Wrestling an ICM Spitfire Mk.VIII into Lt Cullen’s RAAF No.452 Squadron Airframe. ++++FINISHED++++

[jackroadkill]

2 minutes ago, mark.au said:

Very easy.  As long as you know the sizes you need, the design software is very intuitive.  There are files available for download for most of the common markings and even for military fonts.

 

Hmm, that's exactly the right answer!  I'll do some investigating, as I much prefer the look of sprayed markings to decals.  Thanks for the info, Mark.

[Dunny]

Mark,

 

Now that IS a marking masterclass - much to learn and digest before the Portrait gets another outing. Lovely work indeed, and I think the oversprayed codes are a masterfully subtle touch,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

Hi Mark

 

Lovely photo, looking at the light colour directly behind the FG wrap around looks to be the same shade as the chin cowling so think it could be cleaner than the darker area further back,  could it be the wind blowing directly against the leading edge keeping the dust off that area , thus keeping it cleaner???

 

Chris

[mark.au]

3 hours ago, Dunny said:

Mark,

 

Now that IS a marking masterclass - much to learn and digest before the Portrait gets another outing. Lovely work indeed, and I think the oversprayed codes are a masterfully subtle touch,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Thanks Roger.

 

2 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Hi Mark

 

Lovely photo, looking at the light colour directly behind the FG wrap around looks to be the same shade as the chin cowling so think it could be cleaner than the darker area further back,  could it be the wind blowing directly against the leading edge keeping the dust off that area , thus keeping it cleaner???

 

Chris

Ok, I can see what you mean about the lighter colour being cleaner SB.  Then, does that imply the darker colour exposed by the flaking is the original grey underside from the factory?

 

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by mark.au

[bigbadbadge]

6 hours ago, mark.au said:

I can see what you mean about the lighter colour being cleaner SB.  Then, does that imply the darker colour exposed by the flaking is the original grey underside from the factory?

I was thinking that too , could well be , due to the conditions it might weather very quickly. 

Chris

[mark.au]

Some undocumented progress as I forgot to take photos of a lot of the steps...

 

I wasn't happy with the way I'd painted the wrap around FG and then in studying the photos it became apparent that I could have done much better with some of the details too.  To correct that, I started by painting over the wrap around with a lightened SB as a compromise between the possible interpretations of the lighter colour (either leftover white from the ID markings or lighter SB because of airflow action).  Next I repainted the wrap round paying far more attention to how it really was on A58-518 (thinner and straighter than how I had it before).  Lastly, I used a small piece of sponge to dab on some MSG where the lighter colour had flaked off, as this was the only interpretation of that patter of paint I could come up with.

 

 

One of the shortcomings of the ICM kit is the shell ejection chutes aren't cut-outs, they are simply outlined with recessed panels.  I masked and painted those - not a completely satisfactory solution but adequate.

 

 

Finally, I weathered with my airbrush and a wash which I spread, toned and faded with a cotton bud.  There's a little artistic licence with the oil stains from the engine as the photo of 518 taking off on its last flight doesn't seem to exhibit that much staining, but we all know Merlins leaked and I needed to disguise the scars in the plastic where I had removed the slipper fuel tank earlier.

 

 

Lastly, I tried again with the bomb racks.  I used a combination of stainless steel wire, stretched sprue and CA gel glue to achieve what you see here.  They will look better with bombs on them!  The bombs will sit a little further away from the wing than actual but this is the best I could do and it will have to suffice.  Their shape and position is accurate (well, almost; you may notice that the rear racks slightly impinge in the cannon shell ejection chute).

 

The underside to-do list includes the tail wheel and doors, the main gear detailing, covers and wheels, final coat and weathering details with chalk, and then I can flip it on its wheels for the topside finish.  I'll try and take more progress photos for that.

 

Cheers.

[Dunny]

Mark,

 

Shaping up nicely! I do prefer your treatment of the leading edge, and the bomb racks and ejector chutes look good to this Mk.I Eyeball!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

Likewise the leading edges do look a lot better and with the weathering look awesome. Staining, weathering and bomb racks look great too.  Fantastic work Mark.

Chris

 

[Fritag]

I’ve really enjoyed the informed discussion and history lesson  in this thread; and it’s always a pleasure to watch your painting processes, Mark.

[jackroadkill]

6 hours ago, mark.au said:

Lastly, I tried again with the bomb racks.

 

I've had experience of ICM's slightly lacklustre bomb racks (on the beer delivery Spit, if you remember that) and eventually gave up and made them out of solder instead, as they were thoroughly unsuitable for the job.  It's good to see you're making such good progress - those leading edges are superb.

[AliGauld]

The MSG has set the finish off nicely.

Looking splendid.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[mark.au]

On 19/11/2022 at 15:50, Dunny said:

Mark,

 

Shaping up nicely! I do prefer your treatment of the leading edge, and the bomb racks and ejector chutes look good to this Mk.I Eyeball!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

 

23 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Likewise the leading edges do look a lot better and with the weathering look awesome. Staining, weathering and bomb racks look great too.  Fantastic work Mark.

Chris

 

 

21 hours ago, jackroadkill said:

 

I've had experience of ICM's slightly lacklustre bomb racks (on the beer delivery Spit, if you remember that) and eventually gave up and made them out of solder instead, as they were thoroughly unsuitable for the job.  It's good to see you're making such good progress - those leading edges are superb.

 

As it turned out, the ICM bomb racks weren't suitable for the Aussie Spitfires anyway.  I thought about trying to adapt the kit offerings but in the end had to fabricate them from scratch. 

 

19 hours ago, AliGauld said:

The MSG has set the finish off nicely.

Looking splendid.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

 

Thank you all.  Let's face it, the leading edges as originally painted were really quite poor and I'm glad I reworked them. I think they turned out quite well in the end.  It's a curious thing that midway through theis one I got quite lazy and started to phone it in.  It was deciding to fix the leading edges that turned it around and I started to put a bit of effort in again.

 

23 hours ago, Fritag said:

I’ve really enjoyed the informed discussion and history lesson  in this thread; and it’s always a pleasure to watch your painting processes, Mark.

 

Me too! Being able to learn from some of the experts on BM is truly a gift and I'm awed every time someone like @Magpie22 is willing to take the time to help me get it right(er).

 

 

So, remember when I said I would take more in-progress pics...?  Oops. 

 

The remaining tasks included painting and attaching the bombs.  Studying my reference photo again I noticed the bombs were different colours.  Somehow, even this late in the war, there were still buff coloured bombs knocking around and it seems that on 10 July, Cullen was carrying one of each.

 

 

I liked that, it makes the load out a little unusual and gives it some more interest.  

 

 

I used a couple of little hook-like parts form the kit's engine to make the bomb mount and attached them in the racks I made.  There racks are just ever so slightly canted toe-out on both sides unfortunately.  It's hard to see in the photos.  Out of focus but visible is the bronze/aluminium mix I used for the pitot tube based on Peter's comments earlier on the Spitfire's being this colour, not aluminium.  The block tread I cut on the wheels is just about visible - it's not bad but I should have sourced the correct wheels earlier in the build.

 

 

Over on the starboard wing I added the IFF antenna using stretched sprue.  I strangulated its position form various photos - they all seemed to poit towards where ICM had a panel so I put the antenna there.

 

 

The photo below shows the bomb attachment a little more clearly.  I think it works, but the bombs are a little further off the wing than they are supposed to be.  The close-up isn't doing the cannon barrel and blank attachment any favours...

 

 

So, with it all together on the underside I wanted to check how it compared to the real thing.

 

 

The exposure is a little off, and the angle slightly different too, but overall I think it compares very favourably.  I really like the leading edges and the MSG chipping - the tones seem to suggest my supposition in how to paint it were about right.

 

Then I moved on to the uppers...  And still didn't take any progress pics...

 

I started with a dark wash on the access panels and rear control surfaces.  Then, I started chipping away with a silver pencil.  There's not much paint chipping down to aluminium visible in any of the contemporary photos so I didn't put any on the leading edges.  I was quite sure that there would be paint wear on the wings where the pilot and crew would move about but I kept it fairly restrained.  I also lightly chipped the gun covers and the engine panels.

 

 

 

Next, I applied the final finish to the paintwork with a semi-sheen finish.  Aussie paints were a little more gloss than the European paints and I tried to reflect that (did you see what I did there?).  Next, I flattened the finish on the elevators and attached the rudder.  I lost the glass piece for the dorsal light so I used Kristal Klear to represent it and then added the antenna post (which looks like it's leaning slightly left but I promise it's upright!).

 

 

Next I painted the exhaust staining using this photo for reference.

 

 

I didn't go the whole hog though, in the photo of Cullen taking off there's not much visible but I wanted something to represent a working Spitfire so compromised with a finish that is about half of what we see on this well used Spitfire above.

 

 

Next I painted the exhausts.  I am quite happy with how they turned out as I tried a different process on these; I really wish I taken progress pics of this portion of the build.  First I brush painted them Burnt Sienna.  Then I painted the ends of the pipes black.  Next, I dry brushed Burnt Iron to give the exhausts a metallic quality but also to highlight the edges of the pipes to create the illusion of a hole.  Last, I dry brushed earth brown on the more forward pipes and finished them off with a sprayed flat coat.  

 

 

The final tasks were the prop which I attached with a smidge of blutack (doing it that way creates the merest of gaps between the prop and cowling, just like the real thing.  Last, I placed the canopy on the fuselage spine and it was done.  I wrestled another ICM Spitfire into submission.

 

Thanks for all the comments and especially for all the help.  I'm indebted to Peter M. in particular for all of his insight and information.  I did indeed remember to remove the headrest, thanks for that tip, too!

 

Next up, I'm going to join the PR Spitfire [unofficial] GB with an Airfix PR.XIX.

 

Cheers.

 

 

 

 

[Viking]

I've only just stumbled across this thread and thoroughly enjoyed reading it Mark. It is Britmodeller at is best, with interesting and useful advice being drawn in from members.

Great subject too, I've developed an interest in 1/48 Spitfires since building ones of Eduard's beauties, and had wondered about whether the ICM kits were any good. Now that i see the results that you have achieved with this one, I'll be adding the ICM kits to my shopping list!

Thanks for an interesting an informative thread, 

 

Cheers

 

John

[bigbadbadge]

Cracking work Mark getting this beauty over the line.  Looks absolutely wonderful with some great weathering and paint effects too.  Love it.

Looking forward to seeing your PR build.

Chris

[Winded Penguin]

35 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Cracking work Mark getting this beauty over the line.  Looks absolutely wonderful with some great weathering and paint effects too.  Love it.

Looking forward to seeing your PR build.

Chris

Seconded 👍

[AliGauld]

Wow, Mark, Wow.

What a build,

A beautiful Spitfire with fantastic paintwork and weathering. It has been a joy and a privilege to see this unfold.

Thanks for sharing this.

 

Cheers,

Alistair 

[Biggles87]

5 hours ago, Winded Penguin said:

Seconded 👍

     Thirded. 😁

 

Looking forward to to the PR XIX

 

John. 🇺🇦

[TonyOD]

That’s a fantastic result. Love that shade of green.

[Thom216]

Lovely lady in deep green!

[mark.au]

11 hours ago, Viking said:

I've only just stumbled across this thread and thoroughly enjoyed reading it Mark. It is Britmodeller at is best, with interesting and useful advice being drawn in from members.

Great subject too, I've developed an interest in 1/48 Spitfires since building ones of Eduard's beauties, and had wondered about whether the ICM kits were any good. Now that i see the results that you have achieved with this one, I'll be adding the ICM kits to my shopping list!

Thanks for an interesting an informative thread, 

 

Cheers

 

John

The ICM kit isn’t perfect but you get a lot for the cost and it’s easy to fix [most of] the shortcomings.  
 

11 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Cracking work Mark getting this beauty over the line.  Looks absolutely wonderful with some great weathering and paint effects too.  Love it.

Looking forward to seeing your PR build.

Chris

 

I liked how it turned out in the end, the weathering seems consistent with the pics.

 

5 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

     Thirded. 😁

 

Looking forward to to the PR XIX

 

John. 🇺🇦

Yes, now an Airfix Spitfire.  If I can keep the interest going, I may even do an Eduard Spitfire after that.

 

4 hours ago, TonyOD said:

That’s a fantastic result. Love that shade of green.

 

3 hours ago, Thom216 said:

Lovely lady in deep green!

I mixed the green from reference to a few sources.  Apparently the shade wasn’t always completely consistent so I’ll say that this is spot on! 😉

 

Turns out, not finished.  The first thing I noticed this morning was that I haven’t install the rear view mirror.

[jackroadkill]

22 minutes ago, mark.au said:

The ICM kit isn’t perfect

 

You can say that again!

[Dunny]

 

Mark,

 

Lovely work - I may have to have a crack at an RAAF airframe based on this beauty! Most instructive along the way too,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[heloman1]

Another wonderful and inspirational build Mark, to wrestle and old and not at all good kit into a jewel, you are the master!

I enjoyed every page, even if I arrived late for a front row seat.

 

Colin

[mark.au]

5 hours ago, Dunny said:

 I may have to have a crack at an RAAF airframe based on this beauty! Most instructive along the way too,

 

There are so many to choose from; Green, Green and Brown, Green and Grey, with or without white ID Markings, shark teeth…. 
 

1 hour ago, heloman1 said:

Another wonderful and inspirational build Mark, to wrestle and old and not at all good kit into a jewel, you are the master!

I enjoyed every page, even if I arrived late for a front row seat.

 

Colin

 

There must be something of the masochist in me Colin, I just quite like the ICM Spit despite its shortcomings.  I think it’s four or five now, more repeats than any other kit I’ve built.

[Ngantek]

Another immaculate build Mark, which in regulation style, I've managed to completely miss the entirety of. In my defence, this one seems to have been built over about the same timescale as it takes me to choose what to make for lunch. It's an attractive scheme that these RAAF spits were painted in. Looking forward to your 19!

 

Andy