Airfix 1/72 Spitfire, Dad/Son build, first one!
Discussion
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...
https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/top...
Looks excellent for a first (or at least new) attempt.
The decals are fine, DW K is a very well known BoB Spitfire, and if you do a quick Google image search for “Spitfire DW K”, you’ll find several WW2 images that show that particular aircraft. That’s why it’s so commonly chosen as a decal option for early war Spitfires.
The decals are fine, DW K is a very well known BoB Spitfire, and if you do a quick Google image search for “Spitfire DW K”, you’ll find several WW2 images that show that particular aircraft. That’s why it’s so commonly chosen as a decal option for early war Spitfires.
Hard-Drive said:
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...
From memory, quite soon in the war the yellow outer ring was deleted and I think the wing roundels were smaller too.https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/top...
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?)
|https://thumbsnap.com/UFLMTHDh[/url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/nZjWGS43[/url]
Gannet next then!
(Edit...viewing on the big screen that aerial wire is an absolute shocker. Any tips how to sort this chaps?)
|https://thumbsnap.com/UFLMTHDh[/url]|https://thumbsnap.com/nZjWGS43[/url]Edited by Hard-Drive on Tuesday 19th March 12:18
Simpo Two said:
Hard-Drive said:
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...
From memory, quite soon in the war the yellow outer ring was deleted and I think the wing roundels were smaller too.https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/top...
The wing roundels didn’t change size much throughout the war, but the colours and proportions of the colours did.
Simpo Two said:
From memory, quite soon in the war the yellow outer ring was deleted and I think the wing roundels were smaller too.
Fuselage Roundel1940 -
Mid 1942 onwards -
Of course, there were lots of variations and interpretations on these basic dimensions but most aircraft complied with them in one way or another.
dr_gn said:
Pre-war the fuselage roundels were red white and blue with a yellow outer. This was changed to red and blue by the start of the war
Although the b/w photo above is dated 1940 and shows the earlier roundels.As for the aerial, hmm, well plastic models aren't my area but fine black cotton would be better - running it between the fingers with a little PVA deals with any whiskers.
No - the yellow outer ring was brought back again in early 1940 (having been abolished in 1939)
The dilemma was (and still is sometimes) that low visibility is good to hide you from the enemy but can cause problems when trying to differentiate friend from foe.
The yellow outer ring was brought back because it made the roundel more obvious in combat conditions.
In 1942 the yellow ring was reduced in size but (on fighters) the front of the wing was given a yellow strip - all to aid identification.
The dilemma was (and still is sometimes) that low visibility is good to hide you from the enemy but can cause problems when trying to differentiate friend from foe.
The yellow outer ring was brought back because it made the roundel more obvious in combat conditions.
In 1942 the yellow ring was reduced in size but (on fighters) the front of the wing was given a yellow strip - all to aid identification.
The photo was taken around the Battle of Britain period i.e. summer 1940.
Here are some very early Spitfire Is just after they entered service in 1938.
They had the yellow ring on both the fuselage and upper wing roundels at that time.
By 1939 the yellow ring had gone -
By the Spring of 1940 it was back again - but on the fuselage only.
By mid 1942 the camouflage colours had changed and the roundels had changed again -
The yellow ring (in its narrow version) survived on fighters up to the end of the 1940s -
Here are some very early Spitfire Is just after they entered service in 1938.
They had the yellow ring on both the fuselage and upper wing roundels at that time.
By 1939 the yellow ring had gone -
By the Spring of 1940 it was back again - but on the fuselage only.
By mid 1942 the camouflage colours had changed and the roundels had changed again -
The yellow ring (in its narrow version) survived on fighters up to the end of the 1940s -
Simpo Two said:
dr_gn said:
Pre-war the fuselage roundels were red white and blue with a yellow outer. This was changed to red and blue by the start of the war
Although the b/w photo above is dated 1940 and shows the earlier roundels.As for the aerial, hmm, well plastic models aren't my area but fine black cotton would be better - running it between the fingers with a little PVA deals with any whiskers.
As I said, the original pre-war roundels had a yellow outline. At the beginning of the war the yellow rings were over painted with camo, and in photos you can often see the the difference in the old & new paint. For the Airfix Spitfire Mk.1 (1938) I recently built, I simulated this by over-spraying the camo with Tamiya Smoke:
Cotton is no good for aerial wires for small scale models, it’s too thick, too fluffy and pretty much impossible to tension properly. Coating with PVA to get rid of the fluff just makes it look worse. I use Uschi van der Rosten elastic thread (“Fine” 0.02mm) for aerial wires. Very easy to fit under tension using PVA, and gives a perfect scale look. Aerial wires are often pretty much invisible in photos at distances that approximate to 1:72 viewing distances.
dr_gn said:
They’re not the earlier roundels, the 1940 versions in the photo are a completely different size and proportion the pre-war ones- the yellow rings pretty much meet at the top of the fuselage for a start.
Not according to what Eric posted...Anyway, the new aerial looks much better. Signed off, on with the next model!
Simpo Two said:
dr_gn said:
They’re not the earlier roundels, the 1940 versions in the photo are a completely different size and proportion the pre-war ones- the yellow rings pretty much meet at the top of the fuselage for a start.
Not according to what Eric posted...amongst the various squadrons, there were various interpretations of what the Air Ministry painting instructions were - as is often the case. Those extra large roundels on DW-K were just one version of the 1940 yellow ringed roundels. Most other squadrons adopted a rather less generous size -
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