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Airfix 1/72 Spit Mk.1a starter set, from the box.


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Completely from the box - paints as supplied, brush as supplied, glue as supplied. Even the aerial wire is from kit sprue. Only tools I had were a hobby knife and a fingernail buffing pad. I still need to find a way to get the decals to sit down into the panel lines (they have been cut, but still won't sink down - I'd use decal setting solution, but I want to do it old school (I know :mental:) . Filled in some hours while I was away at work, and the result is... not good. It's a lovely wee kit, well on par with anything coming from the East, but it's a challenge to paint with that combination of paints and teeny tiny brush. I'll build another at some point no doubt, but I'll use the airbrush and mask it and everyfink.

No need for praise, or even comment, really. Just showing everyone that I do actually finish things on the odd occasion.

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Yes Jim it is. I have no idea what it looked like originally, but if it looks different to you, it's probably just the dodgy white balance from the phone, because I was too lazy to dig out the dslr and the proper lights'n'all. :D

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Well it looks really good Rob! I always ignore thus effort from Humbrol but I did hear somewhere that they had changed the shade.

All in all that's a great job. If a potential new modeller can get a result from a starter set like you have then there is hope for the future.

Regards

Jim

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I think anyone new would be struggling to do anything good. Those paints really are quite horrible, and the brush is nowhere near big enough. I was tempted halfway through to leave it and do it properly at home, but I'm going to call it practice for the upcoming Starter Set GB, which I may now withdraw from :twitchtwitch:

Thank you for the compliments. :D

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Looks like quite a good job. Decals appeared to have gone on well ie no silvering and I assume no gloss varnish was used. There is a you tube video demonstrating a Spitfire starter kit build using only the supplied tools and paint. The result looks too good to be true and after seeing your built perhaps it is possible.

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The decals are actually quite surprisingly good. A little thick, but that makes them strong, and they do go down quite well. There's a little silvering in places, but if I'd used a gloss coat, that wouldn't have happened (I was tempted, but that sort of thing wasn't in the spirit of the build). The paint I put down as multiple thin coats of thinned paint, in an effort to stop it getting gritty, which is something I've never seen in a paint before. If you apply it too thickly, or spend too much time moving it around, it develops small pieces of grit in the surface, just as if you'd dropped a handful of fine sand on it. Most odd. I'm not sure that your average 10 year old would have the patience to do multiple coats, but maybe.

The paint itself is a funny beast - very difficult to mix evenly, even after much stirring there's still unmixed colour streaks in the pot (maybe because I used a length of runner instead of a flat stirrer?), and the black doesn't cover well. The Sky, funnily enough, is the densest colour in the kit, covering all the others quite readily, even though it's the lightest colour supplied. The paints also dry very soft, the black in particular is easily scratched and damaged.

However, the plastic bits are very good, bar some flash in odd places, and I'll no doubt be buying a couple more. If only I could get hold of the cockpit parts as a basis for my Fujimi Mk14s...

Darn, it's turned into a kit review. :D

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And a cracking job too Rob :thumbsup:

Thank heavens for bad light and phone cameras, eh? It's not that good in Real Life .

Makes me fancy doing a kit the old way!

Martin

You just stay away from the bottom end Mr Hale, we have enough troubles down here as it is. Keep on doing the good work, leave us hackers to our own devices. ;) (All meant in fun, please don't be offended!)

Nice Spit Rob, Well done!

That's turned out lovely and one to be proud of Rob!

Dermot

Thank you gents, but as I said above, you can thank bad light and phone cameras. In the flesh, it's not so impressive. I'm OK with it though. (Heck, at least it's finished...)

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Hello,RobG -.My compliments to you from across the miles.I wonder how many modellers overlook the 'Starter Sets' in favour of another choice.I know I do.You've taken one of these sets,tackled it warts and all and produced a grand looking 'Spitfire'.Well done,That Man! All the best,Paul.

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  • 5 months later...

Jaime, thank you.

Oliver, thin it with water, then multiple thin coats, giving it a rub down with paper towel in between if required. A bigger brush would make a huge difference.

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