**** DONE: GB-43 1/32 Spitfire Mk.VIII - Aces' Aircraft of all Eras

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Cheers mate.
Yep, I wanted to get into town for the shops opening at 08.00, to get the shopping and other stuff out of the way, leaving more time to get domestic cr@p sorted.
But I forgot - this is Macclesfield, where the seasons are measured by the temperature of the rain !!!
 
Holy tamoli are you fast, I can hardly keep up......or maybe it's just that I'm slow...... either way it's looking really nice
 
Thanks Tim. Not really fast - just been working on it for long stretches, to catch up after being away in the Tin Tent for a couple of weeks, and then away again to Duxford.
A great proportion of the time spent has been on cleaning up sprue attachment points a mould seams. I haven't seen such heavy sprue gates for many years, and they're a pain in the jet pipe !!
 
Thanks Wayne.
Been a busy day - didn't sit down until 21.00 hrs, so a bit too weary to do any more tonight. Back at it tomorrow.
The 'Colourcoats' paints I ordered have been dispatched, and should be with me by the weekend, all being well, so there shouldn't be a delay in getting on with the painting.
 
Couldn't resist having a bit of a fiddle - as the actress said to the Bishop !

Before fitting and detailing the resin gun sight, I wanted to ensure that the windscreen fitted properly. This will be glued in place, once masked, along with the rear glazing, and the canopy and kit cockpit door will be temporarily fitted, secured with PVA, for spraying the model.
Fit was quite good, and I like the way the windscreen has a forward 'tab', that fits into the recess in the cockpit sill.
However, this 'tab' wasn't quite flush with the cowling - not a lot in it, but not to my satisfaction. Therefore this, and the forward edge of the sill, were lightly filed down, allowing a perfect fit.

Pic 1. The underside and front edge of the windscreen 'tab' were filed down slightly ( arrowed).
Pic 2. The corners of the sill, and the front bulkhead, indicated by the arrows, were also filed, creating a shallow depression in the bulkhead, which allowed the tab to seat properly, sitting flush with the cowling.
Pics 3 and 4. Trial fit of the windscreen and canopy - both parts, although needing cleaning here, are crystal clear.

Back tomorrow with a further up-date, when I hope to have the resin gun sight installed and detailed, and the canopy parts and door fitted, and the rest of the masking done, ready for a primer coat.


 
Thanks, Wayne, Wojtek and Hugh.

Not much to show at the moment - working on the resin gun sight, with the base coat painted.
Although the Ferranti MkII gyro gun sight had been in RAF service since the latter half of 1943 (and by mid to late 1944, was in service with the USAAF, as the American-produced K-14), the Barr and Stroud GM2 reflector sight was still in use, and fitted to the Mk.VIII Spitfires in service in SEAC.
The kit provides two vague representations of the GM 2 sight, in clear plastic, almost identical, except for the different (and strange) positions of the reflector screens
As can be seen in the pics below, there is quite a difference in detail (and size) between the resin example and the kit parts.
Once the base coat has fully dried, the details will be painted, and the sight mounted in the cockpit.. The lens will then be 'silvered', and glazed with a shallow dome of PVA, before making and fitting some screen supports, using some slivers from a PE fret, and then adding the reflector screen, cut from clear sheet.


 
Got the resin gun sight details painted, and eventually got it installed in the cockpit, after six or seven attempts !
Due to handling, it now needs a little re-touching, but easily done.
The windscreen has been masked, and the frames painted the interior colour, with this also done on those internal frames that were safely accessible.

Pics 1 and 2. Windscreen masked, and the interior colour painted on the frames. The small slot in the top frame, masked with PVA, is where the rear view mirror fits, which will be added at the end of the build.
Pic 3. The resin gun sight in place, with the lens painted with a chrome paint pen and, when dry, glazed with PVA, which is clearing here. The 'crash pad' and part of the mounting bracket needs to be re-touched. I fitted a power lead, made from lead wire, but this disappeared when trying to install the sight !
Pic 4. The reflector screen has been added, cut from clear sheet, and with the mounting / support frames made from thin plastic strip, flattened in the jaws of a pair of pliers. (the intended scraps of PE fret decided to 'ping' - literally !).

Once the gun sight is fully set, the windscreen will be attached, using small spots of cement and a bead of PVA. The canopy and rear glazing will then be masked, and the interior colour painted on the internal frames. The kit part for the cockpit door will be temporarily attached, using PVA, and the rear glazing fixed in place, with the masked canopy attached temporarily, again using PVA.
I'm hoping to get this done sometime tomorrow and, if possible, get a thin primer coat sprayed, to check for blemishes etc.
It looks like my 'new' paints have arrived, left at the shop next door whilst I was out today, so I can collect those tomorrow too, and possibly start the first colour spraying on Sunday or Monday.



 
Wide awake, so stayed up to do a bit more, which might mean, after some kip, I can possibly get the primer on later today.
All the required re-touching has been done, and the other clear parts masked and the frames painted the interior colour, with the windscreen, door and rear glazing now fixed in place.

Pic 1. The windscreen and rear glazing cemented in place, with the kit door temporarily fixed in place with PVA (this will be replaced with a resin item, in the open position, at the end of the build.). Once the clear parts have fully set, the joints will be sealed, or filled as needed - looks like the lip at the front of the windscreen may need a little sanding first.
Pic 2. The canopy has been masked, and the Martin (Baker) jettison rods added, using stretched sprue. The thin cables for these will be represented by finely-painted lines after the camouflage colours have been applied.
Pic 3. Once the jettison rods had set, the canopy frames were painted in the interior colour, and the canopy fitted, as a trial, to check what may be needed in the way of sealing. This will be attached temporarily with PVA, and the joints to the windscreen, and over the rear glazing, will be sealed, to prevent any spray 'mist' entering the cockpit.

Back once the sun has moved past its zenith .......................


 
Got the windscreen lip joint improved. This was filed down, and then lightly sanded, before checking the work with a coat of the interior paint.

Pics 1 and 2. The front windscreen lip filed down, but awaiting sanding.
Pics 3 to 5. After light sanding, the joint was painted, to check the finish. Once the paint has fully cured, some further sanding will be done, to smooth out a couple of spots. The joint fillets on the windscreen lower frame, indicated by the red arrow, are correct (see pic of the real aircraft), but they will be improved by blending the joint edges with PVA or a mix of varnish and talcum powder.


 
Just going back to Steph's question in post # 212, and my response.

I've done some checking, as some period photos of the Mk.VIII appear to lack the blisters over the wheel wells, whilst others appear to show them and, as previously mentioned, they are certainly present on currently airworthy Mk.IX, Mk.VIII and other late Marque Spitfires.

Some sources state that, when the landing gear mods took place, and the gear doors were slightly bulged on the 'C' wing for the Mk.IX and Mk.VIII, in order to allow the gear legs to sit lower in the wheel well 'tunnels', this eliminated the need for the bulges, or 'blisters' on the upper surface of the wings, above the wheel wells.
This may well be the case, but period photos of the Mk.IXc definitely show the blisters, and they are on all of those Mk.IX's that I have personally seen, and continued on other Marques, including the 22/24.
Having closely examined those period photos where the blisters appear to be absent, and knowing that other kits specifically of the Mk.VIII lack the blisters (including the ICM 1/48th scale kit I built, of this same aircraft), I was tempted to remove them from my model.
However, as their is evidence, both historical and current, that the blisters were on the same wing type, with the same revised landing gear. on both the Mk.IXc and Mk.VIIIc (the latter having the later, four-spoke wheels mentioned in my original response), I feel that the blisters on my model are acceptable and, rather than possibly risk 'messing up' attempting to remove them, and bearing in mind that, once painted, they will not look as prominent, I've decided to leave them as they are.
 
Thanks, Wojtek and Wayne.

I've remembered something else that needed to be done - making and adding the 'slipper' tank pick-ups, rear hooks, and deflector hooks, and adding the wing jacking-point spigot holes.
Work has started on this, but it's a rather slow job, as the hooks, which are relatively small, have to be cut and shaped from plastic card. But with luck, I should have this completed by tomorrow, when I can hopefully spray the primer coat.
 
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