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robstopper

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Everything posted by robstopper

  1. Things are in place now to finish the set! The mk.XVI is here to replicate '382 as she first was, and I have today received an ICM mk.IXE and some decals to make her when she had been rebuilt as a IX and painted in 322 Dutch squadron colours. That's all versions of her that she has flown as!
  2. The Eduard mk XVI turned up this week! I have a 1/72 Hunter FGA.9 to build for my dad in his old 43 sq. colours first, then will crack on with the OG RW382
  3. That was my first encounter with her too, on a hangar tour at Biggin. Little did I know then how well I would end up getting to know her!
  4. This is how '382 used to look! Pics of her in a spurious brown/green livery with BoB era markings at Leconfield, then mounted on a pole in more appropriate camo at Uxbridge, then in flying post first restoration by Historic Flying Ltd.
  5. Haha, i think 3 versions (plus another 1/72 version on my desk at work) is more than enough. No decals at that scale! You can get some kits with them at 1/72, but Jamie only had his accurate, and team-approved ones, done at 48 and 24. Noelh's comments about her history gave me an idea however, so I will build a version of '382 as she was in her service life as a low back, clipped wing mk. Xvi, using Eduard's 1/48 kit.
  6. She's definitely lived a life! Not much left original now, and she's had many different configurations, but I love her dearly. Her story can be traced from day one through to now, which to my mind, makes her just as valuable as an "original" Spit (if there even is such a thing after all these years). She's the one I've had the most up-close interaction with, so will always be "my" Spitfire. Plus, she's a movie star too! OK, just a background, static "extra" in Battle of Britain, but she's listed in Dilip Sarkar's book about the making of the film.
  7. I didn't get it completely right. Some of the camo pattern is a bit off, I should have removed the blister from the port wing root as '382 doesn't have it, she also doesn't have the armour plate on the seat any more, and some of the cockpit fittings are slightly off. But, no.1 pilot and no.1 ground crew approve, so I guess i should think "job done"
  8. I had to get the details right on this one or Chiefy would never let me near her again! 🤣 I even added the 5mm drain hole at the trailing edge of the oil pan that nobody else would ever notice! You were absolutely correct on war time birds tho, and if i had done this as the original Porky II, IXC, then your nitpick would have been justified
  9. You're correct, but the red crowbar is also correct for this particular aircraft, as '382 is a modern restoration and I have depicted her as she is now. She is painted to represent the original "Porky II", a Spitfire IXC, so the kit out of the box would be accurate. '382 has the E wing tho, hence me using the resin conversion kit. If you'd like to know more about the history of "our" Spitfire, check out https://suffolkspitfire.co.uk/ or there is a very active Facebook page for her too.
  10. I have been christened their number one superfan by the Suffolk Spitfire team 🤣 either that or chief groupie, one of the two! The chart was my fellow '382 fan, and creator of the custom decals, Jamie. He even went to the lengths of making a scale version of the quad lock phone holder that George uses in the cockpit, that's way above my abilities!
  11. Thanks Andy. Wanted to try and do my muse justice in this scale.
  12. Calling it done! 3 month journey this one, including learning how to airbrush. Kit built, with the E wing conversion, resin fishtail exhausts and block tread 4 hole wheels, instrument panel, seatbelts and custom decals as added extras. This now completes the set of 1/72, 1/48 and 1/24 scale versions of this particular aircraft.
  13. Panel wash done. Went with dark grey this time. Looks a bit messy at the moment, and I need to patch in the paint where cleaning it up took off some small patches (must do a more thorough job with clear top coats!) but it should look ok after a decent satin topcoat.
  14. Cannon barrels cut to the correct length for '382 (I measured them in the hangar at the start of the year when we were cleaning her) and fitted, and a gloss(......ish) coat applied. Should be cured enough to start decalling tonight!
  15. Red wing tip stripes and upper wing walkway lines done. I think its pretty much ready for glossing as the next step
  16. So....camo time. Persevering with the airbrush, I pencilled out '382's camo pattern as closely as I could, and then applied the ocean grey. I used the 0.3 nozzle, but given the size of the kit, the 0.5 may have been more suitable. Then it was out with the blutack and masking tape. Quickly becoming my least favourite part of airbrushing!! Green on, go! Peeling back the layers. Some bits to touch up, and a mix of hard-ish and soft-ish demarcation lines, but generally ok I guess? Next, I'll mask and paint the walkway lines - those decals are a nightmare to get straight even at 1/72 or 1/48 scale length, so painting is the way forward - and then the red stripes over the wing tips that help lift '382's colour scheme out of the ordinary.
  17. I re-did the roundel over-paints as I wasn't happy with the shade differentiation. So I guess I need to start the top surface camo this weekend, if I can spare the time away from the Six Nations!
  18. I had a day spare yesterday, so after a trip to my garage to show them my new car, where else to go but my "happy place", Duxford? Just a few shots of Marinell and PV202 on the apron outside A/C, some from Hangar 2, then my favourite and typical hang-out of Hangar 3, playing with the low winter sunlight coming thru the clerestorey windows. Almost sounds like I know what I'm doing there instead of totally winging it like I really am! 😂😂
  19. Added the paler patches of grey where the RAF markings had been overpainted too. The one on the u/s of the port wing needs a bit of touching up, as the masking tape lifted slightly, so no pic of that!
  20. Last-ditch go with the airbrush before packing it all up, and somehow, more by luck than judgement, i have managed to apply medium sea grey to the underside. It's probably a little heavy, and I was still getting a bit of spatter and paint being supplied before pulling back on the trigger. But maybe there's still a glimmer of hope
  21. One last try. I gave it a thorough clean this morning, including the smallest brush thru the airbrush body and in to the nozzle. Ran a bit of water thru it and it was spraying, so i'll try a really thin mix of AK medium sea grey tomorrow and see if it works or not
  22. I appreciate all the advice you passed on, truly. But trust me, for some people using an airbrush just isn't as easy as proponents of them say it is. Its a Fengda FE186K, i have used AK Interactive 3rd gen acrylics thru it. Same paint on the small Spitfire worked ok, but the next time i used them, without having changed anything, on the 1/24, I was getting nothing but spatter. Thanks for the offer, but i really wouldn't waste your time on your trip.
  23. I've tried all that. Jamie tested it and set it up before he sent it to me. He's an airbrushing zealot and puritan like you, says it should be easy for me Should be......... Well, for me, its not. I've wasted too much time and effort trying to work with it, and just end up with the same repetitive issues. I'm done.
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