++++ Supermarine's Last and First -FINISHED ++++

[825]

On 3/6/2019 at 11:30 PM, Col. said:

Both looking good. No sign of any stray seams on either

Thanks Col. Both now have main paint coat finished and ready for transfers in the case of the Seafire. The Attacker needs the nose masked up for the red markings and I suspect that will take a little time. Also the blue in the roundels looks far too pale and I don't have enough D type roundels in my generic stash. I'll have a look at spares but that'll take a little time. 

 

 

 

 Main transfers on the Seafire. They were quite thin and a couple broke up trying to get them around protrusions but nothing that can't be fixed. 

 

 

 

There are quite a few stencils as well, so we'll see how that goes. 

[Col.]

I found the stencils to be a little on the stark side so dry-brushed them with a very light coat of the background colour to tone them down a touch.

[825]

26 minutes ago, Col. said:

I found the stencils to be a little on the stark side so dry-brushed them with a very light coat of the background colour to tone them down a touch.

Thanks for the advice. I have had a little disaster as one of the underside roundels has moved as it dried. It's not possible to strip it off as it sits over one of the trestle transfers. I've started to paint it out and will replace with one from the stash. 

Edited March 16, 2019 by 825

[825]

Transfers on the Seafire finished and the majority of stencils. There are some more but they're tiny and black on EDSG can hardly be seen.  And there's a risk of silvering so I've finished here. I think a little bit of touching up is needed on the upper wing roundels but that can wait. I'm still thinking about the finish. It would probably be Gloss but the aircraft sitting in the sun on Malta would probably fade off the full Gloss quite quickly so a satin finish is probably more appropriate. But that's a little off still, but any thoughts and ideas would be welcomed. 

 

 

The Attacker has a red flash on the nose so I started with the nose cone with the intention of masking up the sides to match. The nose is OK but the masking tape stripped off some of the original paint so I'll have to restore that first. 

 

[Col.]

I'd think you're correct about the Malta sun taking the gloss off the Seafire's paint fairly quickly 

[825]

On 3/30/2019 at 7:43 AM, Col. said:

I'd think you're correct about the Malta sun taking the gloss off the Seafire's paint fairly quickly 

Thanks Col. I'll dig out the satin varnish at the end. 

 

The Seafire now has most of its undercarriage on. A little fiddly but once in place and the glue set bot looks right and is functional. 

 

 

Ive counted that there are 18 parts to go but that does include making the prop , masking, painting and attaching the canopy and some resin parts. But on the home straight. 

[825]

Slowly but surely getting there. For the Seafire tHe prop blades have been masked and have layers of paint on, the canopy needs masking and then the remaining sticky out bits stuck on. Here we are sitting her undercarriage. 

 

 

Im slowly but surely painting the red flash on the front of the Attacker, which is taking a lot longer than expected. 

[Col.]

Your Seafire is looking great and getting close to finished  Best of luck with the Attacker's nose flash.

[825]

On 4/11/2019 at 7:51 AM, Col. said:

Your Seafire is looking great and getting close to finished  Best of luck with the Attacker's nose flash.

Thanks Col. I've used Tamiya tape as a background masking and then used the flexible 2mm Tamiya tape to get the curve. Here we are with an intial thin coat of white as an undercoat. It took a little while but wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. 

 

[825]

It's taken a little while but it's almost done. A little more red, a final polish and a coat of varnish eventually and it should look fine. Now to get the transfers on. There is a couple of challenges, firstly the blue on the roundels is too light and they'll need to be substituted. The second is the underwing serials run across the undercarriage doors so will need cutting and trimming before putting on. 

 

[Col.]

Your careful work has paid off there

[825]

The Seafire is almost done. Resin exhausts and cannon on, and canopy masked. 

 

 

 

There is a little touching up needed. 

[Col.]

On the closing stages now and looking grand.

[825]

Canopies masked and on and here we are today. 

 

[825]

Ive also separated some of the smaller parts for the Attacker off the sprue and tidied them up. When gauging up the tail wheel strut I noticed the area for attachment is just a gaping hole. It doesn't take a genius to work out the most likely outcome is the tailwheel assembly will disappear inside. I probably should have done this earlier but I'm using plastic strip to box it in and give a solid foundation. 

 

[Col.]

Not the smartest part of the kit but looks as if you have it under control.

[825]

On 4/20/2019 at 9:08 AM, Col. said:

Not the smartest part of the kit but looks as if you have it under control.

I know, and the seating for the arrestor hook is too small and not quite the right shape. Only just found this out by dry fitting the arrestor hook assembly. A little bit to do. 

[825]

Transfers on, there are a few stencils but I'll let these dry overnight. 

 

 

The roundels were far too pale a blue so I had to use some from the stash. The rest were fine although the small serial broke into two on application. The underside serials will need cut into two as it goes over the undercarriage door. 

 

[825]

The Seafire is finished but no photos just yet. Next milestone with the. Attacker has been reached. All transfers and stencils on, including the underwing serials, and the rear end undercarriage and arrestor hook wells done to a reasonable satisfaction. Now the undercart and aerials to finish off. And some Sky on the underside of the cannons. 

 

[Col.]

Looks as if the Attacker will be joining the Seafire on your display shelf soon

[825]

Undercarriage on the Attacker, I originally had them painted Aluminium as per the instructions, but examination of my Warpaint book suggests they, along with the inside of the undercarriage doors, should be Sky. So I've repainted them. Now to get the wheels and doors sorted, once the paint dries. The underside around the jet pipe needs a little attention, but that's a little job. Hopefully. 

 

 

The completed Seafire, the mid production Griffon Marks do look nice, probably more sleek than the later Marks with their contra-rotating props. 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by 825

[Col.]

Nice work on the Seafire and yes these along with the Seafire XVII did have a lovely set of lines about them. Look forward to seeing the finished Attacker parked next to it soon

Edited May 5, 2019 by Col.

[825]

4 hours ago, Col. said:

Nice work on the Seafire and yes these along with the Seafire XVII did have a lovely set of lines about them. Look forward to seeing the finished Attacker parked next to it soon

The Attacker is almost done. Just one set of undercarriage doors to go. Here she is before the first set were added along with antennae and pitot. 

 

 

Then a quick check for any touching up. 

[Peter Lloyd]

My Attacker has the same foibles (almost as though they came from the same mould!). That arrestor hook bay suggests the influence of vodka on the part of the toolmaker (Mr Polc, I joke, I joke!).

Nice Spitty Seafire, too.

You win the race to the finish, but I will hopefully make the deadline.

[825]

Finished. Just to pop in the gallery. There's no doubt the Seafire is much more elegant, business-like and aggressive compared to the Attacker.