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Update #5

 

Just a quick update showing the application of two coats of Gunze H72 Dark Earth to the Spitfire Mk.IIa. The more I look at it however, I'm convinced that the neighbours dog has jumped the fence and done his business on my little Spit!!

 

The next photo is supposed to highlight the apparent difference between both Gunze Lacquer (as applied to the Tempest) and Acrylic Dark Earths. The Lacquer based product is quite a bit darker, however I'm not sure I've captured this difference with this early morning photo. Hopefully I'll mask off the camo pattern tonight and apply a few coats of H73 Dark Green.

 

Cheers.. Dave  

 

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Thanks Steve, 

After using a certain brand that I won’t mention I swore I’d never use Acrylics again. These Mr Hobby paints however spray quite nicely and I’m glad I gave them a go whilst trying to find an acceptable Dark Earth paint. Let’s hope the paint doesn’t lift when it’s time to remove the tape - always a heart in mouth modelling moment. 

 

Cheers.. Dave. 

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Update #6

 

I’ve never been able to master the blue-tak sausage method and have convinced myself that a hard edged camo pattern is probably best for most 1/72 models, so here is my basic technique to masking these fairly complex camo patterns. 

 

First I obtain a 1/72 scale plan of the kit subject and it’s even better if the camouflage demarcation pattern is clearly shown. Then I place this plan inside a thickish clear A4 sleeve and apply a series of Tamiya tape strips along the camo lines. With a permanent marker, trace the wiggly camo lines and some overall aircraft shape dimensions to act as placement reference points. 

 

Still with me? Good. Now grab a pair of your favourite scissors and carefully cut along these lines until you have something good enough to work with. Cutting the tape whilst it’s still attached to the plastic sleeve makes the process so much easier.  Then simply remove the tape from the plastic and apply to the model.

 

It’s a little tedious and can be a truffle frustrating but with practice and care you will be able to replicate exact camo patterns that look sharp and neat. Here’s a few photos of tonight’s work and now this little Spit is all ready for a splash of spinach tomorrow morning.  

 

Cheers.. Dave

 

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Update #7

 

Two quick thin coats of Spinach (Gunze H73) and masks off. I’ll admit the old Humbrol Sky was not a fan of the Tamiya tape and although it has not lifted, it has left a number of streak marks were the tape once was. I’ll need to touch this up, but will give it a slight weather and it may not be that noticeable. I’m happy with the slight contrast between the home brew Sky Blue spinner and fuselage band to the Sky lower surfaces. Next the Clear coat. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

 

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Having just done the blu-tack sausage method again late-night, I think I'll try your method on my next spit.  Although I like the outcome of the BT method which looks nice, rolling the sausages takes a while, though I speed the method up by infilling between with copydex (latex glue) which takes minutes instead of tape. 

The sausages took about 3 evenings to set out on my Sunderland!  The hardest bit of BT, which no one mentions, is estimating how in board of the instructions line to set the sausage, to insure the correct darker area - I sometimes have to patch repair the camo to get a better layout!

I think you'd be right about the hard edge at 1/72.  Somehow I don't get much fuzz with my sausages, but with tape masks I sometimes get a ridge at the demarcation - the trick seems to be to make sure the later colours are the denser ones so minimising thickness. 

Anyway each model is an experiment, and hopefully an improvement on the previous, at least that's my plan!

Cheers

Will 

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Thanks for your comments Will @malpaso. I’ve often thought that a combination of this tape mask and then BT sausage over the top of the tape may be the overall best result. The tape will give you the precise pattern whilst the blue tak applied to the tape edge will provide a softer demarcation. I’m sure it’s easier said than done, however I will try this method for larger and perhaps less complex patterns. 

 

Cheers.. Dave

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Looks good Dave

In my opinion, harder edges tend to suit the smaller scales (e.g. 1/72 or less), while there is more variation in larger scales.  Your hand cut mask seems a good approach.

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Update #8

 

Not that much to report on, however it’s progress non the less. The Spitfire IIa has been glossed coated and all ready for the decal stage. I’m starting to have a few doubts how this ones gonna end up as I’ve not resorted to any pre/post shading stuff (not mastered that yet) and it may end up looking too clean for a war machine . Anyway, I started to paint the Mk.1 and applied the silver paint to the lower sides. I got carried away with masking and almost forgot to photograph this stage, but managed to get a couple of shots in. 

 

The Taniya Vb is still going and I’ve been trailing all my tins of MSG and OG to see what combination looks best. Like the Sky samples, the greys vary in a big way? I’m still not convinced I’ve got what I need as yet. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update #9

 

Not exactly a lot to show, however I’m finding it a little hard to spend quality time on the modelling bench of late. Here are a couple of pics. The first is my Spitfire Mk. 1 with top camouflage dark green applied over the dark earth and the lower is all three Spits together with a few (not great) coats of MSG applied to the lower surfaces of the Vb. Need to get some colourful decals on to feel like I’ve progressed a bit. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

 

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Update #10

 

Well two out of the three have hit the decal stage. The Vb is not far off, however needs the camo pattern masked and Dark Green applied, I might consign that as tomorrow nights chore. Anyway, the Airfix kits are progressing nicely. In the lower photo Truscotts Mk.IIa is on the left and an early 19 Squadron Mk.I on the right. Those large Type A’s sure brighten up the drab top colours don’t they? 

 

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Need to start bringing all these home as I’d like to get involved in the MTO GB and the Classic Airfix GB is only a week away!! 

 

Cheers.. Dave

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Update #11

 

Still progressing however the third Spitfire (which I started because I thought why not) has leapt to the front and will now be the first one over the finish line.

I'll make this a seperate Gallery entry as it will be quite different to the other two.

Just need to complete the canopy, add the pole Antenna mast and e-z line thread, attach the two pronged pitot (stolen from a Hurricane I kit) and plonk it's wheels on. She'll then be mounted onto an approriate base, fitting for this GB. I've purposely left this as a clean build as I did not wish to highlight the fairly heavy panel lines. In addition, the real aircraft were only in this scheme for a month or two prior to the changes that took effect post Munich Crisis.

 

Cheers.. Dave

 

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Update #12

 

And fittingly completed on the 12th (my birthday!). The 19 Squadron Mk.1 Spitfire has pushed the other two aside for now and is taking centre stage. I'll upload more images of this seperate entry in the GB gallery. There's a couple of things I'm not exactly happy with like the dreaded e-z line that has bent the pole antenna off 90 degrees due to its stretchiness properties. I'll probably replace this with some other material at a later date, however wanted to present this kit now in order to start my Classic Airfix GB build. A few paint touch-ups have been highlighted by my son's excellent new Samsung 9 phone camera and bright background lighting, which make these images look a bit naff on a large screen. Anyway - it was hard getting the phone out of his hands for a few minutes so that's gonna be it. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

 

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It is good to have a (very) early Spitfire in the gallery Dave, your build looks excellent.

You mention a couple of problems, apart from the one you pointed out, I haven't spotted any.

 

 

Thank-you for including shots with the Haynes manual, I hope our sponsors appreciate that.

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Beautiful build, Dave, and I'm taking note of the 'camouflage masking' tip - thanks. You must be really pleased with this one and I'm looking forward to seeing the first two finished as well. Cheers. Mike

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20 hours ago, Robert Stuart said:

Thank-you for including shots with the Haynes manual, I hope our sponsors appreciate that.

Robert,

It's always nice to have sponsors on board so hopefully they'll like the small token of recognition. 

I'm a big fan of Haynes' Workshop manuals however must admit I do not have the Spitfire book (as yet!)

 

Cheers and thanks.. Dave

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Update #13

 

Well, motivated by the completion of the Mk.1 and having a few days off work, I’ve set myself the challenge to complete the MkIIa before this Wednesday. I’m now up to the part I least desire - weathering. I’m yet to convince myself that I’ll ever be good at it, so I’d better put in a few more war wary builds in order to practice this frustrating technique. 

 

I’ve applied some subtle paint chipping and oil staining to both upper and lower sides. Might even add the Matt coat on before I put my head down tonight. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

 

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