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

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A quick up-date showing the work in progress on the underside.

Pic 1. The jack point spigot holes (red arrows), yet to have the second, smaller holes drilled. The small pencil marks indicate the moulded front pick-up points for the slipper tank, and may be left as is.
Pic 2. The first of the deflector hooks in place, with the holes for the other hook, and the rear mounting hooks, drilled and awaiting elongation.
The 'roof' of the aperture for the I.D. lamp has been given a coat of chrome silver, and the transparent part, yet to be fitted, has been painted in transparent amber on the inside, and masked on the outside, and will be cemented in place before proceeding with the remaining hooks.

Back sometime tomorrow .................

 
Thanks again.

Having a break from it tonight - got eyes like 60 Watt bulbs, due to all the 'close' work with the headband magnifier !
I was going to go to the pub, but can't be bothered, so I'll have an early night, and get back to the bench tomorrow afternoon.
 
Got the slipper tank hooks and deflectors done, and the jack point spigot holes completed, along with the vent and breather tubes.
Just got to do some clean-up on these areas, then mask the radiators and exhaust ports, and maybe get the primer sprayed tonight.
But first, I need to get some light bulbs, as the spotlights where I spray have both died, and the bulbs I had in stock are the wrong type - just hope the local shop has some BC fitting spots !!

Pic 1. The slipper tank hooks and deflectors in place, made from plastic card, and the transparent part for the I.D. lamp cemented in place. The hooks still need a little clean-up.
Pic 2. Using this tube cutting jig, some alloy tube and brass rod was cut to length with an X-Acto razor saw, to form the breather and vent pipes under the port wing leading edge.
Pics 3 and 4. The pipes glued in place using CA, but not yet cleaned up. The completed jacking point spigot holes can also be seen here.

If I'm able to get the primer sprayed, i'll post pics later. If not, then I'll make a start on the undercart and prop assemblies.

 
Thanks, Andy, Wojtek and Hugh.

The model has now been sprayed with a light primer coat, mixed from Humbrol matt Black and matt White, and deliberately in a light grey shade, although darker than the plastic, in order to help see the coverage when spraying the camouflage colours.
I was pleasantly surprised that the airbrush worked first time, after my usual quick spray of a little neat thinners, as it hasn't been used for over fifteen months.
I'll let this primer settle and fully harden, before spraying the first of the camouflage colours, in this instance, Medium Sea Grey on the undersides.
I haven't decided yet whether to use decals for the code letters, or mask and spray them. If the latter, then the MSG will be continued onto the fuselage sides, and 'reverse masks' made and applied.


 
With the colder, wetter weather now predominant here at this time of year, I'm starting to feel the stiffness and discomfort in my hands, so I'm having a break from spraying - hands suffer after 20 minutes or so of handling the airbrush.
Meanwhile, I've made a start on the undercart and exhaust parts, with the inevitable clean-up chores, and will get the first colour sprayed on the model in the next day or so.
Back when there's something worthwhile to show ...............
 
Hmm. The exhausts are taking longer than I anticipated, mainly due to fit.
The kit provides two styles of exhaust, tubular and 'fish tail', with the latter being used for this subject. These are moulded in two halves per side, with hollow ports, although the plastic is fairly thick.
I felt that the surface detail was rather heavy, so this has been reduced, and the exhaust ports filed on the inside before joining the halves, and then reamed once cemented together, to improve the look of the open ports.
However, the joint line is still visible on the bare plastic, and there are a couple of pin holes where the sprue attachments were. The joints aren't too bad, as they will replicate the welded joint of the real thing, once under paint, but I still need to eliminate the pin holes, and similar small dimples on the end of some of the ports, before painting the base colour and then adding the effects of heat and exhaust gasses
Apologies for the poor pics - didn't get the lighting right !

Pics 1 and 2. One of the exhaust halves, showing, in profile, the heavy detail, and the rather thick walls of the open ports.
Pic 3. One exhaust assembled, with the rather heavy detail and poor joint evident.
Pic 4. Where things are at the moment, with the ports opened up more, and the walls reduced in thickness, but with work still to do on the joints and pin holes.


 
Thanks chaps.

Just preparing to spray the Medium Sea Grey on the undersides, and then get back to the exhausts whilst the paint is drying - pics later.
 
Thanks Andy - still working on the exhausts a bit at a time. It's a tad tricky, with my knackered hands, and I'm starting to ache.

Meanwhile, the first, thin coat of Medium Sea Grey has been sprayed on the underside, using the new ( to me) Colourcoats enamel (formerly WEM).
I still have to get to grips with the best thinning ratio (the first coat was slightly over-thinned I think), but it sprayed very nicely, although a little patchy, due to the thinning. I'll leave this overnight, and do another coat tomorrow, if possible (I have a scheduled hospital appointment tomorrow, so don't know how much time I'll have).
The airbrush started to pick up a bit of moisture, which I managed to spot in the filter just as it started to spray, fortunately not on the model, and I reckon it was due to the temperature in the room (no heating on) and the damp air hanging over this darned town.
Consequently, the airbrush and water trap /filters have been stripped down, thoroughly cleaned and dried, and re-assembled, and spray just fine, with neat thinners.
I also used this paint to brush-paint the undercart doors, and it went on very nicely and smoothly, without brush marks, in one coat.

As my eyes are now tired, and hands and wrists ache, I'm going to have a break from the bench tonight, and go for a couple of pints of pain killer !


 
Thanks, Wojtek and Andy.

Had some time this morning, so I experimented with thinning ratios for the Colourcoats Medium Sea Grey, and sprayed another coat onto the underside, which went on smoothly and easily, giving a very nice finish.
The paint seems to need a little more thinners than I would usually use, at around 60% to 65% thinners to paint ratio, for a thin coat to spray effortlessly, which is more than acceptable, as a couple of thin, easily sprayed coats are always better than one thick, troublesome coat.
Nothing much to show, unless you want to see another pic of a grey underside !

Got to go for my hospital appointment soon, but all being well, I should be awake enough to get some more done on the exhausts tonight, and, if the MSG is hard enough, mask, and spray the Dark Earth on the top surface.
 
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