Spitfire Mk.Ia N3173 - 152S 20-9-40, shot down 25-9-40 - ***Finished and Final Pics Added***

[bigbadbadge]

Absolutely cracking weathering Mark.  Looks lovely, well used and maintained. The oil streaking and conditioner stains look wonderful.  I am really looking forward to the topside weathering when you get the stand sorted.

Chris

[Johnson]

9 hours ago, mark.au said:

The only thing remaining on the underside is the pitot tube and the matt finish.

Well, I think that looks really good. But I reckon you might need some ailerons, elevators and maybe a rudder? 

 

Seriously, great weathering Mark! 

[mark.au]

4 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

I am really looking forward to the topside weathering when you get the stand sorted.

Me too on the topsides, I want to try to replicate the battered look to the paintwork without relying on simply chipping it.  
 

31 minutes ago, Johnson said:

Well, I think that looks really good. But I reckon you might need some ailerons, elevators and maybe a rudder? 

 

Seriously, great weathering Mark! 

Ahh, that’s what those parts still on the sprues are for… 😂

 

Thanks for the comments, and to @Andy J 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by mark.au

[AliGauld]

That is fantastic staining.

I may be a bit overawed but I'm not going to show it.

I, too, will be nicking the gun port staining method.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[opus999]

14 hours ago, mark.au said:

Thanks Roger.  I use the airbrush with a very thin mix of a dark grimy colour I mix up with black, brown and grey (not the same goop I use for the oil stains).  I aim the airbrush at the leading edge of the wing and rock the airflow back and forth over it with just a touch paint going through it.  This mimics the actual mechanics of the cordite stains as closely as is possible in scale.  I build up the stain until I get where I want.  The ejector ports are done similarly but with a small tape mask so that I don’t put any stain forward of the port.

 

I hope that’s clear, let me know if I can explain it better though…

 

Cheers

 

Interesting.  I've tried using the airbrush for cordite stains once and it didn't work so well.  Too dark.  But I like how you position the airbrush -- I assume this method does the bottom and top at the same time?  What kind of paint do you use?

 

Also, what's your magic black goop for the bottom?  Thinned oil paint?

 

I have to say the degree of realism you've achieved here is pretty impressive.  i find my attempts fall a little short, and it may be just the materials I am using! 

 

It looks beautiful!

[mark.au]

4 hours ago, opus999 said:

Interesting.  I've tried using the airbrush for cordite stains once and it didn't work so well.  Too dark.  But I like how you position the airbrush -- I assume this method does the bottom and top at the same time?  What kind of paint do you use?

I angle the airbrush so it pretty much only does one side because I want to keep a close eye on how the stain is building up.  Besides, cordite stains are mostly on the underside IRL anyway, I don’t apply much to the topsides anyway.  
 

I use acrylics, this time it Vallejo Model Air but I’ve used Hataka and Tamiya too.  The key is to make a very thin mix so that the stain can be built up through multiple passes rather than one or two.  That way you have much more control and one bad pass doesn’t spoil the effect.  I thin Tamiya with its own thinner but the other two I thin with Windex.  

 

4 hours ago, opus999 said:

Also, what's your magic black goop for the bottom?  Thinned oil paint?

My goop is craft acrylic mixed with water, a dab of Windex to break surface tension and another dab of detergent to make removal easier.  I mix it to a thicker viscosity than most washes, something akin to the consistency of full fat milk, perhaps a tad thicker even.  It’s still thin enough for panel line work, but for the oil stains I placed a small drop and blew it back with the airbrush.

 

I hope that helps!  Thanks for the kind comments on my results.

 

9 hours ago, AliGauld said:

That is fantastic staining.

I may be a bit overawed but I'm not going to show it.

I, too, will be nicking the gun port staining method.

Thanks Alistair, too kind.  Feel free to nick anything you like

 

Cheers.

[mark.au]

Work began on the topsides last night but not before finishing off the underside.  It’s a little hard to see in the pic but there’s a variation in the sheen where I have made the wings and tail quite flat and the sump, carb intake area and down fuselage quite shiny where the oil has flowed.

 

 

I still have to add the pitot tube and fill in the glass for the lamp (I’ll use Chrystal Clear for that) but otherwise it’s done.  Once I have designed and built the stand I’ll need to drill a hole under there somewhere but that won’t be a problem.

 

Hear’s my primary reference for the topside weathering;

 

 

I will aim to replicate the variation in hue and shine across the airframe in a similar way to this weather-beaten airframe.  I will use washes and chalk in addition to paint, and I think I’ll even use a bit of moisturiser(!).

 

First I mixed up some dark wash goop to emphasise some selected panels, gun access and engine to give a base around which the later stages of weathering will key.  With that done, I need something for the chalks to bite into so I applied an overall flat coat.  This will be modulated later but for now it’s uniform and a bit flatter than it will end up being anywhere.

 

 

In essence I’ve simply prepared the canvas but nonetheless so far so good.  Tonight I’ll start roughing things up and will try to remember to take pics as once I get going I tend to just plow through!

 

In the mean time, I’ve also finished the ancillary parts such as control surfaces and prop.  When I’m done with the weathering and built the stand this one will come together quickly, I expect I’ll finish this weekend.

 

Cheers.

 

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by mark.au

[Andy J]

Very nice Mark coming together beautifully mate 👌 

[bigbadbadge]

Undersides look wonderful  the shinier centre section can be seen on the carb intake.  Looking forward to your replication of the upper surfaces in the image.

Intrigued re moisturiser, will it not make your model all greasy , nicecand soft though😉

Great work fella

Chris

[Dunny]

Looking good Mark - not far from the finish line now!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[mark.au]

On 1/21/2022 at 9:21 AM, bigbadbadge said:

Intrigued re moisturiser, will it not make your model all greasy , nicecand soft though😉

 

Well yes, and would have smelled nice too, but I used vegetable oil instead.  😄 

 

Despite my best intentions, I failed miserably in taking in-progress pics of the weathering.  I find that I just get in a groove and plow on through without much conscious thought until I get the effect I'm after.  And here it is (all of the pics are as it sits now, complete);

 

 

The first step was some grime from the airbrush applied in the same way as for the underside.  Next, an attempt at a new technique for me, a filter.  I dotted some craft paint of various colours all over the wings and then wiped them up with a damp brush.  The resulting sludge was progressively removed until there was just enough of it left to have altered the hue of the brown/green in a random pattern.  It sort of worked but there was more needed.

 

 

So here's where the veg oil comes in; I wanted to vary the depth and reflectivity of the finish in a way that only some for of oil can replicate, in that it had to be in the finish, not on the finish.  So I dotted and smeared some vegetable oil randomly over the wings and fuselage, more densely towards the rear and then blotted it rather than wiped it until I got what I was after.  It's partially captured in the above photo; the green particularly on both wings (and, annoyingly, the paint ridge under the roundel - it's less visible in real life but it is there). The effect is somehow different to a gloss coat and quite pleasing I think, though handling the model is now a little trickier.

 

Finally, I added some staining with both airbrush and chalks where I wanted the dull finish of surface grime on top of the sheen (and you can also see the painted over letter codes from when it was with its previous squadron).  This latter effect is a little stark in these very contrast-y images but more subdued IRL.

 

 

I added some of the bits and pieces; I added the antenna post with the triangular prong removed and no wire between it and the rudder under the supposition that TR1133 VHF radio equipment would have been fitted at the maintenance unit prior to its issue to 152S.  As it was received at 152S on 20th September, it's a reasonable assumption.  I positioned the control surfaces in accordance with the stick position which was initiating a climbing turn to starboard, which is how it will be displayed.

 

Speaking of display;

 

 

...a piece of wood, some varnish, a copper tube.  I'm going to get a small brass plate engraved with the pilot's name; Sgt. Kenneth Holland, RAF plus the Squadron, aircraft type and serial number.  Once that's attached, this little filler Spitfire project will be finished and I'll pst a couple of glamour pics of it done, dusted and displayed.

 

Cheers;

Mark.

 

 

[bigbadbadge]

Crikey,  vegetable oil,  never seen that before , very innovative Mark. Looks great fella, some cracking effects on the paint which make for a fantastic model. The stand looks great too and it should look very dynamic posed in the climbing turn.  I like it .

Are you adding the IFF wires from the outer edges of the tail planes to the just forward of the red centre of the fuselage roundels ?

Great work on this 

Chris

[jackroadkill]

Well, Mark, I think she's looking fabulous.  The filter effect looks particularly good, I think.  I'm looking forward to seeing her set on the stand, too.

[mark.au]

11 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Are you adding the IFF wires from the outer edges of the tail planes to the just forward of the red centre of the fuselage roundels ?

Thanks Chris.  No wires on this one, according to my reading the IFF came about just after the BoB so wouldn’t have been installed on this airframe.

 

10 hours ago, jackroadkill said:

Well, Mark, I think she's looking fabulous.  The filter effect looks particularly good, I think.  I'm looking forward to seeing her set on the stand, too.

Thanks mate.  It’s on the stand now and I hope to get the glam shots done today sometime.

 

Edited January 23, 2022 by mark.au

[Dunny]

Looking lovely Mark! I must admit I've toyed with using filters but never had the testicular fortitude. Maybe I should just dive in,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[mark.au]

34 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Looking lovely Mark! I must admit I've toyed with using filters but never had the testicular fortitude. Maybe I should just dive in,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Thanks Roger.  Sometimes you’ve just got to say “what the hell” and go for it, it’s just a plastic model! 😳

[opus999]

That's terrific!  Subtly weathered... I love it.

[mark.au]

The glam shots are done and another one hits the display case.  I've thoroughly enjoyed this little Spitfire.  Airfix's kit is a very simple, straightforward rendition of the most beautiful monoplane ever designed and its engineering and design makes the kit a pleasure to build.  I tried a few new things on this one too; it's the first time I've painted a pilot since I was a kid, I tried a filter with mixed results, used bare metal foil for the wing root chipping, I added some vegetable oil to my bag of weathering tricks and furthered my mixology of craft acrylic paints to match RAF colours, I tried a new way to add the iconic Spitfire oil staining, and I even built a display stand out of a piece of oak and a thermocouple.  

 

The final result is not far off my best but there are a few things I'd differently on the next model; I'm most annoyed about the paint ridge line on the port wing roundel most of all (caused by the only part of the camo masking that was tape and not blutack), but also that I think I slightly over-chipped the port wing root and I don't think I got the elevators just right.  I'm being picky, but we see the worst in our our own work, right?

 

Some decisions made;

• The radio was replaced during its time at the maintenance unit in mid-September 1940, hence the tapered post but no wire.  IFF wasn't installed until late September at the earliest and this aircraft was active then until being lost on the 25th.
• Notice that the letter codes on the port wing root are painted over the paint chipping - my supposition being that the aircraft was not repainted at the maintenance unit and the new code letters were simply painted on at squadron level (and the old over-painted)
• I didn't weather the prop at all - my supposition being that this would be one component that was meticulously maintained, perhaps even replaced in maintenance
• I base the overall look and weathering on an airframe that was well used, and thrown back into the front line with the minimum of cosmetic work during its time at the maintenance unit

 

Lastly, I am indebted to the collective here at BM for the encouragement and feedback as always, many thanks to everyone that looked in, liked or commented.  Anyway, here I am, verbose as usual, lets get to the pics you all cry...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers.

[Dunny]

Lovely build and finish Mark - some definite learnings for me along the way too!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[jackroadkill]

Great to see the finished article, Mark.  I think that filtering effect has worked really well and the foil at the wing roots is a very nice touch, too.  Watching the build progress has been very enjoyable, and it's been great to see how you've brought it to fruition.

[Andy J]

Cracking Spitfire Mark looks beautiful to me. Bravo sir 👏 👌👍

[Johnson]

Looks wonderful Mark. Good research too. Your photography is first rate! 

[AliGauld]

Magnificent.

Words fail me.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[mark.au]

9 hours ago, Dunny said:

Lovely build and finish Mark - some definite learnings for me along the way too!

Thanks Roger, glad there’s something you can take from it.  That’s what is so great about this board in particular, there’s so much to learn; I’m constantly seeing ideas and techniques here that I want to try.

 

9 hours ago, jackroadkill said:

Great to see the finished article, Mark.  I think that filtering effect has worked really well and the foil at the wing roots is a very nice touch, too.  Watching the build progress has been very enjoyable, and it's been great to see how you've brought it to fruition.

Thanks JRK, much appreciated.  The filter was a surprise inasmuch Ashe result wasn’t what it thought it would be, but it worked anyway.

 

8 hours ago, Andy J said:

Cracking Spitfire Mark looks beautiful to me. Bravo sir 👏 👌👍

Thanks Andy, I was channeling yours

 

8 hours ago, Johnson said:

Looks wonderful Mark. Good research too. Your photography is first rate! 

Thanks!  The photography comes from being married to a photographer and having access to some decent kit, as well as the software to finish off the pics.

 

7 hours ago, AliGauld said:

Magnificent.

Words fail me.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Too kind Alistair, but thanks anyway.  
 

Cheers.

[Steve 1602]

Very nice indeed 👏 It’s a very good build thread as well - some great ideas along the way. 

 

The B&W photos are amazingly realistic!