Tamiya Spitfire Mk. Vb 1/72 Stanisław Skalski mojo build.

[rob85]

3 hours ago, Beard said:

This is what badly worn leather looks like:

 

nice start Tony! 78 is the right way to go, I think 120 is supposed to be for later spits? Not an expert at all.

 

your right about needing aluminium, it should be aluminium aft if the bulk head... I'm told

 

Rob

[stevehnz]

6 hours ago, Beard said:

This is what badly worn leather looks like:

This should be in the short jokes thread Simon, but maybe thats being a bit mean.  

Tony, I'll be keen so see this progress, it's got the makings of a cracka thread.

Steve.

[Rob G]

Just a note re the house inspection Tony - I believe that they're not entitled to take photographs unless they ask and you give specific permission. This is your space, paid for, and they are guests in your home, regardless of any client representation that they may be fulfilling. Recording your personal posessions IS NOT part of their remit.

 

Untidy isn't any of their business, either. Basically they're only allowed to comment on damage or things that would devalue the clients' property after you've moved out. Some of them take their jobs to mean that they have Godlike powers; they don't (like coppers, they're trained to believe that tenants are the Enemy). Get hold of a copy of the relevant Tenancy legislation, read it and learn it and don't be afraid to use it when you need to.

[The Spadgent]

Holy moley. Sorry I missed your call for help on the air brush old boy, it's been a busy few days. Fret not you can clean your brush easily. Just get a small tray or box to hold the bits. ( you don't want to loose them ) mine got a little stuck the other day but I cleared it no probs.

what paint have you been using? Acrylic or enamel ?  If it's acrylic you will need some of whatever thinners you use and I guess the same for enamel but I'm not sure as I've not used it since I was a kid.

I use Mr Surfacer thinners as it eats Tamiya acrylics for dinner.

here's a very good vid on how to strip your brush.

Now you don't need to strip everything, I have never stripped the middle/lower piston part but basically if you unscrew the back. Then take out the needle. Add thinners to the cup and trigger if it helps. Then you can unscrew the main barrel and take it and the trigger out. Give everything a good clean with thinners and reverse what you just did to put it back together again. 

You can screw the front off but you shouldn't need to. Best to blast out your brush with thinners every time you use it to keep it good to go. Let me know how you get on. Also drip some thinners on the cap top too, that should get it off. On another note, I have never soaked it totally in anything. Seems a bit harsh.

another thing on the colour of the legs, are there by any chance 4 different types of build? If so it looks like the kit wants you to colour A&B with one type of grey and C&D with the other. That's how I read it anyhow.

 

Good luck with the brush and build Mr Tiger.

 

Johnny technical help line.

 

Edited March 15, 2017 by The Spadgent

[TonyTiger66]

On 14/03/2017 at 4:57 AM, Miggers said:

I use a 50/50 mix of Humbrol 78 and 90(Interior grey green and Sky).Once dry,give 'er a wash of pure 78 in all the nooks and crannies

 

Hello people!

Apologies for the glacial rate of progress. Other aspects of life at Tiger Towers (well, our teensy abode) have taken over from pleasurable modelling time.

 

A quick personal digression;

 

I'm applying for Masters courses in a few universities in Europe (and Scandinavia). The closing dates for many fall in the next two weeks, so it's been the old 'full time applicant' thing.

 

Bergen, Oslo, Copenhagen, Bristol, Berlin, Stockholm so far, although three of those aren't finished yet.

 

The Brexit thing has conlicated things. For EU citizens, fees at public universities (All but Bristol up there) are free. The admissions tutors are now not sure what the situation will be for British passport holders. If classed as 'international' fees run to over 10.000 Euro. That's a big difference. I have been a little stressed over this variable. It will depend on what is negotiated during the meetings. I'm not discussing this in a political context, it's just fact, something that affects hopeful students. I hope something good is negotiated, a similar status for students to that for Norwegian ones would be perfect .

 

I spent tens of thousands on fees in my yoof, so it would be good to be able to

minimise the burden a bit now.

 

I already have a Masters and a bit more, but I'm around 13 years out of date in terms of my l knowledge of social science research methods. I need to learn the new methods to stand a chance, as an old bloke  , to get back to work again in my old sector (university).

 

The UK government is introducing 'Masters loans' to cover the (substantial) UK fees, but it looks like if one has been out of the country for more than three years, one doesn't qualify. That's me.

 

Not entitled to a loan in Oz for my sort of courses (research based). Not seen as 'vocational', which is a it nuts when ones nearly lifelong vocation has been research  . Ah well. 

 

I did get some limo fettling done in the wee small hours of three nights.

 

I took Simon's (Beard) tip and turned off 'auto-upload' on Flickr. After around 24 hours that stabilised and pictures finally appeared.

 

I wanted to follow Miggers instructions as pasted above, regarding the interior colour.

 

Infortunately I have Humbrol enamel 78, and Humbrol acrylic 90. I knew these wouldn't mix, so I'll have to try Miggers' technique on my next Spitfire. I just went for 78 in the end.

 

As luck would have it, I've just gone to Flickr and it won't let me click on the 'copy link' button! Aaaarrghhh !!

 

I will be back shortly, now I feel stupid for waffling on about courses, it's modelling we're here for!

 

Apologies.

 

Best regards

TonyT

 

 

[CedB]

Good luck with the applications TT - I hope it all works out  

[Beard]

2 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

 

I took Simon's (Beard) tip and turned off 'auto-upload' on Flickr. After around 24 hours that stabilised and pictures finally appeared.

 

 

It's not often that anything I suggest works.

 

2 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

 

[...] I have Humbrol enamel 78, and Humbrol acrylic 90. I knew these wouldn't mix, so I'll have to try Miggers' technique on my next Spitfire. I just went for 78 in the end.

 

 

That's a good reason to buy more paint...

 

2 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

 

[...] I've just gone to Flickr and it won't let me click on the 'copy link' button! Aaaarrghhh !!

 

I use the app, on my Android phone (although the one on my iPad works too), copying a link and posting it here is really easy (although I find using a PC to post from Flickr is harder thatnfrom Photobucket).

Edited March 24, 2017 by Beard
to alter punctuation.

[rob85]

Pc ain't too bad, it gives more options (ways to mess it up) than on the tablet. On the PC I just go to the picture in the album, click the funny shaped arrow select BBC code and paste into the thread.... if that helps

 

good luck with all your applications and I hope it doesn't cost 10k!

 

Rob

Edited March 24, 2017 by rob85

[giemme]

Patiently waiting for those pics , meanwhile best of luck for your applications.

 

Ciao

[jean]

Gee Tony,

I am appalled at the fees wanted nowadays!!!! This is daylight robbery!

Throughout my studies and up to a PhD, my university's fees were about US$ 400.00 per year... in France, not in outer Mongolia...

I wish you luck with your application. Of course you can always try the University of Zimbabwe, Harare.... At least it is warmer than in Oslo!

Just kidding!

And good luck with the Spit!

 

JR

[TonyTiger66]

Righto. It's working .

 

I paid heed to advice and painted the interior area back of a certain point aluminium. I masked off with a little Tamiya tape first:

 

 

It was late at night and I didn't want to wake Mrs. T. Up with the air compressor, so brush painting was the order of the day (well, night).

 

For some reason I decided to use Tamiya XF 16 aluminium. I quite like the look of it when dry and thought it might match the look of the interior aluminium well. Of course it was completely glooped solid from years of storage. Remedial action was taken with a stirrer and thinners. 

 

 

I'm always amazed at how well paints recover, when to all intents and purposes they look totally dried up and dead.

 

The interior was duly brush painted;

 

 

Also painted the rims of the pilot's foot pedals and the (oxygen?) bottles that go behind the seat.

 

 

I blobbed a bit on the pedals, but they won't be seen so it's good enough for me.

 

Next I had a faff with my pin-vice. My Flickr account has pictures showing the full extent of the faff.

 

The aim was to get some 0.3 mm micro drills and drill out the holes in a certain component. I'm not sure what it's called.

 

These drills are tiny and just wouldn't come out of the cardboard sleeve they came in. The folded over bit at the bottom was in the way.

 

 I didn't want to bend the holder for fear of breaking them. I resorted to a 'spudger', a tool I use to take iPhones apart (rarely) to fit batteries or new screens.

 

 

 

Success in prising it open without breaking the drills.

 

One duly fitted in the refurbished, previously seized Pin-vice:

 

 

The six holes drilled:

 

 

I opened them up a bit more than this.

 

A small hole was also opened up to the left and just below the I/p.

 

 

Next it was time to paint the I/p black. It looks quite silky/glossy in photographs:

 

 

Via the walkaround of the cockpit on Spitfiresite.com

 

Prior to painting I used an RB Productions Nano Saw (thanks CedB for recommending these ) , to saw the top part of the gunsight (lens?) off.

 

 

I'll replace it with a tiny clear piece to try to match the real thing.

 

I decided to go for good old Humbrol 33 Matt black enamel for the I/p. My H33 won't go Matt at the moment; maybe it's gone off? The silky finish can nevertheless be useful. Masked and painted:

 

 

While that was drying I turned my attention to the seat. I dug out my Humbrol 160. Probably the seat on the restored Spitfire is a bit non original in colour, but it appeared to be a more red, than brown shade. Humbrol 160:

 

 

A Mark Vb seat:

 

 

 .

 

I had a quick furtle for Revell paints in the DoD. Old, lonely frustrated aircraft models made an escape attempt;

 

I got sidetracked. I had seen that Heller P-40 propeller blade somewhere.

 

There it is, having a chat to a Buchon;

 

 

Enough of your socialising, errant blade! Re-united:

 

 

By this point I realised that all of this was an elaborate ruse by the P-40 to escape the DoD. Well, I still haven't found a suitable replacement undercarriage in the BoB, so armed with a can of Revell 'Silky Matt' 331, the DoD was closed again, the sound of squealing and sobbing models once more stifled...

 

Thus, in the Revell 'Sado-Masochist' line, we have 'Purple Red'. This is how it looks (sort of) next to a Spitfire seat:

 

 

Still a bit dark. This is what it really looks like:

 

 

I decided to paint the seat a sand  base colour first, then sort of freehand a few shades of various paints over it. All a bit Jackson Pollack. The paints:

 

 

All filthy, rusty tins and thick as mud:

 

 

White enamel was required, all I had was a vast old rusty tin of Humbrol that didn't look very white anymore:

 

 

I was using the paper towel as a canvas to compare the colours to each other, make little mixes. 

 

The white made a little whiter. Still grotty:

 

I think by now it's clear that I was getting very carried away by trying to make something of this tiny seat, as evidenced by my 'mixing palette'  :

 

 

Neverthless, I was enjoying myself enormously. That's what it's all about, so all's fair in love and war.

 

I actually mixed paint *on the seat* to try to get that slightly marbled effect;

 

 

This out of focus picture doesn't capture quite how perfectly I failed in achieving the desired effect.

 

Next time. There will be a next time. Possibly.

 

I never know when there's the chance a certain tweeting man in power may possibly start World War 3 (or is it 4, or 5??).

 

That would cut kit building short  .

 

Next, my first attempt at dry brushing  . I've never tried it before. I hear the technique involves gently dipping a brush in the paint (well, I guess forcefully, irresponsibly, negligently, casually, nonchalantly  or brashly dipping it is also ok), then paint on a paper towel until no more paint marks appear on the towel. Then, gently (definitely gently this time, no nonchalantly or brashly for sure), brush over raised detail.

 

The result should be a 'picking out' of the detail. I know this is old hat for thousands here, but not for me. Tamiya acrylic flat aluminium XF 16 again: 

 

 

The result of the dry brushing:

 

 

I obviously didn't get the brush quite dry enough. I won't mess it up by trying to correct it. This is a 'mojo building' build, so I'll just learn from it for next time (like the foot pedals earlier).

 

I dry brushed black on what I think is a hydraulic pipe on the front of the control column, later. I can't find that photo at the moment. It's not bad. It looks a bit like a varicose vein.

 

I thought it would be nice to intersperse the build with a picture of what I was listening to at certain given times. Here we are:

 

 

Digression.

Multi-tasking as ever, I recently found a MacBook at the local tip/recycling centre (it's called 'The Green Shed'). I paid the tip guys $20 for it. Brought it home, gave it a good clean and plugged it into an old charger.

 

It worked, but appeared to have a corrupted system. I know how to deal with that. At this point in the build the MacBook wanted my attention:

 

 

The rather large download of a replacement operating system was complete. I duly clicked in a few places and left it to install. Nice little machine for $20. Exactly the same as Mrs. T's machine.

 

My existing portable machine (Powerbook 17") is even older (2003 !!!) , so this recycled unit will do for me for now. I've thrown $100 worth of memory chips at it since and it's really quite nice to use now. It seemed worth a grand total of AUD $120  (£73.25, or 84.7 Euro). It may go to Europe with me for study if someone will offer me a place  .

 

Right. Back to the build. The next step I decided to tackle was the wheels. I find the Tamiya paint call outs a little difficult. I'm not familiar with the codes. They often want mixes too:

 

 

In short; it is suggesting a mix of two greys.

 

Other helpful souls in the thread advised me to use the underside colour for the wheel hubs and wells. The instructions suggest these are the same colour as the gear door inside surfaces and undercarriage legs too.

 

The main scheme calls out for a code I hadn't seen before at all:

 

 

What on earth is 'AS - 11'? Aha...Aerosol. Medium sea grey. Very nice. But I haven't got any and with postage, a can costs as much as my bare recent MacBook purchase, so time for plan B.

 

Plan B: Lifecolor US 094 Medium Sea Grey. Lifecolor normally brushes very nicely.

 

 

Unless one shakes it first and makes it utterly frothy:

 

 

After leaving it for months in a terribly humid climate with the lid not quite closed, so that crud builds up:

 

 

In removing the crud, in the early hours of the morning, a little tired, one may, of course, knock it over. Crud and all :

 

 

Needless to say, frothy paint did find its way onto the wheel hubs and other pertinent parts:

 

 

The bubbles did settle. This stuff (Lifecolor thinner) is great for cleaning up such spills, and also a bargain buy for clearing acrylic crud out of airbrushes; note the MSG lid interior before cleaning:

 

 

After:

 

 

I like clean things, and things that are able to make grotty things clean again .

 

I can't imagine needing it as a real thinner for Lifecolor paints, in fact I've sometimes used their thickener. This stuff is still great for the purposes I discussed and for thinning other acrylic paints. These huge bottles are cheap. Good stuff.

 

By now the music had flipped over to this:

 

 

I wanted a mellow modelling session. Mr Kennedy's sweet Irish tones were just fine for the mood I required.

 

So mellow in fact, that the eyelids were now starting to drop .

 

Thanks for all your advice and encouragement folks, thanks for reading. 

 

More updates soon, just uploading the latest batch of photographs.

 

All best regards

TonyT

Edited March 25, 2017 by TonyTiger66
Spelling and auto corrupt correction

[TonyTiger66]

Thanks for a the nice posts that have arrived whilst I was writing this one  !

 

The app is working fine on the phone . Just copying and pasting, no problem.

 

Thanks for the positivity on the applications folks, you're a great bunch for a chap to know  .

 

Best regards

TonyT

[Beard]

Nice work so far Tony. I like Tamiya flat aluminium for 'silver', altough I use a black base. I'm glad to hear the app is working for you.

[TonyTiger66]

Duplicated post. Edited.

Edited March 25, 2017 by TonyTiger66
Duplicate post

[Procopius]

50 minutes ago, jean said:

Gee Tony,

I am appalled at the fees wanted nowadays!!!! This is daylight robbery!

Throughout my studies and up to a PhD, my university's fees were about US$ 400.00 per year... 

 

I currently owe somewhere north of $10,000 USD on my student loans for a BA in the Humanities. If I'm lucky, I'll be paid off in 2021, 18 years after I graduated.

[The Spadgent]

Glad to see you back at it Tony, some wonderful progress going on. I hope you got the Airbrush sorted. Good luck with your applications too. A lot on at Tiger towers it seems.

 

 

John

Edited March 25, 2017 by The Spadgent

[CedB]

Great stuff TT - you've made some real progress there, spillages aside

Love the seat and the other internals and pleased to hear your mojo is returning... and well done rescuing the Mac!

[bbudde]

Nice progress here. Spring arrived here by now, And there are several songs for that, that  burned in my mind for several seasons.

One of them (of course because near of the Sauerland)

 

[bbudde]

And another one:

 

[corsaircorp]

36 minutes ago, bbudde said:

Nice progress here. Spring arrived here by now, And there are several songs for that, that  burned in my mind for several seasons.

One of them (of course because near of the Sauerland)

 

Sauerland ?? Nice place, will get back up there soon.

But in May, I'll paid a visit to a museum in Munster.

There is some interesting big chunk of metal, Mrs CC is not happy about the day...

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

[bbudde]

8 minutes ago, corsaircorp said:

Sauerland ?? Nice place, will get back up there soon.

But in May, I'll paid a visit to a museum in Munster.

There is some interesting big chunk of metal, Mrs CC is not happy about the day...

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

Hello. What museum? The new LWL  Museum near the Paulus Dom (main cathedral)? You and your wife would be in the old town (Thanks god, they tried to built the destroyed one again, as it was before. They did it somehow.) . And you could relax gratefully in a circuit of 2km (1,3 miles) of course.

Sauerland? Mhh Sauerland is nice but not that small. Where do you go? Cheers

[corsaircorp]

27 minutes ago, bbudde said:

Hello. What museum? The new LWL  Museum near the Paulus Dom (main cathedral)? You and your wife would be in the old town (Thanks god, they tried to built the destroyed one again, as it was before. They did it somehow.) . And you could relax gratefully in a circuit of 2km (1,3 miles) of course.

Sauerland? Mhh Sauerland is nice but not that small. Where do you go? Cheers

I mean the Panzerwaffe museum im Lutzow Kazerne.

I'm not only interested in Grumman big cats...

We were in Iserlohn, we toured the mountain, spend a night in the vicinity of Kassel

my wife is german, her sister live in Frankfurt an Main

Last week end we were in Bonn (Bad Godesberg) for Suchhund prufung.

Sorry about the cathedral

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

[Rob G]

Old Macs? You really do have a self-flagellation gene, don't you Tony.

[bbudde]

47 minutes ago, corsaircorp said:

I mean the Panzerwaffe museum im Lutzow Kazerne.

I'm not only interested in Grumman big cats...

We were in Iserlohn, we toured the mountain, spend a night in the vicinity of Kassel

my wife is german, her sister live in Frankfurt an Main

Last week end we were in Bonn (Bad Godesberg) for Suchhund prufung.

Sorry about the cathedral

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

Ahh, Ok You mean Munster. This is in Niedersachen and in the Lünerburger Heide. Not Münster /Westf.

(Sorry: My fault).  But as you wife and her sister are german, they know, how nice the Sauerland, the Taunus and the Harz can be, with all they (more or less) little lakes, made by men and on the other hand the rivers, which cannot be controlled by them.

P.S: I somehow like to cross the  A 44 towards (or backwards) the A 7 at Kassel in the night. It has some strange delight for me, coming  fom a very big town across a big town in the valley to the lowlands near the Sauerland (to get into a big town in the lowlands again).

Edited March 25, 2017 by bbudde

[jean]

17 hours ago, Procopius said:

 

I currently owe somewhere north of $10,000 USD on my student loans for a BA in the Humanities. If I'm lucky, I'll be paid off in 2021, 18 years after I graduated.

Hi Mr. P,

These huge discrepancies in university fees between the US and UK systems on one hand and the French on the other were already firmly ingrained "in my days". I am out of touch right now and the old Gaul may have caught up...

I always thought that it was one of the downstream benefits of beheading one's royalty, along with a host of hangers on... Maybe I am deluding myself.

I took a "student loan" from my bank at the very end of my studies: just enough to pay for an air ticket to the States to visit my girlfriend.... Shame still occasionally visits me in the dark of night, on occasion.

 

Bottom line, I am still uncertain that tuition fees need to be that ridiculously high. But I wander...

Look at the bright side: 2021 is only 4 years away, and you may be saved to pay the end of it thanks to the Great American Civil War of 2020.... 

I am the last of the optimists.

Cheers

 

JR