Hosbabon
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Airfix 1/48 Spitfire Mk. Vb, Malta 1942
Hosbabon replied to Hosbabon's topic in Ready for Inspection - Aircraft
Thanks for the positive comments ! Bob, i used to paint figures for war-gaming, many years ago and decided on seeing airfix's offering, to give it a go. The link at the top is to my build log and i took several photos as the pilot took shape. I think most pilots included in kits lack character and a life like pose, so I've never bothered before. Ive just started Tamiyas A-1J and the pilots' just a single mold of plastic with his hands on his knees .... i made a seat harness out of metal foil instead !! -
Here's my airfix 1/48th Spitfire Mk Vb. It was built as part of the MTO guild build, (unfortunately i over ran the deadline) and my thread can be found here .... 1/48 Airfix Spitfire Mk. Vb 'Malta', March 1942 . **Finished** Enjoyable build in the main, and a few firsts for me. I experimented with chipping and weathering using powdered pastels; and more experience with my airbrush. I also placed a pilot inside, slightly adapting him to turn his head and give a thumbs up ! All out of the box other than the ariel cable which was from a company called Uschi.
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Finally finished; missed the deadline but with the chaos of christmas, work and family, hardly surprising ! I finished with a coat of alclad matt. I used shaved artist pastel for my exhausts, combining, black, brown and orange (the only colours i have). The prop was finished with a black wash and tiny drop of vallejo metalliser. Rigging was with Uschi elasticated fine and was a true test of patience to get it set; I'm sure there must be a technique somewhere !! All in all I'm happy with the result. I can see areas for improvement ( my weathering for example ), and I've tried some new things, such as chipping and a pilot ! Apologies for the poor photos, Ill attempt some better tomorrow and post in the RFI section. Next on my list ..... santa was very good; i received Good evening da nang, Eduards F4C in 1/48th and also Tamiyas 1/48th A1J Skyraider !!! decisions decisions !!
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Thanks Steve. Yes i used both aqua gloss and finished with alclad matt. Im happy with the effect but can't really see the difference between using future and vallejo's matt, which were a lots lets cleaning for the airbrush.
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Looks great ! Enjoyed your build thread too. Im just approaching the end of my own Mk.Vb, having gone with the airfix boxed scheme.
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Added some pastel powders, mainly browns and blacks to create some residue from the exhausts and guns. I'd read somewhere about using tamiya thinner as a base to help it bond and used this method on the exhaust staining. I think it made the powder streaky in places but glad I've tried it. On the wings i just used i light dusting of powder which seems to have gone better. Ive also attempted chipping, and used a silver artists pencil. Again its a first and although i was going to give it a miss, decided to id go with the motto "nothing ventured, nothing gained" and expand my experiences. Again I'm undecided wether i like it or not. Exhausts and wheels done; prop has been painted and waiting to decal prior to weathering. Hopefully all done tomorrow. Pictures of the above work .....
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Hectic with work and christmas but my build has moved on ..... slowly ! Panel line washes apples all over Ive only the prop, undercarriage and exhausts to finish; plush adding some weathering powder and I'm done !!! Unfortunately I'm working tonight, but a with a week off into the new year i should be completed all be it beyond the deadline
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Decals all finished and another coat of aqua gloss sprayed in preparation for some panel lining and weathering ..... I may well give everything a fine misty coat of a light sand to blend the stark contrast of the white decals. Im wanting to try and add some fine chipping too, although I'm conscious this may well spoil the overall effect, however, nothing ventured and all that.
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Little bit more progress to report. I coated the model in Alclad aqua gloss prior to decaling, a first for me using alclads having previously used pledge floor wax. It seemed to produce a good finish, although not as glossy as i expected. Results seem good though and I've no real silvering of the decals so far. I also have used micro sol and set. Here's photos of top and underside views ... Tomorrow i can hopefully finish the decals, re apply aqua gloss ready for some weathering and sort the prop out.
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Got everything all masked up using blue tack worms and masking tape, and then went with XF18 medium blue. The instructions call for a dark grey colour, which was locally sourced, to overpaint the original mid stone colour. Im also sure that i read somewhere that malta spitfires may have been painted using royal naval colours whilst transported, however I've nothing at all to substantiate that. I thinned the paint and then darkened it with a few drops of black to do some post shading, a first for me. The overall results I'm fairly happy with. My camouflage seems to have suffered with the worms creating some unnatural shapes, particularly visible on the wings. ( more practice needed !! ). On the plus side there hasn't been any bleeding of paint in any area's, including the underside fuselage masking.
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Quick update ... Pre-shading shown on the upper surfaces. I then went with an all over very thin coat of XF52 flat earth, building up as i went. My plan is now to mask using tac worms and spray the grey blue. Ive decided ill then post shade the grey blue before going back to post shade the brown, once i know where the camo lies.
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Got everything primed today to begin with. Initially it highlighted some gaps along seem lines so i had to fill, sand and re-prime. I then went on to pre-shade the entire model. I was initially thinking of just doing the underside and experimenting with an attempt at post shading the upper surfaces; but with the airbrush out and loaded i somewhat ran away with it. I preshaded with a very thinned Tamiya XF 82 rubber black. This was then followed by XF21, Sky, to the undersides. I used very thinned light coats to try and build up the colour. The picture doesn't quite do it justice but I'm pleased with the finished effect. Not sure weather to seal the undersides now, prior to masking off, or just leave them. I have used pledge previously but bought an Alclad 2 varnish set at scale model world which ultimately ill try prior to decals and overall finish.
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Canopies all masked, and test fit of the pilot complete. Should get some primer on today and a general idea of how she looks .
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Pilot finished. Been quite a while since i painted a figure, and all in all I'm pretty happy with my efforts. I wasn't sure of insignia, so to add some interest i went with a set of wings on his sleeve, along with some rank insignia. Having just checked, Buck McNair DFC was only a pilot officer !
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Made some progress painting my pilot tonight ... Primed and then given a black wash to highlight raised areas .... Skin tones on... Life jacket .... ... and finally harnesses. Boots, helmet and metal work tomorrow and possibly some fine details. Colours not great but i only have a limited range to mix with.
