Jump to content

Yet another 1/48 Eduard Spitfire MkIX, this time with Brassin Big Sin update and Brassin cockpit: FINISHED!


Recommended Posts

Great stuff Bill. This is looking superb. I think the stripes look excellent (and will be pinching your idea of rubber black in future).

 

The detail on the door is incredible- I am not looking forwards to doing that on mine!

 

Steve

Edited by Steve 1602
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just caught up with this and all I can say is that this looks superb! Having recently completed an Eduard Weekend Edition 109 G2 and having thoroughly enjoyed the experience, I’m seriously considering getting one of these myself.

 

Trevor

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Bill,

 

Just catching up with this wonderful build you having going. Excellent attention to detail and flawless execution.

 

Never say never on invasion stripes. I share your pain and then last year I did three in a row - Typhoon, Mk IX and Tempest, I was dreaming about zebras. On the aerial mast base, check your references. Actual images of the Mk IX I modelled showed they had painted over it including the addition of the invasion stripe. I expect there are images of your chosen aircraft. Hopefully the money shot showing just what you need. Then again, maybe you should not check the images because with your attention to detail you may find they did a much poorer job on the invasion stripes than you! I know how difficult to replicate and not just have it appear as shoddy modelling. In the end you only really have to please yourself and I try to replicate what I see, like so.

 

By the way, this is missing a few bits because I have to get the finished builds back home to Australia in hand carry.

 

Spitfire_MkIX_FUN

 

 Look forward to seeing your finished product in the gallery. Not too far away.

 

Ray

 

 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ray, that is excellent!!!

 

The result on your Spitfire is something we should all aspire to... 

 

Looking at photos of aircraft that had been 'striped' overnight on June 5, it is clear they painted round the roundels and codes and that should be replicated in a model. Most simply paint the stripes and then decal over them. I am very, very impressed with your presentation of this. How did you do it...? You must have finished the aircraft, including decals, gloss coated and then masked and then airbrushed the stripes over the top? I cant see any other way, unless you masked the locations for the roundel and codes first, but then you would have had to be very precise... Either way, a stunning result. It looks neat, but at the same time, the painting around looks very real indeed... not perfect circles and not perfect at the edges... just as it should be.

 

This is without doubt the best rendition of invasion stripes I have seen.

 

Thankfully, on Jerry Billings aircraft, the codes appear to be repainted over the better finished invasion stripes... so Im pretty sure that at the time of being shot down, this aircraft had been repainted at an MU... which means I get away with the 'lazy' way of painting them.

 

But if I do ever do another 'invasion stripes' Spit... and its a 'painted hastily' aircraft, I am going to keep your example as an inspiration and a reference for how to do it. Its pretty much perfect... and I am sure others reading this thread will keep it as a reference too. Thank you!!!!

 

(And thank you for your compliments... 'attention to detail' I will accept, 'flawless execution' on the other hand is overstating it a fair bit... it is far from flawless...!)

 

Thank you once again... that is a SUPERB rendition... something we should all aspire to...

 

(and I would imagine the aerial insulator mount would be painted over in camouflage/stripe... I just thought I would ask in case someone knew better)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, Bill Livingston said:

You must have finished the aircraft, including decals, gloss coated and then masked and then airbrushed the stripes over the top?

Hi Bill,

 

You picked it!

 

I black base using Black Gunze Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500, which is a dirty black out of the jar. Anything that needs to be black is done with the base coat including wheels, prop blades and invasion stripes. You can then weather it or spray some alternative black for variance but I find it simplifies the process rather than masking and going back over your colour coats again. So the black you see is really the undercoat. I then did the colour coats, gloss coat Gunze GX 100 or 112 (preferred for some reason), decalled and then another coat over the top. I left plenty of time, like days, between the coats. I then masked using paper, tape and Mr Masking Sol. I cut paper just under size to the required size and masked to this thereby limiting the amount of tape or masking in contact with the decal - just in case. On that particular project, I think I spent more time working out how I would do the invasion stripes and that honey bear than actually building the kit. 

 

One other pointer, unless your doing Roland Beamont's aircraft, I usually cut the invasion stripe mask with every so slightly wavy pattern. I don't think it detracts from good modelling and looks pretty effective with normal vision. Here's my Eduard Tempest (the 1997 tooling, not the latest rendition ).

 

Tempest_Stripes

 

I'm enjoying your build. 

 

Ray

 

 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is REALLY helpful.

 

I have some Gunze Mr Surfacer 1500 in Black, but not used it yet... I was tempted to use it as a primer for this model, but haven't tried black basing yet, and having spent a couple of weeks building the engine and so on, didnt fancy risking the model with a new technique (one risk at a time is enough for me!)... 

 

I keep hearing about the Gunze gloss varnishes but dont have them. I use Tamiya X22 thinned with either Mr Leveller or IPA... probably Mr Leveller, (I cant think at the moment... I use IPA with Tamiya most of the time...).

 

I think I should pick up a few bottles of it... which though. You mentioned two, 100 and 112.

 

I like the idea of 'wavy' lines, too. I would imagine that from a normal viewing distance, your brain would pick it up, rather than your eyes... meaning you get a sense the lines aren't 'perfect' without actually understanding why, thats a very nice approach to what is a particularly difficult trick to pull off.

 

I'm learning a lot here... 🙂

 

Thank you for your input... and I am sure there are others reading this thread who will find all this equally useful.

 

My modelling skills aren't bad, but I have a LOT to learn... this is really helpful...

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, Bill Livingston said:

I was tempted to use it as a primer for this model,

Few pointers on spraying Mr Finishing Surfacer.

 

1. You'll be surprised at the paint to thinners ratio. Like X-22 you need very little paint. I always mix in the cup but I'd be surprised if it's even as much as 20% paint to 80% thinner. It seems to run a fine line between too thick and forcing through the airbrush to too thin. You feel it in the air brush trigger. No science in what I do, I just tend to know what will work in the cup. It is a learning experience.

 

2. I tend to spray a little higher pressure than my usual 15 -20 psi, more like 25-30 psi, and ensure wet coats but not flood coats and let the airbrush perform.  I start with a light coat and then slightly heavier but always visibly wet on the surface. Manage the overspray and watch for orange peel particularly in the wing root. Good to start in these areas and work out to the tip. If you have not seen Paul Budzik's YouTube video It's worthwhile.

 

 

3. A light mist coat of thinners (Mr levelling thinner) when done seems to also help in further that improving that gorgeous satin finish. 

4. It's touch dry almost immediately but really likes you to let is cure extremely well before the colour coat. I noticed on a recent double build where I was using Gunze acrylic RLM 65, thinned with Mr Levelling Thinner, a slightly darker finish on one build left 24 hours to one left 72 hours. Probably with acrylic and water or IPA this may not be the case.   

 

Trust this helps.

 

Ray

 

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This helps a lot...

 

I actually paint (or surfacer) very thin paint anyway... so 20% paint to 80% thinners is pretty normal for me... although, like you, I tend to mix by 'feel'. I make up a bottle of partially thinned paint, and then thin it even more in the airbrush )although I have been know to add a little bit of basic paint on occasion when the mix was too thin... Its not a set science... sometimes a paint will spray beautifully and then the next day, that same mix just won't... maybe its temperature, humidity, whatever, but I tend to think of mixing as something you do 'on the fly'. The results are consistent, just the formulas are not. I airbrush filters at 90% thinners sometimes... and that takes a bit of nerve as you have to make sure it is just wet when it arrives on the surface and doesn't pool or get blown around. Its cool though. You get a very light paint coat and it dries very rapidly if you use IPA  (no flow enhancer).

 

That tip about spraying the wing root first is very good... The tendency is to spray the wing tips and work up... but you cant help holding the airbrush farther way from the wing root... making the paint dry before it hits... it may only be an inch or less, but its enough... dry, dusty paint on the wing root is something I am guilty of in the past, so I try to make a conscious effort to avoid the natural distancing... but spraying the wing root first is an easy thing to remember and avoids the problem of lazy airbrushing. Well noted. Thank you.

 

I have used a coat of Levelling thinners to improve a finish... for example when I dropped a bottle of paint on my spitfire (a page back on this build) you will see that I used that technique in the 'repair' process... But the idea of letting it fully cure is sound... although I would prefer to err on the light side, rather than dark.

 

I am off to watch this video now... and then, hopefully, get on a little more with my Spitfire. I need to do the aluminium in the flaps and finish the undercarriage...

 

EDIT: Just watched the video... although I lot of it, I'm fairly happy with and follows my 'best practice' such as painting slightly past 90 degrees on masked edges so I get no build up... or thinning paint correctly, I think I AM guilty of assuming thinning is the answer to everything. I think I must over-thin sometimes... and the explanation of 'overspray' is very helpful... I tended to think of it as spray that lands, dry, on more distant objects rather than its there all the time on the outer edges of every line sprayed. I just saw that as 'feathering'... but I suppose its just a change or correction of terms. Very helpful. Thank you again!

Edited by Bill Livingston
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/19/2020 at 9:48 AM, Ray_W said:

On the aerial mast base, check your references. Actual images of the Mk IX I modelled showed they had painted over it including the addition of the invasion stripe.

On the one reasonable photo I have that shows the aerial on Jerry Billings machine around this time period, the invasion stripes miss the aerial base by quite a bit, so it would be down to whatever the base itself was painted... probably camouflage colours... It looks like it must be Ocean Grey as the Dark Green on this particular Spitfire misses the aerial... just as it does on my model.

 

I have a photo I found from a Duxford MkV which shows the aerial base was painted over - although it's a restoration, and not the same type, it makes sense and anyway, who is going to argue? 

 

(The focus was on the top of the Merlin in this picture, but its clear enough - well it would be if I hadn't reduced the photo file size quite so much!).

 

spacer.png

 

Right, I had better try and get some work out of the way so I can continue with my build... I have been busy for a couple of days and not been able to get anything done on my MkIX... 

Edited by Bill Livingston
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, after having a couple of days away from building due to work, I returned yesterday and managed to mess up yet again!

 

This build is turning into a real trial... mostly down to my mistakes, but a trial nevertheless.

 

I had just received some Mr Colour GX112 gloss varnish following a recommendation and enthusiasm got the better of me. Rather than doing the sensible thing and testing it out on a bit of scrap I headed straight for my Spitfire thinned a cupful with Mr Leveller and started to mist some light coats on the underside... All seemed well, so I started to spray a wet coat on the underside, but without misting the upper surfaces first.

 

You can guess the rest... the wet coat flowed over the misted on coat and down past and over the raw paint without me realising it. Now, with 30% 'paint' and 70% thinners, I was already running the stuff fairly hot, but to much to my horror, a big runny layer of primarily Mr Levelling Thinners was running down my very thin but carefully masked paint, basically melting it off with some fairly unusual (and deep) paint swirls.

 

Ruined... the whole thing. So I put it into my drying box and went for a shower and a sulk.

 

About two hours later, once I had got over the initial shock, I nervously took it out of the box again to see if it was rescue-able. It seems it is. 

 

The paint 'run' was over the invasion stripes on the fuselage side (they would be, wouldn't they...!) but other than that, the rest of the model was absolutely fine. In fact, the varnish has hardened really well over the past 24 hours or so and is extremely glossy. Also, most of the paint issues are actually hidden by the decals... not that it helps, I need to respray above and below where the decals are and its easier to mask the whole thing than decal and then mask around them, although I was tempted. 

 

There are a couple of areas I need to respray and re-varnish again... plus a repair or two I needed to make anyway, such as a patch of ocean grey on one wing, right at the trailing edge - and a fingerprint in the 'not completely cured' varnish which I made when I picked the model up in a panic... You can see it on the green panel in front of the canopy, just below the 100 octane filling point.

 

So... far from consigning this to the 'shelf of doom', I have decided that I should just push on through... 

 

I get models like this every now and again... everything seems to go really well... and then for one reason or another, I get one disaster after another. 

 

Anyway... here you are... this is what I ended up with after the paint melted away...

 

spacer.png

 

This side isnt too bad, although it will need to be resprayed...

 

But this side is pretty bad... It looked even worse when the varnish/thinners was still wet and was running down the side!

 

spacer.png...

 

Still, its not an impossible fix... and I have learned something. Spray mist coats all over the model, not just an underside, before a wet coat, otherwise you are asking for trouble!... And maybe think about just how much thinners I need. I have a tendency to paint very 'thin' and sometimes I have too much thinner in my mixes. With something like Mr Colour GX Gloss, which is hard to see when spraying, mixed with a LOT of Mr levelling thinners, the very fine paint thickness I use on the model, no matter how cured, are still vulnerable to a chemical onslaught of this magnitude!

 

Onwards and upwards. My next post should be with a fully repaired paint job... and hopefully re-glossed without the disaster that followed last time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Bill Livingston
  • Like 3
  • Sad 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh no Bill! At least you have a plan for a fix. I’m pleased that you have a way forward as it’s looking like a great build and it would be a real shame to have to park it.

 

As someone who is quite new to airbrushing, could you expand on the mist coat/ wet coat? I was really nervous about laying down too much gloss varnish and getting runs - do you put a light ‘mist’ on the model and then put down a heavier layer? I founded it quite hard to judge what I had sprayed (and where!) last night.
 

Steve

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a shame. The joy of modelling. Mask removal is an adrenalin sport. I am glad your keeping at it because it's looking exceptionally good and I know the repair is a pest, a little tedious on the home straight, but not too difficult. Like you, I find every build has something new to test me. 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I spent the evening correctly yesterdays horror nd I think I have managed a good result.

 

I was also able to change the shape of the camouflage pattern detail because with the invasion stripes as a reference, I could work out exactly where the Ocean Grey and Dark Green boundaries should be... so not only have a rescued it, but I have also got closer to the original aircraft that I am trying to build.

 

I didn't bother to respray the white... but I managed to mask and respray the Sky band (for about the tenth time!) the black invasion stripes and managed to make them slightly less uniform, (but again closer to photos of the real thing) and the two camouflage colours as I have already said.

 

The white bands in the actual aircraft are actually a lot more patchy than mine are, even now... but its fine... (it also has a huge hole in the fuselage in that particular picture and I have no intention of trying to model that!).

 

Anyway, before and after photos of each side...

 

Before:

 

p?i=2a8addb9830c7fe828eb15cfc5a11633

 

After:

 

spacer.png

 

 

This side wasn't too bad... but I took the opportunity to tidy up the sky and bring the green a touch lower above that first white strip so the angle is accurate compared to the original. (I was quite pleased that I had got as close as I did the first time without any reference points...).

 

The other side was considerably worse...

 

Before:

 

p?i=8a8b918c5adc884722f429c04fd7d2df

 

And after...

 

 

p?i=c65f9fa4741e232c51d5e93902f97087

 

 

As you can see, I managed to change the reasonably significant error in the dark green above the rear black stripe. Previously, that camouflage line had been too far forward, it doesn't show dark green between the black stripes on the real aircraft. So this is much better, and it makes me almost think the 'paint repair' was worth the time and trouble.

 

Of course, now I have slightly different tones in the paint as I have now painted matt paint over the gloss, but only in sections. I am pretty sure that once I have glossed it all again, it will start to even out, and by the time I have done washes and then matted it down, any differences will either disappear or look like just how a used machine in the early stages of the invasion would look... a bit worse for wear.

 

I also fixed the fingerprint forward of the cockpit (caused by yesterdays panic... somehow thinking if I picked it up, the paint would stop running!🤣)

 

I also tidied up the inner edges of the yellow leading edge IFF stripes... there wasn't much wrong with them, but there was something about them I didnt like and now I'm happier. No idea what it was I didnt like.. but it was one of those uncomfortable feelings you get sometimes. Anyway, its gone now, so I'm OK with the world.

 

Here is an overview. I am going to let it sit quietly on its own all night and then tomorrow afternoon try to gloss coat it again. Hopefully I won't mess it up next time...

 

spacer.png

 

And finally, thank you to those who encouraged me to continue and left such positive and supportive comments... It helps! So thank you... 😊

 

 

 

 

Edited by Bill Livingston
  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is a good recovery Bill, you can’t complain about it 👍 for what’s it worth I alway mess something up in my builds..

I consider myself a master of disaster, correcting mistakes in such a way that no one notice it is a gift🤫

 

cheers, Jan

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bravo, not only a rescue but a detailed re-paint which was somehow even better than the excellence before the varnish run. There’s not many who could have repaired so well, if at all. I think mine would have either been continued and displayed as is (I’d still be proud of work like that) or a leafy branch brought in from the garden and beaten Basil Fawlty style with it then binned.

Excellent work, excellent guide for fellow learners and all round excellent thread.....enjoying this keep it up

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for all your comments, thats very encouraging and supportive. 

 

OK. Just got back and checked the glossed finish. It seems to have dried really hard and this time, I didnt mess it up.

 

I have also permanently attached the rudder and elevators and temporarily fitted the undercarriage so I could gloss and decal everything without having to find ways of propping the model up and, at the same time, avoiding freshly painted/varnished surfaces. (Yes, I know this should be obvious, but I have been predominately a ship modeller, and we don't normally have to worry about these things!).

 

Anyway, it seems the gloss varnish has evened up all the tomnes from the previously glossed surface and the recently repainted areas during the 'fix'. The only thing missing are my pre-shaded panel lines... I should probably have pre-shaded again, but I didnt... still it looks fine and means it doesn't look falsely uniform... and anyway, under a wash and weathering it will be even less visible.

 

I am going to have to avoid the temptation to get on with the decals now... I will play safe and give the varnish 24 to 36 hours to cure before I attack it again. So I am going to find something else to do and set this aside until tomorrow....

 

Here is one side of the area that was damaged, now repaired and re-varnished...

 

spacer.png

 

This is a closer view of the other side... This area was very significantly damaged... but I also re-shaped some of the camouflage pattern to make it more accurate now that I had the invasion stripes to guide the camouflage shapes/pattern. Its here that you can see the paint homogenised after a coat of varnish... but you can now see a lack of pre-shading on one side of a panel line, while it is there, very subtly, on the other... I probably should have pre-shaded the repairs, but frankly, getting it fixed was enough to be thinking about...

 

spacer.png

 

(A few bits of dust in the photo... they are not permanently there... a quick brush and they are gone...).

 

And finally, a close up of the finished varnish, showing the pre-shading and marbling effects to give a variation in the painting was trying to get. It may not be particularly realistic, but I really like the look  and after dull coating, should be exactly what I was trying for...

 

spacer.png

 

 

 

 

You can just make out the panels that have been blue tacked in place covering the gun bay. I had a look at the gun bay just quickly to see what it looked like against the completed painting... I was very pleased. I hope the engine, cockpit and radio bay are as convincing. I think they will be... but I have heard a few nasty 'cracks' from the engine area... I suspect I will have a few repairs to do there once I remove the resin panels and masking tape that have been trying to keep the engine from overspray since I started the main painting...

 

These really are fabulous kits though... I am going to start another one... I cant do 'nothing' until tomorrow!

 

(63 years old and I am like a big kid! 😊)

 

 

 

 

Edited by Bill Livingston
  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

No... I'm just patient and dont like giving up... 

 

Anyone who was really good at this stuff wouldn't make the stupid mistakes I make in the first place. 

 

Still, I'm learning a lot... and to be honest, without the sense of camaraderie on here, all of this would be far more difficult... with no-one watching, it would be easier to give up. So dont underestimate the help everyone gives each other... especially when we cock something up.

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just catching up with your build Bill. Very impressive work. I especially like the cockpit and engine.

 

Cheers Allan 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 15/05/2020 at 20:55, Bill Livingston said:

(I even saw bands around 9 or 10 inches, so there must have been a lot of 'interpretations'

These were a 10 Group quirk I believe.  

  

On 07/08/2010 at 15:35, Dave T Brown said:

Studying other Spitfires that belonged to Squadrons in 10 group. It becomes apparent that most if not all applied thinner invasion markings than the 18 inch bands specified in SHAEF Operational Memorandum No23.

Other 10 group Sqns of which Photographs / colour side profiles can be found showing the thinner invasion markings are

131 Squadron

165 Squadron

616 squadron

Pete Brother's Mk VII when he was OC the Culmhead wing which incorporated 126, 131, 616 and although not based at Culmhead 41 Sqn

The only other Spitfire units in 10 group were 1 sqn, part of 276(ASR) sqn and 610 Sqn of which I have never seen photos or side elevations published.

Another point about the heading photo is the large slipper drop tank that the aircraft is carrying. It is much larger than the 30 gallon slipper tank probably the 90 gallon looking at the size of it.

 

SPITXIIDDAY.jpg&key=53de8dc9d82c27a8f9df

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/53232-spitfire-mk-xii-no-41-squadron-with-d-day-stripes/

 

%2B%2B%2B%2B_14.jpg&key=a72f664344bf0df3

 

 

 

in case you want more but different D-Day striped Spitfires...

 

fascinating build thread as well.  one point, while 18 inch in 1/48th is 9.525 mm, it's also exactly 3/8th of an inch...

 

cheers

T

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK... I managed to hold firm and not charge in to getting on with decalling until I was sure the gloss had time to cure, at least reasonably so.

 

There isn't much to say about decalling, apart from the fact it takes a LOT longer than you think it will... and far from being an easy part of the build, its an easy area to get sloppy with and spoil an otherwise good model.

 

Its also the time when you check your camouflage and other detail painting and see where the various decals end up relative to the paint scheme and see how far out you managed to get... I hate this bit... 

 

But it seems I got away with it. All the camouflage ends up in the right place relative to both the decals and the invasion stripes that were painted on, and everything seems to match with both the original aircraft and the artwork in the kit...

 

Anyway, Mr Mark Setter and Mr Mark Softer were used... over the top of GX112 varnish. (My previously used Klear and Micro Soft and Micro Set, but its a new era, and I suppose things have moved on a bit).

 

Anyway, it all seemed to work. I even left a picture or two in for Valkyrie of the gun bay... I had to take off the covers in order to get the no step line along the front of the gun bay to lay in the right place... I have to leave the radio bay closed and the engine and cockpit all wrapped up though... I have another gloss, then wash, before I start taking the masks and things away... I am dreading the engine bay. I keep hearing cracking noises from there when I am handling the model... I'm sure its in hundreds of bits! 

 

Anyway, some pictures. Still to do the sealing gloss coat, so plenty of opportunity to mess it up yet... 

 

First, a picture for Valkyrie...

 

spacer.png

 

 

Then some random shots of the main decals... as I said, I have added a drop or two of Mr Softer onto a couple of the decals just to try to snuggle them down a little further... but with washes and matt coats, plus weathering and stuff, just as I think I have finished it, I realise I have at least another week... I still have to paint all the outer engine panels for example. At the moment, they are wrapped around the engine underneath all that masking tape... Then I have to add all the other bits and pieces, most of which are done, but will still need work.

 

 

 

spacer.png

 

 

The decals are settling in pretty well... 

 

 

spacer.png

 

 

Again...

 

spacer.png

 

 

And finally, an aerial view...

 

spacer.png

 

 

Thank you Troy, for your informative comment above, and thank you to those who are following and commenting... It helps, as you all know...!

 

Right, I am going to have a look at what everyone else has done on their Spitfires today...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Bill Livingston
  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...