UKguyInUSA Posted April 1, 2016 Posted April 1, 2016 (edited) Airfix 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb "Build Introduction" (4.1.16) Hello Chaps, In 3 weeks time, my wife and I will be moving to our new home, so, I'm not going to start another large scale plane build until we are settled in. But, that said, I feel I might be able to grab a few hours here and there, in between packing, to build a smaller quicker build kit. Therefore, I've chosen this kit, which was one of five kits that my wife bought me for Christmas from the Airfix "Black Friday" sale. I have made a start on her this week, but haven't found the time to start a WIP on here until now. So, without further ado, here goes..... The box is a typical Airfix two-piece construction- Lid and Base, which I much prefer compared to the end opening single units offered by Revell. The box art on the lid shows a Mk.Vb chasing and shooting down an enemy aircraft over the Mediterranean waters and is shown in the first of two color scheme/markings that are offered with this kit. The color scheme and markings are for the aircraft flown by Pilot Officer Robert Wendell "Buck" McNair D.F.C (Royal Canadian Air Force), No.249 (Gold Coast) Squadron, Royal Air Force, Operation "Spotter", Ta'Qali (Ta Kali), Malta, March 1942. This is the version that I will be modeling. On the sides of the box there are 5 CAD generated images showing some of the details included with this kit and the two options of color scheme and marking... Inside the box there is a large clear polythene bag containing 5 grey sprues and a smaller clear bag containing a single clear sprue. There is a 16 page Assembly/Instruction booklet and one sheet of decals... The decals are typical AIrfix, which I personally think are some of the best decals on the market, they are nicely printed, with roundels in register, minimal carrier film and the decals are nice and thin and have a matt/satin finish.... The 16 page booklet is printed in black, white, red and yellow and the last two pages showing the painting and decal instructions offering two options of color schemes and markings, are in full color. There are 46 assembly stages which are very clear with CAD generated images, clearly marked part numbers and color call outs. All colors are for Humbrol paints only will require converting should you choose other brand paints. The five grey sprues are very well molded, with nice crisp clean parts that have zero to minimal flash, if any. There is no warp, distortion, stress marks and sink to be seen and ejector pin witness marks are only visible on the inside of some parts. Other parts are ejected via "ejector slugs" that exist outside of the part geometry which eliminates any ejector pin witness marks on the parts. Sprue "A" Sprue "B" Sprue "C" Sprue "D" Sprue "E" Clear Sprue "F" includes options for open or closed canopies with three styles of hood available. All parts are nicely molded and very clear. Well, that's it for the introduction, so I'll see you guys when I have a "Build Update" ready to report. In the meantime, if you'd like to watch my YouTube Channel "Build Introduction" video for this kit, then here is the link to that: Thanks in advance for taking a look at this WIP, watching the video and leaving any comments, should you do so, much appreciated! Happy modeling and have fun! Cheers, ​ Martin Edited May 12, 2016 by UKguyInUSA 3
UKguyInUSA Posted April 1, 2016 Author Posted April 1, 2016 Have fun there Martin, looks a great kit! I will have fun, Val! Thanks 1
Jonny Posted April 1, 2016 Posted April 1, 2016 I have tghis kit in my ever-increasing stash. Looking at the photos reminded me ... should a genuine wartime Spitfire have external strengthening ribs over the wheel bays? Somewhere I seem to have seen comments to the effect theyre a post-war addition. Also, I'm not sure about the small bulge inboard of the external ribs. Any comments, anyone? Jonny 1
dazdot Posted April 2, 2016 Posted April 2, 2016 Not sure on that one but post it in all the spitfire questions on the ww11 forum. I have the same kit in the stash and some masks to try out on it so will be following closely. Small issue that cropped up for me with this kit is the green brown camo. The serial no on the a/c ends in an odd number is it should be pattern a camo not b as in the instructions but the modern warbird a Duxford has pat b camo too 1
UKguyInUSA Posted April 5, 2016 Author Posted April 5, 2016 I have tghis kit in my ever-increasing stash. Looking at the photos reminded me ... should a genuine wartime Spitfire have external strengthening ribs over the wheel bays? Somewhere I seem to have seen comments to the effect theyre a post-war addition. Also, I'm not sure about the small bulge inboard of the external ribs. Any comments, anyone? Jonny I haven't gotten a clue, without doing some research for either of the features you mention. But that said, I'm strictly an OOB builder to demonstrate to viewers what they get in the box for their money, so they and I can establish if the kit is good VFM- Value For Money, or not, based on contents of box, quality of molded product, quality of engineering fits, quality of the assembly, painting and decal instructions and quality of the decals, and, if the kit is a fun one to build...because for me, it's all about having fun to help one relax and de-stress after a grueling work week. Cheers Martin
UKguyInUSA Posted April 5, 2016 Author Posted April 5, 2016 Not sure on that one but post it in all the spitfire questions on the ww11 forum. I have the same kit in the stash and some masks to try out on it so will be following closely. Small issue that cropped up for me with this kit is the green brown camo. The serial no on the a/c ends in an odd number is it should be pattern a camo not b as in the instructions but the modern warbird a Duxford has pat b camo too I'm going to be painting the Royal Canadian Air Force version as depicted on the box-art, and following the guide provided. As mentioned in my above comment/reply to Jonny....I build strictly OOB just for fun and relaxation, so, I remove myself from stressing over the nuances of details and color accuracies. Have fun with yours when you get to building it! Cheers Martin
UKguyInUSA Posted April 5, 2016 Author Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) Airfix 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb "Build Update #1" (4.5.16). Hello Chaps, I managed to grab a few hours here and there in the last 4 days and made some progression with this build. After building 1/32 scale aircraft, I'd forgotten just how simple, in comparison, these 1/48 scale kits are and how fast they go together! Anyway, here's what transpired... First, I performed the ceremonious bathing of sprues to remove any molding residues that might be present.... When the sprues had dried, I then primed all the interior parts and surfaces using black Stynylrez primer. This was followed by applying the interior green color to applicable surfaces. I used Tamiya XF71 Cockpit Green mixed with a drop of XF50 Field Blue, to darken it up a little...I thought the XF71 was too bright. I then masked the demarcations on the interior walls, then airbrushed the aluminum surfaces, and also onto other parts that I wanted to be aluminum. This included the propeller assembly components, so that later when they are chipped, the aluminum shows through... Next, I put together the separate parts for each of the cockpit sub-assemblies and glued them together... I then assembled the Pilot, drilled a hole in his bottom and played "Vlad the Impaler" by staking him with a cocktail stick, in preparation for painting him... This was followed by detailing all of the cockpit sub-assemblies, then applying a matt clear coat to seal the paint... When the clear coat was dry, I then assembled the instrument panel, foot pedals and joy-stick assembly into the portside inner wall section. This was followed by assembling the seat, the starboard side inner wall and the two rear bulkheads to complete the cockpit tub... Before assembling the cockpit tub into the fuselage, I cut out the door panel from the portside fuselage half, because I will be building this model with the door open. When this option is chosen, there is a separate door part that is used.... With that completed, I could now glue the cockpit tub into the starboard side fuselage half. I used mini-pegs to hold the two together until the glue had set... The next step in the assembly instructions is a frustrating one and one that should have been completed before gluing the cockpit tub into the starboard fuselage half. This is stage 17 on page 6 that indicates that part # 56 is to be glued to the wall of the starboard fuselage half. It glues to an area of the wall that is between the two rear bulkheads, which are now an obstruction to performing this task. Therefore, using tweezers and blindly trying to maneuver and locate a peg protruding from part # 56 into a hole in the fuselage wall that is difficult to see, becomes a little frustrating. Airfix need to correct the order of assembly with this part... With part #56 finally in place, I could now close up the two fuselage halves to complete the fuselage assembly. I used tape to hold the parts together until the glue had set... Next, I got together all the parts required to build up the wing assembly and assemble it, starting with the internal wing spars, wheel bay walls and undercarriage actuator links, then gluing the upper wing halves onto the lower wing assembly. The last item was to glue the landing light lens into the lower wing and paint it silver on the inside to complete this stage... With the wing assembly completed, I could now glue this to the fuselage assembly. After gluing them together there were gaps present at the wing root to fuselage joints and a small gap at the joint where the rear area of the underside wing meets the fuselage. Also, the fuselage wing root surfaces were higher than the surface of the wings. So, these areas will not only require filling, but filing down so that they blend together. Any panel line details that are lost during the filing will need to be re-scribed... I then got together all of the control surfaces and glued them into their locations; the ailerons, the horizontal stabilizers and flaps and the rudder... Next, I fitted the upper rear engine/fuselage cowling into location. The geometry of this was larger on the profile to where it meets the front engine cowling, and therefore, there was a step down from the rear to the front of about 0.75mm. This will have to be filed down to blend it in with the front cowling and any lost panel line detail will be re-scribed... I then turned the model upside down and got together the parts for the cooler assembly, the Vokes air filter assembly and the radiator assembly, glued them together, then glued them into their locations on the underside of the model... Next, I glued the two 20mm cannons into place, followed by filling the gaps that were present around the model... After sanding down the joints and blending in the miss-matched surfaces, I glued the gun-sight into location. This was followed by masking the three canopy sections, then gluing the front windshield and rear window into place... Next was the propeller assembly....I got together all the parts required and glued the rear spindle housing assembly, then glued that into the front/nose of the model. The spindle rotates freely to allow for a propeller that spins... The model was now ready for a cleaning with some Isopropyl Alcohol prior to priming. The wheel wells and the cockpit were masked with damp kitchen roll, along with masking the underside landing light lens using liquid masking film. The Pilot's door was temporarily located so that it gets painted and weathered at the same time as the model.... The plane and the propeller spinner and backing plate were now primed with grey Stynylrez primer. When I began priming the plane, I realized that I hadn't airbrushed the interior green color onto the canopy frames first, so, I was careful not to cover the canopy with the grey primer... When the primer was touch dry, I then mixed the interior green color and airbrushed it onto the canopy sections... The last task for this build update was to pre-shade the plane prior to painting. I started with the underside and mixed some rust, dark earth and a drop of black to create a dark reddish brown color. I thinned it down about 40/60 paint/thinners and airbrushed it over the panel lines and around raised features. When the underside was complete, I then mixed some of the rust with black to create a reddish black tone and pre-shaded the upper-side panel lines.... Well, that's it for this first update until the next one, which will cover painting, decaling, weathering and final assembly. In the meantime, if you'd like to watch my YouTube "Build Update #1" video for this report, then here is the link to that video: Until "Build Update #2" happy modeling, have fun and thanks for any comments you leave, much appreciated! Cheers Martin Edited April 5, 2016 by UKguyInUSA 2
UKguyInUSA Posted April 15, 2016 Author Posted April 15, 2016 (edited) Airfix 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb "Build Update #1" (4.5.16). Hello Chaps, It's been 10 days since my last update, but because this is a quick and easy kit to build, I'm pleased to say that I managed to find a few hours here and there and completed the build. This update covers the masking, painting, decaling, weathering and final assembly; the "Ready For Inspection" thread will be released on Sunday. At the end of my last build update I had built the model, primed and pre-shaded her, so following on from where I left off, the next task that I did was to airbrush the propeller and spinner with aluminum paint so that it can be chipped during the weathering stage... Next, I airbrushed the underside with Tamiya "Sky" toned down with flat white. When that was done, I toned the color down with more white then airbrushed some highlights. When this was dry, I sealed it with a Model Masters gloss clear-coat... While that was drying, I prepared my home made masks for airbrushing the upper-side camo colors. My method for doing this is to use the views from the painting guide within the assembly booklet, but because they are a smaller scale than the actual model, I need to take photo-copies and enlarge them by a scale factor to get the same size as the model. To determine the scale factor, I measure the distance of the model from wing tip to wing tip, then do the same with the plan view on the painting guide. Dividing the larger number by the smaller number gave a scale factor of 1.7x, which meant that I needed to enlarge the painting instruction views by 1.7. I then produced enlarged photocopies of each of the views with the painting guide. I then cut the views out from the sheets, then cut carefully around the demarcation between the two camo colors. I put the lighter shade aside and gathered together the cut out masks of the darker shade. I then fixed these into place on the model, using the painting guide to help where their correct locations were. I used Tamiya tape folded in two to create "double-sided" tape and taped the separate masks onto the plane. With the masking complete, I then airbrushed Model Masters "Dark Tan" onto the exposed surfaces. I then toned the Tan down with some white and airbrushed highlights. I let the paint dry for a couple of hours then sealed it in with a gloss clear coat. When that was touch dry, I removed the paper masks to see how everything looked, and, I thought it was looking okay, so, I took a couple of photos... While the clear coat was drying, I moved onto painting the wheels and tires and assembled them... With the clear coat now dry, I applied the lighter colored masks over the top of the previously painted Dark Tan and airbrushed the "Sea Grey" onto the exposed areas. The color call out is for Humbrol 27 which I don't have, because I only use Tamiya and Model Masters paints, and so, I mixed my own shade using Tamiya "Dark Sea Gray" with a drop of "Field Blue". I airbrushed this onto the plane, then when that was done, I mixed white with the color to tone it down and then airbrushed some highlights. I then removed the masks and checked out the paint work. Again, I thought it looked okay, so, I took a few photos... I then glued the exhaust stacks into their locations, followed by painting the propeller assembly black with yellow tips on each blade. I also did some chipping on the propeller. When the propeller was dry, I airbrushed a gloss clear coat onto it and onto the "Sea Grey" color that I had airbrushed onto the plane. This was to make everything ready for decaling... When the clear coat had had time to dry overnight, I then prepared for decaling by getting everything needed together- the decal sheet, tweezers, tooth-pick, cotton bud, scalpel, brush, bowl of water and decal setting solution. I started by applying decals to the upper-side of the wings, then the fuselage sides and top, then when the top-side was completed, I flipped the plane over and applied all the underside decals. The last item to decal was the propeller... When the decals had set, I sealed them and some of the peripheral painted parts with a gloss clear coat... When that clear coat was dry, I moved onto the weathering stage.. I started with applying chipping onto areas that are affected by natural wear and chipping, using Model Masters Aluminum paint. I then scuffed the large decals with sanding sticks to give them a worn appearance... Next to be done was a dark dirt wash that I made by mixing a smidgeon of white oil paint with black and thinning it down with odorless mineral spirits. I liberally brushed this over the whole aircraft, let it dry for 30 minutes, then wiped it off with kitchen roll and cotton buds in the direction of air-flow, leaving on a subtle amount to provide some tonal variations. This also darkened the panel lines somewhat... Next, I mixed some white oil paint with odorless mineral spirits and added a smidgeon of the dirt wash to reduce the brightness of the white color. This was then brushed onto the plane, the wheels and the propeller assembly and left to dry for 30 minutes. I then rubbed it off with kitchen roll and cotton buds in the direction of airflow.This application was to produce highlights and "bleaching" of the paint work... The bleaching lightened some of the previously darkened panel lines, and so, I used a panel line highlight wash to darken them back up... When the panel lines were complete, I then mixed a reddish-brown acrylic wash and applied some streaks and tonal variations to the model, wheels and propeller... With that completed, I then sealed everything with the final matt/flat clear coat... When the matt clear coat was dry, I then moved onto applying the machine gun port stains and the exhaust stains. I mixed some Tamiya Dark Earth with flat black, thinned down 80% then carefully airbrushed the gun port and exhaust stains. I then thinned down some Tamiya "Deck Tan" and airbrushed this on top of the exhaust stains to simulate lead deposits... Next, I removed the masks from canopies, along with removing the damp tissue masks from the cockpit. I then glued the propeller in place followed by the Pilot's door in the open position... It was now time to assemble the undercarriage, wheel bay doors and rear wheel. But before I did, I removed the doors from the wheel wells, along with the tissue that were masking the insides of the wheel wells. I then applied a dark dirt wash to the insides of the doors and into the wheel wells, let it dry for 30 minutes, then rubbed off the excess, leaving on an amount that provided a dirty appearance... I then assembled the wheel bay doors onto the undercarriage and glued them in place, along with fitting the rear wheel, which was a nice press fit not requiring any glue... After fitting the wheels, I then glued the antenna mast into place, then carved out of plastic the antenna cable mounting point that locates onto the top of the rudder; the molded in one had broken off during the build process. I then glued the sliding canopy into the open position, followed by the Pitot tube and the upper fuselage light lens... Next, I applied the decals to the inside surface of the Pilot's door and sealed them in with a flat clear coat... I was nearing the end of the build with just two more things left to do- the first was to glue the antenna cables into place; I used black fine 1.010" diameter EZ-Line. I started out by dipping one end of the EZ-Line into some CA glue, then letting it touch the top of the fuselage, just behind the antenna mast. After about 30 seconds, it had set solid, so, I applied a drop of CA glue to the connection point on the rear of the antenna mast and stretched the EZ-Line up to that point, pressing it against it with the tip of a cocktail stick until it had set in place. I then put a drop of CA glue onto the rudder mounting point, using the tip of a cocktail stick, then stretched the EZ-Line up to the rudder mounting point, and again, holding the EZ-Line against the mounting point with the tip of a cocktail stick until it was set in place. I then snipped off the excess to complete the antenna cabling... The last thing to do to complete the build, was to glue the Pilot's rear-view mirror onto the top of the windshield and paint it.... Well, that's this build all done now until my "Ready For Inspection" post that will be put on here during Sunday. In the meantime, if you'd like to watch my YouTube "Build Update #2" video for this report, then here is the link to that: Thanks in advance for taking a look at this post, the video and for leaving any comments, greatly appreciated! Until my "Final Reveal", happy modeling and have fun! Cheers Martin Edited April 15, 2016 by UKguyInUSA 1
Vanroon Posted April 15, 2016 Posted April 15, 2016 Thanks for posting that Martin. I'll be glueing my wing tops to the fuselage based on your experiences. Grant 1
Jusjay Posted April 15, 2016 Posted April 15, 2016 well that looks fantastic so far! Love the progress you're making. 1
UKguyInUSA Posted April 20, 2016 Author Posted April 20, 2016 Thanks for posting that Martin. I'll be glueing my wing tops to the fuselage based on your experiences. Grant You're welcome Grant, I hope your method improves the issue I encountered! I've just posted the RFI for this build, too Cheers, Martin
UKguyInUSA Posted April 20, 2016 Author Posted April 20, 2016 well that looks fantastic so far! Love the progress you're making. Thanks Jay, greatly appreciated! I just posted the RFI for this completed build Cheers Martin
UKguyInUSA Posted April 20, 2016 Author Posted April 20, 2016 Hello Chaps, I've finally completed this build, in between packing for a move to our new home, this coming weekend! If you'd like to see the "Ready For Inspection posting with photographs, then here is the link: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235001211-airfix-148-supermarine-spitfire-mkvb-oob-build-42016/ In the meantime, here is a teaser photo before you click the above link, I hope you like! Thanks in advance for taking a look and thanks to those that have followed and commented on this build so far! Happy modeling Cheers Martin 1
UKguyInUSA Posted April 29, 2016 Author Posted April 29, 2016 Thanks for posting that Martin. I'll be glueing my wing tops to the fuselage based on your experiences. Grant You're welcome Grant...hope yours works out well for you Cheers, Martin
GordonM Posted April 29, 2016 Posted April 29, 2016 The upper rear cowling/ fuel tank cover was armoured on some versions and therefore did stand proud apparently. Depending on the individual aircraft there could possibly be a raised step around it. I've seen reviews which mention it, but I couldn't tell you if that version is fitted with it I'm afraid.
UKguyInUSA Posted May 12, 2016 Author Posted May 12, 2016 well that looks fantastic so far! Love the progress you're making. Thanks Jay, much appreciated! Cheers
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