Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Hi All, I haven't posted any build threads lately as I have been building other makers products. That's about to change as I was in the Hornby Visitors Centre recently and saw this at a reduced price. I picked it up even though I have over 30 built up Spitfires in my collection, and 3 of those are Mk V's, I don't have a Va!/media/tinymce_upload/99579e22591aefe8d8f173b9cb2c7e0d.jpgThe plastic is the same as the bog standard Mk Ia, with the extra small sprue included from the Mk1 (early)/Mk IIa kit, which we all know and love. I've actually built this one 4 times already (I (early), Ia (Battle of Britain), IIa and IIa(LR)), so do not foresee any problems.With this boxing you get new decals from Cartograf for a famous Mk IIa in brown and green and a Va in Grey and green. There are 3 different props, 2 aerials, 2 canopies and 2 oil coolers. /media/tinymce_upload/06d005527a3796c273312080462ff2c1.jpgThere are 1 or 2 issues with the instructions however. Firstly in stage 2 you are told to paint the spinner black for both versions, it should be Sky Blue for the IIa and Sky for the Va. Next in stage 4 both versions are shown with earlier straight exhausts, but wouldn't the Mk V use the flared ones which are included? Finally in stage 5 both versions use the larger two part oil cooler, but I think that the Mk II would use the small 1 piece part./media/tinymce_upload/d1b3f536475db6fc160d1faf81d6cb16.jpgThe plastic. The additional sprue is shown on the right. Construction starts with the cockpit, which is nicely detailed for this scale, but unfortunately not much will be seen as the canopy is moulded closed, and is quite think./media/tinymce_upload/4d4f55fb6aaa98e622f39a4e488ca6f8.jpgThe parts went together easily, using a fuselage side as a jig./media/tinymce_upload/d5b97c647fd1b09373ccb5b629a694f7.jpg Next up will be slapping some cockpit grey/green over the insides and some detail painting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted August 14, 2019 Author Share Posted August 14, 2019 Things went on apace and next I was painting the inside of the wing sections green and black, to make sure no bare plastic shows through./media/tinymce_upload/396841bca0fcc14298c514c5a68fe7d1.jpgThe wings were put together without problem, with the aid of a couple of clamps, and the fuselage painted and weathered and the cockpit added./media/tinymce_upload/327ab063cdb767ae205a4b7a3c5342d4.jpg Almost before I knew it I had an almost complete Spitfire sitting in front of me. The only filler needed was at the front and rear join between the wing underside and fuselage bottom, but not to much as these fall on panel lines anyway. Wing root join was fine and needed no work./media/tinymce_upload/f4651eac82d6a2e513230478bc8972af.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/fd89c88fc7dd3b58ad8f53d42c0bffba.jpgSeam cleanup was quick and easy, and now it's nearly time for some paint.Overall I think this kit has pretty good shape and detail, the only possible minus point for it is that the panel lines are fairly deep, this being one of Airfix's earlier new tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2B Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 You will make short work of it PMM. As you say it's a good kit with few vices, I think I have 7 of them built up in various guises from Mk.I to Mk.Va and the only problem is the instrument panel bulkhead needs trimming to allow the fuselage halves to close correctly. Looking forward to seeing it finished! Oh I still have several of the later Mk's to do as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 Funny; when I see "Va" I start thinking of DogsBody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2B Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 Yes my Mk.Va was completed in the 'Dogsbody' scheme as I was lucky enough to have a full aftermarket decal set in my stock!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweezers Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 Thanks for this. It's helpful to those of us who have the Airfix Spitfires wating in the wings. Though I had to go to another manufacturer for a VB variant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2B Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Yes Tweezers despite several requests Airfix have yet to do a new version of the Mk.Vb. I haven't gone to another manufacturer yet, I was thinking about doing a conversion by mixing wings etc from Airfix kits but I haven't done it yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkhart Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Looks great!The new tool Airfix Spitfires are fantastic kits. As you mentioned, the panel lines are a bit on the heavy side. I diluted some water soluble putty (Perfect Putty) and filled them in a bit. A light sanding and they look better. I've heard of others using typing correction fluid as filler, but have never tried that. Looking forward to the finished pictures, thanks for posting. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Earth Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Pretty - definitely ! And looking decidedly better than mediocre !Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 Thanks for the comments guys.Painting has now begun with the underside medium grey ( Humbrol Hu 64 acrylic), which was then masked and the topside ocean grey (Humbrol Hu 106 acrylic) then applied. This colour dried darker than I would have liked, appearing more like dark sea grey. The undercarriage was also added, but the exhausts have been left off until all other painting is done, when they will be added pre-painted./media/tinymce_upload/30d8abefd54c668a0df90a8f2e1ba5a8.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/34417751aaf6a8efa887cabfc358067e.jpgNext I will be pencilling in the camouflage pattern and adding the dark green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 Finally finished my Spitfire. After the camo was done the exhausts were added, then a couple of coats of Klear before the decals went on. Some paint chips were added with aluminium paint and a fine brush. That Ocean Grey still looks to dark!/media/tinymce_upload/438a9802273349cded575dddbd2e0caa.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/80f18d563def2b0941704250d8621d61.jpgAll colours were hand painted./media/tinymce_upload/82daeaefa86333bc04024d2c76d20d06.jpg The decals as usual are by Cartograph and were fine with the use of Decalfix, except for the red patches over the gun ports, which wouldn't conform to the leading edge, so were painted on instead. The roundels were also sliced a bit so they would sit over some lumps on the wings. After the decals had dried it was on with a couple of coats of matt varnish, then painting on the nav lights, and finishing off with some light weathering./media/tinymce_upload/25334b87a5c618c279f3c2c110e8ea0b.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/009f55c611726e2651ec9278613ea821.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/8bf3d3ffd027f0fc0b4ab412ec31fedf.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/131cd9e5fdfedb91267a472dae001d65.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/85f0f0ac3eacd7da42e194b0b6508f9f.jpg Altogether a nice easy build, recommended for someone of any ability who wants a good solid representation of an early, if rare Spitfire in their collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2B Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 Well done PMM and the upper grey camo looks OK to me but it's upto you whether you like it or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2B Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 And the Spitfire tooling is very good and here's my Mk.Va with after market 'Dogsbody' decals.........../media/tinymce_upload/c92e993f3307df63cce55d2b9f63d90d.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/36e3d8b9b3dbf1672f885032b01f6aed.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic Thomas Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 I like the result you have produced - well done. I will take this opportunity to agree with you about the Ocean Grey shade. I noticed you used the Humbrol option for this. Have you noticed any other ’anomilies’ with Humbrol shades? I ask because I recently finished a Belenheim and a Battle from the same time period, using paint from Humbrol and a competitor. The Humbrol shades for Dark Green and Dark Brown did not look correct to my eye, based on what we see today on BBMF aircraft for example, which I assume to be the best at recreating original schemes. I may or may not be alone in this thought ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2B Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 I always used to use Humbrol enamels and was pleased with the colour matches, however since getting an airbrush a couple of years ago I now predominantly use Vallejo Model Air paints, I must admit I am impressed with there authentic colours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 I like the result you have produced - well done. I will take this opportunity to agree with you about the Ocean Grey shade. I noticed you used the Humbrol option for this. Have you noticed any other ’anomilies’ with Humbrol shades? I ask because I recently finished a Belenheim and a Battle from the same time period, using paint from Humbrol and a competitor. The Humbrol shades for Dark Green and Dark Brown did not look correct to my eye, based on what we see today on BBMF aircraft for example, which I assume to be the best at recreating original schemes. I may or may not be alone in this thought .....This does presume that the BBMF machines are actually painted the "correct shade". I have print interviews with staff who take pride in "we don't show machines with chipped or weathered paint". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratch Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 I like the result you have produced - well done. I will take this opportunity to agree with you about the Ocean Grey shade. I noticed you used the Humbrol option for this. Have you noticed any other ’anomilies’ with Humbrol shades? I ask because I recently finished a Belenheim and a Battle from the same time period, using paint from Humbrol and a competitor. The Humbrol shades for Dark Green and Dark Brown did not look correct to my eye, based on what we see today on BBMF aircraft for example, which I assume to be the best at recreating original schemes. I may or may not be alone in this thought .....This does presume that the BBMF machines are actually painted the "correct shade". I have print interviews with staff who take pride in "we don't show machines with chipped or weathered paint".I also saw something on TV that said that current warbirds are painted in a gloss finish for photographic purposes wheres wartime birds were matt to avoid detection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peebeep Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 I also saw something on TV that said that current warbirds are painted in a gloss finish for photographic purposes whereas wartime birds were matt to avoid detection. Wartime RAF aircraft were painted with MAP paints that with few exceptions were Type 'S', where S = smooth. This gives you a semi-gloss finish, I believe a trade-off between aerodynamic efficiency whilst not being too reflective so as to give you away in sunlight. You'll find freshly painted Luftwaffe aircraft (and other air forces) usually have a similar sheen. Paint dulling is a natural process, especially so with hard worked aircraft, so it doesn't take long before they're flat in appearance. I've got dozens of pictures of warbirds, mostly taken at Flying Legends, there's not many that exhibit true glossy surfaces, mostly they're semi-gloss. Warbird owners may well have a fresh paint job, or do a special valet for commercial purposes, but if the aircraft is flown regularly it won't take long to flatten down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peebeep Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 /media/tinymce_upload/a121d1a5c64116b16cb934bc03902a86.JPGThis warbird had only clocked a handful of flying hours when I took this photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic Thomas Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 With due respect to all above, there is also another factor to be considered as I have noted in one or two previous posts - ambient light. I hope to submit a couple of internet-sourced pix which how light changes the shades on the same aircraft, and also the sheen on a late 30s era Battle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic Thomas Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 The Anson has a semi-Matt sheen but also looks to have different shades of brown & green, depending on which photo you look at. The Battle photo was taken when it was operational and shows a slight sheen, or is it just a very sunny day?/media/tinymce_upload/e867dfe0cf50cdd54ab853e625ff14b3.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/15a4c438c5e9f947f064aefe7da1c4e5.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/de40a16474da4ba776190dd35a11c510.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Wouts Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Mix a (few) drop(s) of very light grey through your final semi-flat/semi-gloss varnish to simulate waterdamp in the air. Yes spray it also and including on the decals. For example look at the row of trees behind the spitfire on Paul Borwn's picture. One can see the further away a row of hills or trees is to the viewer, the lighter grey/green it will become. It's the same with the distance between the viewer and the actual aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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