Airfix 1/72 Spitfire, Dad/Son build, first one!

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My lad is 8 years old and starting to get really into aircraft…he’s at that age where everything is amazing, we can go to aircraft museums together and he even came up with me in a PA-28 the other week (I’m learning to fly). We’ve also got MS flight sim at home which he loves too.

I bought him an Airfix Spitfire at Christmas, and we’ve started to build it together. I used to build kits when I was young, although not to any kind of standard, I never used filler/abrasives/airbrushes etc. Inspired by some of the builds on here, I’ve put together a tool box of bits and were trying to do it “properly” (although it will be just brush painted). I’ve done some of the tricker stuff, or showed a technique on one part and then got my son to repeat. He’s done all of the gluing and assembly, taping up etc. (the canopy isn’t glued yet, it’s just an interference fit).

Anyway, here’s some pics of the Spitfire so far. It’s been a bit fiddly but it’s looking pretty good, and is nearly ready for paint.

I’ve got a big box of unbuilt kits somewhere that were my late Dad’s, so probably the next builds will be separate, doing one each rather than one together. We’re having lots of fun building the Spitfire, and as well as the actual modelling techniques and learning about patience, planning etc, we’re talking lots about the engineering of the real aircraft, physics, and history. We will never be anything like the standard of some of the builds on here but what a great way to spend dark evenings!

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So I’m thinking of investing in an airbrush, (see the comment about cockpit painting above!) and I think my lad would find it more interesting and as long as he has a practice first we should get a better outcome. I also fancy one myself, obvs. But I don’t want to spend loads, what’s the collective’s view on this one?

https://amzn.eu/d/0eEgxQB

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Thanks for the comments guys, and for the nod on the airbrush Eric, we'll give it a go.

So just to check, if painting with Tamiya paints, we need to...

-Mask it
-Paint it (paint thinned to semi-skimmed milk)
-Gloss clearcoat it X-22
-Decals
-Matt clearcoat XF-86

Correct?

Does it need a primer/undercoat?
Do the clearcoats need thinning too?
Should we use X-20A to thin?
What's the view on Tamiya Panel Line Accent, is it easy or will we just mess it up, and at what point should it go on? (I think pre-shading is beyond us for now!)

Thanks guys!

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Well, my son had one job (apply glue to the cockpit) and I had one job (make sure the canopy is seated properly with no gaps). Yup, I was the one who messed up and we ended up with this which was very apparent as soon as I primed it…



Cue much panic, and learning how to use Vallejo and Tamiya putty for the first time, and it looks a bit better. I was fairly convinced the masking was going to ruined under a mountain of filler so I did pull the masking off in two suspect places to check, but I think we’ve got away with it, although it looks ok in the flesh as a tiny plane but totally woeful on a screen/photo! Hey ho. I’ll sort the masking out again tomorrow and we can get busy with the blue tack/tape and our new Amazon airbrush. This is all totally new so very much learning as we go!!!





It’s only when I compare our efforts to some on here I realise how ridiculously talented some people are, but we are enjoying this build. My lad is going to do a Mustang next, pretty much solo, and I will be doing either a Gannet or a Victor which I might have procured on eBay today. Just the basic Trumpeter and Revell kits, but right now I think the posh expensive stuff is a bit wasted on me!

Edited by Hard-Drive on Friday 15th March 21:14

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First go with the airbrush. The underside is now sky and the top is brown. I know by some of the standards on this forum it’s rubbish but I’m pleased with it and learning as we go!



I’d appreciate people’s views on Tamiya Panel Line Accent. I have some, is it any good, and it is best to put it on after the gloss clear coat? I wasn’t brave enough to try pre-shading on something that small.

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Got a bit more done today. Now I will confess my lad has promoted me to “chief airbrusher” and he’s not had much to do with the masking and the green (he did some of the brown) so my plan is to buy him a P-51 next which will be in a simple all aluminium finish so he can do the lot.

But having copied the techniques I’ve seen on this forum
I’m actually really happy with the result, even if there are a few masking cock-ups underneath, and the camo pattern isn’t as accurate, or as “equal” in green and brown as it should be. Lessons learned today, 1/72 was probably too small a scale to be attempting all these new techniques on, and the airbrush sprays really badly if you leave the rubber cover on. But I am pleased with it so far and the £44 Amazon airbrush is a game changer compared to the crude “yard brush” finish teenaged me used to produce.

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Eric Mc said:

Even basic airbrushes can make a difference.

I would suggest that you try and make the demarcation less feathered on your next camouflaged project. It does depend on how the original looked, of course, but generally the demarcation on RAF aircraft in WW2, whilst softish, wasn't too soft. In 1/72 it is very subtle.

Luftwaffe aircraft had virtually no overspray in their two colour patterns - especially in the early years of the war. Mottle, on the other hand, is a different story.

Thanks Eric. I did wonder the same thing TBH. In the flesh it looks less feathered, but I'm going to leave this one as is as I'll probably make a mess of trying to correct it!

I've ordered my lad a Revell P-47 (tenner off Amazon) so he'll do that one pretty much himself, just bare ally with a hard masked anti glare strip.

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Couple of coats of clear Tamiya varnish stuff, decals and some panel line which has given the underside a slightly oily weathered look to my amateur eye.

I know it doesn’t compare with some of the builds on here but I’m chuffed with it. I’m finishing it off now and my son is off solo on his P-47. Which as far as I’m concerned is a massive success as that was the whole point…get him into it!

I swear the decals are too big for the kit though! According to the box they are supposed to be wonky as I have done but it just looks a bit odd!

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Decals are obviously the right ones, they honestly look like they belong on 1/48 or something!

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/top...

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Wow...great picture, thanks!

I know a picture is a visual thing, but it's almost impossible not to "hear" that picture at the same time!

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It’s done. There’s a million things wrong with it that I just don’t have the skills to sort (although I think I can do better on the droopy aerial…even if it is a hot day at the airfield haha!) but I’ll learn on the next one, and for a first “proper” build using filler/sanding/airbrush etc I’m really chuffed, it’s a mile away from the unfilled, brush painted stuff with cloudy canopies I’d churn out as a teenager. Although I’ve done 90% of the painting, my lad did almost all the building, so it’s been a great team effort.

Gannet next then!

(Edit...viewing on the big screen that aerial wire is an absolute shocker. Any tips how to sort this chaps?)










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Edited by Hard-Drive on Tuesday 19th March 12:18

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Aerial now fixed (to the best of my abilities!)

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Eric Mc said:

Very good.

Looking forward to the next one.

Oooo that’s like getting a Hollywood Handshake on Bake Off. Thanks!