++ **** DONE: 1/48 Spitfire IXe - Military Conflicts of the 1950's

[Airframes]

Looks good Andy. I think I'd opt for masking and painting the stripes - maybe using the rib tapes as a guide for the masks ?

 

[Crimea_River]

Yeah but the thing is that the stripes are on a slant. See profile in page 1.

Should have thought of this before I glued the rudder on. May break It off so I can work on it.

Thanks for the comments guys.

 

[Airframes]

Oops, sorry !
I was going off memory of pics I'd seen some time ago !
Yep, remove the rudder, and do it that way. Maybe trace the outline, then measure and position the stripes on the trace, making a template for the masks ?

 

[JKim]

The NMF looks really good Andy as does the weathering on the prop. Depending on how the rudder was attached, I'd lean towards snapping it off to make it easier to paint the stripes. Can you remove it without marring the edges?

 

[Wayne Little]

scrubbed up good Andy.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks all. Managed to snap the rudder off without any problem. Tried masking the stripes and gave up after 1st try to give one of the decals a go. Turned out pretty good actually. Pics tonight.

 

[Crimea_River]

Lots to report and getting very close to the finish now.

As stated above, I tried masking for the stripes but the first (and only) attempt did not result in an equal spacing. The exposed bit at the bottom of the rudder in the below pic should have turned out the same width as the stripes, meaning that each mask had to be just slightly wider. Rather than go through this trial and error approach, I though I would give the decal a try instead.

Jumping ahead a bit, here's the rudder, now completed with the decal and reattached, along with some initial decaling on the fuselage. The only issue with the rudder decal was getting it to fit around the actuator horn and the trim tab fairing but a sharp scalpel and matching touch up paint solved that.

Damn, I keep forgetting about the dirty lens. The black spots are not on the model but on the lens. Must remember next time.

Anyhoo, the decals have been placed on the underside and a wash mixture of black and white pastels has been applied. This is resulting in the well worn look that I want to achieve here. I always start on the bottom surfaces since they will typically be dirtier than the top and it's easier to keep adding to the effect rather than overdoing it and having to erase it.

All the decals are now on and just a small amount of wash has been dabbed into the panel lines on the upper wing surfaces, barely enough to see here so I'll gradually add a bit more until I get the effect I want.

The Eduard decals are a bit on the thick side but can be tamed with two applications of Solvaset. My initial concerns that the clear film between the 7 and 9 would show were unfounded as it disappeared nicely after the setting solution did its job.

It's now down to more weathering and addition of the final details. The cockpit is too nice to close up so I'll remove the access door that has been temporarily installed as a mask and install the one provided for the open position. It has a nice PE latch detail that would be a shame to waste.

 

[Wurger]

 

[JKim]

Looking good Andy! Nice to see a Spitfire in unique markings.

 

[Airframes]

Nice !

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks all. I am rethinking the finish based on other photos of similar aircraft and am leaning toward the theory that these guys were silver doped. No variation in tones is evident across the various panels or control surfaces. I've therefore not taken the time to mask off the control surfaces, cowls, and gun covers and paint these a different shade. We'll have a boring uniform surface, albeit a bit weathered to add some interest.

 

[Crimea_River]

A nice detail was added to the sliding canopy. Eduard provides the latch and pull chord as a photoetched piece as shown below.

After a bit of tricky bending and even trickier gluing, the piece made it into the proper position without making a mess of the clear part. I then added the emergency release ball which was made by dipping the end of a toothpick into CA glue until it formed a ball of the right diameter and then snipping it off. Below is the finished assembly all painted up. I may yet add the exterior cable and release bar if I feel so inclined.

Tonight, I also masked and painted the exhaust stacks. The base coat is Alclad Steel, followed by a very thin squirt of Tamiya Hull Red and finally the exposed ends were dry-brushed in silver.

Thanks again for your continued interest. *Note - clean lens! (actually it was the sensor).

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

Well done Andy, that looks pretty good.

 

[fubar57]

Very nice work.

 

[Airframes]

Like that canopy latch.

 

[Gnomey]

Great work so far Andy!

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks all. With a couple of hours spent this afternoon, I'm close to done. A last look tomorrow and a couple of tweaks should be all that's left before I post the finished pics.

The prop's been glued on, exhaust stains sprayed (initially brown, followed by black), and the anti-glare panel got a bit of chipping added.

The upper surfaces have been weathered by applying a grey wash and wiping it down, leaving just the look I wanted to achieve. The decals and anti-glare panel got a coat of Tamiya Flat Clear but I left the rest of the surfaces alone.

In the office, I added the mirror, glued on the sliding canopy (I decided not to add the emergency jettison cable and rods) and finished the access hatch. The latter has the kit-supplied PE latch mechanism added. This nice touch was offset by the molded crow-bar which I thought detracted from the overall look, so I carved it off and added my own made of stretched sprue.

Here's a detail of the other side of the rudder showing where the stripe decal had to be coaxed around the prominent trim tab actuator fairing.

Here's the other side of the cowl.

And finally an overall shot.

 

[Airframes]

Like it !

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks Terry. Rather please myself and I highly recommend this kit. It's a beauty.