Notdoneyet Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 (edited) While taking a break from foiling my Lightning T4 I decided to make a start on a Spitfire IXc for the D-Day GB. Here's the obligatory box 'n bits shot :- As a little tribute to my adopted home, she will be finished as MJ255 VZ-S of 412sqn flown by F/O H.G. Garwood which just made it past D-day before succumbing to engine failure and making a forced landing in Normandy on 11 June 1944. Markings are courtesy of the excellent Watermark Decals Canadian Spitfires D-Day decal set :- More soon hopefully ......... Ian Edited May 1, 2009 by Notdoneyet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Nice one Ian, plenty of extras for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notdoneyet Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 After my lamentable non participation in the last (Tornado) GB I entered, I thought that I had better actually do something this time ............ So I've been spending some time this week gluing pieces of PE to cocktail sticks and my fingers. Eventually I've managed to transfer them to the relevant part of the Spitfire cockpit and splashed a little paint of the resulting assemblies :- Cockpit floor with Eduard etch pedals, armour and seat frame and Ultracast seat with belts extended with Tamiya tape :- IP with Eduard etch/acetate sandwich :- Cockpit sidewalls with Eduard etch added and scratch built oxygen bottle, fuel hand pump and signalling switch box on the stbd sidewall. I hope to get the fuselage buttoned up, wings and tailplanes added and some paint on over the weekend. Comment and critique always appreciated and welcomed. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darson Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Great looking work so far Ian, please keep those updates coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darson Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Oh I forgot to mention if you ditch the engine in that ICM kit you will find the fit of the nose components 1000 times easier. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notdoneyet Posted April 4, 2009 Author Share Posted April 4, 2009 Thanks Darson Having read about the fit problems with this kit I had decided to leave the engine out. As a result the nose and cowlings have fitted together perfectly as the following photos will show......... The engine bay bulkhead was reduced in width by approx 1mm to prevent fuselage sides being forced out. This trimming enables the webbing on the wing roots to clear the lower wing undercarriage recess. I added the top and bottom cowling mounting strips to give some additional gluing surface :- Once the bulkhead was glued I cemented the upper mounting strips in place :- I then added the front bulkhead to which I'd added some brass tube to take the smaller tube I've added to the Ultracast spinner and added backing card to the exhaust slots:- Then the upper cowling was glued in place :- The fit is perfect as you can see ........... a little care and dry fitting is all that is required. So far this ICM kit has been a joy to build. Next up I'll be fitting the wings and lower cowling and addressing the few sink marks on my early moulding. Thanks for looking and any comments/critique you may have. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brooksy Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Once again Ian, you've chosen a lovely subject, and your workmanship is outstanding. I always enjoy watching your builds and will look forward to the updates. Cheers for now Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Shaw Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 You sure made the nose look easy, I just posted my problem with the nose over on WIP board and it looks like crap compaired to yours. I am looking forward to seeing yours being finished. It is really a great job you are doing. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darson Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Well it sure looks like you nailed the nose Ian an those Ultracast resin goodies really are superb aren't they. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Once again Ian, you've chosen a lovely subject, and your workmanship is outstanding. I always enjoy watching your builds and will look forward to the updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Now that's what I like! A thread that gets me inspired to actually start one of my ICM Spitfires. Trouble is, do I start the Mk.IX or the XVI? Decisions, decisions.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Clever lad Ian! Looks like you found a neat way of solving the nose problems. Looking forward to the rest... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Neat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebos Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Quality interior there, how will it fly without an engine though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notdoneyet Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 Many thanks for the kind comments After adding the lower cowling to the nose I used some 25 gauge thinwall hypo tubing to scribe the fastener detail :- Fitted a Falcon clearvac canopy and some more Ultracast bits (cannon covers and wing tips) from my goodies stash and masked up ready for priming :- Next up, a visit to the paint shop for some primer and some Realistic Painting ............... Thanks for looking and any comments/critique you may have. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Hi Ian - looking pretty damn good so far mate!. I'll be interested to see how the "realistic painting" comes out! That's an interesting article, and I like the ideas the authors trying to convey. Its sort of what I was trying to do with my Hellcat and P40N builds - so its fascinating to see how different modellers have all come to the same kind of conclusion and approach the subject. Watching with enthusiasm on this one now. cheers jonners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Coming along nicely Ian... I'll try & remember your technique when I get round to my ICM Spit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notdoneyet Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 Thanks for the comments guys. Jon, yup it is a very interesting article and an approach that has yeilded great results on builds that I have seen on the 'net. I particularly like the subtle shading/fading effects that are possible but I suspect I will have to train my airbrush "trigger finger" a fair bit. Anyhoo, I've started on the "double diffusion" painting. After priming with Alclad Grey Primer the Spit was sprayed with a coat of Tamiya flat black :- After which the sky fuselage band was sprayed and then she was masked up for the white D-Day stripes and as an undercoat for the yellow leading edge stripes :- As I couldn't figure out how to lighten white I went with 3 levels of opacity over the black undercoat (ahhh, so that's what it's for!) - so instead of the base colour and a darker and lighter shade I used a thin coat of white (the dark shade) over-painted with another layer of white (the base shade) and finally a third layer of white (the light shade - curses no emoticon ....). These layers were applied in random "squiggles" which resulted in a varied, "blotchy" finish :- Next up will be the spraying of the yellow l/e stipes and then the MSG undersurfaces. Thanks for looking and any comments/critique you may have. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidelvy Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I like the stripes. You see some really messy ones in contemporary photos, but this can be difficult to reproduce by using a brush as the result can look too coarse. The multi-layer technique can provide a variation in tone without trying to paint on actual brush marks. As for the rest of the build I wish you had done this a year ago so I could follow it when building mine, which has turned out longer on one side than the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 (edited) That's a fascinating painting technique - interestingly (to me at least) after I'd read the article, I picked up the April 2009 copy of FSM, only to find a build article by the same fellow detailing the technique there. Serendipity all over again? Or is that deja vu? . Anyway, lovely work on the invasion stripes Ian. Really looking forward to seeing the next installment of this... always manage to pick up little nuggets of good info from your work. Edited April 12, 2009 by John Laidlaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notdoneyet Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Many thanks for the comments John and David. Well I've had a "dual diffusion" Easter and completed the camo. First was the lower surfaces in MSG :_ Here's a close up to try and show the effect of the 3 shades plus the dark (black) undercoat :- After the undersides it was on with more masking tape and the upper camo was painted - then off with all that meticulously applied Tamiya tape ...... Close up of the upper wing - you can just about discern the 3 shades of each colour, the effect is nice and subtle on the model:- I must say I'm very impressed by this technique - it gives a depth to the paintwork that other methods that I've tried just doesn't match. In addition, the close up "dual diffusion" painting has forced me to use my airbrush as an airbrush and not as a spray gun The Xtracrylics I used were thinned 1 drop of paint to 10 of Tamiya thinners (plus 2 drops of Liquidex Acrylic Retarder) and sprayed from a distance of half an inch or so - very thin coats built up slowly to a finish I'm quite happy with. Next up will be a coat or two of Future and then on with the decals. Thanks for looking. All comment and critique is most welcome. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Now that's coming along nicely . The third photo really caught my eye - it's already looking battle weary. Just out of curiosity, what pressure are you using for that paint mix? Keep the updates rolling in please Ian! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darson Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 She looks bloody fantastic Ian, the diffusion method you're using is working out a treat, I'll definitely be giving it a go in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notdoneyet Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 Thanks John and Darren <Snip>Just out of curiosity, what pressure are you using for that paint mix? <snip> John, I used 12 PSI and a 0.2mm needle. Cheers, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Wonderful work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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