1/72 Airfix Spitfire PR XIX and Seafire side-by-side build

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Got some colour on...

XIX required some fancy masking, got a little bit of tiny-brush touching up to do but not looking too bad. Spilt some Pru Blue on one of the wings which will need a bit of hiding... fortunately this is the one and only acrylic paint I have...

IMG_0920.jpg


The canopy on the Seafire was a lousy fit so I put in a bit of filler around the base.

IMG_0919.jpg


Bit of luck I should have these done by the weekend!
 
A4K said:
Nice work Con! Love that XIX! -What colours did you use on her?
Click to expand...

The grey is Humbrol enamel 165 per instructions.
The blue isn't the Humbrol pru blue (couldn't find it anywhere - guess they have had a run on it since launching this new kit which seems to be flying off the shelves for Airfix) - instead I found a Hannants Xtracrilyix shade XA1008 RAF PRU Blue. Don't normally use acrylics but this is doing the job OK.
Normally I top off with a coat of matt varnish but I'm thinking of a silk finish on this one, in the flesh the BBMF version of the plane is very sleek and glossy. (Going to RAF Coningsby to see it and the other BBMF warbirds next week - can't wait! 8))
 
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Nice work mate. If Paul Day is still with the BBMF (he was 2 I/C), give him my regards if you see him.
 
conkerking said:
The grey is Humbrol enamel 165 per instructions.
The blue isn't the Humbrol pru blue (couldn't find it anywhere - guess they have had a run on it since launching this new kit which seems to be flying off the shelves for Airfix) - instead I found a Hannants Xtracrilyix shade XA1008 RAF PRU Blue. Don't normally use acrylics but this is doing the job OK.
Normally I top off with a coat of matt varnish but I'm thinking of a silk finish on this one, in the flesh the BBMF version of the plane is very sleek and glossy. (Going to RAF Coningsby to see it and the other BBMF warbirds next week - can't wait! 8))
Click to expand...

Thanks for that info mate! I'll be doing PS888 which shared the same colours...!
 
Great stuff, Con

Thanks for tip on PRU blue. Have looked on Humbrol website and their "new" PRU Blue 230 looks suspiciously like their old 144, which is very grey. I'll check out Hannants Xtracrilyix shade XA1008 RAF PRU Blue and will look forward to seeing your next photies.

Jon
 
Just getting the decals on the XIX. They're good quality but couple of problems. The roundels for the fuselage are way too big - should be about 2/3 the diameter. Going to see if I've got something elswehere in the right size.
And the other thing that I can't work out... PS888 was a very notable plane in that it was the last Spitfire to fly an operational sortie before the plane was "retired". In recognition of this fact one of the ground crew painted "THE LAST" in white letters on the port cowling. The BBMF (as I said above) flies one of its XIX's in thyis exact livery, so in a way you can "see" PS888 at airshows up and down the country. So why I wonder isn't a decal of "THE LAST" included? Not to say the model isn't accurate without it (it flew before the graffiti was applied) but you'd think the option would be there. The history of this plane isn't particularly noted in the literature apart from it flew in "Malaysia" (actually based RAF Seletar in Singapore during the Malay campaign). Very odd.
(Was thinking of having a crack at painting it by hand but that would be asking for trouble...)
 
It's a subject dear to my heart actually...my great uncle, George S Travers, is the man who painted 'The Last!' on her!
I have a thread here on the subject ('Spitfire PR.XIX 'The Last!' ')

Evan
 
A4K said:
It's a subject dear to my heart actually...my great uncle, George S Travers, is the man who painted 'The Last!' on her!
Click to expand...

Now that is a seriously cool claim to fame! 8)8)8)

The plot thickens with the decals... I have found a profile of PS890, a contemporary of PS888 with the same paint job, in a source book and that shows larger roundels on the fuselage. I can only find one period photo on the net of the actual plane, difficult to tell but the roundels look smaller.

PS888-2.jpg


Maybe I shouldn't get so hung up on it and just slap the b*ggers on. I imagine it will be diffiicult to get an exact colour match with decals from elsewhere, and I don't think I'll be getting a visit from the aeroplane inspectors for a while.

By the way something that's been puzzling me - why is the centre red spot from RAF roundels often printed separately to the blue/white bits on the decal sheet?
 
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Answer to first puzzle:- when the 'split' PRU scheme was adopted (i.e. grey/PRU blue) the diameter of the fuselage roundels was enlarged, so that they didn't merge, or 'fuzz', at a distance, which would have been the optical illusion caused by the 'split' of two similar toned, but different colours, along the top quarter of the roundel.
I've given Airfix some 'stick' on this forum recently, but, judging from what I've seen of this kit, I'm guessuing the research will have been fairly thorough, so I think the decals provided are probably correct. Bear in mind, of course, I haven't seen the kit or the decals first hand.
Answer to the question re printing of decals; I might be wrong, but I would think it's a question of economy and accuracy. That is, printing plates can be produced to print the decal as a 'one piece', but the process, depending whether digital or silver imaging (photography), would demand much closer tolerances to acheive the exact register of the separate images for each colour, in order to produce an acceptable product for 'todays' market, and the production costs and time that go with this. For the roundel alone, it would require a minimum of 4 plates, possibly eight, in order to obtain the required colour tone, density and register.
As many decals are now produced by silk-screen printing, or by digital direct printing, it is much easier, and therefore more cost effective, to produce such items as the red centre-spot as a separate image on the original work. It's really a question of who does the job, and how. They can still be produced as in the 'traditional' way, but might cost a few pence more per sheet (hundreds or thousands of $/£ etc per print run), which could affect the base price of the finished product (the kit) to the point where the decal sheet (normally produced by outside sources) could cost, per unit, almost as much as the production cost of the kit itself.
Personally, I find the separate centre-spot a bit of a bind - but - they do allow a more dense background to the white part of the roundel, where a complete decal might, due to the printing process, provide a 'thin' white ground, where the base colour of paint beneath, particularly any demarcation lines, as in camouflage colours, would show through.
Regreattably, it's a 'sign of the times'. Back in the year dot, when all decals were glossy and thick, the production wasn't a problem. But now, due to a combination of changes in 'traditional' printing techniques, and market acceptance and expectations, decals are, generally, produced thin (to conform), and accurate (as in colours etc), to match the aftermarket products at least.
I wonder how many of 'todays' modellers would have any experience of drawing, colouring, and then making, their own 'transfers', on gummed lable paper?!
 
CK - GREAT photo mate!!!! I haven't seen that one before! ...And see the guy in the foreground? That's George! He was PS888's airframe fitter.
Do you have any info on the pic, btw? It looks like to me like it's a shot of the last (operational ) take-off...

Good info there too Terry!
I personally prefer the red centres in roundels to be seperate. I can't tell you how many unusable roundels I have received (especially, but not only, with Airfix kits), because the bloody red dot (or kiwi, kangaroo, or springbok) is printed out of register..! Likewise with the crowns in Swedish roundels...

Roundels minus centres are great for the Aussie modellers too...skip the red centre, and voila!.. RAAF (WW II) roundel!
 
Thanks mate! Got a scan of that crew pic actually, which George sent me. He mentioned the names of the whole crew and duties, I can let you know after work if you're interested.
 
Great stuff guys.

And yes Evan no red centre is perfect for RAAF as the roundal varied quite a bit in size and diameter over the years :)
 
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