PlasticUtopia

Nice build John, I lost my cockpit canopy plate on mine 😖.

Spitfire it is....😃

My, that is absolutely stunning. What a marvelous build and the intricate detailing is second to none. Well done sohoppy

Hello all, For all and those that's been looking at my progress It was a difficult build for me, being the second attempt at this wonderful and magical pastime that I have discovered at this late age. I enjoyed it though and have learned loads. I decided to leave the wash and panel effect off this as I did attempt to do so, but it ended in dismay... Link HERE for full build progress Thanks for looking, any critique is very welcomed My next attempt is a choice between three kits. I already had the Tamiya 1:48 Spitfire Mk Vb And.. I have been gifted 2 new kits.... Eduard's Me BF 109G-2 ProfiPack and the lovely Eduard weekend P-39Q Airacobra I'm looking forward to all of them but cant decide which one to do next....

Where shall I start? After the flat clear matt was applied, I used Micro sol as instructed in the bottle and placed the decal in luke warm water for about 1 min. I placed the first cross insignia on and prepared for the other wing. Whilst doing so, I noticed on the top and of the wing where the decal had been placed it had started to grt distorted with the paint lifting and making it slightly bubble. Horror swept through me..... I got a kitchen towel and pressed down firmly over the decal..... It turned out not to bad after pressure had been applied. I decided that I would try the Micro set bottle. I opened it up and realised it was just plain vinegar? Anyway, it smelt like it. Could I have used it on my fish and chips at a high cost? And more important, could I have just used vinegar firstly? I dont know I continued with the decal setting as below..... I had a little bother applying the fiddly decals, and the swastika on the rear tail, which for reasons obvious. Hobby Boss had them cut in two (and maybe on all other brands of German model kits now too? I am not aware at this point) as they probably cant show the said icon in its entirety. Getting them lined up, like the tiny other ones on the plane, was very time consuming. I learned that it would have been easier with a coat of gloss as Troy had pointed out. I only had flat matt at that point and thought it would have been alright. Not the case. It was hard to shift them around after they were roughly put in place where I wanted them, expecting that I could easily manipulate them to there final destination. I airbrushed another coat of flat matt and waited roughly an hour before I sealed it with flat matt. Another hour passed (Should I have waited longer?) and I was ready to attempt to weather the build with Lifcolor black grey wash... This is where it went a big bit, oh so so so wrong........ I applied a layer of said wash and left for ten minutes.... Thinking it would be an downhill job and just wipe away excess and get that fabulous look of nice paneling and weathering..... To my dismay, the sought after effect was more like a careless welders bench It don't think I left everything to dry properly. I should have waited another day actually then put the wash on and weather etc. The underside of the plane was a mess... I just could not get rid of the ingrained black smudges... And the whole plane was basically the same as the underside. Sorry no pics of the top side. I was aghast with the outcome. A few profanities later, I decided to call it a night. Next day, I decided to mask it up and re spray....... I placed foam in the undercarriage area and came up with the idea of applying liquid mask on decals, wondering if it would work ok and not destroy them all. Tested a wee part of it and left for 30 mins. All was ok ,so continued with patiently applying the gooey mask... Sprayed the bottom and top of plane with a fresh lick. I left it drying till today, and peeled the mask off... So, I have finished the build in all of its complexity and will now post in the ready for inspection thread Thanks for looking and following my progress chaps

Back to it again and gave it all a coat of tamiya flat clear before getting decals in place....

Hello John, A hearty welcome. Im just a new start at a older age and have been smitten by it all. Aircraft at the moment, maybe something else later.

Of course, your very welcome 😃 Yes, always to have fun on builds, sometimes Ive discovered, being new to the scene, that frustration does pop into it. But we can always stand up and walk away for a wee while. Work didn't let one have that luxury. Enjoy your retirement. 🥳

Hello Chap

Wow, great little plane. I used to see these in Spain in the begining of summer spraying the land

A warm welcome Androdf

Its a marvel to behold as well. well done on those daring cuts. Inspirational build 💯

Well done, the build is phenomenal for your third build!!! And the sea!!! So real!!! Takes me back to my maritime days in the Royal Navy (Pipes you the special on his bosuns call 😃)

Welcome Buddy,

Hello Wlad, Ouch!! Very good idea.

Hi Jackroadkill, Thanks for the post, yes, you are very correct, leaving the fiddly bits to end makes sense.

Thanks Ngantek, (BTW, is your user name something to do with an Indonesian term?) I worked In the Natuna sea, Indonesia for 4 years and am familiar with the term. Please ignore my drivel if its nothing to do with it 😀) LOL "Tilt" I had said I was going to give the build a hiatus....well, that lasted all of 10 hrs and I went back to the task of correcting my mistakes.... I started off sanding very lightly to the chiped area that had been painted and decided that it was as good as it was going to get without me making a complete dogs bum of it....I will learn from my mistake and carry on. On doing so, I noticed that the front nose undercarriage flap had gone AWOL...😩 I could not be found...So, Cut a bit off the spruce frame ID plate and sanded down...... I then cut it to the shape that vaguely represented the "missing part" and installed after I changed the colour of the tyres from black to a dark grey (thanks troy, gratefull for the pointer ) Yeah, I know it looks a bit rough around the the nose area, but I will tidy up tomorrow at some point.... I finished up the undercarriage little bits and pieces.... it was so fiddly trying to get the retracting pistons in place but I eventually got them in place. Lesson learned, fit them first then the wheel assy last!! Tomorrow I shall finish the weathering,put the decals on and seal the body with a matt flat clear. (he says hoping that his jittery clumsiness does not impair anything else 🤣 A big thanks to everyone that has given me some valuable tips and advice

Thanks Walter, great words of encouragement

Hi Troy, Thanks for pointing that out . I went for what was detailed on the build sheet Hobby Boss supplied. Yes, a schoolboy error on my behalf. I should have looked more closely to the link on boxartden.com I will update the colours on it to the gloss black hubs and alter the tyres to a dark grey which I have. I will need to procure the gloss black though unless, you have tips on how to make the Tamiya flat black into gloss effect? I suppose so, infact I know said I was going to take a hiatus of a couple of days. I have already disregarded that and worked on the undercarriage supports again. 🤣 Thanks again

Welcom Bonsia James

Events of mishaps and clumsiness have put a granite stone in the cog's.... So, things have come to a standstill, well, actually gone backwards really. I ran into some problems firstly with my utter clumsiness by dropping the body to the floor and somewhere along its trajectory, it gathered a paint chip just at the cockpit and fuselage area and with the shock of impact,opened a few fill points along the body I masked off area and began gently sanding back to try and feather paint preparing for a respray After several layers I ended up with this after the first drying time..... You can just see the feathered area joining the new paint. I will attempt to sand this again after a few days (I am a bit scunnered with it but will be no doubt drawn back to the build soon) I decided to fit the wheelbay area with the wheels.... I used superglue on the wheel upright join to the fuselage. Fitted said item and when drawing my hand back, inadvertently managed to collide my digits on newly glued assy casing making a clean snap and leaving the joined plastic in the recess of the hole. I have no pics of this due to the air turning blue with profanities and my shirt getting ripped off by the green flesh growing and massing the cotton I then decided to drill out the newly inserted plastic peg in the wheel bay area.... In doing so, I drilled through the wing also....... Utter disgust filled my body of the contempt I had with myself..... I drilled out the wheel assy and placed in what was a "left over gun barrel", and used it as a join fix to the wing carriage area Im going to leave it for a couple of days ,absence makes the heart grow fonder they say

Ngantek, thank you very much, it makes sense. Ill try next time. I had a little bother over the weekend with the build 😩 (see below post)

Welcome Mykolas

Early this year, I took my two kids to visit the Glasgow Museum of Art for their first time. We were welcomed with the magical sight in the main hall of the hanging Spitfire LA198 A great inhalation of awe as this beast loomed overhead, suspended in time as well as careful wires and pulleys. I believe this flew with the 602 City of Glasgow Squadron between 1947-1949. Full spec on its history can be read here

Well done, marvellous to see all the detailed pictures and the lovely commentary. I can imagine that it must have been very annoying losing he gun sights. I lost a part of my present work in progress model, Me 262 A1. It was the little back bracket that goes inside the middle glass of the cockpit.