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Spitfire FR Mk.XIVe - NH909 of 273S RAF, Saigon Jan 1946. ++++ Finished + RFI ++++


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3 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

I would have thought the MSG for the squadron codes, but liking the blue and it's your model (rule number one applies), fella.


Hummm, I don’t think they are MSG because they’re much lighter than the underside colour in the reference pic and my model in b/w.  Could be a dirtier white than the theatre markings?  The blue really matches the b/w tone though…

 

The shape of the “M” is bugging me though, it’s not broad enough.

 

Dammit.

 

3 hours ago, Dunny said:

Impressive work Mark - you have surely set the bar for success high on  this one!

 

Cheers

 

Roger

 

Thank you Roger, but I may have to revisit the M - maybe try and set the bar even higher 😂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by mark.au
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Words fail me.

Gorgeous.

I think the B/W shot looks pretty damn close to the real thing.

 

6 hours ago, mark.au said:

I may have to revisit the M

The perfectionist in you will probably have to.

Looking forward to more.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

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11 hours ago, AliGauld said:

The perfectionist in you will probably have to.

Looking forward to more.

 

Cheers,

Alistair


Guilty as charged.

 

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I like this “M” a lot better.  While I was at it, I took some of the brightness out of the blue.  
 

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The blue may or may not be correct, but I am sure the codes aren’t MSG and there’s not much other grey they could be, and they’re not as bright as the white on the fin.  I like this toned down blue better than yesterday’s, it’s staying.  It also matches the reference quite well.

 

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I’m working on the prop tonight.  It looks to me like the bands painted on the spinner could be red; any other thoughts?

 

Cheers.

 

 

Edited by mark.au
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Looking good Mark - I too prefer the toned down blue. Spinner bands are anyone's guess,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger 

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13 hours ago, Dunny said:

Looking good Mark - I too prefer the toned down blue. Spinner bands are anyone's guess,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger 

 

14 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Oh that is definitely looking a lot better with the codes toned down and yes I can see what you mean now re them not being MSG.

Cracking work Mark

Chris


Thanks gents, yes I like it this morning too, it’s staying as is now.

 

12 hours ago, woody37 said:

I've always thought of myself as an early Spit fan over the late Spits, but following your build has got me thinking I want to do a big engined Spit now! Lovely paintwork :)


I agree!  There’s something more aggressive with them compared to the rather more delicate looking Merlin Spitfires.

 

1 hour ago, David H said:

Looks nice to me, Mark!


Thanks David.

 

The prop is mostly completed, I am

going to weather the blades some but otherwise done.

 

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Stencil decals are next.  There’s not too many to go on so that’ll be a simple task.  Then it’s the final stages to complete by week’s end I expect.

 

Cheers.

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27 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Mark,

 

Prop's looking lovely - red was a good choice. How do you mask up for those?

 

Cheers,

 

Roger


Thanks Roger.  For these I painted the red first then masked with vinyl tape cut to the correct width, then painted the white.  The reference photo shows the forward band thinner than the rear and that was tricky to get parallel because it was so thin.

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Thanks gents.

 

Some bits and pieces this evening and a step forward.

 

I finished the gunsight with a little decal I found to represent the range dial.

 

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The gunsight would have been exponentially easier to install had I remembered to do it before attaching the windshield.

 

I weathered the prop.  Some light chipping (which strangely doesn’t show up very well in the pic but is quite visible IRL) and some staining on the blades.

 

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The kit blades are a nice shape but a little over thick; a bit like the rest of it, actually.

 

Then I added the undercarriage and pitot tube and finished the underside.

 

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I used pastels for the staining, some of it I wiped backwards with a damp cotton bud to create more liquid-like stains.  These aircraft saw no action so I didn’t stain the ejector chutes at all.  
 

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I used the kit stencil decals and found they had a propensity to silver, I more or less controlled it but will need to be careful on the uppers.  I posed the radiator doors open but I know that wasn’t usual on the ground, when parked up.  But, I like its dynamism so that’s how it stays :).

 

Finally, I just couldn’t resist a mock-up finished pic…

 

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…nor could I resist a dry fit assembled comparison shot.

 

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That’s all for now.  Cheers.

 

 

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15 minutes ago, mark.au said:

I finished the gunsight with a little decal I found to represent the range dial.

 

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The gunsight would have been exponentially easier to install had I remembered to do it before attaching the windshield.

 

 

One major benefit of watching your progress, is I now know the correct orientation for the gun sight, which I'll be gluing in a few minutes 👍

I had it quite different in my mind, and the instructions are fudge, so thanks for clarifying that.

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Ooooooo that's looking sweet Mark, great work, I don't know if this will help but when I add stencils and some decals I used watered down Klear floor polish and this stops them silvering. 

I love the overall look of this with your fantastic paint and restrained weathering and I love the comparison, please can I request you posta black and white image of your model to get an even better comparison.   Looks lovely fella.

Chris

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5 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

…please can I request you posta black and white image of your model to get an even better comparison.   Looks lovely fella.

Chris


Thanks Chris.  Here’s the b/w comparison 

 

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Cheers.

 

 

 

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Awesome,  what a great comparison,  cracking work,  now if you photophobia yours onto a background in black and white or even colour I reckon you could fool a lot of people into thinking its a real aircraft!!!

Thanks for posting Mark.

Chris

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8 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Awesome,  what a great comparison,  cracking work,  now if you photophobia yours onto a background in black and white or even colour I reckon you could fool a lot of people into thinking its a real aircraft!!!

Thanks for posting Mark.

Chris


Thank Chris, too kind.  I fear that as soon as they saw that undercarriage angle they’d know immediately they were were looking at a model, one poorly built at that!  I will need to fix that rather glaring and basic error!

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The side by side views look great. Super job on the camo and markings.

 

It looks to me like the canopy sits a tad deeper into the fuselage sides on the model than the real thing.

 

(Of course, since I’m happily building the FROG version, I probably shouldn’t get too involved with rivet counting :))

 

Regards,

Adrian

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40 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

The side by side views look great. Super job on the camo and markings.

 

It looks to me like the canopy sits a tad deeper into the fuselage sides on the model than the real thing.

 

(Of course, since I’m happily building the FROG version, I probably shouldn’t get too involved with rivet counting :))

 

Regards,

Adrian


Thanks Adrian.  I think you’re correct about the canopy, add that to the list of this kit’s foibles!  

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Mark,

 

Almost there now, and a good pickup on the u/c angle - hopefully easily fixed?

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

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