Spitfire PR 1G "Dicer "

[Biggles87]

I took a little time off from grass cutting and fence clearing yesterday afternoon to mix some paint. I put some Humbrol white into a mixing jar and added some red, drop by drop, stirring it thoroughly as I went. The result looked quite good in the jar but when I brushed some on the fuselage and wings it did not look right at all. I will try again this afternoon using a different deeper red, and post some pictures and seek your collective advice.

Cheers

John

[Biggles87]

Update 29/04

I am still not satisfied with the colours I have mixed for the pale pink and I'm running out of white paint. The colour in the jar is a little less pink in real life but still too much when applied over the grey plastic, I did mix another batch which has turned out almost identical. I hope that if I prime the airframe with Tamiya fine white primer I can achieve a decent result by lightly misting the pale pink over it. I did put some primer on the lower wing and then brush painted the thinned pink onto it and it looked better but then I tried another thin coat on it to remove the blotches and it's too pink again, so airbrushing is definitely the way to go, I'm not sure I would want to brush paint anything this close to white anyway.

The Yahu instrument panel finally arrived on Saturday having taken 5 days, this was actually a replacement, the original order is still floating around somewhere after nearly 4 weeks. With that and the control column fitted I set about getting the upper panel in place, and it proved to be easier than I expected. There is a small step inside the part where the instrument panel sits and I made that into a groove with the end of a needle file, and with a little filing of the IP and forward bulkhead/fuel tank I achieved a reasonably good fit.

There are a couple of cockpit components missing from this kit, the Morse key and the IFF Remote Contacter, both of which are fitted to the upper right cockpit wall immediately aft of the IP, but as the PR 1G did not carry a radio I have assumed that these would not be carried either, which saved me the trouble of having to make them, or find suitable parts in the spares box.

You will see that I have now removed the cockpit entry flap, and whilst doing this I managed to somehow dislodge the seat so that it is no longer central in the fuselage and I dare not try to centralise it in case I break it off completely. I think that the seat attachment is weakened by leaving off the back armour, leaving only four small contact points for the glue.

The main airframe parts are now joined and I'm quite pleased with the underside seams but unfortunately the top wing to fuselage seams are not as good as when I dry fitted them, again probably due to the positioning of the cockpit insert, so it's Mr Surfacer 500 and wet'n'dry to the rescue followed by a coat of primer.

That's it for now, comments and suggestions welcome.

cheers

John

Edited April 29, 2016 by Biggles87

[CedB]

Very nice John - more problems overcome

That I/P was certainly worth waiting for.

Thanks for the tips about the pink... I think I'll use white primer on mine to try to avoid the problems you've had. Starting soon, hopefully!

[Cookenbacher]

Just catching back up with this one, very nice John, lots of great details. Looking forward to your efforts with the 'pink' paint.

[Col.]

The Yahu panel finished off your cockpit nicely. Good luck with the PRU Pink paint, certainly looks as if spraying is the way forward with that colour.

[Biggles87]

Thanks everyone, I'm going to get some filling done today and hope for some spraying weather soon, the weather is pretty horrible at the moment, very cold and wet.

Cheers

John

[TonyTiger66]

That IP certainly was worth waiting for John.

Some years ago I bought two tinlets each of PRU blue and PRU pink from Hannants. They're Xtracolour, so I think that will mean gloss enamel. I'm happy to send you a freebie tinlet as I'll never use two. I'm in Oz, mailing to the UK is around 3 business days. If you don't want me to mail it, would you like me to give it a good stir and email/post a swatch on a background of white primer?

I know some about the pitfalls of monitors etc. so happy to post (airmail) you a swatch. I have no idea how accurate the Xtracolour is, but most reviews I've read seem favourable.

I've never opened them so I'd be fascinated to do so and very happy to help.

Perhaps you and. CedB could share the tinlet?

Best regards

Tony

[CedB]

Tony that's really kind! Hannants still do their Xtracolour Pink and, as you say, it's enamel. I'm not sure the postal people will like you posting that and at £1.70 a tin it'll probably be cheaper for me to buy some... John however is in the depths of France so may want to speak for himself!

[PlaStix]

Hi John. Good to see more progress. Glad you've finally got the IP and it does look excellent. Lighter colours are always difficult to apply satisfactorily but I think your idea of misting it on sounds like the way forward.

Kind regards,

Stix

[Biggles87]

Hi Tony, thanks for the kind offer but as Ced says you could possibly get into trouble sending it as the EU has decided that enamel paint is a "hazardous substance" and cannot be posted across borders or some such rubbish. I'll stick to what I've got and mist it onto the white primer and hope for the best.

Thanks again.

John

[Giorgio N]

PRU pink sure is a difficult paint to match. PersonallY I'd probably add a tiny drop of brown-red to USAFS's grey 36622. I'd use grey and not white to tone down the final effect. 36622 is in any case a very light grey, really more of a dirty white. For the same reason I'd probably not use a bright red, I'd rather use something like the RAF WW2 roundel red. Mind, I've not tried this mix yet, unfortunately work commitment prevented me from entering a pink Spitfire in this STGB....

Edited May 2, 2016 by Giorgio N

[Biggles87]

Hi Giorgio, it is difficult to get the right shade, it hadn't occurred to me to use light grey instead of white. I used more of a tangerine colour in one of my mixes, and that's the one I will use over the primer.

Regards

John

[The wooksta V2.0]

For my PRU Pink, I took a full bottle of Xtracrylix White and added 5-6 DROPS of Red Arrows red. Quick shake and it looks just about right:

Okay, it's a whiffed Griffon PR1G but it shows the colour to effect, albeit somewhat bright as it was photographed on a nice sunny day! If you look carefully, you should see some contrast between the camo and the white of the roundels.

Edited May 2, 2016 by The wooksta V2.0

[Biggles87]

I reckon that's just about right, I will go and add even more white.

John

[Giorgio N]

IMHO Wooksta's pink looks very good, a white with a tinge of pink, just how it should be

[The wooksta V2.0]

I've used that recipe for about 5 years and I'm happy enough with it. Glad to be of help.

[Biggles87]

I was hoping to have an update today with some photos of my version of a pink Spitfire. I put some white primer on this morning, but I did not remove the 'test' pink from the underside of the wing and fuselage and when I returned to apply a misting of pink this afternoon I found that the primer had reacted with the pink and crazed. I will now have to take it off the affected areas and try again, the best laid plans etc.

John

[CedB]

Bad luck John

How are you going to remove the paint? I'm new to this technique.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

when I returned to apply a misting of pink this afternoon I found that the primer had reacted with the pink and crazed.

I feel your pain , it wasn't Halfords primer was it?

[Biggles87]

It was Tamiya fine white primer. The test enamel went onto the primer OK but it obviously doesn't work the other way around. I should have removed the enamel first but I was trying to cut corners, so it's my fault anyway.

How am I going to remove it Ced? Well I have white spirit, Humbrol and Tamiya thinners and IPA, but as it's a mixture of enamel and acrylic paints I don't know which will work best until I try. On a flat surface I would try light sanding and then rescribing any lost panel lines but I don't want to remove any of the little bumps on the wing, so I will try rubbing it off with one or all of the above solutions soaked on some rag, and a toothbrush dipped in the same to remove the resulting sludge from the panel lines.

If anyone has a better idea I am open to suggestions.

Cheers

John

[CedB]

Thanks John - I hope it goes well, fingers are crossed here!

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Well, you'll need to take the primer off first. Assuming it's acrylic based I'd go for tamiya thinners or nail varnish remover, failing those IPA (is tamiya thinners IPA? I've heard that it is). When you get down to enamel then Mr muscle over cleaner, not sure what the french equivalent is though. BTW Mr muscle doesn't touch acrylics or not on the ones I've tried. If you've not got anywhere then white spirits or Cellulose as a last resort but use cotton buds and go gently as it'll melt the plastic if you use too much!

[PlaStix]

Hi John. Sorry to hear of the problems with the paint. Hope it comes off okay.

Kind regards,

Stix

[The wooksta V2.0]

Fairy Powerspray should get both the enamel and the acrylic off. Won't affect clear parts but does attack filler.

[Biggles87]

I don't think I can get that here. I've just spent an hour cleaning it up, I managed to get the primer off the pink with Tamiya thinners but the pink ( enamel ) has been on for over a week and nothing I have would move it so I have sanded it off with worn wet'n'dry kept very wet. I am reasonably satisfied with the result so I will clean out/ rescribe the lost panel lines and try the primer again tomorrow.

Wish me luck

Cheers

John