**** DONE: 1/48 Spitfire IXc - Defense of Britain/Atlantic.

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Nice work there John, it's really looking the biz.
You asked about a matt clear coat - I used to mix 'Future' with Tamiya Flat Base, but after problems with the 'Future', I now do the same thing with Humbrol 'Clear'.
Add the Flat Base and stir thoroughly, then test on a suitable piece of scra, using a paint brush, and let it dry - it should only take around 15 minutes at max to show how it will look.
If there's too much Flat Base, it wlll look chalky or cloudy, with a greyish tinge, so just add more 'Clear'. If it's not matt enough, add a touch more FB and so on.
It takes a little experimenting, but anything between semi-gloss to full matt can be achieved by this method, and it should spray very well.
Hope this helps.
 
Thanks guys! A little more progress on Spitfire. Now that the clear coat has dried, I fixed the fin flash by painting the missing red portion. I also painted a little square on the port roundel per the archive pictures of MH712 but it hardly showed up (I matched the red too well).


I gave the model a pastel wash (black on the top and a dark brown on the bottom). I've not had the chance to try any new clear coats so I crossed my fingers and went with what I had. For the flat coat, I used a 50/50 mixture of Alclad Matt and Alclad Gloss.




Weathering Part 2 is next...
 
Thanks guys! I checked the flat coat this morning and it seemed to be fully cured (not tacky at all). The 50/50 ratio gave me a little more shine than intended so I may change that to get a flatter final finish.
 
After a second round of weathering, the model is sprayed with a final flat coat. I upped the flat/gloss ratio on this coat to get rid of that bit of shine on the last coat. Once that is done, it is just a matter of cobbling together all of the bits and pieces (landing gear, prop, antennas, etc.). The exhausts can finally be added.


Final touchups include dry pastels brushed in random locations. Additional painting chipping was done using a silver pencil for the first time (seems like a good method). Ok... I am done with this one! Here are some pictures. I'll post the official finished pictures soon.





 
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