Hi Again I've did a little more research into the markings on that spitfire for you and here is what I have come up with. The plane in your picture is a Spitfire from 54 squadron which was based at RAF Hornchurch from around 1940 till 1942. The squadron code was KL (the K is hidden by the drop down door) Now your photo shows the aircraft individual code as T. I can tell you that this aircraft's serial number was most likely R6709. So if you want to leave the band off to make it more authentic to the BoB thats the serial number you should use. Hope that was of some help.

Thank you very much-Now I do see the tiny end of the K peeking out from shadow! Well, I'll still leave on the stripe (it's there anyway) and the original intent was to re-create the picture, regardless of the exact date it was taken. It's still an awesome photo, I think! Thank you for your help.

It's an interesting issue I often have as a modeler...if it looks white in the photo, do I make it white because I'm modeling the photo? Or do I paint it sky because I know it's historically correct?

I built an La-5 and the photo I have shows a very hard-edged exhaust stain with a very regular, curved shape. So I modeled it that way, because it matches the photo I have. But it looks like someone just did a bad job of portraying an exhaust stain lol. Makes me want to display it with the picture next to it!

Whatever you decide for the stripe it should be the same as the underside.

I see the underside as a different shade than the stripe, and the spinner and the white in the tail flash are the same shade as the tail band.

I think a lot may be down to monitor settings as well. I see the stripe as different from the white of the tail flash and almost identical to the underside.

I'm with KRT_Bong...It looks white on mine and it appears there's a difference where the underside and the stripe are next to each other. I've seen another version of this photo that's brighter and less blue-tinted and I see the same on that one. I haven't decided which way to go yet...I have a few things to finish up before I can get stuck back into this. But I appreciate everyone's help and input!

The only trouble is, in the photo, the ID letters are the shorter, stubbier kind (the decals I find are all the tall, thin kind). The fuselage roundel has the yellow border on it. All the photos and profiles I find of KL-T show stubby letters with no-yellow-border roundel OR yellow border with tall, thin letters. Weird. None of the photos/profiles show the fuselage band.

So, I had planned on airbrushing the letters anyway when it was L & T (easy shapes), but now there's a K involved. The photos/profiles of stubby-letter KL-T differ in where the diagonals of the K meet. Both at the the same point, or the "leg" joins to the "arm", not to to the vertical line.

All of the pictures of KL-T (R6709) show a black spinner - the photo is white. Is it possible this is a different ?L-T?

It's always the little things that kill ya!

OK, black spinner is early, white spinner came with the fuselage band, apparently if the internet is to be believed.

I also got that, until I logged into Facebook.