New member, new WiP. Tamiya 1/32nd Spitfire.

[Siggi]

I've been out of the modelling scene for a few years but my wife bought me the new Tamiya Spit for Christmas, so all the gear's come out again and I've been slaving away over the engine. Most of the time has been spent on botched experiments with super-detailing but I think I'm getting the hang of it now. I'll post pics as I go along, for general interest, and hope some of it comes up to the standard of others I've seen here which have inspired me.

Edited January 9, 2010 by Siggi

[Dave Gibson]

Welcome to lunatic asylum Siggi. What you've done so far is looking good. Keep us posted.

What did you use for the spark plugs? A bit of insulation?

Do you think your wife could have a word with mine?

Dave.

[perry]

Nice work Siggi and welcome to Spitmodeller.......... errr Britmodeller!

[Siggi]

Thanks chaps. Wish I'd found it sooner. I did extensive google searches but this place never came up, I found it by chance via a link from another (obscure) site. Best one so far though, in terms of activity.

Dave, the plugs are made from some wire I found in a model-shop in Japan many years ago. It's almost run out and I've never seen it's like in the UK. It's extremely thin and has a solid core, very useful stuff.

Edited January 9, 2010 by Siggi

[daz greenwood]

Welcome to Spitmodeller.com Siggi

And I don't know if these pics are helpful to you on Spit Mk IX

[Mike]

aboard Siggi. I'd say you've got the hang of this super-detailing lark by the looks of things. You'll have to teach the rest of us now

[Siggi]

Thanks Mike. Judging by the standard around here I don't think I have much to teach. Magnifying glasses from Boots and a neck-brace about sums it up I reckon.

Thanks Daz, couple of very useful pics there.

Edited January 9, 2010 by Siggi

[T-Tango]

Siggi, that thar Spit is starting to look real good.

[daz greenwood]

Glad I could help with the pics Siggi.

I have more, but I can't find the disc I put them on!

[hazza]

WOW im really impressed that so many people are building this kit as it is so expensive! With such a nice kit i like seeing people make a brilliant job of it, your engine detailing so far is no exception.

[Siggi]

Some more bits done.

[nick]

Looking good. Keep up the good work and be respectful of the decals! the only blip in an otherwise remarkable kit

Nick

[Siggi]

Looking good. Keep up the good work and be respectful of the decals! the only blip in an otherwise remarkable kit

Nick

I think I'll be air-brushing the major decals, I've never got on with them as supplied.

[cdplayer]

great start !!!!

chris

[Skii]

Bloody hell now there's a blast from my past, you'll be Siggi that used to frequent SimHQ and a few other sim related forums a good few years back ? good to hear from you again mate

Welcome to Britmodeller , fabulous work on the Merlin lump and firewall so far - beautifully intricate wiring too, watching this one very closely

John

[Siggi]

Bloody hell now there's a blast from my past, you'll be Siggi that used to frequent SimHQ and a few other sim related forums a good few years back ? good to hear from you again mate

Welcome to Britmodeller , fabulous work on the Merlin lump and firewall so far - beautifully intricate wiring too, watching this one very closely

John

Holy moly, small world alert. I still lurk at SimHQ but I mainly hang out at http://forum.combatace.com/forum/204-off-general-discussion/ . I don't build the bi-planes but I like flying the cranky buggers.

Nice to see you again mate, and thanks for the kind words. Currently letting the silver coat cure, then it'll be into the salt tub.

[Siggi]

[Dr_Fester]

Superb build so far Siggi, engine is busying up nicely.

Great finish on the block, what did you use?

Cheers

Doc

[Siggi]

Superb build so far Siggi, engine is busying up nicely.

Great finish on the block, what did you use?

Cheers

Doc

Thanks Dr.

An undercoat of Humbrol Matt Black and Humbrol Polished Aluminium on top. Which likes to retain it's tackiness for ever (if it's held between warm fingers for a few seconds you can just about feel it still wanting to be sticky). The salt is on now, next coat will be satin black. Then comes the joy of trying to get the salt off, without trashing the ignition wires with the brush. I've read it can be dissolved off with warm water but I have trouble understanding how the water would be able to get through the layer of paint.

[Dr_Fester]

Then comes the joy of trying to get the salt off, without trashing the ignition wires with the brush...

Usually ping the salt off with a toothpick myself, very therapeutic.....

Doc

Edited January 12, 2010 by Dr_Fester

[Siggi]

Ah, back to familiar territory. Three coats of paint, salt, powders, fettling, tweaking...LOOKS LIKE CRAP! So into the alcohol bath, scrub like a man gone mad, to hell with all the wires, then into the white-spirits, more scrubbing. Half an hour later it's back to bare plastic. Not a single wire broken though, somehow.

It was the salt-masking. After I'd removed the salt it looked no better than if all I'd done was gone on a stippling-frenzy with a crap brush and bright silver. Black powder toned it down and some parts looked positively awesome, but most of it was mediocre. So close but not close enough. The back of the super-charger looked practically real, but on the cylinder-heads the silver had kind of blurred into the black and it looked pretty dire. I think too much salt maybe.

Never mind. It could have been a disaster but it's survived totally intact, ready for a second attempt.

[Dr_Fester]

...... ready for a second attempt.

We've all been there . Fingers crossed for the second attempt.

Doc

[Siggi]

Second attempt was another balls-up, went to do the base-coat and the poxy Aztek shot-gunned a coat about an inch thick. I chucked the engine into the alcohol bath where it became coated with the detrius from the last wash. Lovely. Scrubbed it all off again, prop-shaft decided it'd had enough abuse and seized solid.

Anyway, changed my strategy and now have it with a Valjero black undercoat, Valjero steel middle coat, Humbrol satin black top coat over Daler-Rowney Art Masking Fluid, carefully applied with a scouring-pad (the green stuff that comes on the back of a foam block). I bought that after discovering I must have chucked out my Maskol upon finding it had dried out in it's bottle, which was a bit of luck. The Maskol always seemed to have been a mixture of rubber and super-glue, a real swine to get off. This Rowney stuff is very thin and rolls off under the thumb, or at least it does with no paint over it. The block is drying now and I'll remove the masking stuff as soon as it's done and see if it's a load of cack or I've finally cracked it. Pics to follow.

[Siggi]

Over three hours later and the paint is still slightly tacky to the touch (not enough to take finger-prints, but enough that it's not really safe to handle). This seems to happen occasionally, not sure why. Is it because I thinned the paint with spirits, or that satin doesn't like being thinned, or because it's on top of acrylic? It's a bloody PITA. I've had it six inches above a warm radiator for an hour, but vague memory tells me that exacerbates the problem. Anyone got a pointer on how to get the paint to dry completely?

[Siggi]

Had a preliminary go at it, this is with just a bit of rubbing and suchlike: