TonyOD Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 (edited) If I just put this here does it constitute any kind of contractual obligation? 😁 I have plenty going on for this GB and others, but I think I might squeeze another small one in and I'm aiming to make this my Christmas break build. I haven't built a Spitfire in over a decade and it feels overdue. It's the relatively recent 1990s boxing of the 1979 Mk XVI kit originally numbered 282, which I will be building as an aircraft flown by 350 Squadron of the Belgian Air Force 🇧🇪 in 1946. Edited February 5, 2021 by TonyOD 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Nice choice. I do like the Heller XVIe. Haven't decided if I'm going to throw one of mine in yet, but if not, I'll do the next best thing and follow this one. Be nice to see a Belgian Spit too. After all, that's nearly French right? Steev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 5 minutes ago, fightersweep said: that's nearly French right? Don't ever say that in Flanders, you'll get strung up! 😂 This is the only Heller kit I've ever built before, one of my very early attempts and I remember it being a really enjoyable build. Hoping I've upped my game a bit since then. Model long since lost but a picture survives. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Looks good to me now, and brings back memories of the one I built in the same scheme, mainly because I wasn't too sure about the other option with the lime green squadron codes. The second one I cross kitted with a Frog Mk XIV to try and make a low back XVI. It sort of worked. No offence to our friends in Belgium. In fact, I shall use that as an excuse to stick on my favourite Telex album. Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 2 minutes ago, fightersweep said: lime green squadron codes. Yeah I’m no expert but I’m pretty sure that’s duff. Callouts on the Lifelike decals I’m using show the fin flashes back to front, but actual decals are printed correctly, thankfully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 A nice choice, Tony. I love aircraft with red outer-ringed roundels :). Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 With my Amiot inching towards completion and the pressure off with my LeO now I've pulled it from the MTO GB, and a couple of weeks off work I think now's the time to get started on this wee fella. I'm hoping for a reasonably quick build. Sprue shot after a quick wash. It's very, er, black. I plan to scribe some panel lines and I think I'll need to give the wing and fuselage a squirt of primer beforehand simply so I can see what's happening with the raised lines. Heller kits often benefit from a new hat and shoes! The decals. I think I( mentioned the fin flashes are printed incorrectly on the callouts. Here we go! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 On 10/11/2020 at 20:52, TonyOD said: Don't ever say that in Flanders You cannot say that even in Wallonie! Looking forward to following your build of this rare variation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted December 23, 2020 Author Share Posted December 23, 2020 Scribin’... I’ve heard rumours that there are Spitfire kits out there with recessed panel lines already in them... but I don’t believe it. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted December 26, 2020 Author Share Posted December 26, 2020 The cockpit is on the rudimentary side, but I’ve added a scratch seatbelt and headrest thingy to liven it up a bit. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted December 27, 2020 Author Share Posted December 27, 2020 Some amateurish scribing on the fuselage, a bit of glue and it looks like a Spitfire. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 Primer on, and I can see my panel lines, which is nice. Might give that join along the nose a bit of attention. The kit canopy made a handy mask. I wish all my builds were this speedy! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted January 19, 2021 Author Share Posted January 19, 2021 (edited) Bit of progress with the Spit. Underside painted and subjected to a bit of pencil smearing, masked off (faffy!) so I can get busy on the top. Edited January 19, 2021 by TonyOD 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 Masked up ready for a bit of green. Every camo job I've ever done I've just freehanded but I thought I'd put a bit of effort into this one. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Looking good Tony! Got to admit! I love masking (sarcasm obviously 🤣). Actually, at least most Luftwaffe camo is just straight lines. This wiggly stuff looks like a headache to mask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 21 minutes ago, fightersweep said: This wiggly stuff looks like a headache to mask. It is, but if I look on the bright side, apart from splinter every camo scheme the Luftwaffe did in WW2 I would find completely undoable! The biggest headache, weirdly, is having to try really hard not to mask the bits that I want to paint... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 26 minutes ago, TonyOD said: It is, but if I look on the bright side, apart from splinter every camo scheme the Luftwaffe did in WW2 I would find completely undoable! Those Lufty schemes aren't too bad, although as I use a brush, mottling is not easy to pull off. The only thing I lost my way on was losing track of which bits I was supposed to be masking and sometimes inadvertent reversing the camo by accident. You should give it a go as it's pretty satisfying if it all works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 Just now, fightersweep said: The only thing I lost my way on was losing track of which bits I was supposed to be masking and sometimes inadvertent reversing the camo by accident. That's exactly my problem. I half-built a Lanc once, put the wings on and I realised I'd reversed the camo on the wings and not the fuselage, it looked very strange. It's very odd, shouldn't be that difficult. As a fellow disciple of the hairy stick I avoid Luftwaffe schemes, off the top of my in the stash I have a Ju-52 (splinter), Ar-96 (splinter), Fw-190 (found a nice all blue/grey scheme), He-112 (who knows what it will be, plain something), Bf-108 (ditto). I don't hold with none of your mottling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 @fightersweep You're absolutely right - for us brush-painting antiques mottling is a bl...y challenge. I don't build any Luftwaffe subjects (and my Heller 109 was a desert bird on purpose...), but as a Japanese warplanes aficionado I don't get around it. This guy here developed a very practical method of brush-mottling with a great result (you need to scroll down): http://soyuyo.main.jp/ki43d/ki43e-3.html For a wavy pattern I usually sketch the outlines with a pencil on the primed surface. You can rub it off with some water if you want to correct it. Upon painting, the pencil lines disappear. Good luck with your Spit Tony, Michael! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 That's an interesting approach to mottling. It makes me regret I don't have a suitable example on my short-list - lots in the stash including three different Oscars. I'm not sure it will replace all the range of mottles and soft finishes, but it looks promising for this kind of diffuse spot. Might work for the "wave-mirror" style of lines seen on other Japanese and German types. Hmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 Masks off, little bit of bleed to touch up but looking ok. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 Decals on. They're a 15-year-old sheet from Lifelike (if anyone is ever doing the Heller XVI OOB I have a leftover set of squadron codes in nice sky instead of nasty green!) which largely behaved itself, both fin flashes fragmented into four of five pieces and I spent a cheerful half hour chasing miniscule bits of decal into place with a very fine brush, likewise the starboard overwing roundel though that one I think I prodded with a too-stiff brush before it was quite ready to leave the comfort of the paper. A decent set of stencils was included, very finely printed. The decals contradict the callouts in two respects, the fin flashes I mentioned above (incorrect callouts, correct decals) and the central black circle of the roundels in given in the callouts as the same size in all positions, whereas one pair is slightly smaller on the sheet and logically these belong on the underwings, where often a higher-vis roundel was used. The Belgians used two sizes of roundel. There's a possibility the overwing roundels would have been larger, same size as the RAF roundels the plane would have sported during wartime before it was transferred to what was to become the Belgian Air Force. Those bright colours really pop, next job to calm everything down a bit with an oil wash and matt finish. Cheers Tony 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janneman36 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 It has been coming along nicely Tony, you finally get the rewards for you hard work👍 cheers, Jan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Hi Tony, very nice build and yes, this Heller kit is an all time favorite. And your rescribing is rather cool. Congrats! JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 I touched up a tiny hole in the black section of the starboard roundel with a Sharpie. Capillary action did its thing and the black ink flowed along a miniscule crack in the decal and bled into the yellow ring. This made me sad. I managed to hide it with a tiny sliver of decal from elsewhere on the sheet that happened to match for colour. They'll never notice it, I whispered to myself... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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