maltadefender Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 (edited) My first Hurricane's done, the Bf 109F is coming on so it's time for my first Spit. As it came in the same Dogfight Double set as my Messerschmitt, I've decided to go with the Airfix 1/48 Spitfire Vb - in the colours of AB264, the 249 Squadron aircraft that was one of the first 15 Spitfires to reach Malta. This first delivery, Operation SPOTTER, was not without incident. Departing Gibraltar aboard HMS Eagle on 26 February 26 1942, the convoy was almost ready to launch the Spits when a leak was found in their 90-gallon slipper tanks. The whole convoy made back for Gibraltar while an engineer was summoned from the UK to fix the problem - reputedly turning up in his evening suit from the dinner he was attending when recalled! Finally the fleet made off again - Eagle being shepherded by the battleship HMS Malaya, the cruiser HMS Hermione, nine destroyers and the old WW1 carrier HMS Argus - and 15 out of 16 Spits were duly launched on March 7. Upon arrival there was quite a delay in getting the Spits ready for battle. As well as having their guns harmonized, supplies emptied and transit tanks removed. In addition they were repainted, as this batch of Spits arrived in Desert Scheme. As many will know, this is one of the pair of Spits being done by Enzo Matrix elsewhere in the GB. However our interpretations are a little different, so as we're all mates on here I think I can get away without too much sledging! While Enzo's doing a bespoke Dark Earth/Extra Dark Sea Grey camo, I'm going to paint mine in Desert Scheme (Dark Earth/Mid-Stone) and then overpaint the whole thing with thinned-down Extra Dark Sea Grey and using Sky Blue No.1 in place of Azure Blue. AB264 became the regular mount of 249 Squadron's Canadian ace 'Buck' McNair. He claimed a Ju87 and a Ju88 destroyed, a Ju88 damaged and a third of a Ju88 kill with this aircraft which enjoyed an unusually long life for a Spit at the height of the siege - being passed on to 1435 Flight in October 1942 and ending up with the USAAF in 1943. Here is the only photo I've seen, from Osprey's Malta Spitfire Aces, taken presumably not long after arrival. And here's the colour profile from the same volume: The results look rather messy compared with a factory finish. This presents the unique problem of trying to replicate a hastily-done paint job in 1/48 scale without letting it look like a badly-painted model! Here's the box: Here are the sprues: And while I'm waiting for the paint to cure on the Messerschmitt... off we go! Edited May 30, 2012 by maltadefender Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I'm contemplating using the hairspray technique to expose the desert scheme underneath the EDSG. Probably a bit around the leading wing edge, wing root areas and a few panel edges here and there. regards, Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 Good plan Jack. Do you think it would work with brush painting? I'm going to give the salt technique a try first, but hairspray looks like a good option. As for this one, I'm doing her in recently-repainted trim. However I am planning at least one more Spit and probably will try and do the faded and worn look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 Early progress... Now it's time to focus on the Messerschmitt for a little while, but I'm quite pleased with the Spit so far on balance. Thank heavens for Tamiya's fast drying paints! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I've never tried the hairspray method, but if you are using a hand brush I think it should be easier than salt method - wouldn't the salt granules get lifted off as you brush your top colour over them? Mind you, the same thing might happen with hairspray, not sure how resilient it is when dry. regards, Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 As many will know, this is one of the pair of Spits being done by Enzo Matrix elsewhere in the GB. However our interpretations are a little different, so as we're all mates on here I think I can get away without too much sledging! I'm looking forward to seeing this. Looking at the photo it seems that both our interpretations are equally valid. But we can have a bit of sledging. It's fun! And you've started your build after me, but yet you are still further on than I am! I think I need to pull my finger out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 Well relying on Airfix means a lot less time is spent on details! I think yours is going to look nicer - doesn't take much for me to make a model look badly done at the best of times, but hopeful of a reasonable result! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I am very pleased this group build will result in a few different interpretations of the various camo possibilities being modelled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted May 4, 2012 Author Share Posted May 4, 2012 Is anyone else starting to become an insomniac or is it just me?!? Here's the Mid Stone going on: And then, after Xtracolor's habitual lifetime to cure, comes the Dark Earth: As you've hopefully guessed, it's not exactly a Rolls Royce job for the simple reason that it will soon be smothered in EDSG but I wanted to get the right shades in the right places before that. Now things get interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Two washes of thinned-out EDSG later and I'm reasonably happy so far. The paint 'clung' to the Dark Earth far better than to the Mid Stone, giving an impression of the original camouflage without too much trouble. It's proving problematic to photograph the top surfaces at present however, as the gloss finish obscures the shading. So here's the underside in Sky Blue... First attempt to 'overspray' up onto the EDSG: Tidied up a bit - wishing I had Enzo's patience with seams! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 I've found some different decals so this build is now AB262 GN-B rather than a second version of the same aircraft - Enzo Matrix already has AB264 well in hand. So... decals on. Perhaps an error on my part, but having got the basics on there I've also added the stencils. Looking again at the photo of AB264 I think that the hurried repaint might just have blotted these out, but supplies for Spitfires had been ferried in for a number of weeks beforehand and presumably stencils would have been high on the list of priorities, particularly in a working environment where there was no room for error and very little experience on the type among ground crews. So they're on. And hopefully you can make out the shading of the original camouflage under my thinned-down EDSG: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 And hopefully you can make out the shading of the original camouflage under my thinned-down EDSG: Indeed! That's looking pretty damn good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Indeed! Indeed! That's looking great Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 Thanks chaps, another one in the holding pen! Glasshouse painted and flat varnished but not yet fitted... I'm going to flat coat as many aircraft as possible in one hit. The rattlecans of Humbrol matt enamel varnish only work properly once, I've discovered, after which both the nozzles and the feeder get gummed solid. Rather than spend 5.99 per model on new cans, I'm going to try and do them in one hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltadefender Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 Finished! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackG Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Great job! Thinned EDSG brushed on by hand turned out quite well, and that ground work looks splendid. regards, Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pabbi Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 That is stunning, great finish with beautifully restrained weathering and the ground is also great ! cheers, Ragnar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Finished! Oh yes! Nice one!! I think you've nailed the overspray effect with the underlying cam showing through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Totally agree with all of the above comments! What a great result Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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