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spitfire yellow propellor tips


Rodders

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Hi All,

this may be a silly question but does anyone know when yellow propellor tips were introduced on spitfires. i'm making a BOB machine and i think the props are all black.

Anyone help with any info,

cheers,

Rodders.

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5 hours ago, Rodders said:

Hi All,

this may be a silly question but does anyone know when yellow propellor tips were introduced on spitfires. i'm making a BOB machine and i think the props are all black.

Anyone help with any info,

cheers,

Rodders.

 

pre war,

note all aluminium undersides

2527522818_4df64f6a34_o.jpgSpitfire  Mk. I by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

tips are 4 inch BTW

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Quite an odd pic that, especially for a pre-war posed shot. Quite nicely posed, they have thought about the lighting, and colour photography was really quite a big deal back then, not something casual at all. And our steely-eyed pilot chum has obviously  not just stepped out of it, and it's closed up, but it's still filthy underneath.  I am surprised no-one thought to at least wipe the crud off the undercarriage door, or pick a a different aeroplane that's seen a rag since it was flown.

Edited by Work In Progress
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18 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

tips are 4 inch BTW

A useful reminder.  4" really isn't much, especially in 1/72 scale.  I seem to see a lot of models with prop tips that are way over scale, looking more like 8".

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4 hours ago, Flankerman said:

....and the hard-edged camo.

 

Ken

I'm thinking more of a tight feathered edge?

 

Or maybe it's just the photo.

 

I would only do a hard edge camo on a model if the real aircraft clearly showed it like this P-40.

PUpZiWp.jpg

 

 

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....minor thread drift alert - any 'tips' on how to paint those those tips - more easily I mean, especially in 72nd. Having just blasted three props with gloss yellow and masked them up to airbrush the black I couldn't help thinking what a lot of effort for not much ...

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1 hour ago, FalkeEins said:

....minor thread drift alert - any 'tips' on how to paint those those tips - more easily I mean, especially in 72nd. Having just blasted three props with gloss yellow and masked them up to airbrush the black I couldn't help thinking what a lot of effort for not much ...

That's how I do it. To get the tape in the right place though put tape on the "black" part of the blade as it's easier to get in the right position then you can put the tape on the tip right next to it and remove the first bit of tape.

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2 hours ago, FalkeEins said:

....minor thread drift alert - any 'tips' on how to paint those those tips - more easily I mean, especially in 72nd. Having just blasted three props with gloss yellow and masked them up to airbrush the black I couldn't help thinking what a lot of effort for not much ...

I paint the yellow first, using a light color such as a light grey as a primer. 1.5mm tape is close to a scale 4” in 1/72 so I use that to mask the tip then paint the rest of propeller, usually with Tamiya NATO Black. I used to paint the blades first, then mask just exposing the tip but for me spraying yellow over a dark surface is tough hence reversing the order

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1 hour ago, Chuck1945 said:

I paint the yellow first, using a light color such as a light grey as a primer. 1.5mm tape is close to a scale 4” in 1/72 so I use that to mask the tip then paint the rest of propeller, usually with Tamiya NATO Black. I used to paint the blades first, then mask just exposing the tip but for me spraying yellow over a dark surface is tough hence reversing the order

I found that when painting the yellow first and then masking it, that the masks did not adhere too well and could come adrift. Painting the blades black and then masking the black, eliminates that problem. Usually I prime the tip in white, as it then only takes a very light coat of yellow.

 

HTH

Finn

Edited by FinnAndersen
clarification
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Maybe I'm a bit agricultural with prop tips but like others I first paint the tips & a bit more yellow, by brush 'cause that's what I do, then when I paint the black on the blades I carefully paint the ends in cross wise strokes, having along side me as I work a steel rule in millimeters which helps me to estimate what 1.5mm looks like. I'm happy with the result.

DSCF2718

Steve.

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