Dr Jimbo Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 (edited) Right, here we go. I’ve not done any modelling for several years now, but lockdown has made me clear out the garage and make some space. I thought I’d start with something simple, straight out of the box and try to relearn all the techniques I used to think I knew. I’m using this thread as a log as much as anything else, but may post questions if I get stuck and see what you think. Happy to take constructive critisism. I want learn from people with more experience than me, just no trolling! Thanks, James. Edited November 25, 2020 by Dr Jimbo mistake 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rémi Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Welcome back Witch Tamiya kit you build ? The old or the new Spitfire ? It's a very good choice for restart our hobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted November 25, 2020 Author Share Posted November 25, 2020 (edited) This is the new kit, with the PE and canopy masks, which I can’t remember being in the old kit. I’m using Tamiya acrylics and an old airbrush. I’ve made a start on the cockpit. I’ve got to work out how to post pictures now... Edited November 25, 2020 by Dr Jimbo Mistake 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted November 25, 2020 Author Share Posted November 25, 2020 Here is the cockpit so far. Happy with dry brushing, not so happy with the wash. Used MIG dark wash which has comeout a bit grainy, probably because it has been sitting untouched in the garage for 7 years. Will try oil wash next time, just oil paint (?burnt umber) thinned with cellulose thinners and see if it comes out with smoother finish. I would be interested to know what other people use to weather inside cockpits. Might try and clean this up a bit with cotton bud and little bit of thinner. Then start on the rest of the cockpit... Thanks, James. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rémi Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 for a restart it is a beautifull work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Welcome back to modelling and the forum. Great start, not got the 48th newer Spitfire model from Tamiya. Built a few older ones and have a couple in the stash for Seafire conversions. They make up well so the new one wl be very nice I'm sure. Great start Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted November 25, 2020 Author Share Posted November 25, 2020 Thanks for the comments. Of all the kits I have made, this is probably the best made. Excited to use the PE and see if the canopy masks actually fit well. James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 Making slow progress over the Christmas period, snatching 10 mins here and there between stuffing my face and playing family games, which frankly I've had enough of by now! The harnesses were tricky. Being metal, then don't fall naturally like a real harness might, so needed to be bent into the right shape before gluing in place. Used tamiya normal cement and wished I hadn't as it has made a bit of a mess of the top of the seat. Thought I'd paint the harness and seat before gluing them together but the paint chipped when fiddling about and the glue messed up the paint on the seat, so next time will glue first then paint as best I can when in position. I used a couple of coats of Klear before applying the wash, then a coat of Alclad semi-matte varnish to seal it all. Next time I might hand paint different sheens of varnish onto different areas to vary the finish as it all looks a bit uniform (eg Klear on leather seat and glass instrument dials, and matte varnish on cloth harness). Having said all that, I'm pretty pleased with how it has come out. The photos show up all the imperfections, but to the naked eye it looks just about right. Being super critical, I think I might have over weathered it, mainly being a bit heavy handed with the MIG dark wash. Wasn't sure how to get it off once applied. I know the technique of using a cotton bud dipped in thinners the remove the excess, but having had a nightmare with the PE harnesses, I didn't want to get any fluff caught in the fiddly bits. A small bit of sponge on a cocktail stick might have been OK, but too late now. Next job is to build/paint the wheel wells and think about what to do with the canopy. Going to be open. I am worried about masking the canopy properly and having made a mess so many times in the past, I need to get it right first time. I hate masking canopies... Happy New Year, James. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Been lazy at posting. Got a fair bit done. Lockdown has few advantages, but this is one. Masked the canopy parts. The masks that came with the kit went on well enough. Can only tell when unmasked at the end. Got a bit puzzled by the shape at the top of the reinforced glass bit that fits over the front of front canopy. Did some research and found some images of the same aircraft. It's a rear view mirror. Most of you may have known that, but I didn't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 (edited) Glued the canopies in place. Going to have an open cockpit, so fiddled about with tamiya tape and maskol and covered it all up. Then put the wings and tail on, filled any gaps with tamiya cement and did some minor sanding. Then sprayed with primer just to show up imperfections, of which their were only a few, mainly due to the quality of the kit rather than any skill on my part. I then dropped it while drunk and broke one wing tip, one tail bit and the small pylon on the tail! Too embarrassed to take pics. Took a week off. Decided to lock the shed when drunk. Glued bits back on. Pylon lost forever, I'm going to have to improvise later. Edited January 26, 2021 by Dr Jimbo Weird replaced of swear word! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 After lots of fiddling and sanding, some minor rescribing along the fuselage, I painted in satin black in preparation for some inverse preshading. There's probably a term for it, but I don't know what it is. In the past I've always primed with grey tamiya primer (decanted then airbrushed) then preshaded with black. This time I thought I'd do it the other way round to see what difference it makes, using white instead of grey for the panel centres. Looks awesome in black. Will do the white shading later... Keep going, James 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Looking good, great recovery an good idea to lock the shed when drunk. Can I just ask is that recess in the port fuselage for the sliding part of the canopy? Never seen that before on a model. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 I guess so. Without the recess the canopy wouldn't fit. The kit allows you to chose if you want the canopy open or closed, so the recess would be obvious if canopy closed. Looking at images of the real aircraft, there is no recess. Well spotted. PS the open canopy will sit lower when finished. There is a lump of tape and maskol underneath. James. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 9 minutes ago, Dr Jimbo said: PS the open canopy will sit lower when finished. There is a lump of tape and maskol underneath. Hi James, the recess is Tamiya's clever Idea to make the canopy look scale thickness when it's in place. A tip for you, the intake just below the windscreen on the door side should be removed for this build, there is a very small notation in step 12 of the instructions to slice it off, it was only on Mk.V's. Despite it's accident it's looking good with the primer on. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 I thought it would be but why did they put it on one side only? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 2 hours ago, Retired Bob said: Hi James, the recess is Tamiya's clever Idea to make the canopy look scale thickness when it's in place. A tip for you, the intake just below the windscreen on the door side should be removed for this build, there is a very small notation in step 12 of the instructions to slice it off, it was only on Mk.V's. Despite it's accident it's looking good with the primer on. Thanks for spotting that Bob. Missed it in the destructions. Will be gone tomorrow. James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 Gone. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Hi, late as usual, good rate of progress for two months by my standards. Like Chris ( @bigbadbadge ) I don’t have one of these yet but have quite a few others, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. I can’t resist a Spitfire build anyway so I’ll tag along if I may. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 Did a bit of pre-shading with plain white. Gave up after one wing as I wasn't happy with how it was coming out. I feel a noob and feel as if I've forgotten how to use an airbrush. If you look closely there is a bit of spatter and over spray. I'm using 20 psi and 50:50 tamiya to thinner and not sure what I'm doing wrong. I'll give the airbrush a good clean tomorrow and read up on technique then try again. I'll probably do an experiment on a blank sheet to see what I'm doing wrong. Any thoughts welcome. James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 Just thinking, my shed isn't heated and the weather has been cold. When I was painting yesterday, the temp was only 5C. Do you think that is effecting the way the paint behaves? Anyone have any experience? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 I find that white for some reason is difficult to spray. Tamiya white is the best I've used however I thin it more than other colours. Typically a bit more Mr levelling thinner than paint, and then build the colour in light passes. what are you using to thin the paint? if your not using Mr levelling thinner I can highly recommend it good luck, stay warm John(shortCummins) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark.au Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 4 hours ago, shortCummins said: I find that white for some reason is difficult to spray. Interesting, I thought it was just me. Nicw work so far on the Spit. Don’t sweat the marbling too much, it’s a subtle effect anyway and the key to its success is how you apply the top coat far more than the white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 I use OneDrive to save my pics then copy the url blah blah on a laptop. Does anyone know if you use an iPad to do the same thing, or do you have to use a PC? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jimbo Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 Worked it out how to do it on iPad! Finished the pre-shading. Still not happy with the airbrushing, lots of splatter and overspray. After fiddling with the pressure and thinning the paint more, ended up with this. I think I was using 20psi and 60:40 thinner to paint. Looks good from far away, less as you get closer. I’m hoping this is just a white paint issue (thanks John), and I’m sure the top camp coats will go on much easier. I was thinking about doing the camo free style without masking, but having struggled to get the airbrush working properly for close up work, I’m going to play safe and mask it. Not sure which method. I don’t have the patience to research too much, but not sure how sharp the lines are between the 2 camo colours on the mk1. Thinking about white tac sausages for softer lines or Tamiya tape cut to shape for sharp lines, just not sure which yet. Might try to find some pics... Or I might just go to sleep. James. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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