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Mark 1a Bare metal...


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This will be my first group build.

I am suffering the effects of A.M.S. quite badly with my current build, the Xtrakit Scimitar, so I thought I'd pitch in with something strictly OOB and a bit different.

All my 1:72nd spits are in camouflage, weathered, etc, with wheels down and doors open, etc. I really want to do a build that shows of the pure beauty of line of RJ Mitchell's masterpiece, posed in flight, and without a complex colour scheme.

So I am going to build Airfix's lovely new Mk.1a in all-over aluminium, wheels up and completely clean as if it's a restored example coming out for a test flight before entering the paintshop. There will be no stencils, markings, camo paint or anything else to detract from the sheer beauty of the thing. My one concession to colour accuracy will be to paint the fabric-coloured control surfaces in a grey primer.

I have an old stand that I might adapt to pose the aircraft in flight, or might have a stab at doing my own stand with some perspex rod!

I hope the finished article will be a nice ornament and something "a bit different" to honour RJ Mitchell and his beautiful aeroplane.

Let me know what you think... :D

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  • 2 months later...

This took a back burner for an awfully long time: the Scimitar took for ever to finish, and the OOB GB got in the way with the HobbyBoss Typhoon. However, I still have a fortnight to finish my Spit, so am confident I'll get it done for the GB deadline.

I had made a bit of progress before giving up and pressing on with the Scimitar. Here's the obligatory sprue shot:

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My "Spitfire Interior Mix" consists of roughly equal parts Xtracrylix Sky, Humbrol Interior Green and a tiny dash of Revell Dark Blue (Not sure why, it just looks better to me with the Blue)

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I'd got as far as giving it one coat of this, and cutting the aileron from the starboard wing, so I could pose it deflected (this Spit will be in flying pose, remember)

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Before coming to Uni, I managed to snaffle this nice offcut of oak from my Dad's wood box for the base. It needs the hole drilled and the edges cleaning up, but I reckon it's quite a find.

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In case anyone's following, I've done quite a bit more. The wings are done, with the ailerons deflected for a roll to port. Given that the forward of the edge of the aileron is in a different place above and below the wing, this involved some careful cutting and a bit of filler, but they seem to have come out OK.

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The cockpit detail in this kit is pretty good, even though its fit is sometimes a little iffy. I'm building OOB as the canopy will obscure almost everything. Here's the beginning of the painting process:

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And near the end:

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That's all for now...

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Thanks Rowan! It is most gratifying to know that someone is watching!

Almost too late I remembered the pilot! It is many years since I have built a kit with a pilot, and had a bit of a memory blank trying to paint him. I was not at all happy with the face, but the uniform went OK, so I took this photo to show off the better bits!

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I added paper seatbeltsover his shoulders, and thread them over his shoulders into the fuselage behind.

The fuselage joint went OK. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, having built this kit before I knew what I was doing, and managed to file down the instrument panel to fit, and got the cockpit frames to fit OK. In fact, I was so concentrated on this I made a rookie mistake: forgot the propellor. D'oh! :bristow: You'd have thought 13 years of modelling might have taught me the value of thinking carefully "is everything ready?" before doing the join!

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The aforementioned prop has a nice pointed DH-type spinner, but the backplate is too big and needs some sanding to smooth it out. You may notice that one of the blades is short-shot; I am toying with the idea of replacing all the blades with an acetate disc. However, this will need tools I didn't think of bringing to uni with me (a compass chief among them) so it'll have to wait until July! There were also moulding flaws on the seat, I hope the mould isn't wearing out prematurely.

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I also didn't really think through working with a block of oak when packing my tools for Uni. My little needle files and 600-grit wet and dry paper just bounce off such stout wood! Therefore the full cleaning-up of the plinth will also have to wait. I also had great trouble drilling a hole the right size for the piece of sprue I took to mount the Spit: my drill bits are all too small! However, with a bit of improvisation, I managed to get a set-up that is strong enough to hold the Spit. The sprue was bent with a candle flame, and the top end affixes into a hole below the rear fuselage.

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nice work on the driver :P

unusual to see a mis-mold in such a new kit, but I suppose it can happen at anytime given the right circumstances. The model is coming on well so far I'd say.

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I've done the Spit, so here's the last progress update:

Here's the Spit on its plinth ready for painting:

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I started the paint with a very thin coat of ocean grey to pre-shade the panel lines, then drybrushed the whole airframe in Revell acryllic aluminium. The elevators were done in Medium Sea Grey, and the tyres in a dark grey, and this helps to break any monotony of the scheme.

IMG_5981.jpg.

One of the reasons for the build was to test this method of painting natural metal schemes and try to achieve the smoothest possible finish, and I am pretty pleased with the result. I was inspired by my usual method of showing up surface blemishes after seam filling a model, whereby I drybrush silver or some other metallic paint very thinly over the seam. This always makes the aircraft look lovely to my eyes, and for once I wanted to leave a build in this stage and not slap camouflage over the top!

As well as being a mere paint tester, I also wanted a Mk. 1 Spit (my favourite variant) that was a bit more "arty" and abstractly beautiful than slavishly trying to be accurate, which captured the essential artistic flair of Mitchell's design, and commemorated the 75th anniversary of the aircraft in style. I was much inspired by a pewter likeness of a P-38 my late grandfather had in his study: not a super-detailed miniature, but a more abstract tribute to the lines and spirit of the machine. The plaque is not permanent, I will replace it with a better-printed one when I get home from uni and have a decent printer to hand!

I hope you like her!

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