Ventora3300

Used Ronseal gloss varnish, water based, for the gloss (is this sacrilege? / must buy some Humbrol Gloss) and it went on a treat. Put on the transfers – the first roundels and letters I put on went very well and I can see that the silvering is almost non-existent. I was about to say ‘not bad for 50-year-old transfers’ but then some of them fell apart through cracking on the carrier strip and I ended up ‘borrowing’ a lower roundel and fin flash from my Typhoon 1B of similar vintage (decals replaced via ‘MrAirfix’ on ebay). Used the Decalfix sparingly and avoided running over onto the gloss coat, just in case (read more on this in previous Britmodeller posts - thanks again). You can see the difference in the underwing roundels where the one under the port wing is from the original Spitfire IX set, exposed to a bit of sunlight during the build, whereas the one under the starboard wing was taken from the Typhoon 1B set from the stash, for an emergency repair. Transfers all finished and a couple of coats of Matt Cote on – there was a heart-stopping moment when it seemed to refuse to dry matt and I was imagining that it was reacting with the gloss varnish – thankfully a move to another jar of Matt Cote cured it. (I have had this problem recently with old Farrow and Ball oil paint where the finish was oily and it refused to dry matt, so my mind was working overtime). ‘JE-J’ is finished ….…and the prop still spins! Is it tea-time yet? I’m actually very pleased with the final results on these kits as I feel I have improved my techniques along the way, thanks to all the input from the first class Britmodeller community. Many thanks again to you all. Now for the ‘re-construction’ of the black and white scene. A test photo at the actual original window (now double-glazed) at the family home in Dundee shows that the tree in the original picture has grown mightily since 1969 and not left much room for manoeuvre. I’ll need to change location. I shall post the final results in ‘Ready For Inspection’ and there will be more of the Britmodeller community input incorporated – please bear with me!

I have felt 'Frog-build fever' bubbling away since I read that fantastic thread by AdeyM. Need to concentrate on one at a time though. Regards, Mike

Centurion Tank kit - my first armour build! Followed by the Churchill! I keep seeing those kits on e-bay and have resisted so far since I have gone absolutely mad on aircraft in this retro phase.

Full marks for patience and perseverance! The build is looking great. This sort of attention to getting it right is an inspiration as far as I am concerned. Regards, Mike

I think that the help available from the Britmodeller community means that no problems are insurmountable. Looks like we are at 10 Early Airfix Enthusiasts so far (counting you and me) - I saw the figure of 25-30 quoted as being required to qualify as a group build so maybe we need to wait and see if the enthusiasm for the Airfix, The Golden Years Group Build is out there. Regards, Mike

Some more progress on the Spitfire IX – eventually got the fuselage band into a better state and the tailwheel is on. After fairly simple masking – getting better at this - the canopy is painted and stuck on with PVA. The wing leading edges are painted in yellow after masking and a small dot of black added to the .303 Browning ports I created earlier. I’m not going to do red patches this time as I’ll keep to the representation on the kit header boxart. Not doing an aerial wire this time as once again I have been educated/enlightened by some posts on Britmodeller (fantastic source of knowledge) and read a very interesting article on the radio types fitted with what aerials/masts/wires and when etc. A bit of matt black paint added to the front of the carb intake. Navigation lights added via a blob of green and red from a cocktail stick. Ready for coating in gloss before I tackle the transfers! And the prop is still rotating…...

As usual, there is a source of info...reading what's involved, I can help with that. It did occur to me that this might be a 'collector's piece' but I have decided I'm a 'builder', although I will keep the box with the finished model. Maybe the thing to do is to really put in a big effort by including after-market add-ons and really try for a pristine finish. It could represent the journey that some kits have been on... Regards, Mike

Thinking about this, I may go for my 'oldest' Airfix kit - the DH Comet 4B. Also, what sort of a hand is required with the GB? I'll help all I can. Regards, Mike

Great idea - I am in 'Vintage Airfix' mode - may never get out of it! I'm in. Regards, Mike

Fantastic result on a 'flying pencil' - and I do like a neat paint job! Ties in nicely with some recent advice I was getting on low contrasts between top surface camouflage colours. You've answered a question I had on aerial thread (I actually got some fine elastic thread from the local knitting/sewing shop at the weekend) and now I'm starting to get obsessed with where you can find out how the aerials located mast to tail, one string or two, loops to connect with the radio inside the fuselage etc. Regards, Mike

The Humbrol enamel lasts forever for me, a couple at least 10-15 years in my box, although I think I am just about to clean the top rims of some of them of dried paint (maybe that is what keeps the tins sealed) and perhaps drop in a very little thinners in a couple which seem 'thick'. I also have three of the original Airfix mini glass bottles in which the paint is still clearly liquid - got them in a vintage kit ebay purchase - they must be 50+ years. Regards, Mike

You are right! Finished the camouflage colours as originally intended and it is looking much better with less contrast - makes my previous build colours look a bit 'false'. The Hu116 Dark Green actually looks closer to the header 'boxart' colour. Just having a bit of difficulty in getting the 'skyband' straight on the fuselage but just about there. Thanks again. Mike

I agree on the flat brushes for the larger areas - I still don't feel the need to move on to the airbrushes, although that is probably because I'm still doing the raised panel line / rivets kits. I can see me changing brushes regularly though because I think they start to bunch eventually with less than thorough cleaning. Great build thread and first class input from the 'Britmodellers' as usual. Regards, Mike

Many congratulations - she shares a birthday with me! Although my first one was last century. If I remember right with regards to myself, that makes your daughter star sign 'Virgo' and they are real sticklers for detail and perfection - a modeller in the making! She'll be pinching your paints rather than your wife's make-up! All the best. Mike

Second coat of ‘Dark Grey M2’ (Hu27) is on. Put on some Dark Green but trying Hu116 rather than Hu30 as I’ve seen suggested elsewhere as being a better representation. Not a great contrast between the grey and the green – the grey looks too dark. Compared it with the Hu106 Grey and Hu30 Dark Green used on a previous JE-J build - maybe should revert to using the slightly lighter Ocean Grey Hu106 with the Hu116 Dark Green or I should revert to using the Hu30 (just as the painting instructions say!) for a better contrast. Any opinions on this out there?