**** DONE: 1/48 Spitfire FR.lX - Jet/Recon/Transport GB (1 Viewer)

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Good stuff Geo. As Andy said, close ups can be brutal - but the advent of the digital camera can also help modellers immensely, by showing up things before it's too late to rectify any fault. I always photograph every important stage, even though I check with a magnifying glass, just to see if there are any nasty bits, or areas I've missed.
 
Started putting on the first thin coat of camo and now a question. In the profile that Andy(CrimeaRiver) posted, it shows quite a bit of wear around the boarding/fuselage area. Did the spitfires receive a coat of primer before the camo was applied and if so, what was the color of the primer?

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Geo
 
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Just a tad too yellow. The primer used in restorations is a modern-day version - close, but not quite right, due to modern paints and additives.
Think of the average grey primer seen on car body repairs, then add just a touch of yellow. It's around the shade of grey of the grey outline around the 'Quick Reply' box I'm typing in, with just that hint of yellow added.
This would show through where camouflage paint has been worn and scuffed on the wing root. It's rare to see bare metal, but when visible, it would probably have a halo of primer around it. Any bright, bare metal would be the result of extremely heavy wear, or violent removal, such as a collision or bullet strike. Where bare metal shows on, for example, wing leading edges, this is the result of erosion from the elements, or sand, in the desert, and tends to be more 'speckled', rather than large areas, and was normally rectified as soon as possible, as performance could be affected.
Note that on US-built aircraft, bare metal through paint chipping or peeling was more prevalent, as the paints did not stand up well to the UK and European climate, particularly on 'smooth' aircraft such as the B-26, and on un-primed airframes. There is a difference in paint 'weathering' on various nation's aircraft, so reference photos need to be consulted.
 
Much obliged Terry. I'm trying to do 9 months of weathering so it's not going to have whacking gobs of paint missing. Main coats of paint are on with the inevitable touch-ups to follow. Disheartened by my attempt to blend in the camera fairing...waited too long too sand the crazy glue and the paint really shows this. Going to try something this afternoon, photos to follow.

Geo
 
Thanks Andy. Will definitely us that as a reference. As I posted earlier, I tried to live with the camera fairing but in the end, it wasn't going to happen.

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So adding even more mud, I came up with this, though not perfect, something I won't lose sleep over.

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This has put me behind schedule as I was going to clear coat tomorrow and let it harden while I was at camp, then decal and weather when I got home. Touch-ups and add-on pieces tomorrow.

Geo
 
Thanks all. Touch ups done and glossed. Just the small fiddly bits to paint and decals tomorrow. "But George", you all enquire, "Where is the uniqueness you strive for in each build?" or words to that effect. "Ha-HAAA" quoth I. The oddballyness comes into play by this aircraft, according to the instructions, having Type C.1 roundels in all six positions.

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Geo
 

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