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1/48 ICM Spitfire Mk. VIII- Call It..... Heavy Weathered


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This is ICM's 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk. VIII. The kit itself is a bit fiddly in places. I built it without the engine, which simplified things a bit. It did require a bit of test fitting and sanding/cutting to get a good wing to fuselage join. But overall it's not a bad build, and it definitely looks the part. It's not an expensive kit either. (At least here in the US.)

I used a True Details resin seat, as the kit seat is just awful looking. I also used Eduard belts. The paints are Gunze and Tamiya on the uppers, and a custom mix of Tamiya on the lowers.

Yes, it is very heavily weathered. Probably a bit too much. But from time to time I like to really lather it on to just sort of see how various techniques work. I don't so much build for realism as much as I do "suspended disbelief". (If you're wondering what that is and have nothing better to do you can read what I blogged about it. :) )

Overall I'm pretty happy with this. Not my best outing on a Spitfire, but certainly not my worst. And it was fun- that's what it is all about anyway, right? Right? ;)

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Well I have to say I think that's rather good. I don't think the weathering is too heavy - it looks like a well used Spitfire! Excellent. Well done.

Can I ask what you used for the weathering effects?

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Thanks for the kind words everyone!

Wow, cool Spit, and the weathering is not so overdone (except maybe the underside larger oil stains).

Stef

Yeah- a couple of those got away from me, didn't they? ;)

Well I have to say I think that's rather good. I don't think the weathering is too heavy - it looks like a well used Spitfire! Excellent. Well done.
Can I ask what you used for the weathering effects?

Sorry, all questions must be submitted in writing.

Had to say that.... watching "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" at the moment. (And you did actually submit it in writing... so.... ;) )

And since you asked.... LOL

1. Paint the model with the basic exterior colors.
2. Next I used artist oils to add some general streaks and stains. The process is similar to the dot filter process described by some armor modelers. For the wings and tailplanes, I make streaks fore and aft. For the fuselage sides, I go up and down. I do a section at a time. For a wing, I'd first give the wing a light coat of turpenoid, which is an odorless mineral spirit-type mixture. Just a light brushing on, enough to get the surface wet. Then, using a toothpick, I randomly apply very small dots of white and raw umber oil paints. Then, using another brush slightly dampened and dried turpenoid, I being streaking the dots fore and aft along the wing surface. The goal is to get light streaks that mix and blend. It's better to go lighter at first until you get the hang of it.
3. Once that is dry (I usually wait half an hour at least), I do paint chipping with a Prismacolor silver pencil on darker areas, and an HB pecil on lighter areas.
4. Next, I either hand brush or airbrush on a gloss coat. (I use Future.)
5. Apply decals
6. Apply another coat of gloss coat, at least over the decals.
7. Next, I use burnt umber artists oil & turpenoid to apply an oil wash to the panel lines.
8. The next step is what I call "post fading". It is an attempt to get the model surface to look like paint has faded. Most times you see this done to full panels. However, if you look at an aircraft's surface, it's rarely uniform by panel. More likely, the surface will look splotchy, with some areas more faded than others, even within the same panel. To attempt to replicate this look, I heavily thin a few drops of Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan with a color cup full of 91% rubbing alcohol. I then begin to just randomly "scribble" the paint on with my airbrush, varying movement and distance to the model surface rapidly. (You WILL want to put a cover on your color cup.) I don't confine myself to panel interiors, but rather do this process over the entire model fully, until it looks slightly like it has the measles or some other terrible skin disease. :) Also, I use this color to make an area of light exhaust stains.
9. Next I do "post shading". For this, I use approximately 1 drop Tamiya XF-9 Hull Red to 3 drops XF-69 NATO Black, and again heavily thin it with 91% rubbing alcohol. I then go over the panel lines until I get the desired look. I prefer to have heavier panel shading, but that's just a personal preference. I also use this color to fill in the middle of the lighter exhaust stains from the step above You can also use this color to add in ejector chute staining, oil & engine staining, additional base for mud and dirt streaks, etc.
10. Next, follow up all of this with some additional oil streaks with artists oils, mud streaks with weathering powders, etc., and additional paint chips, etc., as needed. For oil stains, I do a combination of tiny blobs of burnt umber, streaked back with a stiff brush. For oil streaks, I but drops of thinned burnet umber on the area to be streaked, and blow on it to get streaks. Be careful doing this- it's easy to overdo, and also easy to get lightheaded. ;)
11. I give the model a final flat coat of Vallejo Matte Varnish. This will "blend" in much of the post fading done in step 8. It will greatly reduce and diminish the work you did in step 8, so you'll need to experiment to see what your preference is. I can say if you saw my model before the flat coat, you'd think it looked awful, with streaks and blobs of the Deck Tan color all over. The flat coat really reduces the effect.
Depending on the model, my mood, and whatever else that may be influencing me that day, I may skip steps, re-arrange steps, emphasize one over the other, etc. Basically, they are all just "tools" for weathering, and I use each of these methods to achieve a desired effect.
For example, here is some heavy oil staining on another Spit I did a while back:
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Here's an example where I "flicked" highly thinned oil paints over the undersides of this bird to really make it look splattered:
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And here's another example, using these same basic techniques:

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So it's basically combining airbrushed paints, artists oils, and pencils. My modeling is really one giant experiment. I build 20-30 models per year, so it's a constant pursuit to find methods I like. One day I hope to figure it out.... LOL
Hope that helps!
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So it's basically combining airbrushed paints, artists oils, and pencils. My modeling is really one giant experiment. I build 20-30 models per year, so it's a constant pursuit to find methods I like. One day I hope to figure it out.... LOL
Hope that helps!

Hi ion,

I'm also using some of these techniques for my models, and indeed, the important part of the fun is testing all over again.

Best,

Stef (#6)

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As someone said, since the machine was apparently stationed in a harsh climate and ditto service environment, I think that the weathering looks spot on – mostly because of the obvious cause/effect character of the weathering. And some artistic license is certainly permitted – provided it is artistic…

Two small Spitfire nags: the cockpit hatch usually doesn't hang straight down, and the elevators usually droop on a parked Spit.

Superb work!

Kind regards,

Joachim

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Great weathering, just right for where it served. Amazing build considering the different quirks this kit has but beside the Eduard kit, it is still the most accurate Mk. IX available.

Very well done :-)

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