World at War 1939-1940 Group Build

I see what you mean about the book, Jack.  209 GBP is too pricey for me!

And your Spitfire is looking very smart.  I like the idea of the gas patch.

Thanks Checkmateking02 & Bish.

Thanks Jgeratic: Your spitfire coming along great. Little imperfections always show there face when primer is applied. And nice camouflage painting & decals.

Thanks Lostagain: Yeah not sure what I would have done if that window had come completely lose. I try to keep my work area clean, and have plenty of room. Having the paint bottles on racks make it easier to grab what I need. Nice wheel tree for your 18 wheels, I'm sure it made it easier to airbrush.

Armor86: Your field kitchen coming along, and looking great.

Here's my small update, got the front windows masked with Tamiya tape. Next are the ones going down the side. And you can see the two antennas, the generator is out of sight on the right side.

Good crisp masking on those windows, Dan.  I hope those along the fuselage side won't be a problem when applying some pressure when taping them.

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Continuing on with the Mk Ia Spitfire, I got the serial on the black underside touched up.  Also had to cut the decal out of the gun ejection ports.  For the upper roundels, an ammendment was made to the red portion size.  The whole marking was described as 31.2 inches wide with a ten inch red dot.  My closest match was 32", which is what was originally placed.  Over top I've now added a 25" roundel, which by my calculations, gives a near accurate red section.

For the exhausts, I opted for a resin set, but note they are not designed for Tamiya kits.  Removed from the pour stub, they are in three sections, and must be kept in the same order as they appear to fit snuggly into one another.  I did use a bit of green putty to get a proper angle on the rear most pipe.  The plastic sheet they are superglued to will be trimmed after being painted up.

regards,

Jack

Creative techniques, Jack. Looks like they worked nicely. And there sure is a difference between the kit exhausts and the AM ones. Not hard to tell which looks better.

Thanks Bish and Cm8k02.  If I had been on the ball about those upper wing roudels, I should of first made a circle mask and sprayed a blue background and just use the 25" decal, thus saving a pair of markings.  Oh well, I'd then still  have to match the paint to decal.

The resin exhausts are being trouble, while trimming the sheet plastic one pipe broke free.  Just as well, they all need to be removed as they sit too far out from the fuselage and require the backs filed down a bit more.

Will try to get this one done today, but daylight will have waned for any photo ops.  So hopefull next few days should be all wrapped up.

regards,

Jack

welp, murphy's law and all that ... removing the masking tape from the canopy only to find there is a scrap of plastic stuck on the interior side.  Nothing I try shakes it loose.  Must be static holding it there, but is there a way to rid that?

While that is being addressed, some final bits.

I use a few parts from an Airfix kit.  The propeller (including nose) for the better shape to match the period photo, as well as the weighted tires. 

For the navigation light on the fuselage spine, that detail was trimmed off,sanded flat, and painted aluminum.  Testors clear parts cement was used to build up the actual light.  First two applications the model rested upside down, and last two applications model was stood on it's nose.

regards,

Jack

Calling her done.

Spitfire L1090 was part of the first batch ordered in 1936 (serial range K9787-L1096), and by the spring of 1940, had found its way to Canada.  At an RCAF testing center, performance was tested against the P-40, and it was concluded that the Spitfire came out on top. 

Also, L1090 was involved with testing a newly designed anti-gravity suit by a Toronto doctor, Wilbur R. Franks.  It is believed fives times as many allied airmen survived the war due to this invention, and would go on to be the forerunner of G-suits for future air force pilots as well as astronauts across the globe.

regards,
Jack

Thanks Chm8k02 for hosting this, and looking forward to the final builds still to come.

regards,

Jack

Wow, Jack--really sharp; the weathering and the oily streak, the fading of the top colo(u)rs all make this a very effective and appealing build. Congratulations.

As for the plastic stuck in the inside--I had it happen with an Airfix Spitfire. I finally got it to move by shooting blasts of air into the interior with my airbrush. Eventually a gust of "wind" dislocated the speck and it flew off somewhere else. It least, it left the canopy!

Thanks for participating, Jack. I will update the front page with the photo of your choice.  I kind of like the first picture, but I'll post what you like best.

Really nice looking build jack, that's a lovely finish and some great back ground on it as well.

Can't believe i just said all that about a Spitfire

Thanks!

Yea, I can see blown air moving it, but my particular build had no such opening.  I actually tried drilling a whole through the top of the canopy to reach it, but it just created another plastic burr hanging inside.  Lucklily the Tamiya kit had another to spare, so popped off the old one.

I guess the 4th photo for the front page.  Thanks again.

regards,

Jack

Bish, thanks kindly.

regards,

Jack

Glad you got a fix for it, Jack. I hate when various forms of detritus show up behind some clear part.

Bish: you're becoming an ol' Spitfire softie!

checkmateking02

I'm going to let each year's group build (both the 1939/40 and the 1941 builds run till the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in 2020.

Thanks checkmate.  I am making progress with my hinge issue (damn there are a lot of them), so the extension is appreciated.  I just hope I don't need the whole duration   I'll try and get some more picutres up this weekend.

Good news, Rob!  Progress is always better than stagnation--but I find stagnation can be a too frequent companion while building things.  Seems a lot of the building just doesn't move along as fast as I'd like it to. 

And then, there are the re-do's--when something falls off/falls apart; has to be done all over and over again. . .

Jack:  the front page is updated.  Thanks again for your contribution to the GB!

See you in '41! 

Thanks Bish: I came across some pre cut masks after I finished masking.

Thanks Checkmateking.

Thanks Jgeratic: A job well done on your Spitfire, like the clear cement used for the navigation light.

The light at the end of the tunnel is burning brighter and brighter now, yesterday I finished up with masking the windows on the fuselage. By simply laying Tamiya 18mm tape over the window, and using a tooth pick and gently rubbing the tape around the window. By doing this the a outline appears through the tape, then using a new sharp number 11 blade, cut the outline slowly out. Some of the line's that I cut are not 100% straight, but they are close enough.

Before I started masking, using cotton swab's dipped in liquid detergent, I wiped all the surfaces down, mainly to remove sanding dust. Some dust did get inside and can be seen on the windows. Then I used warm water on a swab to wash away the detergent away, then I let the aircraft dry over night before masking.

After masking was finished, I airbrush Model Master acryl white primer #4622, on the top sides. This primer drys so fast that blobs form on the airbrush head, and on the needle. That's what the little dots are that stand out. I plan to use my Polly Scale RLM 65, 70 & 71 for the three main colors.

Thanks Checkmateking: Masking those windows ate up quite a bit of time, but its worth it. I have a Revell 1/48 Henikel He 111H-22 in the stash, when I start it, might get some pre-cut masks to make it easier. Yesterday I pre-shaded the aircraft with Tamiya X-1 gloss black, the plane is big that the hole thing won't fit in my painting booth. For the camouflage colors I plan to use, Tamiya XF61 Dark Green, PollyScale RLM 71 Dark Green. PollyScale 70 Black Green, Tamiya XF27 Black Green, Polly Scale RLM 65 Light Blue & Model Master RLM 65.

Thanks Checkmateking: Along with using a airbrush, you can use a sharpie marker to do pre-shading. Not sure how long the marker takes to fully dry. After I masked the air frame, I airbrush Tamiya XF-61 Dark Green. This is my first time airbrushing a corrugated surface, to get a even coverage you need to spray to the left and right of the surface. Also working the engines, should not take to long to assemble.

Thanks Checkmateking & Bish.

Yesterday I removed the masking for the RLM 71 Dark Green, and masked for RLM 70 Black Green. I used PollyScale RLM 70 for the base color, plan to airbrushed a second coat today. For post shading I'll be using Tamiya XF27 Black Green. And have assembled the engines.  The Tamiya tape kept nice straight sharpe lines.

Very nice! I like how the engines are progressing.

Bish asks a very good question about paint and corrugations. That maybe took some doing!