geedubelyer Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 (edited) Hello fine folk of Britmodellerland, If I may I'd like to share this little project with you? It is intended to be a gentle amble through one of Tamiya's uber kits, their 1/32nd scale Spitfire Mk.XVI. I have begun building this in a group build as a tribute to Edgar Brooks who most will know passed away recently. Fairwell and blue skies sir. Originally the only Spitfire I wished to build was a Battle of Britain era airframe. Having recently completed the new tool Revell offering I appear to have banished those demons and decided to try something different. This is the closest I could get to the last of the line without enormous modification or resorting to the Revell (old Matchbox) Mk.24. (Secretly I'd like Tamiya to release a Mk.47 Seafire with contra-rotating props but I can't see it happening in my lifetime.) So here we are. A low back Spitty with a bubble canopy and (probably) a silver finish. This one will be largely out of the box although I reserve my right to deviate from that course when the mood takes me. For now, let's get started. Following the instructions (often a wise course of action with these complex Tamiya kits) has us begin by adding this little item to the port fuselage cockpit wall. Step 1: I began by painting the fuselage halves in MrMetalColor buffable aluminium which allowed me some leeway to scratch the green acrylic coat to simulate a little wear. More cockpit sidewall details in step 2, this time to the starboard side. Step 2: Finally for this short introduction post, step 3 which allows us to assemble the compass using a natty photo-etched bracket and plastic compass part. I replaced the kit compass decal with one from Airscale. http://www.airscale.co.uk/ This appears better than the kit item to me. Step 3: So, we're off. Next up, the IP but that will have to wait a while as I'm away. Back with more when I can. Cheers. Edited February 21, 2016 by geedubelyer 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudi Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Will follow this build with interest...looks great so far and looking forward to this develop. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Me too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 This looks promising! I'll tag a long for the ride. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMouthStrikesAgain Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Looking good, will be following this one 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 (edited) Hello all, rudi, Biggles87, Christer A and BigMouthStrikesAgain, welcome. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and add your kinds words. Much appreciated. After a trip away I managed to get a bit more done. This time was the rudder pedals, stick and IP. Pretty much out of the box. I'm trying to decide whether to add some cables and pipes or not. Next up, the seat. I think i'll go with some aftermarket belts for this build rather than the etched kit parts so some research is required. Just before I go, I did get these for later in the build. Not sure that they're entirely necessary but they do look good in the packet. Cheers. Edited February 3, 2016 by geedubelyer 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Lovely work Guy! Max 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Oooh, Master cannon barrels! Nice ones. I think the instrument panel looks nice as it is, but one can always add more pipes and cables to the cockpit sides. There's stuff all over the place if one has the patience to add it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 This is a really nice step by step guide, looking forward to more Cheers Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I'm pulling up a chair for this one! Looking good so far. Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted February 14, 2016 Author Share Posted February 14, 2016 (edited) Lovely work Guy! Max Hi Max, thanks. Glad you like it. Oooh, Master cannon barrels! Nice ones. I think the instrument panel looks nice as it is, but one can always add more pipes and cables to the cockpit sides. There's stuff all over the place if one has the patience to add it Hello Christer A, the brass cannon barrels were bought on an impulse but I have since been told that there are actually some designed scecifically for this Tamiya kit so I may be looking for that set in the future. As to the extra plumbing and wiring, read on........ This is a really nice step by step guide, looking forward to more Cheers Dennis Thanks Dennis, glad you like it so far. I appreciate the kind words. I'm pulling up a chair for this one! Looking good so far. Kind regards, Stix Hi Stix, good to see you again. Glad you're enjoying things thus far. Cheers. I had to wait a short while for some aftermarket parts to arrive as I wanted to replace the Tamiya etched metal seat belts with something easier to work with. Even if the metal is annealed I've never had much success making the kit parts look realistic. For this build I plumped for a set of QS harnesses by RB productions. http://www.radubstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=89_126&products_id=426&zenid=30abcd67e11741aa7c805ab222191282 As soon as they arrived I got the seat finished and glued the assembly into the base. I painted the outside of the seat green which I've seen in some reference photos, purely to let me show some wear and tear. The seat backpad is wine bottle foil scribed with some lines. I find it odd that Tamiya did n't choose to represent the padding and another curious omission is the lightening holes in the seat support arms. I drilled them out to give more visual interest. After some deliberation I did decide to add some pies and wiring. Although most won't be seen even with the door and canopy open it was fun so where's the harm? The next stage deals with the left hand cockpit sidewall which appears to have quite a few bits 'n' bobs on it so I'm off to study refs. Cheers. Edited February 14, 2016 by geedubelyer 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Nice cockpit so far. I havn't seen the seat painted like that before, perhaps it was done sometimes after the seat was removed during major servicing. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted February 14, 2016 Author Share Posted February 14, 2016 Hello John, thanks for the kind words. The seat I borrowed the idea from is detailed in a walkaround on PB by our very own Tony Taylor (TonyT). It belongs to a Mk XIX rather than a XVI but since these birds were used until the late fifties I did n't thnk it too much of a stretch to imagine that it might have been painted late in it's life. See the walkaround here: http://s536.photobucket.com/user/taylortony/library/Spitfire%20MKx1x?sort=3&start=80&page=6 Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 boy that 'pit looks nice Geedub low back, late model... check silver finish... check Tamiya Spit.. check ..that just about describes perfection in Spitfires for me, can't wait to see more Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 That's a great looking cockpit. Very nicely detailed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 Thanks Peter and Stix, much appreciated. Glad you like the progress thus far. I do tend to enjoy working on the cockpits of my models. The busier the better as far as I'm concerned. This brief update concerns step 12, the left hand side wall of the cockpit. There are a number of ancilliaries to add and I also opted to add some wiring too. Although we don't get to add the side walls to the floor until step 14 I've been a bit naughty and offered the assembly up to see how it fits. The next step deals with the rhs wall and has more ancilliaries to add plus we get to build the gunsight, all seven pieces of it.... Wish me luck. Cheers. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 Step 13 has us working on the rhs cockpit wall and MkII gyro gunsight. This took a little thought as the pipies to the gear retraction lever run through the IP bulkhead and up to the lever mount. I chose to fix them to the bulkhead and bend them to shape so that they sit correctly when everything is together. A couple of other pipes a wires were added to the cockpit side that tie in with details on the sidewall of the fuselage. Much of the lower wall is obscured by the seat so the added detail was more for my satisfaction than anything else. The fuel tanks are nice in the kit but totally hidden by the armour sadly. With this little lot out of the way step15 is buttoning up the fuselage. Quite a big step and quite exciting to boot. Back with how that went next time. Cheers. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 The cockpit is starting to look wonderfully busy.....just like the real thing! Lovely work. Well done. Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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