Brad Cancian Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Hi all, Here is my latest – the 1970s era 1/48 Arii Spitfire Mk.VIII. This one is built straight out of the box, with the addition of seat belts made from masking tape. It’s painted up in the markings of SQNLDR S. Susans of 79SQN RAAF, 1945, using the DK decals set plus some homemade masks. I have fond memories of building this as a kid back in the early 90s, ham-fistedly painting it with thick coats of humbrol enamels and fictitious markings, and thought it would be fun to build it again~25 years later – indeed it was. In comparison to the contemporary Eduard kit, this one certainly shows its age, but for the relative price difference (I picked this up for ~$10), it still builds up to a nice model relatively simply. On the negative side, the kit has a very simplistic and inaccurate cockpit, the canopy is thick, distorted, and doesn’t fit (lots of filling was needed here), some filling is needed around the wing attachments (roots, chin, under-fuselage), the chin scoop doesn’t fit, the exhausts are thick and simplistic, and the characteristic “gull” shaped wing / fuselage underside is not represented. On the plus side, this is a simple kit (only 40 pieces in total, it has some very fine recessed panel lines and rivet detail, and the overall shape looks like a Spitfire to me…! The (simple) interior: And some fun with pre-shading: Unfortunately, the pre-shading doesn’t show well in the photos, but at least I know it’s there :) All in all I enjoyed this build and would recommend it to anyone after a (relatively) simple build. All comments / feedback welcomed! Cheers BC 50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Very nice, the tonal effects on the single colour scheme show up well on my monitor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 That's a lovely build. It still looks very much a Spitfire and as you say it has nice surface detail. The gull wing is for me the biggest bugbear for me. Nice modeling. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 You have made a really good job with this old kit. I like the way it brings back memories of your early days of modeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Nicely done, Brad. I think the shading looks fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 That brings back memories... This was the first 1/48 scale kit I ever built and once I finished it I immediately went out and bought the Hasegawa Bf109 E3 (also in 1/48). From then on it was 1/48 all the way for me. I was converted. Have moved to scratchbuilding recently and now want to do ‘any subject any scale’ but this is nice to see anyway! 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzby061 Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Lovely job, painting, detailing & weathering are spot on. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigster Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 It is an old kit, yet you've done a very good job out of it! Thumbs Up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fubar57 Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Very nice. The weathering really shows up well on this side of the pond Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 A wonderful model and nice weathering. I love the old Arii (Otaki) kits. They usually have correct shape and dimensions, a nice rivet representation and are very receptive to after-market improvement. Of course they demand some extra effort... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Great looking Mk.VIII ... I really do like the old Arii’s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Fantastic finish. Love all the 'chipping' and I do think the pre-shading shows up in some photos. Subtle, but it's there. Rearguards, Badder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Looks like you got a great deal of fun for your $10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 10 hours ago, Brad Cancian said: I have fond memories of building this as a kid back in the early 90s, ham-fistedly painting it with thick coats of humbrol enamels and fictitious markings, and thought it would be fun to build it again~25 years later – indeed it was. Ditto! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Lovely work Brad. Did you use salt for the chipping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Great job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Great job looks fantastic. All the best Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Cancian Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 Thanks for the kind words everyone! John - the paint chipping was just some good old silver paint and a fine brush, as well as some extra 'wear' added with some yellow ochre oil paints. Thanks again! BC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troffa Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 That's a great looking Spit, the finish looks very convincing to my eye, what a result for only 10 bucks! (I've had more expensive coffee!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Excellent job Brad I remember building this kit many year's ago it still look's good today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigglesof266 Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Nice job! Love the majority of the 1/48 series Arii/Otaki kits regardless their production era mould and less than Lidar scanned fidelity characteristics. Their Mk VIII is no exception. Superb canvas which still looks the part standoff OOTB. Decals were different, arguably better, in the original Otaki IJN/IJA/Luftwaffe releases I built or bought, and the canopy moulds finer and clearer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Cancian Posted September 24, 2018 Author Share Posted September 24, 2018 Thanks all! I agree that these kits tend to be a bit under rated - they do build up nicely for the price, if you don't mind the lack of finesse in some of the details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Excellent attention to detail. I have to work in my pre-shading. I think my dilemma is the final colour coat is always too thick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasto Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 That is really nicely done.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Sherratt Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 Looks very nice to me, well done. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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