Suggestions for 1st build.

[Tim Brangham]

Started model building again about 4 years ago but so far all Grand Prix or endurance racing cars, back in the distant past used to build WWII planes and AFVs

mainly 1/72 planes and 1/35 AFVs.

 

Have decide that want to try a plane in 1/48 probably a British fighter as colours schemes and camouflage seem to be better choice for a first attempt?

Was amazed at the choice and different makes now available so looking for bit of advice of what would be a good first choice, not overly expensive but decent quality.

 

For the cars I build I use Tamiya acrylics plus some Mr Metal and Alclad with Zero paints base coats and clear coats, apart from the metallics

and Tamiya blacks am going to have to buy new paints for this so would prefer something that doesn’t require a huge number of different

colours to start of with, currently thinking that will probably use Mr Color but any other suggestions welcome.

 

Also any links or references for a starter building WWII planes would be appreciated. The painting techniques for cars vs planes seems to be very different,

no panel shading and closest come to weathering is some washes on engines in the older cars and gloss body work.

 

Input/advice much appreciated.

 

[fishplanebeer]

The replies and options here are almost endless so be prepared for a multitude of suggestions.

 

Given you are looking at 48th scale, a RAF fighter with minimal colours/paints to buy and a kit that is good but reasonably priced you could do  much worse than go for the 48th scale Spitfire VII from ICM. Just two camo colours and at around £13 so quite reasonable. You just need the basic colours of black (tyre black), silver/aluminium and RAF interior green along with the two camo colours of Medium Sea Grey and PR Blue.

 

Regards

Colin

 

 

[Tim Brangham]

21 minutes ago, fishplanebeer said:

The replies and options here are almost endless so be prepared for a multitude of suggestions.

 

Given you are looking at 48th scale, a RAF fighter with minimal colours/paints to buy and a kit that is good but reasonably priced you could do  much worse than go for the 48th scale Spitfire VII from ICM. Just two camo colours and at around £13 so quite reasonable. You just need the basic colours of black (tyre black), silver/aluminium and RAF interior green along with the two camo colours of Medium Sea Grey and PR Blue.

 

Regards

Colin

 

 

Thanks Colin, never heard of ICM so did a quick search and found a few not great comments about their Spitfire kits on here as regards

fit, although not sure If it was specifically the VII. maybe should have said reasonable for me as up to about £20, all the car kits I build tend to

be £30+ and usually add a few extras on top although don’t want to do this with first plane build.

 

 

[Mark Harmsworth]

How about an Eduard Spitfire Mk IX weekend edition. Their weekend editions are the basic kit without any photo-etch or resin extras.

 

Everyone should start with a Spitfire 😉

 

Yours for £17.30 from Hannants:

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/EDK84138?result-token=i75B7

 

Good luck

Mark

[Tim Brangham]

26 minutes ago, Mark Harmsworth said:

How about an Eduard Spitfire Mk IX weekend edition. Their weekend editions are the basic kit without any photo-etch or resin extras.

 

Everyone should start with a Spitfire 😉

 

Yours for £17.30 from Hannants:

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/EDK84138?result-token=i75B7

 

Good luck

Mark

 

Thanks Mark, I’d prefer one with British markings but seems Eduard do quite a few different Spitfires so having a look at what others

are available.

 

[dnl42]

Take a look at the newer Airfix 1/48 kits. They're relatively inexpensive and build quite nicely. In particular, take a look at the recent BoB GB Gallery for some fine examples. 

[Evil_Toast_RSA]

Honestly, Tamiya make some really good fitting kits for not much dollarbucks in 1/48. Decals might be a bit thick, but not unusable. 

 

- Spitfire Mk V

- RAF Mustang

- Mosquito

- Beaufighter

 

Think I'm missing one, but those sprang to mind. It's Tamiya, so you'll have great fit and nothing overly complicated in the assembly department. 

 

 

[Tim Brangham]

Thanks for the suggestions, sounds like probably wouldn’t go wrong with Eduard, recent Airfix or Tamiya.

 

Would still be interested in any links or suggested reading on painting WWII aircraft.

 

[Troy Smith]

4 minutes ago, Tim Brangham said:

Thanks for the suggestions, sounds like probably wouldn’t go wrong with Eduard, recent Airfix or Tamiya.

If you want accuracy, and don't mind fiddly, the Eduard Spitfires seem hard to beat.   Newer Airfix are good, but can be let down by the plastic, and are not up to the Eduard in fine detail and can sometimes you need to read up on builder fixes rather than the instructions.  . Tamiya are Tamiya, note their older Spitfire I/Vb are not that accurate shape wise, but are well fitting easy kits.

 

4 minutes ago, Tim Brangham said:

 

Would still be interested in any links or suggested reading on painting WWII aircraft.

 

It's a vast subject, 

 

In the case of WW2 RAF, NW Europe, there are a series of monographs that were done in 1970, long OOP but all are scanned here 

https://boxartden.com/reference/gallery/index.php/Camouflage-Markings 

 

While old, they were the result of then newly declassfied (30 year rule) documents, and are really hard to beat as primers on the subject, as they explain what changed, when and why.

 

Of the RAF ones, the only one which has some glitches is the Mustang one.

 

There are other guides, but I've seen some right cobblers as well.

 

Unless you want to really delve into the subject,  I'd suggest picking a subject, or subjects, and asking about them specifically.   Regarding paint,  depends if you like acrylic, or enamels.

Tamiya do the 3 main mid/late war RAF colours from when they did their 1/32nd Spitfire,  Xf-81/82/83, Dark Green/Ocean Grey/Medium Sea Grey.

These are good for a load of schemes, but Tamiya don't do specifically do other colours, and for an accurate match, you need to mix.   

AFAIK, Gunze Mr Color do decent matches for various RAF paints,  @Ray_W uses them and maybe able to add more.

 

If you like enamels, then look up Colourcoats by Sovereign Hobbies, they do need to go by courier, so has a minimum order, if you do, get some of their thinners.  Their owner @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies posts here regularly, and engages with the noted authorities on specific subjects in a quest for accuracy.  I'm not an enamel user, but respect their approach and desire for getting it right. 

 

If nothing else this handy list of what paint was used when and on what is worth a read, as it uses the correct MAP names (MAP = Ministry of Aircraft production) 

https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/pages/british-royal-air-force-fleet-air-arm

 

Also, read the posts here

https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/blogs/sovereign-about-us-research-and-development

 

which will cut through some of the 'noise' you might find,  eg. beware of RAF paint guides using FS595 matches for example.

 

Really worth knowing what the correct paint names are, rather than what model companies recommend as the 'best match' in their specified paint range

 

another invaluable resource, this collection of period colour images, this is the Spitfires

 

which leads to 

8 hours ago, Tim Brangham said:

The painting techniques for cars vs planes seems to be very different,

no panel shading and closest come to weathering is some washes on engines in the older cars and gloss body work.

you can't beat looking at the real thing, I see a lot of models that, erm, look like other models from the latest trend, or show say a month old Battle of Britain Spitfire looking like it's spent a year outside in the tropical sun.   Impressive techniques, not realistic.

As the link will show, overall they were well maintained, and apart from obvious stains and slight wear from maintenance.

Say for a mid/late Spitfire, this, looked at closely

Spitfire Mk.IXC      1945 by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

This is in a training unit, note a few bits of worn paint on the cowl front, some off the fasteners, bit of exhaust staining,  a  few streaks and stains, some subtle fading.

 

HTH, check the links and ask for clarifications.

[Tim Brangham]

Thanks for the above Troy, think it’s a bit early to get too hung up on exact colour matches etc but I’ll save those for later.

 

Tend to agree with you about ‘the latest trend’ but still interested in techniques for painting and then deciding which I might

use so it looks how I want it to.

 

[Mark Harmsworth]

1 hour ago, Tim Brangham said:

Would still be interested in any links or suggested reading on painting WWII aircraft.

 

Not quite sure what you are looking for (sorry if I've got it wrong) but this is one of the first modelling books I bought on re-entering the hobby and I found it very useful. Helpfully it is spiral bound so it can be kept open on a desk. I can happily recommend it.

Mark

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Airbrushing-Finishing-Models-Modelling-Masterclass/dp/1846031990/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5CICBB6Q7AYE&dchild=1&keywords=brett+green&qid=1616879338&s=books&sprefix=brett+gree%2Caps%2C144&sr=1-1

[Tim Brangham]

45 minutes ago, Mark Harmsworth said:

Not quite sure what you are looking for (sorry if I've got it wrong) but this is one of the first modelling books I bought on re-entering the hobby and I found it very useful. Helpfully it is spiral bound so it can be kept open on a desk. I can happily recommend it.

Mark

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Airbrushing-Finishing-Models-Modelling-Masterclass/dp/1846031990/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5CICBB6Q7AYE&dchild=1&keywords=brett+green&qid=1616879338&s=books&sprefix=brett+gree%2Caps%2C144&sr=1-1

Thanks Mark was actually just looking at that on Amazon and also this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Painting-Finishing-Techniques-Osprey-Modelling/dp/1846032636/ref=pd_lpo_14_img_2/261-9315394-1928655?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1846032636&pd_rd_r=79b7613c-65ab-4009-8595-6ca73b81d6fc&pd_rd_w=W80uj&pd_rd_wg=6ox9X&pf_rd_p=d8b3a5b8-7766-4dff-b57a-24ee5d46250d&pf_rd_r=AB0VGZ14VNMPP4D61CZV&psc=1&refRID=AB0VGZ14VNMPP4D61CZV

[fishplanebeer]

I also have both these books and they are full of extremely good tips and take you through the various stages of a build in some detail so well worth having to get up to speed with the more modern techniques used. They also include excellent tips on the painting and weathering of your chosen subject but as always practice will be needed so don't expect your first attempt to mirror those in the books which are built by experts!

 

By the way Osprey also do another really useful guide entitled 'Modelling Scale Aircraft' which is also worth a look as well, although if like me you end up with all 3 there will inevitably be a degree of duplication of information but still worth the investment.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Modelling-Scale-Aircraft-Osprey/dp/1846032377/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=modelling+scale+aircraft&qid=1616883411&s=books&sr=1-1

 

You don't mention whether you intend to brush or airbrush the model and whether you intend to use acrylics or enamels but these choices will determine which are the best paints to go for. As an enamels airbrush user I can highly recommend Colourcoats paints from Sovereign Hobbies (though sometimes the most popular colours can be out of stock) and also Xtracolor from Hannants with Humbrol if I cannot obtain the required colour from the other two. Sorry but I can't comment on the various acrylics brands as I never use them although apparently from what I've read on this forum Tamiya acrylics are not great for brush painting.

 

I agree with the previous comments regarding Eduard and Tamiya as their kits generally fit together really well requiring minimal filler and preparation/fettling of the parts, so if the budget will stretch then go for them. Some of their kits may have minor issues for those seeking the perfect shape and location of panels lines etc.. but they are enjoyable to build and I certainly found the Tamiya 48th scale Spitfire Mk1 to be excellent.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Regards

Colin.

 

[Tim Brangham]

38 minutes ago, fishplanebeer said:

I also have both these books and they are full of extremely good tips and take you through the various stages of a build in some detail so well worth having to get up to speed with the more modern techniques used. They also include excellent tips on the painting and weathering of your chosen subject but as always practice will be needed so don't expect your first attempt to mirror those in the books which are built by experts!

 

By the way Osprey also do another really useful guide entitled 'Modelling Scale Aircraft' which is also worth a look as well, although if like me you end up with all 3 there will inevitably be a degree of duplication of information but still worth the investment.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Modelling-Scale-Aircraft-Osprey/dp/1846032377/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=modelling+scale+aircraft&qid=1616883411&s=books&sr=1-1

 

You don't mention whether you intend to brush or airbrush the model and whether you intend to use acrylics or enamels but these choices will determine which are the best paints to go for. As an enamels airbrush user I can highly recommend Colourcoats paints from Sovereign Hobbies (though sometimes the most popular colours can be out of stock) and also Xtracolor from Hannants with Humbrol if I cannot obtain the required colour from the other two. Sorry but I can't comment on the various acrylics brands as I never use them although apparently from what I've read on this forum Tamiya acrylics are not great for brush painting.

 

I agree with the previous comments regarding Eduard and Tamiya as their kits generally fit together really well requiring minimal filler and preparation/fettling of the parts, so if the budget will stretch then go for them. Some of their kits may have minor issues for those seeking the perfect shape and location of panels lines etc.. but they are enjoyable to build and I certainly found the Tamiya 48th scale Spitfire Mk1 to be excellent.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Regards

Colin.

 

Thanks Colin, regarding painting will mostly use an airbrush and currently leaning towards Mr Color lacquer acrylics, you are right about

brushing Tamiya acrylics although adding a flow improver makes them brushable.

I’ll have another look at the three books, probably buy one then decide if worth getting the others.

[fishplanebeer]

Personally if you want a book that covers all aspects from building to painting & weathering then the 'Modelling Scale Aircraft' would be my first choice but if you are happy with the build side of things then I'd go for the 'Painting & Finishing Techniques' one instead.

 

Interestingly there are still some basic questions left unanswered by all 3 books such as how do you glue pre-painted sub-assemblies and parts to the model as all polystyrene cements need both plastic parts to be paint free in order to bond and work. The answer is to use either epoxy resin, which is slow setting but gives you time to make adjustments before it sets, or to use CA (super glue) in its 3 forms of thin, medium or thick. Also none give any clues as to the best method/material for replicating aerial wires but from personal experience and also asking this forum the most common material used is EZ Line (fine) which works really well.

 

Finally I've also found the 'Modelling Tips' area of this forum to be a great source of information when I get stuck (no pun intended) and it has some real gems of information from fellow modellers as well, such as a superbly simple way of achieving the perfect demarcation between wheel hubs and tyres so this is well worth checking on a regular basis.

 

All the very best with your first model.

 

Regards

Colin.

 

 

 

[Ray_W]

Hi Tim,

 

Tamiya new 1/48 Spitfire or 1/48 Eduard Spitfire  - perfect start! Do it. Go the Tamiya to start. I also like the Eduard and Airfix. The new Tamiya 1/48 Spitfire is typical Tamiya meaning just about falls together.  Once you select your kit, come on here and ask the challenges. 

 

However, as an auto builder you should already have on board the very necessary skills for a great build - ability to cut plastic, ensure no flash (unlikely with Tamiya, Eduard), test fit, good gluing skills, great joins and ability to finish seams, great painting.  So in terms of aircraft building I see little difference until finishing. Follow the instructions. The only thing I would add are for me the game changers - Tamiya Extra Thin and high quality nips and be very careful in terms of checking that casting nubs are removed cleanly and completely. This applies to all modern kits. 

 

The real variation will come in finishing - painting order, masking, weathering, decals. As mentioned, the Tools & Tips section here is a great resource to post questions. Like the regular "What order should I paint and decal?"

 

There are many YouTube channels for getting into the aircraft detail builds. I would recommend three for starters:

 

1. Assembly and general no nonsense builds - Andy's Hobby Headquarters,

2. Great finishing techniques - Plasmo,

3. Wonderful techniques - Paul Budzik.  

 

All have high production values so good to watch without the dimly lit, sniffling commentary, poor camera position, and dog's barking builds.

 

Andy does the full build of the Tamiya Spitfire here, you get the lot for a great build:

 

 

5 hours ago, Tim Brangham said:

Mr Color lacquer acrylics

 

Great choice, thinned with Mr Color Levelling Thinner and beautiful to spray. Colour matches are good, we can get into the argument over their RAF Dark Green after you have a few aircraft builds under your belt. Eduard do their colour call-outs with Gunze.  

 

Enjoy

 

Ray 

 

 

 

[Tim Brangham]

Thank you everyone.

 

 Am sure there will be some differences on the build side, no longitudinal seams on cars, but used to PE and resin parts, although

most of the PE for cars is white metal not brass, but hopefully no major problems but will wait till start building before asking any more

questions.

 

Really is finishing that will be the major difference and as Ray mentions decal application and final finish will be different, I’m used to light coat

of gloss clear coat then decals then thicker final gloss clear coat followed by polishing so think I’ll start with the ‘painting & finishing techniques’

book.