Mattlaker

I don't know if it's any help, but i finished an Airfix Hawk in this scheme last year, although i didn't do a WIP thread on here (I did on AN Other forum). The ready for inspection thread is http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...948&hl=Hawk if that helps? for paints, i used Humbrol matt aluminium from a rattle can for the undersides. The top colours were Revell Dark Earth and Dark Green.

that's fantastic! thanks for those! I hadn't seen those images before- i'd've missed the slightly lighter tone on the walkways!

Hi all!!! Some progress has been made since my last update- I have finished the bulk of the assembly, and this included a lot of trimming, sanding, and refilling, but i am getting there! the wingtips were a surprise, and i found the fit was actually better than most, even from a short-run kit this is pretty good- i didn't need filler, just a bit of tippex. The lower fuselage insert was a bit trickier. I filled the gap with that foam stuff you get in Aires sets, and this prevented the insert from falling through, and i lined it up as best i could. Some plasto took care of the rest- I carefully blended this into the curve of the fuselage, and i am happy with the outcome. lastly, the rudder, ailerons and tailplanes were added- i have slightly offset the ailerons to correspond with the fact that the stick top is slightly offset. I have decided to leave the rudder as is. Finally, i primed the whole thing- i used halfords white as i thought this would make it slightly easier to get better coverage with the camo, as it's generally light. before priming, i was concerned over the lack of depth in the panel lines, so rescribed the wings. I forgot to rescribe the fuselage, so will go back over this when the primer has dried. Oh, and i left the cannons off too... these will go on ASAP, before spraying and hopefully should be fine!!! I can see a couple of areas that will need a bit of attention, so will sort these, reprime and then it'll be ready for camo! C+C appreciated as always! Matt

Nice subject!!! Which markings are you going to use? Matt

Hi mate! just seen this! That's looking absolutely superb! That pilot has been superbly painted, and a great concept too!

From what i can gather, and i know that there will be a lot of debate on this, is that they were painted with either US Navy blue-grey, or a thinned down version of this, to provide some camo on the long flight to Malta... I am sure someone will correct this if incorrect tho!!! Thanks for the comments so far!!! Matt

Right- started painting last night, and have been busy since! The fit is pretty bad in places- lots of dryfitting required! Because i put the sidewalls in, i had to shave away the edge of the main pit components to compensate... this has taken a good hour, just keeping dryfitting etc ad nausem. I elected to leave off the instrument decal- i don't think i have ever seen so much yellow on the dials! Instead, these were highlighted with drybrushing, although once closed up, there isn't much to see anyways! It's been pretty enjoyable so far- it isn't tamigawa standards, but better than i had hoped! Here is the Vokes filter- notice that both halves simply butt-join together... I may've got these slightly off, but it's nothing a dash of plasto won't fix! The UC bays are a bit strange- they consist of 2 separate parts per wing, that slot in like a chinese puzzle... thank God for dryfitting, as i found that the wing-fuselage joint later on would be seriously out if you just simply glue down the upper and lower wing- the curvature of the wing is too pronounced, unless you actually glue the wing to the upper side of the wheel well. Once done, and dryfitted, all seems a bit closer. The cannon blisters were a headache, and will need a bit of filler to neaten them up! And all dryfitted together- the vast quantities of tamiya tape are needed as they are actually forcing the fuselage halves together, until the glue has properly cured, as they are going to spring apart otherwise!!! finally, the wing-fuselage lower join is not as bad as i had anticipated! Cheers for taking the time to have a butchers!!!

I decided to start with these, and they do require quite a bit of work... i have shaved the underside of the blisters down, which has made them a little shallower, and gentle fettling and dryfitting has made this a bit better. I have attached the lower sidewalls, and have decided to sort these out in situ, so i can get the fit as good as possible. The general fit seems to be ok, although i will definitely need to get some filler in there! I'll try to get regular updates on here as often as i can.

Thanks for that! I was expecting the inner walls to pose an issue, and thought the wing inserts would cause some issues too... I shall be dry-fitting left, right and centre then!!!

Ok- plans for today were to get the pit completed, and painted, so i could make a start on fuselage assembly. Here i am at the end of play today, and absolutely nothing has been accomplished... So here is the obligatory box shot and sprue shots... Box shot Sprue shots- not all, just a couple to get an idea of quality If you look to the left hand side of this sprue, you'll see a separate fuselage insert, meaning 2 things- firstly, it means a lot of filling, and probably a slightly dubious fit in this location, and secondly, this kit is open to a lot of different options- seafires anyone?! Also, the prop (de havilland), wingtips, and Vokes filteris separate (a normal lower cowl is included also) It's nice to see separate control surfaces also. There is a rather nice detailed etched fret included as well, with a pretty detailed sutton harness, toe loops for the pedals and other odds and sods. Also included is a rather nice full colour painting guide, although the colour callouts are a little iffy... i won't start the 'malta blue' argument again, but thinned Azure Blue?! Here is the sheet i am going to be using Finished with the bulk of these markings And thanks to Keith in the uk, I will be using White code letters rather than the yellow on here, as the subject i am actually building has the codes in white with a red spinner. Wish me luck!!!

PM inbound, mate!

Mentioning scale might help!!! it's in 1:48!

Hi all, i have been looking to build the above named spitfire, and have hit upon a snag- I have no white code letters! I am unsure what size i would need to use, and in particular, is there an aftermarket decal sheet that would have them on? I have some black serials, so these are not a problem, but short of using the yellow ones in the Defenders of Malta sheet, and masking them off after, i am at a loss! Any suggestions would really be appreciated! here is a picture! http://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled/Su...next_id=1238490

Yep, absolutely superb!

Absolutely superb! that looks really nicely weathered so far! i don't know whether it's just because of the gloss coat, but the markings look a bit too pristine for the weathered finish... i may be jumping the gun and you haven't got around to a finishing post-shade over the top... I am a huge fan of spitfires- you can never have enough of them, and hope to try some of the techniques you've used on my next one! Stunning work so far!

I want to build it as JG891... I think i probably worded it a bit wrong in the first place- i have seen several builds where the blue looks too bright, and others where it looks a bit more subtle. I think i may go down the xtracolor route and tone it down slightly with some white then! thanks!

Hi guys, i am considering a Tamiya Vb Tropical for a future build, and would like to get the colours as accurate as possible, obviously! sometimes the Azure Blue comes out too bright for my tastes, and i was wondering which paints were the best to go for on this particular scheme. Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Matt

Thanks guys! That web link is exactly what i need i think!

hi all! I have an issue at present, as i have carelessly lost the instructions for the Revell Spitfire. Does anyone have some that they could scan in and email me? Cheers guys! Matt

Personally, i didn't have many issues with the Airfix MkIXc... A little bit of sanding and filling needed, but all in all, i really enjoyed building it. I don't think there is a perfect spitfire kit- the problem being it is such an iconic aircraft, but you would hope that manufacturers would take the trouble to make one that is as near as damnit right?! Personally, i much prefer the Tamiya Vb, although that one is not without it's shape issues either

A nice clean build of a great subject

Both Twilight Tear and Jumpin' Jacques, from Hangar 11 have the metal strip on the inner gear doors- not sure why, but thought i would stick it in!

Paul's decals are absolutely fantastic and settled down a treat! Would highly recommend them! Thanks for all your comments!!! Much appreciated!

Simply mint!

That's an amazing project you have going there and that's an absolutely fantastic reason to build this! the kid's smiling face on the day it gets handed to him will make all the poor fit/seam filling/harsh language worth it! From memory, that looks pretty close to Sally B's interior... he'll love it! Definitely want to see pictures of the handover!