Notdoneyet Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 In an attempt to make this my second completed model in 30+ years I've decided that my first post here will be my first ever in progress thread......... Subject is the lovely Tamiya Spitfire Vb Trop with the Eduard cockpit and airframe PE set. This is also my first extensive use of PE so to paraphrase Gerry Anderson "anything could happen" ...... although one thing is certain .... this won't be finished in the next 30 minutes. A few days ago I'd folded and fitted some of the cockpit PE and added a preshade to the walls in preparation for paint :- Unfortunately I used Tamiya X20 thinners to thin the Xtracrylics Interior Grey/Green (won't do that again!!!) which caused a lot of "tip drying" and as a consequence my (frustrated) airbrushing was more heavy handed than I would have liked and the preshade was obliterated. Time for a chalk pastel wash ........ Here's the cockpit post wash with some PE and scratch built bits and bobs added with the IP and seat assy awaiting installation. And here is where I am today - IP, floor(?) and seat assy's installed, Sutton harness cable fitted and ready for the fuse to be closed up .... Tomorrow's exciting installment should see the closing of the fuselage and the addition of the wings (cats permitting) - I bet you can hardly contain your excitement Comment and criticism welcomed, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 That cockpit look real nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenshb Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 It looks pretty decent from here. You may want to add a wash around the ribs etc to make them stand out a little better, as your preshading has almost vanished. A subtle drybrushing will further enhance it as you will lose a lot of light once the fuselage halves are joined. I prefer to use oilpaints for drybrushing as they feather beautifully and you can build up the density very gradually. Jens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanrgb Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Great stuff I dont know how you guys manage to do 48 scale and make them look so great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Excellent work so far. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Great stuff I dont know how you guys manage to do 48 scale and make them look so great We're all midgets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skii Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 That is sensational detail work in that cockpit Lovely progress, keep us posted ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcote Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 Beautiful cockpit there, looks like it's 32nd scale rather than 48th. Jean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango 1 Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 Lovely work there, cockpit looks fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notdoneyet Posted April 10, 2007 Author Share Posted April 10, 2007 Thanks for all the comments guys, they are much appreciated. jenshb : I had applied a dark grey wash around the interior ribs which in natural light looked fine to me but the camera flash has "washed out" (sorry!) the effect somewhat. seanrgb : doing this sort of stuff in 1/48 scale is easy - you just make everything 50% bigger than you would in 1/72 Seriously, what you see is down to the Eduard set - it's the first time I've used PE on a large scale and it produces good results if you are patient - oh and I discovered that holding the small parts with tweezers/fingers is a big no-no ........ after hours on my hands and knees (searching for "pinged" pieces or praying........you choose) I found that a toothpick with some plasticine on the end works wonders for holding and positioning parts. So after a Masters golf induced delay (watching not playing unfortunately) here's the latest update :- Disclaimer : no filler was harmed in this production .......... Fuselage, wings and tailplanes added with the only problem being a warped stbd lower wing. Elevators and rudder removed in preparation for Ultracast bits. In a remarkable piece of forward planning (for me) I painted the radiator innards prior to fitting the radiator cowl. And here are the innards before fitting :- And after :- Canopy parts were masked inside and out and sprayed interior grey/greeen before fitting and the Ultracast bits added. I drilled the fin, tailplanes, rudder and elevators and added hinges from wire. The observant amongst you will have noticed the white plasic shim at the top of the fin - this has absolutely nothing to do with my hamfisted removal of the kit rudder and is obviously the result of me fixing an unreported inaccuracy in this area ................ Also added the rudder actuator from wire. So now everything is ready for priming and painting. Thanks for looking, as ever all comments and criticism welcomed. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Lookin' good there Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenshb Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 I like your attention to the small details. Keep up the good work. Jens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil @ Flory Models Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Superb work Ian, Love all the little details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary West Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Missed this somehow - cor I do like this. Going that extra mile always makes such a difference - top job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desmojen Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 That is looking lovely. I like the work around the tail, very convincing. The only small niggle I have with it is the gravity defying seatbelts, but they won't be so obvious when you look at it all built up. Jen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango 1 Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Like what you've done with the radiator and the tail-very nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanrgb Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Superb work so far This is making me wished I kept this kit now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notdoneyet Posted April 13, 2007 Author Share Posted April 13, 2007 Thanks for all the comments. Jen : I noticed the anti-gravity belts in the photos too so I attempted to make them hang a little better .............Unfortunately ........ 1) I'd already closed up the fuselage. 2) My attempts to press the belts down into a better shape caused the seat to come unstuck from the upper seat mountings which was compounded when I attempted to fix the seat the b@#$%y armour plate behind the seat also decided to unstick itself. 3) I managed to fix the seat and armour plate when I noticed that the poking about had caused the sutton harness cable in the rear cockpit to detatch itself from the harness Some hours later I had reattched it (more by luck than anything) and some contemplation over a beer persuaded me to carry on .......... Oh, so the bl@#$y seat belts are staying just how they are - if anyone else notices I'll say they were a top secret anti-g belt forerunner of the modern g-suit :whistling: So on to the latest update. Following a primer coat of Tamiya Fine White primer I added a preshade - what a mess. I just couldn't get the paint to a consistency that would spray a fine line - so I ended up with splodges and "spats" everywhere. After a pause for more beer I pressed on with the underside (Xtracrylix) Azure Blue - it went on beautifully and I am very happy with the result. Confidence restored, I drew out the camo pattern and sprayed the Mid Stone. Left this to dry overnight and masked and applied the Dark Earth. Some touch up is needed in a few spots and then it will be time for Future and decals ( or do we call them "transfers" on this site? ) As ever, all coments and criticisms welcome. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 they're still decals Nice work btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Oh this is looking real nice...I just love the desert schemes...I look forward to seeing the completed spit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanrgb Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Damn that looks great Ian cant wait to see this all built up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notdoneyet Posted April 22, 2007 Author Share Posted April 22, 2007 Thanks again for all the comments. Time for another update - unfortunately delayed by the necessity to repair some storm damage this week - cue chorus of "I'm a lumberjack and I'm O.K. .............." So last weekend, following a coat of Future, the b@#$$%y Tamiya decals were applied. I also made a custom decal for the port side of the engine nacelle reading "SPECIAL ENGINE" which references show on this particular A/C. I hadn't realised that Tamiya printed their decals on stainless steel sheet !!!! Three days later following countless applications of MicroSol the roundels on the upper and lower wings had still not settled over the lumps and bumps of the wing surfaces. I decided to press on, sealng the decals with a final Future coat and then giving the whole model a coat of highly thinned white to tone down the decals and fade the camoflage a little. I followed that with a first flat coat in preparation for some weathering. Here are the pics :- Weathering is next followed by the dreaded fitting of the "fiddly bits". As ever all comments and criticism welcome. Cheers, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenshb Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Ian, Your decaling job looks good - certainly it doesn't look like you were struggling as much as you say you did. As for decal solvents, try Tamiya Acrylic Thinner - it will dissolve the acrylic gloss coat and soften the decals, and then it will dry and make the gloss coat clear again. I have yet to find a decal that it will not work on. Jens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notdoneyet Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 Jens, Thanks. The wing roundels are not how I would like them but I couldn't face removing them. Many thanks for the suggestion to use Tamiya Acrylic Thinner - I have two more Tamiya Spitfires and 4 Tamiya Mosquitoes in the stash and the thought of using aftermarket decals on all of them wasn't too appealing. Cheers, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyrre Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 I can vouch for Jens' thinner method. Very nice and tidy build Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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