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4 Sqn SAAF Spitfire Vc - 1/48th Airfix & Alley Cat


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Johannes Van Tabinuis signing in okes :)

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234995979-148th-spitfire-vc-4-sqn-saaf-the-not-so-blue-one/

Which is where id got to back in January when I placed her on hold to join "Edgar's Big Wing"

Heres the other thread discussing the scheme.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234995305-spitfire-vc-no-4-sqn-saaf-kj-z-the-blue-one/

Just waiting for the chocks away now!

JvT

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Welcome to the STGB, this is indeed an interesting subject and if I remember right no clear conclusion was achieved on the colour scheme. Have you decided how to paint it ?

Cheers Giorgio

My plan at present is to go for light Med Blue undersurface with standard desert 2 tone uppers, oversprayed with Medium Sea Grey. I'm planning to try out the currently "a la mode" black base priming/ underpainting method too.

Well thats the plan before contact away :)

Welcome to the GB Jonners :D This is going to make for an interesting project.

Cheers Col - I hope it will make a different looking Spit. The MAV decals arrived a few week back so I have lots of orange and blue "B" roundels now :)

Jonners

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And we are off!!! Well I had a little head start :)

IMG_4091_zps4zlari9m.jpg

cockpit parts have had their initial coats of paint: Tamiya for the green/grey and GS Mr Colour aluminium for the aluminium ( its not as shiny or grain in reality - just what the camera flash has done)

Cheers

Jonners

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Evening all!!

Progress- cockpit is pretty much done. I borrowed a PE harness from an Eduard Mk VIII, but the rest is what you get in the kit. ( I'll add the spade grip top for the control column after painting)

P1060963_zpse985jsen.jpg

P1060964_zpskgzpeazu.jpg

And I've been refining the roots of the Rotol prop blades.

P1060966_zpskxwqc5kh.jpg

Just a little bit more work and the fuselage is ready to join.

Cheers

Jonners

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Ah, that's Jonners for you- refined to the roots of his Rotol.

My, what's that big black thing on the starboard sidewall?

And glad to see you group-building!

bob

LOL

The big black thing? - its a Bowler hat. Standards dear chap...standards :) ( actually I think the flash has made it look like that)

What's your take on the Rotol prop in the kit mon ami? I looked backed at my thread from years ago about the Rotol, and the idea that theres an "early" and "late" version.

Funny how tastes change though - I used to abhor Spit V's with the "pointy" prop, whereas now I've gained a new found aesthetic appreciation for them. I think it's the colour scheme - sometimes the prop just fits the scheme, sometimes it just doesnt - which I'm aware was of no interest to the user at the time.

Cheers Jonners

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Hi Jon, I'm ashamed to admit that I don't have either the "new" Vb or the Mk.I yet, so really can't pontificate on the prop. I'm usually not a fan of this prop, either- too "thick", but once it's spinning I suppose it doesn't matter that much.

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Where's the link Jonners?

Don't forget the revised UC geometry...

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234966915-alley-cat-spitfire-mkvc-conversion-for-new-airfix-spit-mkvb-kit-148th-scale/

the C wing introduced a 2 degree [iirc] forward rake to UC geometry.

VB

supermarine-spitfire-vb.jpg

VC

03-UPA1.jpg

Forward rake is obvious.

Easy enough if you know to adjust first, given the dodgy UC attachment in the Airfix kit

HTH

T

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And all of a sudden - i have a Spit Vc!!

P1060967_zpslgyxvces.jpg

P1060968_zpschqc30ts.jpg

The Alley Cat C wings attached very well with just a little filling being required. The outer MG ports need redrilling and aileron attachment points need cleaning up and one wing had a wicked warp ( you can see this in my original WIP thread). The plastic tabs I'd attached to the fuselage roots proved useful to a certain extent, but I'd say if I were to do another I wouldnt bother.

Once it was trimmed to take the new outer wings I fitted the kit lower wing first, then attached the resin tops/outers using CA/talc mix which was also used to fill the gaps. I'd already attached the kit wing tips and cleaned them up, so some careful sanding of the CA/talc mix gave a quick, clean and very strong bond.

There's some more seam clean-up and re-scribing to be done but that's essentially it for the "main" construction: I always find Spitfires come together very quickly once the cockpit is done :)

Cheers

Jonners

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Looking very good, love to see aftermarket parts that fit properly the kit they're supposed to be made for. Doesn't always happen...

The relative lack of options for the Vc is one of those misteries of model kits that I'll never understand...

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Looking very good, love to see aftermarket parts that fit properly the kit they're supposed to be made for. Doesn't always happen...

The relative lack of options for the Vc is one of those misteries of model kits that I'll never understand...

Here here! It's a bit like the lack of my XIV options in 1/48th scale - puzzling

I'm in filling and making good mode at the moment, plus at GFs being fed, so next update is in a day or so

Cheers Jonners

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morning all!!! right canopy rear & windscreen added, masked then painted. Then the first primer coat ( Halford's plastic primer- sprayed hot). After it was dry and i was happy with the resin C wing join, the cannon barrels & stubs were then attached and cleaned up and this area primed with Mr surfacer.

It will now sit and harden thouroughly for a day or so- while I paint some of the other bits.

3c9cac3b-d848-4c52-baf8-d070610da86f_zps

Cheers

Jonners

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So, the time has come to decide on the underside colour: Azure blue or Light Mediterranean Blue?

My gut feeling is for the lighter Azure, principally because it will look different; LMB is closer to the "proper" High Altitude PRU blue colour for undersurfaces, but my contention is that this was a field repaint, and as such the undersurfaces would have been the standard desert scheme Azure blue in 1943.

Hmmm, choices, choices.

Jonners

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Afternoon all. Well just to show I'm not totally Meteor fixated, I started out on some painting today with my own version of the black base method. Being inherently lazy, and having primed with grey mr surface anyway - I've adapted this technique:

First up, what might be called a "slackers" pre-shade followed by a patchy overall coat of a very dark black-grey. It seems to me the black base method is about working back into a dark surface, building up highlights- so I reckoned this would add a bit to the party :)

B7A08C6E-F1FE-47C7-8851-50B7D581083A_zps

A7A11F1E-BDD4-499B-A649-7432F3DC3B6D_zps

Then a homebrew mix of Tamiya to give Azure Blue was squiggled on and blended together. ( interestingly I just noticed my jumper is a pretty good match to Azure Blue)

332602A7-1A30-4CE0-ADB8-740FC40E226E_zps

0839AB5D-EB6B-4B83-BD96-330C729FA30B_zps

Has it worked? yes. Do I like it? jury's out. Will I do the MSG top the same way? yes.

There's a subtle random variation to the blue which I like as it looks less formal than a "true" pre-shade - but it does just look like a clever painting effect to my eyes, much as pre-shading does too.

Ah well, it will at least, give the overall top colour less uniformity and a bit of a lived in look.

Cheers

Jonners

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Now this is an interesting painting technique, I've seen something similar used to reproduce modern US Navy TPS finishes but never on a WW2 type. The final result does look good indeed, patchy but without any too well defined pattern. More realistic than some "grilled meat" effects I've seen in the past

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And heres the grey on top ( interestingly this Tamiya MSG which I thinned with isoprop and a wee bit of Mr Self levelling Thinner - so I would have expected a matt- satin finish, and it sprayed high gloss! Go figure that one out?)

5A59F68D-7685-4FDA-8746-7B401D80AA6C_zps)

It's so shiny you can't see any tonal modulation in this pic - but there is some there. I need to do a few touch ups and then add the fin tip colour ( still debating red or white).

Still - its achieved what I wanted - a rather strange looking Spit VC Trop :)

Jonners

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