Rabbit Leader Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Greetings from a slightly cool and wintery Brisbane (well - cool by our normal standards!). Here are a few snaps of my latest completion, that is the new-ish tool Airfix 1/72 Spitfire Mk.1 two blader. The kit is built almost straight OOB, however there are a few small additions included to aid in that elusive pursuit for accuracy. A study of photographs shows that these early Mk.1's had a two pronged Pitot Tube (stolen from an Airfix Ragwing Hurri), no Voltage Regulator behind the headrest or internal Gunsight, a Rudder Horn Balance Guard placed around the Vertical Fin leading edge (made from fine copper wire) and two protruding machine gun nozzles at the #2 and #7 wing gun positions (my nomenclature). The kit is very well known and a dream to build. Yes, it suffers from fairly deep panel lines, however I only placed a light pin wash around the control surfaces, upper wing gun bays and cowling panels to enhance these a little. IMO, applying a dark wash all over would just enhance what I believe to be the kits only limitation. When it came to painting, I used decanted Tamiya AS12 Airframe Silver for the underside. I masked this completely before adding Gunze H72 Dark Earth and H73 Dark Green over the top surfaces. I wanted to retain the beautiful finish that AS12 delivers so left the lower side masked right up until I had glossed, decaled, pin washed and matt coated the top side. I then removed the lower side mask and applied the serials, roundels and final fiddly bits to finish it off. There are a few areas I'm not happy with, however overall it's another one finished which means another kit to start (or delve into the S.O.D to finish another!). The main decals came from an Xtradecals sheet, which unfortunately proved to be quite thick and hard to bed down. I had a few issues with the upper and lower wing roundels as the kit has various small lumps and bumps underneath, however I got them down to a reasonable standard. The yellow '19' is also not in register and if you look closely there's a trace of white showing underneath each number. It looks quite horrid when viewed through an optimiser, however are not that noticeable in normal view. The elastic nature of the e-z line antenna wire has also flexed my (once was) perfectly straight pole mast! This only happened this morning and I've decided to leave it and possibly replace it with something a little less tort at a later date. This kit is one of three still currently underway as part of my contribution to BM's RAF 100 GB. I started this kit just because I was making two other Spits (Mk.IIa and Vb) however this Mk.1 has seemingly taken over and beaten them to the finishing post. The mock 'Haynes' Workshop Manual base is a small acknowledgment to thank the GB sponsor and I've displayed a few 'maintenance' items in some photos to try and tie this whole workshop theme together. Cheers and apologies for the long winded write-up and number of photographs... Dave 48 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 I think we have some of your normal weather here as it's an absolute scorcher. Anyway, a fantastic looking Spitfire with a beautiful paint finish. The airframe silver looks spot on to my eye. Glad you've gone for a clean finish as I reckon 19 Squadron would have been very proud of their new mounts and would have kept them in tip top condition. Good tip about the gunsight. I'm going to build a Spitfire I in the same scheme (AZ's kit) and would, no doubt, have gone ahead and fitted the sight had I not read your notes! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Blooming lovely Dave. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 That's a stunner, Dave. Really, really lovely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalkeEins Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 nice.. good spot on the details. You can learn a lot from just studying a decent image 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cngaero Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Now that has drifted onto the better side of gorgeous. I really like your presentation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polo1112 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 EXCELLENT !!! and very exciting. Congratulations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Excellent work Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Another nice 19 Sqn Spit. Lovely work - very neat and crisp. The colours look spot on. The last time I built this kit I sanded the upper wings down to avoid those problematic lumps and bumps! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Hi Dave, I will simply add my voice to the general consensus: Bloooooody Brilliant!!!! Congrats! JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedders Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Lovely job. Great finish and really tidy all round. Justin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREG DESTEC Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Love it Dave, That's an excellent Spitfire. Very well done 🏆 Cheers Greg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellsprop Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Fantastic looking Spitfire! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Nice work Dave Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Very Nice. You have done a little more extra than I did with mine posted here recently. Nice work. Seems to be trendy for 1938 Spits ....... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 That's a beautiful build Dave,excellent work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted June 12, 2018 Author Share Posted June 12, 2018 It's always nice to wake up and read complimentary comments about ones work, so thank you to all for taking the time to respond and leave a 'reaction' or too. There's also some good comments about sanding the wings lumps and bumps, which in hindsight I probably should have also done. The kit roundels placed on the Mk.IIa performed better, however there's always that horrible moment when one waits for the Microset to do its stuff while you recite a thousand Hail Mary's!! I also enjoy trying to think up a suitable base for presentations, especially when entering GB's. I tend to finish the bases early enough which is another motivating factor to push on with the kit build itself. Cheers and once again - many thanks... Dave. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Wow that is a stunner Dave and it has started to breed too,....... the offspring look very promising too! I was a Duxford recently and actually pictured these colourful looking Spits lined up on the grass,...... yours looks just right mate, Cheers Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanmi Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Nice job, Dave. Thank you for the detailed description, I will surely use it for a reference since I would like to do a two-bladed Spit for our local SIG Spitfire. I love it clean lines and those yellow circles around the roundels. You achieved precise demarcation between the upper camouflage colours, what do you use for masking? I agree for the panel lines on this kit - no wash is way to go. Great kit! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 4 hours ago, tonyot said: Wow that is a stunner Dave and it has started to breed too,....... the offspring look very promising too! I was a Duxford recently and actually pictured these colourful looking Spits lined up on the grass,...... yours looks just right mate, Cheers Tony Appreciate the kind words Tony. Knowing the detail and research that you apply to your models, to then say that my Spit 'looks right' - goes a very long way. Many thanks.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 9 hours ago, Lanmi said: Nice job, Dave. Thank you for the detailed description, I will surely use it for a reference since I would like to do a two-bladed Spit for our local SIG Spitfire. I love it clean lines and those yellow circles around the roundels. You achieved precise demarcation between the upper camouflage colours, what do you use for masking? I agree for the panel lines on this kit - no wash is way to go. Great kit! I'm glad you like it Lanmi. This pre Munich Crisis Mk.1 Spitfire has been on my 'bucket list' of models for way too long, so I was glad to see it through to the end. I just use regular Tamiya tape for the camouflage demarcation. I gave a description in my 452 (RAAF) Squadron WIP whilst applying the pattern to the Mk.IIa, however will copy and paste it here to save the hassle of finding it. The trick is to be handy with a sharp pair of scissors and a little bit of patience especially around the fuselage sections goes a long way. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 triffle 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 That looks very nice indeed! Yes, the panel lines do a good enough job without any further enhancement needed, really. Maybe I want to seek out this 2-blade version myself - though I'd have a hard time doing it as well as yours. 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Absolute quality 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAAMAN Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Excellent build and finish, great work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 I really like the shot with the mirror underneath 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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