matto21

Thanks Col, hopefully the decals will turn up soon so I can start to think about paint schemes!

Hi all, By my standards, I've made rapid progress since my first post! I'd already assembled and painted the cockpit previously before the project got forgotten about, so I added some crude representations of seat belts and added a bit of extra weathering before sealing up the fuselage sides. The fuselage itself goes together quite well. The wing to fuselage joint isn't the best, but it's better than the equivalent fit on Airfix's Spitfire which I've been building. The underside section from the wings to the tail is a separate piece, and needed a bit of filling along the length of both sides. The subtle fabric effect makes sanding tricky. The only other area of note are the wheel wells - again some basic weathering washes have been applied. Now I need to wait for the decals to arrive so I can decide what to do next! Thanks for looking. Matt

Actually who am I kidding, I can't bring myself to do a BoB green/brown scheme. I've just bought this set of decals - should give me a good few choices... https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ML48149?result-token=rSYrF Matt

Thanks for the comments already! To be honest my first impression was to look at the options, and desert options sprang to mind. But equally I'm tempted to try and save some money and try to overcome my dislike! Matt

Hello all, Thought I might give this a go given I've recently rediscovered some modelling mojo. I've had this Airfix Hurricane kit for probably 4 years. I actually built and painted the cockpit parts back then, but moved house and forgot about it. I've got some extras, namely replacement wheels and exhausts from Eduard. I don't really like Battle of Britain green/brown camo schemes, and usually avoid them. So this'll be a good test for me. Thanks for looking Matt

If I'm not careful, I'm going to actually finish this! Exhausts now painted, weathered and attached. Don't worry, the prop is only dry fitted at this stage, hence being a bit wonky! Matt

We now have a red spinner and a painted cockpit access door. The exhausts are in the process of being painted. Once they're done it only needs a flat coat and a few tweaks and it's done (famous last words) Thanks for looking Matt

Thanks again Chris. That the U/C legs fit after being "altered" was a big relief, I can tell you!

Fair play to you for persevering, I'm sure it'll be worth the effort. I'm building an Airfix Spitfire Mk Vb in 1/48 scale and it also has poor fitting parts, including the undercarriage, and its supposedly a "modern" kit so I think you're doing a fine job with this big old bird!

Thanks Chris! Having applied the first round of panel line washes, I also made a start on the exhaust stain. I'm also pleased to report that my method of attaching the undercarriage seems to have been a success! Note the spinner is still unpainted at this stage and the visible grey patch under the access door is intentional to allow me to attach it once I've painted it! Matt

After an absolute age I finally feel like I'm getting some modelling mojo back. Prior to Covid, I was pretty productive by my standards, but during and since, I've found it really difficult to get back to the bench in a meaningful way. Highlighting the panel lines and riveting seemed as good a place as any to start so I've begun applying a wash using Neutral Brown from Ammo. I need to extend the black walkway line on the wings to meet the roundels but that can wait until another day! Thanks for looking! Matt

Hi @tk1608 It's still a work in progress but I started a new thread, mainly because I couldn't find this one! Still not finished though... Matt

Glad to hear it at least partly worked. What's interesting is in the original photo, there's no bloom at the edge of the decal, it starts outside of the carrier film area. Now it looks a tiny bit like silvering at the edge of the decal?

Try spraying over the decal with another coat of gloss. Sometimes it'll do the trick.

Hi all, Bit more progress tonight. Firstly, the decals are pretty much done apart from one or two small ones. I hope you'll agree that it's starting to look like a Spitfire now, especially with the prop and the, currently unpainted, spinner in place. Regarding the spinner, I'm unsure whether to paint it black, as per the colour profile I'm using, or red as per the decal sheet (although admittedly the decal sheet represents this aircraft in all over dark sea grey). Thoughts? I was prepared for the potential problems caused by the strange stepped join between the sections of the undercarriage legs. So I cut them flush, and drilled and pinned them for, hopefully, a stronger join. I'm leaving them off as long as I can, but dry fitting has at least proved the theory works. Thanks Matt

An empty house this weekend should have resulted in more progress, but good weather yesterday meant DIY and gardening had to take priority. I managed to spend a bit of time at the bench last night and the majority of the decals are now applied. Can I just say again how good these DK Decals are...super thin and conform beautifully. My only criticism is the cost and the limited number of roundels and tail flashes provided meaning to get proper value from the set, you'd need to buy more of these separately (or use kit provided ones of course!). The other markings are those supplied by Airfix in the kit and to be honest, I'm not convinced. They look too heavy to my inexpert eye. Matt

Hi all, Finally, after an age, I've made some progress and finished off the camo painting. Although I'd mostly completed this, there were some areas that needed tidying up which had slowed progress being made. I managed to fire up the airbrush yesterday and got this finished and a couple of coats of gloss applied too. Markings are a set by DK Decals and I have to say they are really nice and conform to the surface detail well, which is pleasing after I went to the effort of applying rivet detail. They also don't break up around raised detail, which is a real relief given they cost more than the kit! By the way, the unpainted patch directly beneath the access hatch is intentional to make gluing easier. All the best Matt

Thanks for the comments all. It's basically a case of real life getting in the way of modelling as it sometimes does, annoying but can't be helped! Maybe I'll ask for the thread to be moved to the aircraft WIP section so when I do have time to continue, I can share my progress there. Matt

Hi all, Think I'll have to admit defeat with this one. While not too far from the finish line, I'm not going to have time to complete it before the deadline so to avoid unnecessarily rushing, will sidestep from the GB and complete it separately. I've enjoyed it nonetheless and thanks for the interest during the build up to now. Matt

Wonderful - they both look superb!

Hi all, Painting finally finished. Next up is a gloss coat and then I can start the decalling. I'll have to do some minor corrections on the underside where the paint has lifted when the masking was removed. Matt

Some more progress. While there still obviously areas that need finishing, and other parts that need correcting (I'm leaving the wingtips for now for handing purposes), hopefully this gives an idea of where this is going. Matt

I also assumed I'd just been unlucky. I contacted Airfix but they advised replacement parts would not be dispatched until after lockdown ends, whenever that may officially be. I could however purchase a replacement kit from their online shop which was available for immediate dispatch though . Like you, I just repaired it!

Interesting to note the issue with the hole in the lower wing. I had exactly the same issue with my Vb: Seems its not an isolated issue. Matt

Progress continues to be slow, but I've made the effort to press on with the painting tonight. Boundaries between the camo colours will be done another time when I have more patience, as will the starboard wing! Matt