spitfire Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 Time for the serials, these generally worry me as they are so small but they do tend to come out nicely, they just need a bit more care. I tend to cut the mask down to a size that I can fit to the model easily and have enough room to line it up with pieces of tape to guide me where to place it, below is the cut down mask, note the arrow to avoid embarrasing mistakes. The photo for some reason has come out upright, I do not know why. To hold the mask together I use a piece of masking tape or masking material as transfer tape to keep the mask intact when I remove it from the backing paper and place it on the model, in this case it is Tamiya tape, also note the guide tape I used to get it into the right position. Once I was happy with the positioning the "transfer" tape is removed and the letter and number section of the mask were carefully removed, this takes a steady hand a new #11 blade and some tweezers, any bubbles are squished down with a cotton bud. And out with the airbrush loaded with Xtracolour Night X12 after I've airbrushed I like to remove the mask as soon as possible, again this is a tricky job needing a steady hand especially removing the circles from the 9's, but it is worth it. Then on to the HGW Wet Transfers for the stencils, these come with a good set of instructions and a clear plan showing the placement of the stencils, however looking at wartime photos I am not sure that all the stencils are applicable to my subject. The stencils come in different colours to cater for the Night Fighter versions, which is lucky as mine has half and half undersides. So on with the stencils, the instructions are very clear on how to do this, Cut out the transfers, Soak in warm water, remove the backing paper, Apply decal solution to the area on the model wher you are placing the transfer, for this I used Mr Mark Softener Neo which is the recommended solution, Place the transfer on the model and press out excess solution with a cloth and cotton bud, Leave for six to eight hours, then remove the backing film, I left mine overnight. You can see the film in the photo below, once dry I use a new #11 blade to lift a corner of the film and then tweezers to remove it completely. More soon Cheers Dennis 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 I’ve toyed with the idea of buying some HGW wet transfers but my disappointment with their rivets has put me off, so I’m interested to see how yours turn out. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 great work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 Galloping towards the finish line now. The HGW transfers worked fine though there are some tiny bits missing on some of them and the one on the radiator lost a chunk so will have to remove it and use a decal I think, but the HGW transfers are better than decals. One thing that I did find was that using a plastic basin for the warm water meant that it went cold quickly don't know if that affected the process or not but something for me to watch out for in the future. Cheers Dennis 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 I've scrounged up a simple USB cofffee mug warmer for that. Does zip-all to keep the coffee warm but works wonders in keeping decal water tepid 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted January 30, 2022 Author Share Posted January 30, 2022 On 1/14/2022 at 12:09 PM, alt-92 said: I've scrounged up a simple USB cofffee mug warmer for that. Does zip-all to keep the coffee warm but works wonders in keeping decal water tepid Thank you for the idea I have just got to find something similar, mind you the speed with which I build I don't need it just yet ! Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 Well finally on the last lap, just the finishing touches to do, when I get a free day. Cheers Dennis 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted February 11, 2022 Author Share Posted February 11, 2022 Two steps forward one step back being the order of the day, time for the twiddley bits. Then the awkward parts, luckily the instructions have this nice diagram to help with assembly, I just need a third hand. And just like that, well it really took a lot longer. And then into the front bit, this looked a bit challenging but it worked out fine. No positive attachment points so it was a bit awkward, but I used the spinner itself to get everything aligned. Then just when I was feeling chuffed with myself I turned the model the right way up to sit on it's newly attached legs and discovered a gluey fingerprint on the fuselage spine. But I have leared to be patient with this build and it has now been sanded, re painted and given a coat of satin varnish and is sitting on the shelf. Cheers Dennis 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 The black( night ) underside looks superb, shame you’re probably going to dirty it up. John PS: I also find the diagrams in the PCM instructions very helpful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 Well in a fit of modelling I repaired the damaged paintwork, fitted the main wheels, these had over large holes so I had to sleeve them to fit using plastic tube, fitted the undercarriage covers and aerial wire. It's not really finished as iI should really dirty it up a bit and do some exhaust staining but I have had enough, everytime I touch it there is some sort of problem, so into the display cabinet it goes. Maybe one day I will revisit it, who knows. Cheers Dennis 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 So you’re saying it’s just been rolled out of the factory and not even had an engine run. 😛 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted March 2, 2022 Author Share Posted March 2, 2022 On 2/13/2022 at 8:33 PM, Biggles87 said: So you’re saying it’s just been rolled out of the factory and not even had an engine run. 😛 Hi John, With some recharging of my modelling battery it will be taken out of the hanger given a test flight onto my bench for finishing off. Cheers Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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