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USAAF 4th Fighter Group Spitfire (Tamiya 1/48 Mk Vb) * FINISHED 30 NOV (+ few extra photo’s)*


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I have the same issues with Klear pooling Steve.  Unless you sit there for a few hours dabbing at a corner with some kitchen roll, there's always some unwanted ripple showing up. I got around it on the WW by dipping it before I cut it to size.  

 

That rear canopy section looks fantastic. ( as does the rest of the airframe).

 

P.S. I think you got away with mentioning the primer word without Giorgio noticing.

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1 hour ago, hendie said:

P.S. I think you got away with mentioning the primer word without Giorgio noticing.

You think so.... :D  :D  :D  

 

BTW: I use Alclad Aqua Gloss to dip transparencies in. I shake the excess off and let the part dry on a paper towel. Works perfectly for me. HTH

 

Ciao

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Wow, that was a shock, I think I saw some Spitfire pictures there .................... oh yes, of course this is actually a Spitfire thread 😂

 

Lovely scoop work there Steve and that rear cockpit transparency looks superb.

 

I've seen many people talk of dipping canopies in klear, but have always avoided it for fear of said pooling, so nice to know I'm not just a coward!

 

Terry

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Now don’t immediately poo poo this post for being only 3 photos showing a couple of bits of brass stuck into the wings :D

 

The Master brass cannons are really quite exquisite; and it was an anxious hour or more’s work making sure the two of them protruded the correct length and equally, and lining them up horizontally and vertically.

 

Several variations of jigs were envisioned and rejected before deciding to go with simple guides and the mark 1 eyeball.

 

An then some thin cyano was run around the base of the barrels and capillary action did it’s thing.

 

 

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Told you the cannons were nice.

 

But I’ll take the credit for the neatness of the fitting….:rofl2:

 

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Another tricky little job ticked off the to do list :D

 

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One thing that is modestly concerning me is the openings in the wings for the machine guns.  I can’t make up my mind whether they’ve been moulded a bit too big in diameter - and I can’t work out whether the tips of the machine guns should be visible.  These First World problems eh?

 

Oh - and another thing.  I’m not sure if the internal colour of the windscreen framing is interior green or black.  Seen pictures (though of preserved examples that will have been repainted) suggesting both.  I can see the logic behind it being black - and some well regarded examples are black (e.g. BL628).  Why didn’t WW2 photographers working in colour appreciate the problems of future generations of modellers?

Edited by Fritag
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I somehow lost the Aires etch gun sight uppers that I was going to use.  Which is a right royal PITA.  But on the other hand it had an oval shaped lens and these spits had square reflector lenses according to photo’s I’ve seen.

 

Anyroad up I had no option but to improvise a gunsight from some scrap plastic strip and clear plastic sheet; which perhaps lacks the finesse of an etch sight but does at least have a square glass….. It also converted me to the merits of Gator Grip Thin blend.

 

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I also came to realise that the gun sight doesn’t in fact sprout out of the instrument panel as per most kits and resin accessories but hangs from a bracket attached to to the sill above the IP. Which in turn made me notice that the IP in the Tamiya kit sits slightly proud of the cockpit sill rather than underneath it - which is (just about and if you look for it) noticeable when the windscreen is fitted.

 

Two birds with one stone being the idiom of the day I knocked up a not-wholly-accurate-but serviceable pseudo mount from this strip:

 

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Which pops in here:

 

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And sort of looks like the mount and sort of covers the top of the IP.  It’ll be painted interior green.

 

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Now I’ve got to decide whether or not to paint the inside of the windscreen frames interior green.

 

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Brilliant fix for the gunsight, Steve - it looks spot on! :clap:  :clap: 


As for painting the windscreen frames: I did paint them interior green but from the outside (there's no way you can actually see the inside once it's all mounted), unless your dilemma is color related?

 

Ciao

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That gunsight is the dogs!

 

As for internal frames, do you have canopy mask sets for this one? Many seem to have internal masks also, but I can vouch that from experience with my Meteor, they can be a b****r to apply!

 

As @giemme suggest they are likely very hard to see anyway.

 

Terry

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Great work, Mr. Friday. I'm surprised that most kits leave out the bracket that holds the gunsight. Since you're going hog wild with the detailing, might I suggest the gradations on the dials for the gunsight, the bumper so the pilot doesn't smash his head against it, and also perhaps the three extra light bulbs on the fuselage sidewall?

 

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I'm of course just being silly. You're probably already planning for these, and much more!     :)  :)  :)

 

Cheers,

Bill

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50 minutes ago, Navy Bird said:

also perhaps the three extra light bulbs on the fuselage

 

Those at least are in there Bill  - just above the morse key :D  Weren’t you paying attention?  Dunno why I bovver :rofl2: 

 

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Painted and installed the pseudo gun sight mount.

 

 

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Although I’m not as pleased with it now Bill’s shown the real thing! :rofl2: 

 

 

 

Edited by Fritag
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1 hour ago, Navy Bird said:

I'm surprised that most kits leave out the bracket that holds the gunsight.

To be fair with Tamiya, they did mold in that detail. 

 

In fact, I can't recall how much is resin and how much is kit parts inside Steve's Spitfire cockpit, but it all look so good anyway... :shrug:  :clap:

 

Ciao 

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6 hours ago, Fritag said:

Those at least are in there Bill  - just above the morse key :D  Weren’t you paying attention?  Dunno why I bovver :rofl2:

 

Ah, I missed that indeed. I was most likely using my averted imagination wondering how on earth I am ever going to finish the Matchbox Privateer...    :drunk:

 

I really like the detail in the office, but I also missed the hydraulic lines you added on the starboard sidewall. Man, I have to get my mind off that Privateer and start paying attention to the good stuff!! Your work is excellent,     :banghead:

 

Cheers,

Bill

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22 hours ago, giemme said:

As for painting the windscreen frames: I did paint them interior green but from the outside (there's no way you can actually see the inside once it's all mounted), unless your dilemma is color related?

 

I did wonder whether the frames were black rather than interior green G; but only because a number of restored airframes have them in black.  I’ve not seen any contemporary evidence of them being black so I reckon green is a safer bet.

 

I might paint the bottom and rear edge frames on the inside as they should be relatively easily masked - but the complicated interior stuff I won;t bother with for the reasons you say.

 

20 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

As for internal frames, do you have canopy mask sets for this one? Many seem to have internal masks also

 

Yes but no internal masks Terry.

 

6 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

wondering how on earth I am ever going to finish the Matchbox Privateer...    :drunk:

 

Probably with an exemplary neat finish and extraordinary paint job I should think Bill.  No pressure.  :whistle:

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52 minutes ago, Fritag said:

I did wonder whether the frames were black rather than interior green G; but only because a number of restored airframes have them in black.  I’ve not seen any contemporary evidence of them being black so I reckon green is a safer bet.

You probably know about this website:

http://spitfiresite.com/2010/07/anatomy-of-spitfire-cockpit.html

 

They claim this Spitfire was restored to factory standards almost completely, and I relied on that when building mine. HTH

 

Ciao

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21 minutes ago, giemme said:

You probably know about this website:

http://spitfiresite.com/2010/07/anatomy-of-spitfire-cockpit.html

 

They claim this Spitfire was restored to factory standards almost completely, and I relied on that when building mine. HTH

 

 

I've relied heavily on that site too Giorgio; and I think the photo that Bill posted above is also from that aircraft.....and it has black interior framing on the windscreen!  It was this in fact that prompted me to wonder about the colour to begin with :D

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Apologies, I just noticed what you mean - I always looked at those pics focused on the gunsight mount and the surrounding area on top of the IP, and never noticed the black framing around the armoured glass on the windshield.... :banghead:  :banghead: :banghead:

 

Which, incidentally, can only be seen if you sit in the cockpit, and I doubt anyone would be able to do that with your model.... :D :D :D

 

Ciao 

 

 

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I really do not like doing transparencies.

 

The look of them is disproportionately important to the overall finish, and dealing with them is disproportionately hard.  Hate em.

 

Any-road up I felt I ought to paint the bottom edges of the inside of the windscreen interior green as the frames are quite thick at the bottom and pretty visible when looking into the open cockpit.   Cue fiddly masking:

 

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Bit of a wash in the corner to add some depth and shadow when peeking in.  Although why

 

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Then a lot of fettling and a fair but of fine sanding and a tad of Mr Surfacer to get a decent fit.  Good enough for priming I reckon and fix any residual fit imperfections.

 

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Pleased with how the gun sight looks from head on.  Both it and the windscreen are nice and clear.

 

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I scraped and sanded the inside edge of the windscreen to thin the look of the framing:

 

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Starting to see how the whole cockpit area will look now:

 

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Unless I’ve missed summat it’s primer next.

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What can be said about work as crisp and smart looking as yours that hasn't already been said Steve?

 

I'm assuming that  even the refractive index of those transparencies is exactly scaled down from the original, knowing you.

 

 

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