to compliment our Hurricane and yours is the perfect Mark for the era!

Best wishes

Rob

Hi G-ORDY

Thanks for your post. We first saw, and were greatly impressed by, The German back when the company was pitching for the contract a year or so ago. It’s a great short film and whilst it differs greatly in its fictional tale, in many other ways, it’s sort of in the visual and logistical territory that we are looking to be working. The behind-the-scenes programme that’s on YouTube as well really demonstrates many things, not least how they used a fuselage section and cockpit. My producer wrote to the makers of The German about a month ago, but has yet to hear anything back unfortunately. We would love to know whose fuselage and cockpit they used – if there’s anyone here who have any means of us contacting the makers or anyone involved with the making of the short we’d love to hear from you. I had a great conversation on Monday with another fantastically helpful person, John Coombes up with the Lytham St Anne’s Spitfire who is doing his best to find a past email that he had from or received from them. He seemed to think there was something about East Europe, possibly that that’s where the cockpit was or is now.

Hi Robert

Thanks for your post too. That photo looks like the Spitf4Hire Cockpit Simulator that I have seen photos of, yes? Whilst it looks promising initially from this angle, the only shots I have seen from the other side do seem to show that the cockpit more serves as a cockpit shaped space to add reality to a fly simulator on a computer screen inside. That’s not meant in any way to insult their setup (or indeed anybody’s throughout this whole project), I am just looking at all these marvellous creations from the perspective of what will work/look good on film for us.

I have just Googled your name + Spitfire and it would appear that I have found a couple of photos of your Spitfire fuselage at various stages of development. That looks brilliant, you must be so pleased with it. Whilst you say it’s got a long way to go yet, may I ask at what stage you are with it and if you have any idea what timescale you’re working on? Well done and keep up the great work, Robert!

R

Very wise words, Stuart, thanks. I agree, as with everyone that I am dealing with at the moment, Rocketeer has been very helpful indeed so far. (Thanks v much for your email, Rocketeer, much appreciated, I will be in touch when I get a chance, thanks). I really appreciate that, it’s giving me a great wealth of options to put forward to the Production team and the client and at the moment, generally people are feeling much more positive about things than before I had all these great leads.

As yet, there’s no stand out solution that I can see, as each option so far has great strengths but restrictions or negatives too – financial, accuracy, ‘filmability’, etc. We also have the location and need for green screen studio shooting requirements that need to combine for the magic to happen! I am even today following up fresh leads that have their merits. And again, a great deal of helpfulness too. A huge thanks to all once again.

Hi Jb/JDH1976.

To the best of all our efforts, the wish is very much to be authentic in all aspects, definitely the costumes for sure. We know that re-enactment groups clearly are a great source – the potential is there for ‘fleshing out’ the scenes with such folk, due to their resources and attention to detail. Clearly the key character/s will be cast actors, so the potential pitfall is that the most accurate ‘costumes’ may well be owned by re-enactors who potentially only wish for their cherished kit to be worn by themselves. That’s in no means a critical statement, but we are aware that it’s a possibility and so will need to work around this. As such, I really appreciate the offer of your knowledge and advice, which I have made note of, thank you.

On each of our location visits, we are viewing what period vehicles are available too, as we may well use some to add authenticity as well – but everything will be vetted by the client and their experts for validity. (To this end, my doubts of whether in mid-1940 the RAF were yet using Willys jeeps were confirmed in our research, so I guess it’ll have to be on another shoot for me to fulfil my childhood wish to ride in one! I think I’ll cope though, as being this close to Spits and Hurricanes, even if they’re replicas, is higher up that list! 🙂 )

Many thanks Stuart, Bob and Rocketeer again. It was good to have the nudge, as I had come across Terry’s presence in my endless internet delving, but in my sleepless fog he had slipped me by until you reminded me. I phoned him earlier this evening – what an absolutely lovely guy, yet another helpful and knowledgeable person to deal with. He’s got one busy calendar ahead, deservedly so, but really cares about what service he provides and knows my side of things so well as you said Stuart, so you can tell he wants to help however he can, but also if what he’s got isn’t right he doesn’t still try and sell to you anyway. He doesn’t need to, and more importantly I really got the impression that he doesn’t want to, which is something I greatly appreciated.

The likes of him, Rocketeer and so many of you folk on here are the ones that have the knowledge that helps folk like us get things right. Like you say Bob, Terry said his Mk II is a couple of years off, which is such a shame for us. That said, he did say that he has many of the items to make his interior more like a I/II, such as the rear view mirror, fire button on the spade, I think some other things too, so potentially that could perhaps be workable. (Although noted what you said about the internal screen, Rocketeer, would that apply to Terry’s too?)

What we wouldn’t be able to get around is that whilst Terry says there aren’t that many differences between the two variants in the cockpit, I can’t help thinking even with my fairly rookie knowledgge, that the 4-blade prop, wing mounted cannons sticking out, the clipped wings maybe and for all I know perhaps the air vent scoop underneath too are all dead giveaways that it was not a Battle of Britain participant? There wouldn’t be much point in having his as-real-as-the-real-thing replica on set only to use the cockpit exterior as well as another replica just for the exteriors, so as to make it correct model from the exterior (especially if maybe it’s not of such realistic build quality as his IX, which he did infer). The budget certainly wouldn’t stretch to such overlap, but tbh I don’t think we’re even in Terry’s price range anyway, sadly… or that of Carolyn Grace’s beauty whilst we’re at it…

Who knows though, it’s just great to be able to hand over so many options, and who knows what decisions will be made in the end. Each have their own great merits – and I certainly include Rocketeer’s fine handiwork in that – whilst each having their own weak points for what the very specific need that we have.

Great tip-offs all the same, thanks everyone.

I left a message for Barry Wallond down in Newquay, or at least it was a rather lengthy message on the number off his website, so perhaps I may hear back from him. I don’t know if anyone on here knows him? I understand he built a Mk I as well as the IX in his garden but I don’t know if he’s still got it, or if its cockpit is complete? I’ve also think I’ve read elsewhere it described as a Mk II..? Whichever it is, I believe I read somewhere that it is what was used in First Light which I think was only shot a few years ago now?

I haven’t had any answer when I’ve rung Lytham’s Spitfire group either, as yet. I believe they have a cockpit on a trailer and possibly a full size travelling replica Spit too? Whilst I in no way wish to even appear insulting and certainly not cut my nose off in spite of my face, but would I be right to imagine that Rocketeer’s wins hands down on attention to detail? To be fair the photo of theirs I’ve seen was fairly poor quality!

Anyway. many thanks once again, any further ideas greatly appreciated!

Cheers

R

I know Moggy, but that is why at the very least the aim is to have a Hurricane in the field too, I believe, for some balance.

Rocketeer, I’m really sorry, I just reread your original messages and didn’t spot your statement that you have a MkI Spit! (Or rather the Producer is far a far more conscientious reader than I and so she pointed out what I’d missed..!) Is it at all possible for you to post photos of that too? The client is quite rightly very keen on detail, as one of the advisers is the one of the country’s, if not world’s, leading authority on The BoB, so we always want to satisfy him because that then would mean we’re getting it right! It would be great to see how the slice through works – does it have seat, rudder pedals an canopy, side walls? (Talking of rudder pedals, again, does the MarkV have them?)

Like I said before, none of this is meant as fussy nitpicking, we need to be able to give the Director and client as much info as possible so that all the right decisions can be made. I certainly don’t wish to put you out at all, as who knows with who and what the production will go with, but it’s clear that you have put one heck of a lot of effort and heart and soul into it.

Likewise, can I ask where you’re based and if you’re prepared to travel with it? It’s possible that the location shoot will be in Suffolk, and if so there is a studio there on site that we could have painted green. By all means, I’m happy to take more personal matters like this off forum into private messages.

Cheers

Rob