**** DONE: 1/48 Spitfire MkVIII - Home Country Modern Aircraft/Spitfire Marks GB

[Airframes]

Great job Andy - and I was only kidding (ish)!

 

[Crimea_River]

No worries. Glad you pointed it out.

 

[Jayl]

You may have explained this and I just missed it, but how did you do the dust and the areas where it looks like some one has recently rubbed up against it and there's the satin finish? It's looks very realistic.

 

[Wayne Little]

Good stuff Andy!

 

[Crimea_River]

You may have explained this and I just missed it, but how did you do the dust and the areas where it looks like some one has recently rubbed up against it and there's the satin finish? It's looks very realistic.

The dusty look is achieved primarily by spraying a mixture of Future and Tamiya Flat Base X-21. The higher the X-21 ratio, the chalkier the outcome. I discovered this by accident and it can be a bit frightening when overdone and not intended (as happened on my Stocky Edwards P-40) but the dusty characteristic comes in handy when you can control it. I estimate that I had a mix of about 4 to 5 parts Future to 1 part X-21 but you need to experiment a lot to get the outcome you want. If it's too dusty looking, the good news is that it goes away with further coats with a leaner mix or pure Future if you want to start over.

As for the wear and rubbed areas, there are 3 things I did. The first was to actually rub the surface with a shop grade paper towel along the wing roots, walk ways, and around the engine. The second was that I went back to the original paint and got a little on a small brush, then randomly went along some of the heavily used access panels to simulate hand prints. Third, a thinned mixture of the original paint was put in the airbrush and applied at random spots on the wings and fuselage to give a general patchy appearance. I think I would have been OK not doing the third step but I had to go over some finger prints anyway.

The thing about this finish is that it is extremely prone to finger prints so you have to handle the model carefully with latex loves or paper towel. It's not a very durable finish and will rub smooth and glossy with excessive handling.

 

[Crimea_River]

OK, this baby is done. The last bit I did today was to finish off the exhaust stacks a bit by dry brushing some silver and black over the ends. The gun barrels were also done and a final dab of clear cement was added to the underside signal light. I'll post the obligatory "Finito" pics in a separate thread in a minute but here's a series of snaps I took late this afternoon. Hope you like them and, please, please, feedback, suggestions, and constructive criticism are always welcome. Thanks everyone for following this build. This heavily dusted look was new for me to try and I'm pretty happy with how this one came out.

 

[rochie]

love it Andy

 

[Wurger]

Smashing job Andy.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks very much guys.

 

[Airframes]

Really is a cracker Andy, a really good representation of Spits in that theatre
The only thing I might have added, but it really is personal choice, are the patches to the machine gun ports, and the caps on the cannon barrels. After viewing the footage of Bob Cross's squadron in Burma, it was evident that the gun muzzles/ports, were sealed as quickly as possible once the aircraft was on the ground, to prevent ingress of the ever present fine dust, which was literally ankle deep, and got everywhere.
The footage shows caps being placed over the cannon muzzles, which were either moulded rubber, or more likely, cardboard, like caps used on medication 'tubs' of the period. These slipped over the barrels, being, I guess, about 2 inches deep, and fitted tightly enough to stay in place. Of course, with the first burst of fire, these caps just blew away!

 

[Vic Balshaw]

What a beauty!

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks Terry, Vic.

Terry, thanks for the suggestion but I'll leave as is. See picture on the 1st page - little evidence of there having been recent tape over the MGs and no caps on the cannon.

Now, I do have a question. Am I missing an antenna under the starboard wing?

 

[Airframes]

Good enough reason to leave off the patches/caps then Andy !
I searched for ages, to check if the IFF dipole aerial was fitted, and eventually spotted it in the footage mentioned earlier. I was able to confirm the use of IFF, in conjunction with mobile and fixed radar stations, from combat reports and other information from 136 Squadron. From this, I would assume that IFF was used throughout the theatre, so yes, there should be an IFF aerial under the starboard wing.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks very much Terry. I have also since looked closer at this picture of a 155 squadron Spit VIII and see that there is one there. So I have 3 things to add/fix fro an upcoming model show in September: gun camera opening in the stbd wing, dust up the tires, and add the antenna.

Note: the pic below is also an excellent testament to the dusty conditions but also to Terry's suggestion of capped off cannon and MG openings!

 

[Airframes]

Interesting - I think that pic is actually from 136 Squadron, as I'm fairly sure it's one that was in one of the books Max loaned me, where the photos were from Squadron members. Note the colour of the spinner, which looks correct in tone for the green of the 'Woodpeckers' spinners. I might be wrong though, as I no longer have the book to confirm it, but it's certainly familiar.

 

[Crimea_River]

Quite possible Terry. I got the pic from the web so the description could easily be bogus. It serves it's purpose though, either way.

 

[Airframes]

Yep, it certainly does.

 

[Crimea_River]

Last couple of mods made from observations and comments - thanks guys!

IFF dipole added:

Tires dusted up:

Camera port opened up:

That should do it I think. If anyone sees anything else, be sure to holler.

 

[A4K]

Looks great to me Andy, superb work!

 

[Crimea_River]

Cheers Evan, and thanks again for the tire dust observation.