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My endless Spitfire build - ready for 2019


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3 hours ago, Beard said:

Perhaps I'm just a member of the metropolitan elite.

Of course, dear chap, of course! :) 

 

I have an awful feeling that some 'voters' may have been a little wicked in encouraging you to the most difficult option... I know, it's hard to believe isn't it? As if...

I may be being unfair here but I can't help but feel there are some members who encourage this sort of thing... "Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one"... "Another challenge" etc etc. Consider some of my past 'impossible' builds :shutup: 

They know who they are :wicked: 

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9 hours ago, Grey Beema said:

Here in Ireland they have an interesting approach to referenda - in that if you don't like the result, ask the question again until the public get the "correct" answer.

 

Anyway,

 

I had a similar issues with the white wing black wing IFF markings on my Fulmar.  I went down the not quite black, low lighted with black route.  I mixed a little dark earth into the black that gives it a grey/khaki dirty/weathered look.  You can lighten this with a little grey.  Mix the colours into the black little by little then try it out on some scrap before committing. Do a wash of thinned black to low light the panel lines..  

 

It is a really hard finish to achieve though, right up there with Sand & Spaghetti....  Good luck..

 

Thanks for the tip on painting black and referenda (why didn't you mention the Irish Republic's approach sooner?).

 

7 hours ago, CedB said:

Of course, dear chap, of course! :) 

 

I have an awful feeling that some 'voters' may have been a little wicked in encouraging you to the most difficult option... I know, it's hard to believe isn't it? As if...

I may be being unfair here but I can't help but feel there are some members who encourage this sort of thing... "Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one"... "Another challenge" etc etc. Consider some of my past 'impossible' builds :shutup: 

They know who they are :wicked: 

 

Thanks Ced. If you know who the troublemakers are, could you tell me so I can have them dealt with?

 

                    ------------------

 

Right, onwards with the kit assembling. I'm going to use the recent AZ/ KP Spitfire VB, which is a great kit, having bought 5 from MJW Models recently.

 

Here are the sprues (excuse the background, I'm modelling on the dinning table. Please don't tell my wife):

 

20170818_163135

 

20170818_163122

 

and the decals

 

20170818_163216

 

 

I'm not at all sure about the colour of the codes, but as I won't be using them so it doesn't really matter, or the red in the roundels (I have plenty of Airfix spares and Xtradecal sheets so that isn't a problem).

 

Now to assemble the cockpit parts and splash some paint around.

 

 

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11 hours ago, Grey Beema said:

Here in Ireland they have an interesting approach to referenda - in that if you don't like the result, ask the question again until the public get the "correct" answer.

 

Anyway,

 

I had a similar issues with the white wing black wing IFF markings on my Fulmar.  I went down the not quite black, low lighted with black route.  I mixed a little dark earth into the black that gives it a grey/khaki dirty/weathered look.  You can lighten this with a little grey.  Mix the colours into the black little by little then try it out on some scrap before committing. Do a wash of thinned black to low light the panel lines..  

 

It is a really hard finish to achieve though, right up there with Sand & Spaghetti....  Good luck..

Hi,

re referenda, I suspect the EU must have taken the Irish way... I can gloat as I am far away from those little men in black.

I will second your weathered black recipe, although it is easier described than done.

 

As for the way you Irish cook spaghetti, I am truly horrified! My Italian forebears used tomatoes and a lot of other goodies, but I can't remember sand ever coming into the equation... Weird!

 

JR

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And he's off, again!

That looks like a nice kit... hmmm. Tempting.

4 hours ago, Beard said:

If you know who the troublemakers are, could you tell me so I can have them dealt with?

:rofl: 

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Some paint has been applied.

 

20170819_085015

 

The wheel hubs and exhausts have had a coat of Humbrol 33 prior to receiving their respective coats of aluminium and gun metal. The instrument panel was painted with Colourcoats Interior Green, H33 and a drybrush of Humbrol 11.

 

20170819_084941

 

The cockpit interior has been painted in Colourcoats Interior Green and Humbrol 11 (over an undercoat of H33) then drybrushed with H11. I'll probably give it a wash with black poster paint before joining the two halves together.

 

KP give you a choice of underwing cannon bulges, the smaller kidney-shaped ones are meant for the cannon-armed Mk1.

 

20170819_084758

 

(And you get three propellers.)

 

The different cannon bulges

 

20170819_084907

 

Hopefully, I've made sure there are no mistakes when I still the holes.

 

Thanks for looking.

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A bit more work, I have the interior a poster paint wash.

 

20170819_153327

 

Then, using a cotton bud, removed the excess,

 

20170819_153453

 

I'll glue the fuselage together, once I've found some plastic to stick over the holes for the exhausts.

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Looking good Simon; the poster paint really brings out the detail.

 

A lot of detail too; KP have done a nice job of this kit.

 

The black does sound quite a challenge; good luck :thumbsup2: 

 

Best regards 

TonyT

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On 20 August 2017 at 0:37 PM, TonyTiger66 said:

Looking good Simon; the poster paint really brings out the detail.

 

A lot of detail too; KP have done a nice job of this kit.

 

The black does sound quite a challenge; good luck :thumbsup2: 

 

Best regards 

TonyT

 

On 20 August 2017 at 0:52 PM, CedB said:

Seconded! The detail really pops with that technique... must give it a go :) 

Thank you gentlemen.

I pinched the poster paint idea from Tony O'T and it's just a tray bought from Wilco for a quid.

 

2017-08-20_12-56-53

 

I'm not sure if I'll ever use the greens, pink or purple but the blue, brown and white come in useful for weathering exhausts, exhaust stains and general grubiness.

 

I have got a bottle of ready-made black but using the poster allows you you make it as think (or thin) as you want.

 

Tony, the KP kit is lovely (although, in my opinion, the decals leave something to be desired).

Edited by Beard
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A little more progress this afternoon.

 

Cannon bulges and the bit that the undercarriage legs go in fitted:

 

20170820_141549

 

Some ejector pins to remove:

 

20170820_141610

 

Normally, I'd use a scalpel to remove them but I recently bought just the tool for a job like this:

 

20170820_141620

 

Which works pretty well:

 

20170820_141835

 

Also painted the wheel hubs:

 

20170820_143236

 

Glued the fuselage halves together:

 

20170820_201523

 

And did the seat, frame, harness:

 

20170820_201542

 

The Bader VA is going to have a Matt coat tomorrow.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

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Good stuff Simon, some nice detail on the kit eh?

I like the note inside the wing. I might start doing that so I don't forget, again :) 

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21 hours ago, CedB said:

Good stuff Simon, some nice detail on the kit eh?

I like the note inside the wing. I might start doing that so I don't forget, again :) 

 

Thanks Ced.

It's much better than their old Mk I/ II/ VB/ VI. Buy one and see for yourself (or have a look at Stew Dapple's one).

I sometimes mark undercarriage assemblies and elevators with 'P' and 'S'.

 

11 hours ago, Leonl said:

Just looked in on this one, at Ced's suggestion. 

 

Great progress and an ambitious project!.....

 

I'll tag along...

 

Thanks Leon (?), and welcome aboard.

 

          ------------------------------

 

Today's progress:

 

20170821_193136

 

Inserted the cockpit from below (I'll resist writing 'through the bottom') and added the bar, that runs between the cockpit frame and the next one, with a piece of stretched sprue (it's less crooked than it looks here because I saw this photograph).

 

Sometimes I glue the upper wing bits to the fuselage. This time, I decided to mix things up a bit:

 

20170821_193645

 

Then glued the upper wings bits to the bottom wing bit:

 

2017-08-21_07-43-41

 

I'll sort out the gaps where the leading edge meets the fuselage with some filler. The upper wing bits haven't been glued to the fuselage. Once the glue on the wings bits has set, I'll run some TET along the join and use some tape to get the dihederal.

 

Next up... dropping the elevators and attaching them to the fuselage and, sorting that seam near the cockpit. I hope to start painting this on Wednesday.

 

The poll on what I'll be making next will start tomorrow.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

 

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Glad to see these coming along so well Simon!

 

Did you have trouble getting the rear portion of the wing bottom attached to the fuselage? I remember I had to cut mine up to get it to fit snug.

 

I really like the blue in the exhausts on the Mk Va. Did you dry brush the blue poster paints for that?

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2 hours ago, Beard said:

I'll resist writing 'through the bottom'

Well resisted!

Good work on the wings Simon. What is it with these kit makers that they rarely end up with a nice fit at the roots (Eduard excepted)?

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7 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

Glad to see these coming along so well Simon!

 

Did you have trouble getting the rear portion of the wing bottom attached to the fuselage? I remember I had to cut mine up to get it to fit snug.

 

I really like the blue in the exhausts on the Mk Va. Did you dry brush the blue poster paints for that?

 

Thanks Cookie.

I had a little trouble but nothing that repeated applications of TET and a some gentle pressure didn't cure. Mind you, I won't be looking at the underside too closely.

I did use poster paint on the VA's exhausts - small amounts, of fairly dry paint, 'dabbed' on with a small brush then blended with a larger brush.

7 hours ago, CedB said:

Well resisted!

Good work on the wings Simon. What is it with these kit makers that they rarely end up with a nice fit at the roots (Eduard excepted)?

 

Only a poor modeller blames the tooling... I should've glued the top bits to the fuselage, then attached the bottom bit.

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Here's the candidates for the next build:

2

6

11

14

18

26

 

Here's a reminder of the candidates:

DKD72036_1.jpg?t=

 

One vote per person. The winner will be built next (by which time I'll be ready to build something else).

Edited by Beard
to insert photo.
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12 minutes ago, Beard said:

Here's the candidates for the next build:

2

6

11

14

18

26

 

One vote per person. The winner will be built next (by which time I'll be ready to build something else).

Remember the Irish Referendum method here..  If you don't like the answer.....

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13 hours ago, johnd said:

26 please.

 

John.

 

9 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

My vote goes for #14 

 

8 hours ago, Leonl said:

It has to be 26...

 

4 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

Thanks for the info Simon, and another vote for 14.

 

Thank you for your votes gentlemen. No progress today because I've been recording a demo of a song (called Triumph of the Stupid) for my new album.

However, tomorrow is my day off so I intend to finish the assembly.

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Day off today but didn't do nearly as much on this build as I had planned but the VB is nearly ready for paint:

 

2017-08-23_04-50-57

 

I'm undecided if I should install the canopy before or after painting (I have some masks bought with a Hannants gift token, a kind gift from a fellow BMer), I'll sleep on the matter.

There's also the question of how to paint it. I'm leaning toward the very dark grey option (i.e. Tamiya NATO black) but the nearest supplier of Tamiya paints is in Dover and I haven't got the inclination to travel there.

 

Meanwhile, the VA has had a Matt coat:

 

2017-08-23_08-31-47

 

Thanks for looking and don't forget to vote on what I do next.

Edited by Beard
to correct text.
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