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Grumpy's Spitfire: P9546


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After more than 25 years, and more moves than i can count, Tamiya Spitfire P9546 is finished.

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This kit is, and please excuse the Fried Chicken reference,  the "Original Recipe", 1993 vintage Tamiya Mk I Spitfire. Finished in the markings of George "Grumpy" Unwin's Spitfire while assigned to 19 Squadron in the late Summer/ Early Fall of 1940.

 

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I tinkered on and off with this model over many years, but i could not really get excited about the Mk. I. It just languished on the shelf of doom, not getting finished while not getting binned either, because there really was nothing wrong with the build.

 

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With the recent releases by Airfix, Tamiya, and Eduard of more modern offerings of the Mk. I , i thought it best to finish this one off before it faded into obsolescence. To be honest i'm glad i finished it.

This model served as a test bed for many new modeling techniques. But first, let me give you the executive summary.

 

Kit: Tamiya Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I, kit no. 61032

Scale: 1/48th It's British, yeah but...it's Tamiya!

Aftermarket Products Used: Ultracast resin exhausts, part no. 08040; Ultracast resin seat, part no. 48020. Cockpit door (without the dreaded crowbar) on order.

Decals: Select stencils taken from the new, "Extra Crispy" Tamiya Mk. I Spitfire, kit no. 60119. Insignia, Squadron Codes and Serial masked and painted.

Paints: Interior: Model Master Enamels. Exterior: Tamiya acrylics, mixed by hand according to colour guidance provided by Martin Sanford, and thinned into oblivion with Mr Leveling Thinner. Mr Color GX114 Super Smooth Flat Clear used as a final finish coat.

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I mentioned that this project was a testbed for several new modeling techniques. So, in no particular order here they are...

First test and application of mixed Tamiya Acrylic and Tamiya White Liquid Primer to create a zinc chromate type model primer

First use of resin exhaust stacks (Ultracast)

First use of resin cockpit seat (Ultracast)

First effort at mixing almost all colours from scratch (Tamiya Acrylic) per tribal knowledge

First use of Elmer's Adhesive Tack for masking Spitfire camouflage pattern

First effort at painting RAF insignia using Oramask and Tamiya Masking Sheet media

First use of Tamiya Masking sheet to paint squadron codes and serials

First use of GSI Creos GX114 Super Smooth Flat Clear

First time re positioning of Spitfire empennage control surfaces

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I have a saying: 95% of all model making mistakes happen in the last 5% of the build process.

This would be an example of that.

First off, my idea of leaving the gear legs pressed into their sockets and applying the future/water/tamiya wash in situ, led to the legs being effectively glued in place a lot earlier in the build process than i wanted. The gear leg alignment as it set up was pretty good, but not perfect. I thought it was not worth snapping the struts off in an effort to get the alignment perfect.

 

I thought that i was doing the right thing, by installing all the clear parts in place before painting the model. This led to a foggy dust overspray getting into the aft fuselage transparency and it's proved to be impossible to remove. The good news is, the slid back cockpit hood at least distracts the eye from it somewhat.

In the process of going back and touching up paint problems, i ripped up several small stencils that had to be replaced and re-finished.

In the process of attaching the antenna wire to the mast, the wire, with C/A on it, landed on the aft fuselage transparency, making a bad situation worse.

Finally, in an effort to attach the canopy to the fuselage with a non-fogging type glue, the excess MiG Ammo white acrylic glue that oozed out from under proved impossible to remove.

 

So, in the end a lot of things conspired to make it sort of a S#%^show.

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Now, having said all of that, this kit is actually very nice. I'm by no means an expert on all of the subtle shape nuances of the Spitfire, but the kit has a relatively low parts count and excellent fit. Why Tamiya neglected to include a decal for the instrument panel is one of those "WTF?" moments in plastic modeling history. However, the kit really does not need all that much in terms of aftermarket to get it very close to contemporary standards.

I would recommend this kit as an excellent beginners model. Had i said this in 1993, it would be seen as heresy. However, in light of the much better offerings now available, i strongly  recommend the Spitfire newbie cut their teeth on this Mk. I before taking on the more sophisticated and complex Tamiya "Extra Crispy" and Eduard offerings. I don't have the most recent Airfix Mk I offering, so for now i'll withhold comment.

 

The dreaded cockpit door with the crowbar you see here is strictly a placeholder, pending arrival of a replacement from Ultracast.

 

And for my next Shelf of Doom rescue, there's this beauty which has been completely ignored since 2013...

Paint Finished 007

So, that is all for now. Keep your knots up, and your powder dry.

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Glad you rescued it from the shelf of Doom! She is beautiful! :D  Many firsts, which to me seems to have worked very well! Too bad about that foggyness but it is not noticeable by me, probably more for you knowing about it? But don´t worry - it isa really nice build.

I´m sure the Corsair will end up just as nice. Right now, already, she loooks great!

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2 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

It looks fine to me. We are always more aware of our lapses than our triumphs. I think you should give yourself more credit.

i see what you're saying. It's not that i put myself down or anything but i like to say false modesty is preferable to true hubris.

 

-d-

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3 hours ago, Spitfire31 said:

A beautiful Spitfire! And the so-typical drooping elevators are duly noted. 😉

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

i also avoided the rookie mistake of dropping the flaps. In retrospect, i shoulda opened up the radiator flap...

 

-d-

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8 hours ago, Edger said:

It still scrubs up well does the old Tamiya Spit, we all learn from our mistakes and in the end you've ended up with a lovely 19 Sqn Spit.

I was just pondering that. This is a good example where in the hands of a skilled modeler (or in this case, me) you can take an okay kit and really make something of it, if you put the time in on nailing the basics of construction. Most of them, anyway.

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On 10/17/2021 at 10:04 AM, Murewa said:

Solid beautiful spit. Your errors you mention are practically invisible, which is more than I can say for the errors I'm content to ignore as I bluster through a build. 

i realize that from a distance the model looks fine. Its just that we are all our own worst critics and we know where the bones are buried, so to speak.

 

-d-

 

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11 hours ago, kapam said:

Way too good to be left on the Shelf of Doom!

The finished model is excellent.

:clap2::clap2:

I admit that the kit's door & crowbar would not be a noticeable shortcoming to my eyes.

i seriously thought about letting it slide, but i got an extra door for a friend who also has this kit in his stash...

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