Bill Livingston Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Well... I count resist...! So, given I have to wait for a day or so for the varnish to harden on my MkIX before decalling, I looked around at my recently acquired Eduard kits, wondering what to build next. I have a couple of FW190's a D-9 and a D-11, I have a 109G-6 and I have a handful of Spitfires... And because this Group Build is so active, with so many great models and modellers, it seemed obvious I would continue on here... This is a group I wouldn't want to end..! So... this is what I have decided to do next... The only question now is whether to do one aircraft or two... I know I want to do one of the Grey Nurse Spitfires... I like the fact that they have the RAF Dark Green and Ocean Grey day fighter scheme, that is then overpainted over the original larger roundels and on the rear of the fuselage in Foliage green... so they will look interestingly colourful... Looking at the book of contemporary photographs, they were also pretty heavily weathered, which appeals.. and given that this time around I will NOT be using any extras such as Brassin engines, or gun bays or anything else, should be relatively straightforward, so I can focus on the areas I need to get better at... the actual overall finish... I'm fine with details and adding bits of resin and so on... but the bits I have enjoyed the most since starting to build aircraft again is the actual overall camouflage and trying to get it looking good (as opposed to accurate!). So, I have opted for A58-602 RG-V, from April 1945 as I said. However, there are another 30 options in the 'Aussie Eight' boxing... and there are two full kits... so which of those other 30 should I choose? They all look really interesting for one reason or another... but I suppose I can decide the second aircraft later... the build up until the primer will be much the same for each... So... here goes my second Spitfire on this group build...😊 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 If you're asking ? Id like to see Clive Caldwell’s Overall Foliage green/RAAF Sky Mk.VIII done. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 1602 Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 Great choice Bill - be watching this with interest. There’s no stopping you! I have a particular soft spot for the Gibbes sharkmouth as I saw the flying example a few time whilst living in Oz, so I’m looking forwards to seeing this! The story of the ‘Morotai mutiny’ Is also an interesting tale. In terms of other schemes, that boxing is awesome (foolishly sold mine in a stash clear out a while ago! What was I thinking ?!?); I’d vote for one of the dark earth/ foliage green schemes - possibly the RAF 54 Sqn one with the rounded rudder. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 Good job, another new Eduard spitfire addict! Don’t mind which one or two you pick, I will be following. 2 on the box look nice as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray_W Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 Great Bill, into it! Welcome to the RAAF builds. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Livingston Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 Thank you for the welcome for my second Spitfire of this group build... Well, could be second and third at much the same time... at least for the first part of the build. Not much happened today as I wasted a lot of building time trying to decide on the second Spitfire... despite knowing full well I can leave that until near the end. Besides, my MkIX was calling me... It has been a bit of a paint to be honest, but I really should finish her now we are close to the end... I will make a start on the Aussie Eight models tomorrow... it will be straight from the box, unlike the MkIX on the other build thread, which had every possible upgrade thrown at it... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Roberts Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Ooo, aah! Mind if I pull up a chair too? Looking forward to this one, great choice! PR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Livingston Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 Ok. I'm making a start today. Work and the MkIX got in the way of making a start last month, so I have cleared my desk and am ready to go. And I have decided not to make two in parallel, I'm bad at multi-tasking at the best of times, so this will be the Bobby Gibbs with the large shark mouth. Nothing else. It will also be straight out of the box, no extras, and no additional scratch built details. This is so I can focus on the things I am weakest at. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray_W Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 26 minutes ago, Bill Livingston said: It will also be straight out of the box, no extras, and no additional scratch built details. We'll see. 😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Livingston Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share Posted June 13, 2020 On 6/10/2020 at 3:36 PM, Ray_W said: We'll see. 😉 Well... I am trying!!! So far I have followed the instructions and not added anything... not even additional wiring in the cockpit (although it was a real struggle to let go...). I cant not put in an oxygen hose, they are too visible... but so far, I have kept to out of the box. (Apart from a little link pipe on the tanks behind the seat bulkhead). The fact is, even with just the simplified cockpit you get with the Eduard kit, its actually pretty damned good. There are one or two shortcuts, but to be honest, if I look at the MkIX I built recently which has a complete Brassin upgraded cockpit, plus a fair bit of scratch build detail, the difference is minimal. I still have detail painting to do, but this is todays work... I wasn't going to post anything until I had the cockpit completed and all sealed up... or at least all painted, but, what the hell... I may as well record progress, even if it doesn't really add anything for anyone... Apart from proof that nothing has been added... I haven't even drilled out any lightening holes of the bulkheads...! And overall... doesn't look much after a day and a half, does it? (The two seats BTW, was because I half broke the seat supports, so rather than risk it, I have an unused spare, so airbrushed that as well, just in case. Its hull Red, Dark Brown and Russet. It looks very dark here, but it's actually much lighter in real life. I am going to get the detail painting done and then gloss coat the interior and do a wash. It will be interesting to see just how much I notice the difference between my normal modelling style and a straight 'out of the box' build. I suspect not a lot unless everything is fully opened up. Anyway, roll on tomorrow... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 1602 Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Nice start Bill, it looks very neat indeed. The PE brackets on the entry door look very sharp - the level of detail on these Eduard kits is superb. I’ve got “Aussie 8” in my eBay searches now! This group build is bad for the wallet! Steve 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray_W Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 I think it's a great circuit breaker to just build a kit and with Eduard you know it will not look out of place sitting beside your all opened up Mk IX. 9 hours ago, Steve 1602 said: I’ve got “Aussie 8” in my eBay searches now! This group build is bad for the wallet! I'm with Steve on this one. I have already bought the Aussie Eight boxing and have it sitting back in Australia waiting - great subject with the bonus of Peter Malone's book. Peter's advice on this site is gold. Ray 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Livingston Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) Thanks Steve and Ray... I am quite enjoying building 'out of the box' and very impressed with the basic cockpit that comes with the Eduard Spitfires. Once all wrapped up, I would be surprised if there is much of difference between this and the resin cockpit. Dont get me wrong, the Brassin cockpit is really detailed and superbly engineered and its worth anyone building at least one, but the standard kit with the Profi PE and masks, is incredible value and seems to build into something really special. Today was a matter of doing all the detail painting and then a coat of gloss. I will let that harden overnight and then use some unreadable decals to act as cockpit placards on the sidewalls and on the two grey compressed air tanks and then finish with a wash and a bit of a dry brushing. I thought I could get on with some of that later this evening, but its probably better to let the gloss varnish harden before attacking it with a panel wash. Still, I might well add some cut up random decals to suggest cockpit placards and stencilling and then another gloss coat later after i have eaten. I can then leave it all overnight to harden a bit and then do the wash tomorrow after work. I have to say, I'm pretty surprised at how good the standard cockpit is once painted. The only weathering I have done so far has been on the seat and I am very happy with that. With seatbelts on I think it will look just as good as the resin one. I might well build the wings and the engine top cowl... I have a spare left over from the previous build if I mess it up... and I suppose I ought to make the exhausts as well. Although I take ages over everything, it is still a very fast kit to build. I'm now wondering if I will have time to build a third Spitfire before this group build ends! 😄 These Eduard Spitfires are a bit of a joy... Its going to be hard building something else. Edited June 14, 2020 by Bill Livingston 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 1602 Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 2 hours ago, Bill Livingston said: I'm now wondering if I will have time to build a third Spitfire before this group build ends! 😄 You know it makes sense Bill 😆 The cockpit is looking really sharp and the weathering on the seat is quite excellent. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Livingston Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 (edited) I'm not sure how I can do so much and have so little to show for it... I obviously go into a totally different time when I start building. I thought I had been working on this Spitfire about an hour... Five hours later, this is all I have to show for it... Now, I will admit taking absolutely ages preparing parts after removing them from the sprue... its just something I find myself doing, even when the gates are nowhere near a critical surface, I will still clean them all up. What I have noticed on this particular kit is very, very, fine flash on some of the edges. Its so thin and so tiny that it would melt under some Tamiya extra thin, but it's enough to slightly compromise the cleanliness of the edges, so I have to remove it. This first job was to find some unreadable stencilling and add that to various parts of the cockpit and instrumentation just to 'busy it up a bit'. Its more or less in the right place and about the right size. I also decided to do the prop stencilling at the same time s i wanted another gloss coat on it before I masked off the yellow tips. Seemed odd adding stencils with no prop tips done... but it makes sense (in my little head anyway). This still needs another gloss coat to seal the tiny little decals before I do a wash. It took ages to put them on (well, it took ages to cut them up and then add them without losing them inside the bristles of the paint brush I was using to position them!). The last thing I need is for them all to float off the moment Tamiyas finest panel wash went all over them... I decided I would wait for the gloss until after I had completed and then painted the undercarriage bays. Having built the MkIX, I realised that I could have the landing gear mechanism in aluminium with the rest of the bay airbrushed in MSG... and I couldn't weather the bays neatly either, so, given my recent experience, I wondered whether I could fit that particular part later and airbrush the bays before putting the wings together. I decided I could, so thats what I ended up doing. I will airbrush the MSG and then gloss and wash them. I also have much more room to do a decent dry brush as well... I think if this works out, I will do all my Eduard Spitfires this way. This is a picture with the bay built, but without the mechanism which rotates the undercarriage. It can be fitted after painting and weathering from the top very easily... Jeez! That looks a little rough... in real life at 1:1 it looks pretty clean and sharp. Still you can see the bit where the mechanism fits at the top of the undercarriage leg area, just in case anyone else wants to try this build order. I can also airbrush and weather the top of the wheel bays as well, as the wings won't get glued together until all this is done. I also painted the red and green clear lenses from the inside, so the paint is on the inner surface, which means the lens will look like coloured glass rather than clear paint... I have already put the masks provided on them... it would typical of me to forget and then airbrush all over the perfectly prepared navigation lights! The other issue I had with the previous build was the radiator area. I fitted them and then tried to mount the mechanism for the the radiator flaps after the model was completed. It was nigh on impossible, plus it wouldn't hold all that well because the glue didnt like the paint in the way. I also had trouble with weathering the mechanism and although I managed it, it looks pretty crude. This time, to overcome the issues later, I built the sides, using the radiator top to make sure they were aligned precisely and then added the mechanisms and the little right angled tube that vents into the radiator front (did once know what this was but have forgotten). It is part of the kit, but is tiny... I didnt have a drill small enough to drill a hole for it to fit in, so I made a hole with a needle. There is a little dent where the hole should be on the wing, but there are no instructions to drill it out. Anyway, its there... I am going to have to be very careful not to knock it off though... Thankfully, the top of the radiators now fit perfectly (I had a problem on the previous build, it didnt quite fit right and none of the panels lined up... it was only a tiny amount, but, well... this seems to have sorted out that particular problem. I can now airbrush the insides properly, weather them and then put the grilles in and the tops on and hopefully I will have a complete radiator with no bits missing or actuators sitting at funny angles... See... five hours, and I have done almost nothing... If anyone ever needs lessons on how to waste hours looking busy and achieving very little, I'm available... Edited June 15, 2020 by Bill Livingston 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Good morning Bill "See... five hours, and I have done almost nothing... If anyone ever needs lessons on how to waste hours looking busy and achieving very little, I'm available..." Don't worry you are not the only one in this case I could fill pages with my own stories .. Am I the only one to find that Eduard did not make things easier in certain stages of the build of thier Spit (either in 1/72 and 1/48) and in particular for the cockpit , the wheel wells ,the radiators ...? Best Regards Patrice 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 Yeah, even the 1/72 kit has a high parts count, but to Eduard's credit they all fit together well. Off to a great start Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Gordon Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 That's looking rather spiffing old fruit.I do like what you've done with the seat,very convincing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Livingston Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 Hi All, First let me both thank everyone for your comments since my last post and then apologise for not posting again for a few days. Work again I am afraid... supply chain issues meaning we cant supply products even though we have huge backorders at the moment... just at a time our retailers could do with the cash flow as sales go through. Its out of my control, and my retailers know it is, but it still doesn't stop me feeling a bit down about it all. So, basically, I haven't been able to focus enough until this evening. Anyway, I haven't done all that much as you will see when you see the photos... but what I have done I am very pleased about. The other day, after finishing my previous Spitfire and thinking about how much progress I have been making due to the support, advice and encouragement from a number of you... Ray and Steve in particular, but all the comments I get helps me progress, so think you. So... I thought, why do we spend so much time doing black basing or marble coats... or marble coats followed by preshading and then a very thin mist coat over the top to simulate faded paint and give some variation to panels on the outside of the model, but don't do anything like as much of this, if any on the interior surfaces that are still very visible, such as the upper part pot the cockpit and the wheel wells. Well, it was a bit too late to preshade, marble and then mist over the basic cockpit colours as I had already laid down the base coats and then have finished the hand brush detail... and even added some unreadable decals in order to simulate cockpit placards... so I thought I would experiment with the wheel wells as I still had access to them... although it meant painting them before the wings are assembled so I could get into all the nooks and crannies. I also decided that preshading the undercarriage would be interesting too. So thats what I did... and I am very please with the results. I have now given them all a coat of varnish again... so tomorrow I will either do a wash or I will leave them as they are, I will see how they look in daylight. I am fully aware that other modelers do this, so this isn't anything new, but it is to me... Anyway, here is where I am... Remember, this is all gloss varnished and there are no washes on any of these parts yet... As I said, I am not claiming this is unique... loads of people do this, but this is the first time I have tried it (and its good airbrush practice!). I really like the results... they are much more three dimensional and everything is a lot more subtle. So much so, I am not sure whether to do a wash as it may just a little crude... Remember, everything is high gloss coated, so they may reduce in contrast when matted down... hence my indecision when it comes to a wash or not... Anyway... It means I have stopped messing about, so I should be able to close the fuselage and wings up tomorrow... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 38 minutes ago, Bill Livingston said: Work again I am afraid... supply chain issues meaning we cant supply products even though we have huge backorders at the moment... just at a time our retailers could do with the cash flow as sales go through. Its out of my control, and my retailers know it is, but it still doesn't stop me feeling a bit down about it all. So, basically, I haven't been able to focus enough until this evening. Its understandable Bill the World just isn't right these days, and it all feels weird to most of us. Even if you only do a few things here and there its all still modeling. Great work on your last Spitfire BTW and this ones looking to be no slouch either. Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 1602 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 That’s all looking really good Bill. I am impressed with the brake hose detail you’ve added to the gear legs. Patience of a Saint....! To echo Dennis, I think the changed position at work is something that many of us are feeling and to an extent I think most companies are having to make their way through this as best as they can. It’s certainly testing people I think. Steve ps managed to secure an Aussie 8 boxing on eBay! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Livingston Posted June 21, 2020 Author Share Posted June 21, 2020 (edited) 6 hours ago, Steve 1602 said: ps managed to secure an Aussie 8 boxing on eBay! Excellent! There is a fabulous book with it which is really helpful... and more decals than you can possibly imagine. You only get two kits, but there are decals for 31 different aircraft...! Makes it SO tempting to get another couple, just to use some of them - which of course I did. You will love it when it arrives... Anyway, on to mine... I have no idea why I spend so much time on everything, but I do and time just rushes by... I have Neil Young playing on my system in the other room (Live at Massey Hall in 1971). I'm fortunate enough to have a system that sounds pretty much like a live event - Its what I do for a living in the real world. We supply pretty much all the big recording studios around the world, the BBC and high end domestic customers who can afford systems that can cost the price of a reasonable house. I'm the distributor in the UK for the domestic systems and I'm part of the listening panel at work, too, , so I need something of a similar level, so work, and a few others around our industry who want me to use their products, provide it. I couldn't afford it otherwise! It does mean though that I have some fabulous music to play all the time... So... I spent ages this morning cleaning off all the wash I applied last night. After doing that, I then sprayed Winsor and Newton Matt Varnish on everything. Once the matt varnish had tried enough, I then dry brushed on some Vallejo pigments on various panels in the cockpit... I also matt varnished all the wheel wells and dusted them as well. I am very happy with them and I will do this again in the future. It takes a while, but the bays look far better than normal... I have tended on my last two models to just let the wheel bays take care of themselves as I have airbrushed the under surface. I doubt there is a massive difference to anyone else, but to me they look far better. Here are some photo's... I will close up the fuselage this evening and then let it harden overnight. I can then get on with the bit I have discovered I like doing the best, the final camouflage... Not a great picture, but you get an idea. I have cleaned it up since the picture - I hadn't realised I had some tiny bits of dust, but they just blew away. The wheel wells and the inside of the radiators look really good in real life. Unfortunately, this is the best I can among with my iPhone. I added a bit of fishing line to simulate the brake lines... I just have to paint the lower part where it curves round in black and then paint the oleo itself chrome. Most of it will get hidden when the large resin wheels provided in the Aussie Eight boxing are fitted, but they are complex enough to look highly detailed if you peer closely. The only other modification was I drilled the hole in the bracket around the upper leg. The scissors are provided in the PE with the kit, and they look three dimensional because you have to fold and glue them. A bit fiddly, but with patience and decent magnification, its not that hard. This is basic cockpit as provided by the Eduard kit. A lot simpler than the Brassin cockpit I used on the MKIX, but to be honest, once it is all closed up there is virtually no difference. I used some tiny decals from the stencilling sheet (also provided) to add some detail in there... but as its from the kit, I think I can get away with claiming it is OOB as a cockpit. Just goes to show how good the standard Eduard Spitfire cockpit is, though. I made the leather straps over the rudder pedals with Tamiya tape and then painted and weathered them. Hopefully Ray will allow that too... (I promised I wouldn't add anything - and he said "We'll see...' That phrase has been playing in my head ever since he wrote it...😂 A final shot of the port side of the cockpit... the decals on the hydraulic tanks is from the cockpit door... several are provided on the stencil sheet. Thankfully, they can't be read when the fuselage is all sealed up... but the stencilling can be seen, so it looks OK. And while I'm talking of the cockpit door... I have managed to finish that, too. Again, this is standard in the Eduard kit. Just needs painting and the PE folded and set it place. Not much effort for a really good impression of the door. Anyway, close it up tonight after I have eaten something (I forgot!) and then tomorrow I can start the fun bits. My son turned up this evening for Fathers Day... he cant understand why I take so long over such small stuff. He is twenty... patience and application are alien concepts to him! Right, I am going to catch up on everyones threads. Bill Edited June 21, 2020 by Bill Livingston 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Livingston Posted June 22, 2020 Author Share Posted June 22, 2020 (edited) I managed to get the fuselage closed up. A couple of things to decide tomorrow... I have joined the cowling, but am unsure whether to temporarily fix it in place and leave the exhausts out to ease painting, or whether to cement in place and mask. It will come down to how good a fit it is and I will leave that until the morning. I have put the wings together as well, although they are not glued to the fuselage yet... I will wait for the glues to all solidify before snapping it in place. Everything looks good though, so I doubt there will be much, if any, filling to do. I did a quick dry fit just now and it looks good. This is my first Spitfire with the larger rudder and it looks really sleek and purposeful (remember my other Spitfire had all the panels and engine exposed, so this is also the first time I have one that looks quite as sleek as this. I have to say, she looks really pretty at the moment. I am really looking forward to the next stages. All the sub assemblies are finished and most are painted and weathered, so it should be quite quick from now on... Edited June 22, 2020 by Bill Livingston 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray_W Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Bill Livingston said: I have joined the cowling, but am unsure whether to temporarily fix it in place and leave the exhausts out to ease painting, or whether to cement in place and mask. It will come down to how good a fit it is and I will leave that until the morning. Hi Bill, I would glue it in place with PVA and paint as normal. Make sure no PVA on external surfaces. Then separate to put in the exhausts. If I was worried about it tearing I would use the blade to cut the paint at the panel lines although my coats are thin and this is usually not a problem and not required. I would typically remove it after the camouflage and gloss coat it as a separate item. Looks like another very neat build underway. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted June 22, 2020 Share Posted June 22, 2020 Hi Bill, Another excellent build which I've caught up with late. Great to see the experimentation with the u/c preshading. Lovely cockpit! Couple of questions if I may... What do you use to thin your Winsor & Newton matt with? I use it - best matt finish I've ever used. I thin with water but wondered if I should be using something else? What paint did you use for the cockpit? I've been using Xtracolor X010 grey/green but I think its a bit dark, yours looks better. Same question for @Ray_W if you're reading this Ray, I liked the cockpit colour of your Airfix Mk.XIV. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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