Jazzy Jase

The copydex thing is interesting. Does it just peel off when you want to remove it? And does it mark the paint underneath at all?

Thought I post a few pics of the Austin Tilly I've been building when I needed a break from my Beaufighter build. Constructive criticism welcome. And finally one of the two together.

Finished! More pics in Ready for Inspection. Build thread here.

Finished! More pics in Ready for Inspection.

Here's my 1/48 Tamiya Beaufighter from the Nightfighter Group Build (build thread here). Extras: Ultracast seats and exhausts, Aires wheels, lead wire added for the brakes and engines, nylon thread for the aerial. The model is painted mostly with Tamiya paints. The engines and collector rings were painted Alclad aluminium, with the collector rings then receiving a coat of Alclad Burnt Iron. The tyres are done in a mix of Vallejo Black and grey. I used a Mig wash for the panel lines, Mig pignments over the wheels and Citadel washes on the landing gear. The landing gear and props was finished in Humbrol Satin Cote. I tried to use Humbrol Matt Cote on the rest of the model but it left a very white, frosty gritty finish, so I did my best to remove it and I reverted to a mix of Tamiya Flat Base and gloss, but even this has left the odd white spot. So, on with the pictures. Constructive criticism welcome as always. White spots in the finish and I don't know how dust got inside the glass.

Haha, how did I miss that?

Gorgeous. I love the cleanliness of it.

Will that affect the Red Arrows then?

That's great. I'm interested in how you did the streaking too!

I did the same as you for the internal canopy framing on my Mossie and can report that it works well. I didn't gloss them though. I assume that is to make them look like they're behind glass?

It's odd. The bottle says cleanup with white spirit but the website says to use cellulose thinners.

That makes sense and I'll try something less potent (maybe Tamiya X20A) but the Satin Cote was fine with the Laquer thinner, so why not the Matt Cote?

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH I'm so angry right now. Humbrol Matt Cote has left the wing of my Beaufighter covered in white dust. A rub down with an old tshirt and a coat of Klear has partially helped. But the roundel still looks dusty and my weathering is disappearing. I'll have to give it another Klear tonight and hope for the best. Don't really want to strip the wing and start again. What's really bothering me is why it happened in the first place. I haven't used it before but I used Satin Cote on the props and landing gear and was really happy with the finish. I mixed both exactly the same (1 part Humbrol to 3 parts Tamiya laquer thinner, 15psi) so why has the Matt Cote gone crazy?

I spent the weekend weathering and attaching all the small pieces. Almost finished. Just a coat of matt varnish to go... I recently bought some Humbrol Matt Cote after hearing good things about it here. I'd used the satin finish on the props and landing gear and was really happy with the finish. So on with the matt. Mixed exactly the same as satin I sprayed the top of the port wing... AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH I'm so angry right now. The Matt Cote has covered the wing in white dust. A rub down with an old tshirt and a coat of Klear has partially helped. but the roundel still looks dusty and my weathering is disappearing. I'll have to give it anothe Klear tonight and hope for the best. Don't really want to strip the wing and start again. What's really bothering me is why it happened in the first place.

Well done Mish. Looks good.

Thanks for all the suggestions. The Airfix/Eduard 22/24 looks gorgeous but it's post war as is the Seafire 47 I think. I'll go for the ICM XVI. As a side note I notice Airfix is releasing a new Seafire XVII shortly. Hopefully it'll be accurate enough to build and sit along side the XVI.

Morning all, I've got a hankering to build a 1/48 bubble top Spitfire and was looking for opinions/suggestions on which kit to buy. I'd like something that's accurate without being a pig to build. It must have engraved panel lines and be an example that served during the war. I've done a bit of Googling and found the Academy XIV which gets a slating for being inaccurate. Italeri/occidental XVI - Has accuracy issues? Airfix XVI - Airfix club members exclusive. Can't find much info on it and as rare as rocking horse poo. ICM XVI - Seems to get good reviews for accuracy but how well does it go together?

I'd like to see you build the He111.

Okay, here's a couple of photos. The fuselage is now undergoing surgery after I held it a little too firmly and cracked it along the join. Doh!

Very nice. And colourful for a night fighter!

Thanks Shaun.

Another photo-less update. I'll try and take some tonight. I've done a lot over the last few weeks. The landing gear and Aires wheels have been assembled, painted and then weatherd with Citadel washes (as well as the insides of the gear doors). I'm regretting using 0.2mm wire for the brake lines, I think 0.3mm would have looked better and would probably have prevented me breaking one. I changed my mind again on detailing the engines so after I painted them Alclad Aluminium I put some 0.3mm wire into each cylinder to make them look more busy. It's not accurate but I'm pleased with how it looks. Everything else has been painted black and post shaded with grey. After a couple of coats of Klear I've applied the decals which haven't silvered too badly and I'll give it another quick coat of Klear this evening. The post shading has almost disappeared under the Klear (I'll make it even lighter next time) so I'm going to try a dot filter using oil paints to add back some colour. I've found a photo of the aircraft I'm building and it has the shorter intakes on top of the engine (the instructions say to use the longer ones). Also in the photo it looks like the rear tail wheel leg is black rather than grey, but I've left it grey to provide some colour. I'm also starting to worry that I've not quite masked the front, side windscreens well enough over the little bumps but I won't know until I remove the tape if it's okay or not.

Gorgeous photo's those F-22 shots are amazing. Do you have any more of the bf-109?

Nice work Mish, I've been post-shading mine today too. How did you manage to put the decals over a matt finish?

Good luck. 3 weeks is plenty of time!