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Yet another 1/32 Tamiya spitfire Mk VIII


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Well, here is either my last completion for 2010 ('cos it was decalled but not varnished on 31/12) or my first completion for 2011.

Build thread here for obsessives.

A couple of caveats:

* I think it's got the wrong wheels (5 spoke instead of 4)

* The carpet monster got the rear-view mirror and canopy release handle, so if anybody's feeling generous, I'm open to negotiation!

* It shouldn't have 'Rolls Royce' on the rocker covers, but you know... :bleh:

The kit is augmented by Barracuda interior pieces, engine enhancements and wheels. (So yes, I think I ordered the wrong number of spokes...)

Things to like:

* Pretty much everything

Gotchas

* The little clips that go inside the wings to hold on the inner flaps - easily missed during construction

Dislikes

* The decals weren't fabulous. Specifically the roundels for the lower wings cracked over the moulded on blisters, and that was with copious amounts of micro sol and set. Lucky it's the underside, really.

On to the pictures:

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Looking lovely on the table. Notice the definitely *not* red crowbar inside the driver's door...

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More general prettiness!

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A not quite sharp enough attempt to show what's going on inside. The WIP has better views for the completists!

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That's a bit better...

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This doesn't bring a lot to the party, but I think it's traditional to show the underside as well as the top.

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The engine. It's pretty cool the way the cowlings attach with powerful mini-magnets. I dressed up the engine ever so slightly by putting a wiring harness on, which was immediately masked by the exhausts. I suppose some would say that's why Tamiya didn't bother with them themselves! Still, *I* know it's in there somewhere. (It was a pain in the bum, too!)

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Closer view of the engine and invisible wiring harness!

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Just a bit more Merlin.

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Wing Commander Bobby Gibbes wondering if the Group Captain is going to put him on a charge for wearing lipstick whilst in uniform. It's not so pronounced an effect in real life, honest!

Hope you like her! My next effort will be a Junkers-88 with a shedload of microscopic Eduard photoetch.

Mike

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Lovely model Mike - what paints did you use?

Iain

Blimey! That was quick! Paints are mostly Tamiya acrylic thinned with a bit of IPA, except for black stuff which is Revell AquaColor, likewise the spinner, prop tips, white wing marks. Oh, and Bobby is Humbrol acrylic, mostly.

I find all acrylics a joy after the enamels of my youth.

Finish was a couple of coats of Clear, then decalling, then a couple of coats of Humbrol MattCote brushed on, which gave me some terror until it settled.

Glad you like it!

Mike

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Nice. No weathering? But then again everyone is entitled to their own depictions. Very well done, looks great, and love those Aussie WWII subjects.

It's weathered a bit... subtlety is my middle name! A bit of exhaust smoke, and some cordite traces, plus dirty footprints on the port wing root! There is also some very light paint chipping around the gun blisters - so light as to be virtually invisible, but like the engine harness, *I* know it's there!

That's as grubby as I like my planes to be, but I'm sure you've noticed elsewhere the ongoing religious debate between the squeaky-cleaners and the mud-puddlers...!

Thanks for looking, though.

Mike

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