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1/48 Airfix new tool Spitfire Mk.I X4382 from No.602 Squadron - Completed on 31-10 at 11.50 pm


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Thank you Rob and Stix.

I managed to make nice progress this week. First I had to plot the masks. Here the silhouette portrait in action.

Roundel-04.jpg

And this is how the mask looks after the plotter done its magic.

Roundel-05.jpg

Now the masks aren't perfect. Specially the smaller circles aren't 100% round and the letters aren't 100% strait. But I think this is a good thing as it gives a bit of individuality to the markings!

Next was adding the transfer paper so all stayed together when peeling the vinyl masks of the sheet.

Roundel-06.jpg

But first I had to add the walkway markings. I used the vinyl to see how well this stuff works.

X4382-112.jpg

And it worked well.

Now the real challenge was to place the templates at the exact location on the model - you can't slide them into place like a decal! After some trail and errors, I came up with a method which worked well. As I did the Spitfire and Hurricane at the same time, please see my Hurricane build how I done it.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234986216-148-airfix-new-tool-hurricane-mki-p3039-from-no229-squadron-painting-done/

Here are all the masks in place.

X4382-113.jpg

After adding some masking tape to guard from over spray, the transfer paper could be removed and the center circle (or two if markings had a white ring) too.

X4382-114.jpg

And white applied.

X4382-116.jpg

Now the white had to be covered up again by the second ring we removed so that the central red dot can be paited.

X4382-117.jpg

So red was next.

X4382-118.jpg

Now the red circle had to be covered and the circle where the blue goes had to be removed so that the blue could be painted.

X4382-120.jpg

And the blue done.

X4382-121.jpg

And then the blue circle came back on and the outer circle was removed on the fuselage to paint the yellow ring.

X4382-122.jpg

And finally the last colour could be painted.

X4382-123.jpg

Now all the masks could be removed to admire the painted roundels - and I was so pleased with the result, I forgot to take a picture :banghead:

Now there is a saga in mixing the paint to the correct shades - lots of trail and error as I painted the Hurricane roundels in the pre-war shades. Again more on this in my Hurricane post. But here is a comparison between the two (left Hurricane).

Roundel-07.jpg

Next was the wavy wing leading edge of X4382. I did ask the question in the WWII forum if anybody knows the purpose of this. But it looks no one knows, so I had to make my own reasoning behind it.

I am sure that the aircraft was delivered without this wavy line and that this was added later. I also don't think that it is an extention of the camouflage, but the whole wave pattern is done in one colour only. And I think it was green. But why. Maybe to camouflage the aircraft better when on the ground from marauding German aircraft. Anyway, that is the best I came up with and that is how I painted the wing leading edge.

I came across a picture showing the full wing span.

074-602SQDN.jpg

I enlarged it and printed it in 1/48 size.

X4382-124.jpg

by placing the picture over a strip of Tamiya masking tape, I could trace the pattern very accurately.

And this is the result after airbrushing the leading edge in green.

X4382-125.jpg

X4382-126.jpg

Maybe I am totally of the track with my assumption. But so what, it looks different and I like it.

The squadron code was next. I used the roundel as a reference to get it at the correct spot.

X4382-127.jpg

Same on the other side - ready for painting.

X4382-128.jpg

Not so fast, had to mask it first to protect from over-spray.

X4382-129.jpg

Now I could paint it Medium Sea Gray.

X4382-130.jpg

And here the painted roundel with squadron code after rubing over the positive rivets so that they show through the paint in silver at some spots.

X4382-131.jpg

And the whole model.

X4382-132.jpg

There are still some decals to be placed. Popeye came from the Xtradecal sheet. The first three positions of the serial number are from the Airfix decals, but I replaced the last two from a Ventura sheet as Airfix's representation of the 8 and 2 are not so good.

X4382-133.jpg

And on the other side.

X4382-134.jpg

I used LO-G here as all other pictures I could find of 602 Squadron Spitfires had it like that.

And that is it for this week. Still have to place the stencil, do the weathering and place all the little bits. I may just make it by Saturday. Took Friday a day of work just in case :mental:

Thanks for watching. Cheers, Peter

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Thank you John, Greg and Bernd for your kind words.

I maybe in with a chance to finish the Spitfire on the deadline too with an upcoming 24 hour modeling marathon...

I Airbrushed Vallejo 651 Clear Matt with around 75% Vallejo thinner added to get a nice satin finish. Only the control surfaces are flat as they are fabric covered.

X4382-135.jpg

The Spitfire Had substantially more stencils than the Hurricane. I used them from Techmod. There printing is unbelievable crisp.

X4382-136.jpg

No rivets here, but some hydraulic lines.

X4382-137.jpg

And some of the other parts which still need to be finished.

X4382-138.jpg

Will be interesting to see if I get it all together by Saturday night.

Cheers, Peter

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Can't upload to the Gallery even though it is still the 31st. Anyway, here is the finished Spitfire.

More to come, but after working on the models for 42 hours over the last 48 yours to get them finished, I need a rest.

Cheers, Peter

Edit. I was thrilled to see that the Gallery was again open after I had an overdue sleep.

Edited by Basilisk
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Thank you Stix, John and Bernd for you kind comments.

The world looks so much better after some needed sleep! I had the day off on Friday and commenced working on the Model at 10 AM, finishing on Saturday Morning at 5.30 am. Had 5 hours sleep and was back on it on Saturday 11 am finishing on Sunday morning 10 am without a brake - that is Saturday 11 pm UK time (there is an advantage to live in the colonies). That gave me just under an hour to photograph the Model, upload the pictures and add them to the Gallery - You can imagine my disappointment when the Gallery was locked. Fortunately Greg unlocked it for the participants who cutting it close to the deadline. Many thanks

My wive and kits thought I gone crazy and I better go and see a doctor - but I don't think there is a cure for this kind of virus :mental:

Better getting back on topic. My modeling marathon was manly weathering and finishing the small parts. Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of pictures as time was on short supply.

The first step was a green filter for the underside and a brown for the top. This gave the markings a much more "used" look - gone is the bright white - and blended the colours nicely together.

Then I ventured into the oil dot weathering technique.
X4382-145.jpg

It is unfortunately very time consuming as it is done in sections at a time.
X4382-146.jpg
And the change is very subtle and doesn't show up well in JPEG compressed files. But It does give a weathered look without looking over the top.

And things are starting coming together.

X4382-147.jpg

One of the small parts after painting - The Eduard Exhaust.
X4382-148.jpg

All in place.
X4382-143.jpg

And finally it is finished :yahoo:

X4382-149.jpg

And no, I didn't forgot the radio areal wire because there wasn't one as the aircraft was fitted with a TR1133 VHF radio equipment with its shorter wavelengths did not require the aerial wire from the mast to the fin and the mast housed the antenna. http://spitfiresite.com/2010/04/spitfire-masts-and-aerials.html/2

An other little detail I added is showing the glue around the gun opening patches. The application of the glue was normally very liberal and it showed up glossy. And I did use the decals as it represents a patch more accurately than painting it.

Airfix provided a great starting point, but it could have been so much better with better research and engineering as the model contains some silly mistakes and the person who came up with the method of attaching the undercarriage leg to the fuselage should consider a change in jobs. I am also looking forward to the day Airfix manages to give us a "state of the art" wing trailing edge!

Please view the Gallery for some additional pictures.

When participating in this Group Build, I had no idea what to expect and I thought it is a bit of a daft idea having a GB over the web. Boy was I wrong! It is a great way to get the inspirations to keep you going and receiving feedback and information from people who know the topic like the back of there hand!

This was a venture of FIRST for me. Not was it only my first GB, but it was also my first model I built in 33 years (together with the Hurricane) since I got back into the hobby last year. My previous build was an 1/72 Frog Heinkel He 162 which I made in 1982 - things were a bit simpler then...

In addition, it was also the first time I used an airbrush, using acrylic and lacquer paints, using oils and pigments, riveting a model and making my own masks for markings.

It was a great experience with not too many mishaps (they are part of model making anyway) and I am looking forward to my next model. I would like to thank the hosts of this GB for all their efforts and also would like to thank everyone who dropped in to offer encouragement or advice.

Cheers, Peter

Edited by Basilisk
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What I said in the Hurricane post, applies equally here, wonderful builds,

Sean

Thank you Sean for your compliments. Much appreciated.

During the building of the Spitfire, I enjoyed reading these two books.

Book-1b.jpg

I found the Haynes Manuals a great source for making models and containing a nice mix of information.

As we had a public holiday in Melbourne today, I took more and better pictures. I placed them in Ready for Inspection

Cheers, Peter

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