A brace of 1/72 Airfix Spitfires

[Steve 1602]

Hello all,

 

I needed a bit of a mojo-restorer build to get me underway with making kits again. I thought a couple of Spitfires would do the trick, both are from Airfix and are built OOB with the exception of some Tamiya tape seatbelts and fishing line aerial or IFF wires. The markings are as supplied by Airfix. I chose to model the BoB Mark 1 with blue undersides which I understand is open to speculation - however, it appealed to me to show some colour scheme evolution.

 

The models are brush painted using Vallejo paints. It's my first time using these and I was very pleases with how easy they were to apply - I found them a little delicate however, and there is already some wear from handling on the trailing edges of wings, which needs some touching up! Weathering was a mix of florymodels wash, oils and humbrol and tamiya weathering pastels.

 

I found a problem with maskol on the canopies - either I was not thorough enough in application or it reacted with my aerosol mat varnish. Either way there was some canopy fogging which has not polished out fully and would benefit from replacements. I also need to find a better option for the aerial and IFF wires as the fishing wire was difficult to tension and fix well enough. 

 

Feedback is welcomed and I hope you enjoy my first contribution to RFI!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[IanC]

Welcome Steve!

 

Nice Spits. I especially like the Mk II.

 

I've found the same with Vallejo paints. They are very delicate, even over a primer. I get round the IFF aerial problem by not bothering. . I think they tend to look over-scale in 1/72 - well that's my excuse!

 

Ian

[Steve 1602]

1 hour ago, IanC said:

Welcome Steve!

 

Nice Spits. I especially like the Mk II.

 

I've found the same with Vallejo paints. They are very delicate, even over a primer. I get round the IFF aerial problem by not bothering. . I think they tend to look over-scale in 1/72 - well that's my excuse!

 

Ian

Thanks Ian, I wondered if my failure to prime was the issue, but it seems not with your experiences. Good point about the over-scale issue - I think the line I have is better suited to 1/48th rather than 1/72. I may look for something finer next time, or follow your suggestion and not add them.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[Guest]

Nice.

 

Spare canopies.  A pair of the Airfix IIa kit should give you those, just build them as pre war examples with the earlier canopy, so some research to find an aircraft or two that you like will be in order.

 

Canopy.  I tend to give canopies a bath in Kleer first, as Maskol tends to sit better over it.  Once it's dired, into place and then apply the maskol.  After it's dried, a coat of interior green over the whole canopy, so the framing inside is the correct colour.  Repeat if necessary and then apply camouflage.

[PlaStix]

Congratulations on your first RFI! Nice collection of Spitfires! And brush painted too!! Well done. 

Kind regards,

Stix

[Steve 1602]

7 hours ago, The Wooksta! said:

Nice.

 

Spare canopies.  A pair of the Airfix IIa kit should give you those, just build them as pre war examples with the earlier canopy, so some research to find an aircraft or two that you like will be in order.

 

Canopy.  I tend to give canopies a bath in Kleer first, as Maskol tends to sit better over it.  Once it's dired, into place and then apply the maskol.  After it's dried, a coat of interior green over the whole canopy, so the framing inside is the correct colour.  Repeat if necessary and then apply camouflage.

Thanks - I was thinking along exactly those lines for new canopies; it gives an excuse to build some early two blade Spits, again with some different underside colours.

 

Cheers for the tip for Maskol - I'll have to look out for kleer.  I've heard it mentioned before, but have never noticed it for sale.

 

Steve

7 hours ago, PlaStix said:

Congratulations on your first RFI! Nice collection of Spitfires! And brush painted too!! Well done. 

Kind regards,

Stix

Thanks Stix!

 

Steve

[Guest]

You should never need an excuse to build Spitfires.

[redleader]

Have you tried EZ Line Rigging Thread for aerial wires? Very thin and elastic, stretch to tension. Samples £5 available on eBay (comes from US, but delivery is quick). Not to be confused with EZ Fishing line

[Steve 1602]

48 minutes ago, redleader said:

Have you tried EZ Line Rigging Thread for aerial wires? Very thin and elastic, stretch to tension. Samples £5 available on eBay (comes from US, but delivery is quick). Not to be confused with EZ Fishing line

No, I haven't tried it, but I'll certainly have a look for it now. Thanks for the tip - much appreciated!

[Crossiant Oliver]

I know how you feel about Vallejo paints. I was brushing a gloss coat on a Temptest I painted with Vallejo color and the paint just smeared off.

[Steve 1602]

8 hours ago, Crossiant Oliver said:

I know how you feel about Vallejo paints. I was brushing a gloss coat on a Temptest I painted with Vallejo color and the paint just smeared off.

Yes, I also experienced a bit of smearing when brushing on the varnish. That all said, the paints do brush on really nicely and I may experiment with some rattle can varnishes to see if that helps things for my next build.

 

Steve