Simon G

I've never tried the undercoat and masking method, or diluted paint. I use a single Caran D'ache soft artists pencil (water soluble) sharpen with a knife and build up the effect slowly varying pressure for a deeper shade. You can feather the edges to avoid hard lines and being water soluble a wet finger will remove any mistakes. Only works on a matt surface ( I seal in the decals with matt varnish before weathering) and it's best to seal over the top with another coat. Si.

Nice looking model, like the tone variations in the colours. Si.

Very nice, like that a lot. Si.

Built out of the box apart from the decals which were aftermarket. Had an interesting time with the fit of some parts! but got there in the end. I know the Dragon kit has errors but I left as was, I wanted to use the model as a test bed to try some new weathering techniques on, pre and post shading and some panel line washes. I then used my usual favorite of powdered artists chalk pastels applied with a soft brush. I appreciate the P-51 is probably one of the worst subjects for making the panels stand out given the wings of the real thing were filled at the factory, but with Dragons rather exaggerated surface detail I has to use it or loose it! Pleased with the result but will need to practive more with the new techniques, any advice welcome! Si.

Chipped paint can look a little 'false', think you've got yours just right. Very nice build. Si.

Fantastic model, like that a lot. Si.

very nice indeed. Si.

Yikes . . . thought I was bad having 3 or 4 on the go . . . . . Si.

Very nice indeed. Si.

Maybe answering emails is a weak point, took me three attempts to get confirmation they would send canopy to me in the UK but they did finally get back to me. Si.

They are offering free of charge replacement canopies for their 1/32 109E-4 to relace inaccurate ones in the kits . . . . another example of their very impressive service! Si.

The Tamiya Spitfire is a great kit, I've made a couple and will be doing more! You've made a nice job of yours, very nice. Si.

I sometimes experience the same problem, the consistency of the paint can play a big part. If it's too thick it will dry 'in the air' more easily and produce the dusty effect you mention. Try thinning the paint a little more. Si.

Very nicely done. Si.

Very nice, like that a lot. Si.

Milliput superfine is good stuff. Two part epoxy as mentioned above so needs a bit of messy mixing first. Can be smoothed with a wet finger but dries very hard (harder than the surrounding plastic) so care is needed at the sanding stage not to oversand the surrounding area. I use 'green stuff' I expect this is similar to the Tamiya filler you used, it melts plastic and therefore bonds very well. Can't be smoothed when wet so the trick is to apply it in a tidy and accurate way to start with, I use an artists palette knife which allows me to apply it to gaps without needing to spread a lot on the surrounding surface. Don't be fooled by thinking it's dried quickly ready to sand, it forms a hard crust but try to sand it and it will be gooey underneath, allow 24 hours before sanding. Superglue also works well as a filler for small gaps such as along seems, can be dried almost instantly with kicker and sands at about the same rate as plastic. Produces a nice smooth hard surface, great for re-scribing panel lines. Almost all my filling is done with this product. Si.

Nicely done, lovely finish. Si.

Will be following with interest. Si.

Nice to see a different scheme, Like it a lot. Si.

Very nice. They look good as they are, maybe best not to take the risk with adding weathering if you are not 100% confident. Si.

Not if it ment a higher kit price, my personal preference is for a clean closed airframe. I wouldn't have thought it beyond Tamiya to have produced a basic kit (minus engine/gun bays) for those of us that are not really fussed about opening them up and then seperate detail kits with those parts for those who want to go to town. Who says you can't please all the people all the time! Si.

Very nice, Si.

Fantastic model, love the finish. Si.

Very nice, love the paintwork. Si.

Very nice model. Si.