Airfix 1/24 Spitfire Mk VB

[dr_gn]

It looks great, and will look better in matt.

I have to say though, the pilots harness looks too wide, too stiff and too clean.

Has anyone ever said that to you before

[caterhamnut]

Sadly not

Will fix the wheel in place then - thanks!
It will certainly be matt.
And yes - the pilot has to be 'weathered' as well - mould the harness into shape etc. add some shading....not a fan of that pre-printed PE though - on the Mossie I was able to temper the PE and bend far more easily...

[caterhamnut]

...but it was better than the moulded-on kit version

[Murph7355]

Very impressed with the finish you guys get.

Q : should the longitudinal spare in the rear of the cockpit be green?

[caterhamnut]

Yes - ITS NOT FINISHED lol - the kit part was...chunky - so I added that piece later...

Lots of little things to finish/add - nav. lights, tidy up the cockpit area and 'weather' - exhausts etc etc - and add 'glass' to Gingers goggles! Bomb sight needs fixing - and the rear view mirror!

Anyone know if/what type of aerial this model had - I have seen various types - single from the mast to the tail, seem some from the wings or tail plane to the fuselage, and some with no wire......(yet to be fitted - I'm too afraid I'm going to knock it off whilst painting - prop is only held on with blutack for the photos lol)

[dr_gn]

caterhamnut said:

Yes - ITS NOT FINISHED lol - the kit part was...chunky - so I added that piece later...

Lots of little things to finish/add - nav. lights, tidy up the cockpit area and 'weather' - exhausts etc etc - and add 'glass' to Gingers goggles! Bomb sight needs fixing - and the rear view mirror!

Anyone know if/what type of aerial this model had - I have seen various types - single from the mast to the tail, seem some from the wings or tail plane to the fuselage, and some with no wire......(yet to be fitted - I'm too afraid I'm going to knock it off whilst painting - prop is only held on with blutack for the photos lol)

I don't think that variant would have any wires from the mast (unlike the box art). It may have had a couple of IFF antenna wires from around the fuselage centre roundels to the tips of the tailplanes, but without some decent period photographs of that particular aircraft it would probably be difficult to say for certain.

[iiyama]

Not sure if this helps as it is, (obviously!), a piece of art.

[robemcdonald]

I’m building a 72nd scale version of the same aircraft for the group found these pictures.

[Dr Jekyll]

dr_gn said:

caterhamnut said:

Yes - ITS NOT FINISHED lol - the kit part was...chunky - so I added that piece later...

Lots of little things to finish/add - nav. lights, tidy up the cockpit area and 'weather' - exhausts etc etc - and add 'glass' to Gingers goggles! Bomb sight needs fixing - and the rear view mirror!

Anyone know if/what type of aerial this model had - I have seen various types - single from the mast to the tail, seem some from the wings or tail plane to the fuselage, and some with no wire......(yet to be fitted - I'm too afraid I'm going to knock it off whilst painting - prop is only held on with blutack for the photos lol)

I don't think that variant would have any wires from the mast (unlike the box art). It may have had a couple of IFF antenna wires from around the fuselage centre roundels to the tips of the tailplanes, but without some decent period photographs of that particular aircraft it would probably be difficult to say for certain.

The general rule is post 1940 VHF radios so no wire, the aerial was in the mast, before that HF so a wire from the mast.

[dr_gn]

Dr Jekyll said:

dr_gn said:

caterhamnut said:

Yes - ITS NOT FINISHED lol - the kit part was...chunky - so I added that piece later...

Lots of little things to finish/add - nav. lights, tidy up the cockpit area and 'weather' - exhausts etc etc - and add 'glass' to Gingers goggles! Bomb sight needs fixing - and the rear view mirror!

Anyone know if/what type of aerial this model had - I have seen various types - single from the mast to the tail, seem some from the wings or tail plane to the fuselage, and some with no wire......(yet to be fitted - I'm too afraid I'm going to knock it off whilst painting - prop is only held on with blutack for the photos lol)

I don't think that variant would have any wires from the mast (unlike the box art). It may have had a couple of IFF antenna wires from around the fuselage centre roundels to the tips of the tailplanes, but without some decent period photographs of that particular aircraft it would probably be difficult to say for certain.

The general rule is post 1940 VHF radios so no wire, the aerial was in the mast, before that HF so a wire from the mast.

You can tell by looking at the stub at the top of the mast - if it’s got a pronounced rearward facing stub, that was the guide for the vertical part of the wire. If it’s a short stub, or two bumps, that suggests the stub was removed, just leaving the two mountings. In that case there would be no wire.

It’s more difficult to tell if it was fitted with the diagonal IFF wires though.

[P5BNij]

robemcdonald said:

I’m building a 72nd scale version of the same aircraft for the group found these pictures.

The weathering on this looks like a nice challenge...

[CanAm]

The duck on the original looks a lot smaller than on the various models.

[dr_gn]

CanAm said:

The duck on the original looks a lot smaller than on the various models.

Depends on when the picture was taken:

[caterhamnut]

So looked much better in matt...













...so it was on to some weathering. I've only ever done one other, so I am sticking to what I know at this point - so th end result will be a 'used' Spitfire - as opposed to a polished-to-perfection version! I am very aware that half the skill during this next stage is knowing when to stop...
I'm missing my Tamiya Panel Gap wash (waaaay too dangerous for the UK apparently!) which worked very well, so it is straight to the oils....



...always a bit scary this bit...









...and then wipe off, hopefully leaving some detail behind! I wipe in the 'direction' of the airflow. The molded rivets did not hold much black - but I think it turned out ok.





I pretty quickly started on adding localised detail, in the form of stains, smoke trails, exhaust etc...again using oils. I dotted oil on and brushed with a 'dry' brush. Used a mix of black and some burnt umber.





















You can see I have added some more parts - the light behind the cockpit, and the aerial mast.

I added the cockpit canopy - fitted surprisingly well, and the sliding bit...slides!







At this point I also glued the prop on, and the airspeed tube on th eunderside of the wing (if that is what it is) - I also added an aerial wire - I AM AWARE THIS MAY NOT BE PERIOD/CORRECT - but it is a nice detail - I was showing my 'customer/mate' a little later yesterday, so I wanted all the fine stuff on - I'll probably take the wire back off again though...

I used Tamiya flat clear sprayed from the can between various layers of oil etc - otherwise finger marks will show. The only main parts missing on these final photos are the exhausts - although I have added the exhaust staining. So very almost there! Just got to figure out how to mount it (in flight) but I do want to show it 'banking' as opposed to in level flight.



















For such a much-maligned kit, I'm pretty chuffed with the end result...when it is 100% finished, I want to take some proper pictures of it - it is big though! I may even try some taken at the old WW2 airfield that is a few miles away - Harrowbeer, Yelverton.



ooh yes - I am also going to add the red fabric squares over the gun ports!

[dr_gn]

Looks great, although the gun staining might be a bit ott. Definitely looks like the kit parts are intended for an aerial wire.

BTW you can get Tamiya Panel Line Accent off EBay. I got two pots, it’s great.

[caterhamnut]

Yep - i’ll Have to get some more - used it over in NYC and I like how it works.

[AshVX220]

When you say "oil" for weathering, what kind of oil, is it a model product or literally "oil"? Also, when the oil has been applied and wiped off, it enhances the panels lines (or seems to, to my untrained eye), does that negate the need for the pre-shading stage?

I used to build models years ago as a kid and always wanted the accented panel lines that seemed so clear in the Tamiya catalogue, but with limited resources/funds to learn such techniques it always evaded me.

Although I don't do any modelling anymore, I absolutely love these threads to see how you guys do such things and see them come together, I find it fascinating, thanks to all the modellers on here for putting their build threads up.

[caterhamnut]

Oil paint - heavily diluted with thinners (for the 'wash') or dabbed as a tiny dot and then dry brushed for stronger effects.
I'm learning - but as far as I see it, the pre-shading creates the subtle shading of pillowed ali panels, the curves of edges constrained by rivets etc - the panel gap highlighting is specifically - gaps! I really liked the Tamiya panel wash that you would just dab on the end of a groove/slot, and capillary action sucks it along - it is impossible to get in the UK, unless you get from HK etc on ebay - but I'm sourcing some as I find it better than my diluted oil for that particular use!

[iiyama]

This is no criticism of your building skills fella, but the cartridge ejection shutes under the wing don't seem right? Or am I being a bit thick? Wont be the first time for that I can tell ya!!

[dr_gn]

caterhamnut said:

Oil paint - heavily diluted with thinners (for the 'wash') or dabbed as a tiny dot and then dry brushed for stronger effects.
I'm learning - but as far as I see it, the pre-shading creates the subtle shading of pillowed ali panels, the curves of edges constrained by rivets etc - the panel gap highlighting is specifically - gaps! I really liked the Tamiya panel wash that you would just dab on the end of a groove/slot, and capillary action sucks it along - it is impossible to get in the UK, unless you get from HK etc on ebay - but I'm sourcing some as I find it better than my diluted oil for that particular use!

You can get MiG and AK Interactive easily enough over here, but I found the Tamiya ones easier to use because of the integreal brush in the cap.