1:48 Airfix Spitfire mk1 (new tooling) - Battle of Britain - Completed

[Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen]

Nice job! I like the approach to highlighting. What sort of paint to thinners ratio were you working to on the top coat over the highlights? Intrigued to see this " new method to represent some paint chipping and wear."

[Bob Henry]

It looks pretty good. Looking forward to the next update.           Bob H.

[Squibby]

My new method could end up being a disaster so watch this space for a potential train-wreck in slow motion I'll have to get the decals on before I attempt it though...

 

I generally use 1:3 for the shading, using a 1:1 mix of white to base colour (could also use yellow). For the blend coat it's usually 1:5 if I want to knock it back fast or 1:10 if I want to spray for hours without achieving much (subtle blending :D)

[Squibby]

Started getting the decals on.

 

As expected my gun heater vents caused no end of trouble with the bottom roundels which were small and also sat right on top of them. Probably a hint that the plane I'm depicting never had them fitted... who knows. Probably why they weren't on the kit in the first place... sigh.

 

In the end the decals got a bit mangled after multiple washes of X-20A and Mr Mark Softer to get them to conform. I managed to patch in the bits that were torn with some white paint and hopefully when everything is weathered they shouldn't look too bad. At least they're complete, not noticeably distorted and snuggled over the vents well enough. Just a bit rougher than I would have liked. Luckily it's hidden under the plane

 

 

Sure does look weird over the larger vent , but no point crying about it now, this was entirely self inflicted...

 

The rest of the decals I put on didn't give me too much trouble, though the top roundels still had a bit of difficulty conforming over the gun access bay handles. I've still got quite a few to go so no weathering yet

Edited October 5, 2016 by Squibby

[The Spadgent]

keep it steady, looking good.

[Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen]

14 hours ago, Squibby said:

My new method could end up being a disaster so watch this space for a potential train-wreck in slow motion I'll have to get the decals on before I attempt it though...

 

I generally use 1:3 for the shading, using a 1:1 mix of white to base colour (could also use yellow). For the blend coat it's usually 1:5 if I want to knock it back fast or 1:10 if I want to spray for hours without achieving much (subtle blending :D)

I'm sure it'll be fine! I'm building a Hawker Typhoon at the moment in 1/72 and I went for a tried and tested method of chipping with a twist as well! I'm halfway through the camo so can't check the chips until the second colour is done... 

 

Thanks for the info - might try that on my Hurricane next

[Bob Henry]

The decals look ok to me. Just remember ... we in the modeling community continually strive for the perfect decal placement ... every time. From what I have been able to learn the guys in the field got a little bit sloppy once in a while. I have even seen aircraft with hand painted invasion stripes that looked like they were applied with a coarse brush in an uneven manner ( paint thickness ). I could almost guarantee that if we ever tried that and entered the aircraft into a contest that wouldn't "Fly" ... (Pun intended). Keep up the good work.                   Bob H.

[Squibby]

Decals all on, just waiting for a few to settle in. I'll probably need to encourage a few with my scalpel

 

 

I'll give them a light filter to dull them down a bit and a good gloss coat before I start weathering.

[Squibby]

...um... and here's one I prepared earlier

 

 

 

Apologies for the time skip, I got into the weathering process and got a bit carried away...

My new technique was to brush on AK worn effects before painting the chips on, then washing away to create a more irregular, hard edged pattern, but it tended to fade out the chips too much so I shelved it. Instead all the chips were just painted on using a tiny brush and some Vallejo Metal Colour aluminum.

I overdid the wing root walkway and blended it back by spraying over the base colours a bit before adding in some more reserved chipping. I kind of like the multi layered effect I achieved there by accident,

 

I picked out the top side panel lines generally with a brown oil paint wash. Then picked out some junctions around the engine cowling that would get exhaust / oil staining with a darker brown colour. The underside was done in paynes grey and similarly I picked out the area between the wings that gets oil stained in dark brown.

 

I flattened the lot down and used some AK aircraft engine oil (just brown enamel glossy paint) to add in the staining around the fuel cap and the underside oil staining. The last step was to add in the exhaust stains with my airbrush. I used black and then added a bit of grey over. I finished off by dusting a bit of light pigment powder around the start of the stain.

 

The window masking came off with no real drama and I can happily say the main body of the plane is done. I just need to finish all the ancillary bits and assemble it all.

[Squibby]

Started with the little bits and pieces. First up the exhaust stacks.

 

 

Achieved with multiple layers of paint. I started with a gloss black basecoat, covered with an all over coat of Vallejo Metal Colour Gunmetal, then some spots added in in Vallejo Model Air Bright brass and finally a light patchy misting of flat black.

I then went over the tips with some light coloured pigment, and used some rust brown pigment on the inner pipes. The multi layered effect doesn't really come through in the photos but trust me on this one

 

...and all fitted in...

 

 

I also filled the ventral light with ultra clear epoxy and painted it amber using a mix of Tamiya clear red and yellow.

 

 

[The Spadgent]

Looks great squib.

[Bob Henry]

A very good job on the exhaust manifolds.           Bob H.

[Squibby]

Fashioned a tiny facsimile of the canopy latch from some lead wire. I bent it into a wide squarish U shape and squished the ends flat to form the 'paddles'. I added the 'cord' with another length of thinner wire and a tiny tab of plastic for the canopy attachment point.

 

Painted up the canopy section and the latch and carefully attached it using a ever so tiny dab of Extra Thin...

 

Looks the part from a distance at least

Edited October 10, 2016 by Squibby

[Bob Henry]

That's a nice piece of work .... GOOD TOUCH !!                  Bob H.

[Squibby]

Before fitting any of the fragile and fiddly bits on top I started to tackle the undercarriage. The masks came off the landing legs and thankfully no breakage or overspray to be seen.

I added the really tiny brake lines with the smallest wire I had (0.1mm copper wire) and the up-lock latch thingies from some plasticard.

 

 

After faffing around with colour research for a bit I decided to paint all the wheel hubs, wheel cover insides and tailwheel in Sky. Got some paint on the main tires and wheel covers and attempted unsuccessfully to hand paint the tail wheel tire a few times before I called it quits last night.

 

More to come...

 

 

 

[Squibby]

Yeah 4rd... no wait 5th times a charm. Finally managed to hand paint the tail wheel without making a meal of it.

 

The rest of the gear assembly went fairly uneventfully and now she's standing on her own 2... err 3 feet

 

 

I suspect my landing legs are splayed outwards slightly too much, It looks like the legs were meant to be bit straighter...  I'll just have to live with it. Given the silly attachment method for the gear in the first place I'm happy enough with how they turned out in the end.

 

Now that the landing gear is done I can turn my attention to the remaining topside fiddly bits and antenna wiring. I'm only going to install the IFF antennae running to the horizontal stabilizers. the tail to post antenna was lost when they switched to the new radio sets (which I ended up modelling in the cockpit anyway...)

 

Also look at the cute widdle spitfire

 

 

One of my first models, covered in an out of control experimental "sludge" wash... I'd like to think my skills have developed since then...

Funnily enough, so many of the little details I added in the radiator etc are actually modelled in the 1:72 version

[Bob Henry]

Very good work indeed !! Thanks for the update.                      Bob H.

[Squibby]

On the home stretch now, Spent the afternoon painting and fitting all the little fiddly bits.

 

I added the IFF wiring using smoke coloured mono-filament thread. The holes in the fuselage and tailplanes were predrilled. I threaded on a 0.8mm punched disc of plasticard to serve as an insulator and a tiny length of  brass tube as a tensioner.

Here it is all looped up through the appropriate holes. I only need to pull the wire tight through the tensioner tube, fix it using some CA and cut the excess (very carefully....).

 

 

And here it is at the cusp of completion, only missing the whirly bit now

 

[Bob Henry]

You are getting close !!! It is looking really good !!        Bob H.

[The Spadgent]

She looks great, even better with that prop. 

 

John

[Squibby]

And that's all folks!!! 

 

Prop went together with no drama and I added a couple of decals I missed off onto the access door (straight onto W&N matte varnish with no silvering surprisingly)

The prop and spinner was sprayed flat black and some faint shading around the leading edges was added with tire black. The yellow tips were also blended back with a bit of tire black. I dusted some dust pigment sparingly around the leading edges and tips and added some light chipping around the spinner fasteners.

 

And all fitted. My first completed 1:48 scale build.

 

 

I'll have to dust off my camera and tripod to get some RFI pics up at some point.

 

In the end I'd say this kit certainly lives up to the label of one of the best Mk1 Spitfires you can get. Aside from a few silly bits of engineering (e.g. the undercarriage )  and Airfix's occasionally blobby mouldings causing fit issues, it actually came together quite well (despite my best efforts at times...). Highly recommended. While the kit is really nicely detailed out of the box, I got to really engage with some scratch building / detailing in the larger scale and learned a lot along the way. Hopefully I can apply these skills when I revert to thumbnail scale.

 

Thanks for all the nice comments and constructive feedback through the build.

Also if there anything about this build anyone wants me to clarify please feel free to ask.

 

...What's next on the radar I wonder. I've got a lovely 1:72 Eduard LA-7 and a Tamiya FW-190 A3 kit staring longingly at me from my meagre stash...

[woody37]

Just caught up with this, gorgeous paintwork

[Bob Henry]

What a wonderful piece of work. It will look really good on your home "Flight line".             Bob H.

[PlaStix]

That has turned out to be an absolutely beautiful Spitfire! Your attention to detail and your immaculate paintwork are stunning! Very, very well done. 

[Air-to-Air]

Looking forward to your Ready for Inspection.

Very nicely done.