Thank you for the warm welcome! Nobody I know lists scale modeling as a hobby so it's nice being able to talk about it with people who are similarly "afflicted".
That's the reason why I looked for a internet modeling forum and signed up here. I consider myself a novice being three models into my rediscovered hobby but there is such a wealth of information on the internet that I feel that the learning curve is so much steeper now than it was when I last built models in the late 80's/early 90's. Forums like this are a great source of inspiration and I am amazed at beautiful finishes and crazy detail/scratchbuilding I see here.
Well, on to the build... Just to let you guys know, this model was recently completed so it is technically not "in-process". I hope that's ok. I have some construction photos that I'd like to share as well as pictures of the completed model.
After the cockpit is finished, construction takes a big leap forward... the two fuselage halves go together and the wings and tail stabilizers go on after that. The Jaguar resin set includes exhaust stacks. While generally superior to the original, the Jaguar exhaust stacks feature hollowed out ends but due to imperfect casting, a couple of the pipes are not hollowed out. Being square in shape, very small and fabricated in resin, I made no attempt to remedy this and relied on black paint to mask this imperfection. Because of the tight fit and the lack of "seating" for the parts from the outside, I elected to paint the exhausts and install them PRIOR to gluing the fuselage halves together. Masking them was a bit of a pain.
Fit was very good on this kit, even at the wing roots, which is usually a frightening place for me because it's always hard to putty and sand there. The only noticeable gaps were on the bottom of the plane between the wing assembly and the front fuselage. I used a bit of Mr. Putty to bridge the gap. Canopy is masked using the Montex product. Make sure you minimize contact with the adhesive side of the mask... too much finger oil and the corners of the mask may start to lift during mid-paint!
Now it is time to paint. I used Tamiya acrylic paints for this model. I pre-shaded the model by spraying the panel lines in black.
The white fuselage and nose band as well as the tail area were painted in white and then masked using Tamiya tape and the Montex masks for the tail crosses.
The bottom is painted grey and then masked off for the application for the top sand color.
I tried something different and used a touch lighter shade of sand to highlight the middle of the panels. I think I overdid it and lost some of the pre-shading effects on top.
The green spots are added using a super-thinned solution of green and very low pressure on the airbrush. I'm going to have to work on this technique a bit as they came out a wee bit soft for my tastes.
Removing masks is always a highlight in the process! The model really starts looking like a Macchi Folgore after the white bands and tail cross are revealed.
Here is the bottom of the plane after primary painting. You can see the results of the plumbing/wiring plug in the wheel well.
A clear coat is added prior to decal placement. I like to let the clear coat cure for at least one day to avoid fingerprints.