Guppy, you're right. A simple 5 second search of the Spit serial number database would have told me the same thing. I see that this one was with 331 (coded FN-D) at the time, not 332. This means that the profile I worked from was <gasp> WRONG! What's most embarrassing is that I know better than this, I just questioned a VVS Spit profile in another thread! The profiles in question are part of this article from an IPMS chapter website:
http://www.ipmsgreatplains.org/OperationStarkey.aspxNow, the photos I used for reference come from
2nd Tactical Air Force Volume One (pub. 2004), it has a three page spread on Starkey with pics of a 64 Sqn Spit, a 263 Sqn Whirlwind and some 88 Sqn Boston IIIAs in Starkey markings. Also shown are the original reference drawings for marking application for both single and twin engined aircraft, provided by the Imperial War Museum, so I'm confident that the Starkey markings in my skin are correct, it's just too bad the airplane wearing them isn't
So how did I get led down the path? Why don't we take a hard look at these profiles now.
In the profiles, only the underside of the Whirlwind shows the 'correct' Starkey marking (that particular Whirlwind has been misidentified for years as a Dieppe raid aircraft), the other profiles don't have black wingtips. The Boston (usually misidentified as a D-Day aircraft)
is from one of the photos and the serial/codes match the profile. The profile Boston's wing markings are wrong, the Boston photos clearly show the black portions of the marking (including the wingtip) reflecting hardly any light compared to the inboard section of the wing. The nose marking is correct, backed up by photos.
The photo of the Whirlwind and the photo of the Spit are taken from the front quarter (probably to show the stripes), and confirm that under wing roundels were obliterated by the stripes, the author assumes the upper roundels were also painted over. The reference drawings from the IWM show stripes covering the wings to about halfway to the root from the tip so any roundels would be totally covered. The intent is clear to me but without photos of the upper surfaces obviously I can't be 100% certain that there weren't variations.
As for the Spits?
LFVb W3320
was with 64 Sqn and was coded SH-L. The photo I have identifies it only as a 64 Sqn aircraft, the original pic may have been larger and the serial may have been easier to see. The pic I have is too small. I had originally intended to skin this one but decided not to because of the clipped wingtips. HTC accepted my 401 RCAF skin which was in RL a clipped wing Vb so maybe I should do this one instead (but of course now I'm questioning
everything 
).
HFVII MB820 was never an option to skin as it's a MK VII. It
was with 124 Sqn and coded ON-E, but I can't find any reference to the wingman's aircraft as mentioned in the profile caption.
So based on the above I originally decided to do the Mk IX. Why didn't the warning bells go off when I found myself looking at a Mk IX profile with a serial in the AB range? Don't know. As it stands, the aircraft (according to serial) was converted from a Vc, so it's acceptable. But it's a moot point because the profile artist either got the squadron wrong or the serial wrong because the codes don't match the serial. Either way, I should have researched all the aircraft in the profiles to calibrate the BS meter first before picking out the Mk IX. This one's shelved until I get better references.
