1/48 Spitfire MK. Vb "Trop" (FINISHED)

Excellent work there!

Joe,

What they said and more. Impressive work. Envious....

Joe, now that's is just a stunning looking build. I am not much of a Spitfire fan, but that is a real beauty.

I think I saw that tut you did on the streaks. But I was looking for it a while back and couldn't find it. Do you do this for each of the camo colours, or just with one colour all over.

Joe, c'est beautiful!

I also like how  the groundwork closely resembles the top colours.

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Can't be sure, but I think I read somewhere that Hasegawa and Tamiya had some form of marketing agreement that former would not  touch the very early mark Spitfire as long as the other did not kit any Mk.IX in 1/48 scale.

regards,

Jack

Thanks guys.  Mike, some people fade the center panels and such but I prefer this method.  I call them "condensation streaks" and I stumbled across the technique while making exhaust streaks on a P-61's upper wing a few years ago.  Basically, I take the base color and lighten it. I then dial down the pressure to about 5 or 10 psi and get in close.  Then just streak the wing from front to back real quick.  I have a tutorial in one of my WIP threads but I just can't remember which.  If I find it I'll post a link to it.    

Nathan.  Good question on why Tamiya stopped at the MK V.  I guess the later marks are too different.  I suppose it wouldn't be too tough to convert the MK I to a II though.  Blunt prop and such?.....dunno, I'm not a Spit expert by any means.  The windscreen?  No, I never got it fit perfect.  I didn't want to risk cracking the canopy.   Theres still a slight step where it meets the fuselage...Ugh!.  Good enough I guess.  This thing is by no means a contest winner anyways.  Reference the Tamiya verse Hasegawa kit.  I actually have both in the stash.  The Tamiya kit is more detailed and the OOB cockpit is better.  If I do build the Has kit, I'll probably replace the cockpit.  I've also heard the Has version has big wing root gaps so it would benefit you to attach the upper wings to the fuselage first or use a spreader bar.  The Has kit doesn't have those wing strakes either.  

Joe

Another Allied Beauty Joe! I like the decal work. They snuggled right down and look painted on. Pity Tamiya stopped at the Mk. V. Why not do the 9 and up, or even the Mk II in 1/48?? Windscreen looks ok from here. Did it fit ok in the end? Pity if not, cause I've been debating if I should add this kit or the Hase V kit to my stash, and was leaning towards the Tamiya kit because it supplies the armored windscreen, and Hase does not.

Outstanding work, Joe. Thank you very much for taking the time to share this build here.

Very nice!

Excellent work Joe! The weathering, especially underneath, is very convincing! Really was a joy watching this one come together - got me pumped to dive into that 1/32 Mk. XVI sitting in my stash. If it turns out half as good as what I'm seeing here I'll be a happy guy.

....and I'm stoked to try that streaked effect you use too. How'd you do that?

Thanks for all the kind compliments.  I finished her up last night.  To recap, its a 92 Squadron Mk. Vb "Trop" flown by Neville Duke in March of 1943.  Duke was the top allied ace of the Mediterranean Theater with 27 confirmed, 2 shared and 1 probable.  In this plane, he reportedly claimed 7 kills.

Reference the kit, Tamiya's Spitfires must be some of the best engineered kits out there.  They fall together.   The only gripe I have is the fit of the windscreen, which is slightly too narrow for the fuselage.  I tried stretching it out to no avail.  I was going to use Ultracast Cannons and wheels, but I ultimately decided to go stock here.  The kit wheels were rather nice and I just drilled out the Hispanos.  The seat is however an Ultracast replacement though.   

This was my first Tropical scheme.  I'm fairly happy with it.  I grunged it up a bit more than normal with post shade staining on the bottom along the centerline and I ripped the machine gun tape to shreds, complete with gun staining to make it appear that Duke just returned from shooting down Macchis and Messerschmitts. 

I finished it off with aerial wires made of smoke colored invisible thread secured with instant super glue.  The fuselage ones were a little tricky.  I have to go back and add these to my MK. I now.

Thanks for following this thread and comments are welcome

Joe

lawdog114, beautiful Spitfire, very well done. not much to add from what the others have said!  Very nice.

Lyle.

Edgar

I think you'll find that Antoni's "nonsense" comment was aimed not at you, but at the idea of the stiffeners being applicable to museum aircraft, which is way wide of the mark.

Edgar

Thanks Edgar. Yeah I realized that the more I thought about it.  I did apparently need Snickers bar that day.  A thousand apologies to Antoni... 

Joe

Research has shown that the strakes/overwing stiffeners were introduced onto the production line from 16-7-42, and it was deemed possible for units, themselves, to carry out the work.

I think you'll find that Antoni's "nonsense" comment was aimed not at you, but at the idea of the stiffeners being applicable to museum aircraft, which is way wide of the mark.

Edgar

That's looking really nice. I am with you on the Flory wash, I love that stuff. Gives a slightly grimy look with out going to far if you want it to.

, nice work Joe!

Joe, lookn' both slick and sleek. 

regards,

Jack

Thanks guys.  I got it decaled and washed last night.  The Victory Productions decals went on nice with Micro Sol.  I used Aeromaster Roundels and fin flag which I now use exclusively for my RAF subjects.  After a Tech Mod mishap a few years ago, I bought a few Aeromaster RAF roundel sheets and never had any further problems.  I had to use the kit provided stencils but fortunately they cooperated.  The decals were then sealed and the frame got a Flory wash.  I can't say enough good things about this product.  Its easy to use and leaves a nice weathered look behind. I also like the way it stays in decaled panel lines for me, such as the lines that go through the roundels and fuselage codes.   

I turned my attention to the little parts, such as the landing gears and wheels.  I decided to go with the kit wheels which I though were decent (I'll save my Ultracast wheels for another Spit).  I painted the doors, legs and hubs Azure Blue.  I added fine speaker wire to the legs to simulate the brake lines.  Here they are after a wash.

I hope to finish this turkey up soon...

Joe

Demarcation looks right on, Joe. I dont' see any overspray.

Love it Joe. I am a huge admirer of your work with an ab my friend!

Sweet Joe!!  That's looking fine, I love that color scheme.

Gary

Joe,

Great paint work as usual!  I think you're right about the making with rubber mats, but I like the softer edge that the Blue Tac gives.  

Steve

Thanks Guys.  I have been experimenting a bit with the camera menu options.  There's a dial on top for a ton of different settings.  I have no idea what they are all for.  I have been using the "green camera" setting in macro mode.  Anyways, I finished the camo scheme last night.  I used the kit supplied camo pattern sheet as a reference (nice touch Tamiya) and used rolled up Blue Tac as a makeshift mask for the dark earth application.  It looks like this when applied:

I used Tamiya's recommendation for Dark Earth by mixing one part of XF-52 Flat Earth and one part XF-64 Red Brown and then I added a touch of XF-68 NATO Brown.  To my eye, this represents Dark Earth quite nicely.  Once down, I added XF-57 Buff to lighten the paint and I steaked the surface.  I went heavy because I thought that the Lybian sun would do a number on the paint. 

Though not exactly accurate (the real thing was painted with rubber masks), I like the fine feathered edge the Blue Tac leaves.  Here it is after a post shade of some panel lines and minor exhaust staining. 

Joe

Joe, ditto on the work area - very nice! In regards to the pics, I did a bit of experimenting with the white balance settings on my camera and found the one for artificial light worked best for me. The natural light setting made it look too blue. The main light sources in my pic booth are a pair of Phillips 150W CFL's with a color temp of 6400K. Those along with the flash worked quite well.

Great work on the Spit too. I'll be starting mine soon (the 1/32 Tamiya Mk. XVI - quite different than the WWI stuff I'm used to). Following your build has been very inspirational as well as educational.

Joe, from what I see, it's definitely not a lack of light, (btw, nice workbench setup you have there).

Using artificial light is always problematic.   Your 'reveal light' is, I'm certain, the incandescent type, which gives the yellow tinge to photos.  The fluorescent hanging from the ceiling will also tinge photos, but in the blue/green range.  

Obviously the best option is to shoot in natural light, but the opportunity to do so is limited by the hours in the day, as well as good weather.  So under artificial light, stick with just one style of lightbulb.  The reason I suggest this, is your camera should have an option in the menu to choose white balance.  Here you can pick what type of light source you are using, and this will aid the camera in adjusting automatically the pictures you take.  As far as I know, you can't choose both fluorescent and incandescent, it's either one or the other.  You can also try the setting of auto detect the white balance.  Just take a few experiment shots and see which turns out better.

HtH

regards,

Jack

very nice work. to old eyes, it all looks good. By the way, that bench is too clean.

jgeratic

Hi Joe, looking good.

My bad on the colour question - I keep forgetting some people don't bother adjusting for lighting when posting their wip.  Incandescent lights give off a yellow hue, and combined with blue and red from your purple mix, that resulted in the grey tones

Thanks Jack, well.....it's more of an "I don't know how" as opposed to a "don't bother" situation involving the lighting.....lol.  Photography is definitely not my area of expertise.  Sometimes they look good, other times.....not so much with the above result.  Here's my "Lair" to give you an idea what I'm working with in the lighting department. 

The ceiling mounted Fluros are supposed to be daylight bulbs.  I have since added another "reveal "bulb  60 watter front and center between the two desk lamps.  One would think this is sufficient light.  Perhaps you could school me on how to set my camera?  I'm always open for input and if I can improve this area I would be ecstatic!.  I use my wife's Nikon Coolpix P500 in Macro mode.  Perhaps you have some knowledge about this particular camera.   

....and nice photoshopage.  Now I really feel like a tool..........LOL

Joe. 

Hi Joe, looking good.

My bad on the colour question - I keep forgetting some people don't bother adjusting for lighting when posting their wip.  Incandescent lights give off a yellow hue, and combined with blue and red from your purple mix, that resulted in the grey tone.

Anyways, was relaxing if front of the comp, and decided to fool around with my graphics program.  Took an eye dropper tool to some of your photos to show what I was seeing:

regards,

Jack

Looking forward to this one Joe, always like those trop getups.

Looking good Joe! I have a trop Spitfire planned for... ?? I don't know for sure !!