Spitfire GB

Thanks for the welcome and the heads up. I have some micro scale decal film I can apply to prevent the shattering. I know what c an happen with ICM decals.

Welcome aboard Stik, I'm looking forward to seeing some shots of your Mk.VII. 

Just watch out for those ICM decals, every set I have ever tried to use ends in the result, disintegration followed by AM decals being ordered.

Cheers

No jokes... just finished up another  build tonite, and another a couple weeks ago, so I have a bit more room on the "to do" shelves. Yes I was planning on doing the two tone high altitiude scheme the Mk VIIs wore. Sea Grey Medium over Azure Blue.

Against my common sense meant jumping in on another GB when I really shouldnt, but this Spit has been calling to me over the past week...

stikpusher

Well I dont see any Mk VIIs. Against my common sense I think I will request permission to join with a 1/48 ICM Mk VII.

Trying to make a bad joke about being under pressure with that build and just failing...

You planning the light gray over dark gray scheme? If I ever build more than like three Spits I'm going to have start exploring options. Identical disruptive camo is awesome on one aircraft, just flat boring across multiples...

Well I dont see any Mk VIIs. Against my common sense I think I will request permission to join with a 1/48 ICM Mk VII.

Just a slight difference there.

Here's what I was talking about. Two RAF Azure Blues. 

I'm not a color nazi by any means, but COME ON! 

satch_ip

Doogs, maybe I should have read the bottle.  It says lacquer on the label so I assumed it was a lacquer.  On the first spit I used the last bit of my paint thinner.  For this I opened up a new can of MS.  Lesson learned.  I'll pick up some of that stuff you recommended.  

The MM enamel is what's on this spit.  The colors look pretty good.  The Azure Blue looks a little purple in the bottle at first but after you mix it up well and spray it on it's a nice deep blue.  Might be kinda dark but I'm no color Nazi. 

Satch

If you were using the clear base, yeah that's got a nasty cocktail of MEK, MIK, butanol and toluene.

But the "klear koat" line is straight mineral spirits:

Also picked up a bottle of MM Azure today and WORLD OF DIFFERENCE. It actually looks like the color I've got on my reference photo. Also picked up the topside colors, since MM enamels don't seem to have the same dusting problem I've been having with Tamiya and Gunze in this heat. Looking so forward to throwing paint tonight!

Satch - I personally admire the work you've done on your Spit. Nice crisp camo and the weatheing is quite well done. The overall quality of work you have done there far outways any minor mishaps. Thank You very much for sharing.

                                                                                     Joe

DoogsATX

Vance - that's nothin! You should see the other side of the bench.  I really need to sit down and get it cleared up. Figured with being laid off I'd have time, but not so much as I'd thought!

As for the other...yep, Tamiya actually gives you two different slipper tanks. Cool thing is they mount into poly bushings with these metal pins (same for the air filter or lower cowl to the engine), so you can put it on or remove it at your whim. 

Got so much else back there and offscreen as well. Hispano cannons, gun fairings, prop, prop cap, radiator covers, landing gear, gear doors, tires, stabilizers, cowl pieces, pitots and aerial masts and other fun stuff. 

Bit more progress overnight. Late start due to having to get a print job off to Kinkos so it'd be ready by this afternoon. Putting together a portfolio is a much bigger PITA for writers than for designers...

But anyway, got the prop tips and wings painted yellow (MM Deep Yellow...IMO a much better yellow than their Insignia Yellow), and the machine gun ports and prop cap pieces sprayed Insignia Red. Been awhile since I've sprayed that stuff, and I was a bit worried at first to see it come out all magenta, but it turned that deeper tomato red with successive coats, so all good!

Still have to figure out how I want to tackle the wing lines - paint before and mask, mask and paint after, or just be lazy and go with the decals. And whether I want to preshade. Decisions, decisions!

Poly caps on the slipper tanks? Brilliant! For those yellow stripes, I think I've tried a; options now & I'm with darson - the most convincing to my eye is painting first & masking, especially at the larger scales.

Kinkos? PRINTS!?!? I thought everyone wanted electronic files these days!

Thanks for the kind words fellas.  In the photos it doesn't look too bad but up close you can see the flaws.  I really need to get a paint booth because painting and gloss/dull coats in the garage results in a lot of dust and lint on the surface.

Doogs, maybe I should have read the bottle.  It says lacquer on the label so I assumed it was a lacquer.  On the first spit I used the last bit of my paint thinner.  For this I opened up a new can of MS.  Lesson learned.  I'll pick up some of that stuff you recommended.  

The MM enamel is what's on this spit.  The colors look pretty good.  The Azure Blue looks a little purple in the bottle at first but after you mix it up well and spray it on it's a nice deep blue.  Might be kinda dark but I'm no color Nazi. 

Come to San Antonio to the local IPMS meeting tonight and you can see them in person.

Satch

Satch, I would be more than happy with that weathering.  Love the color scheme too.  Very nice job.

Mike

Satch, I'd be pretty happy with that.  Don't be too hard on yourself, mate.

Doogs, great Merlin!  Indeed, the entire Spit is coming together well.

Noted, with a little dismay, I had offered up a build for this GB.  I think I need to get my act together.

Satch - looks pretty good from here! For what it's worth, the reason the mineral spirits ate through the Alclad gloss is because Alclad's clear coats are mineral spirit based, not lacquer (surprised me, but it's right there on the bottle).

I'd recommend picking up some Mona Lisa Odorless Paint Thinner - they sell it at Hobby Lobby. Excellent for oil washes, and I've applied it right over enamel with no problems. Super gentle stuff.

Also, a big fat word of warning to anybody thinking about picking up Gunze colors for their Spits...went to paint the underside tonight, cracked open the Azure Blue, and GAH! It's friggin' purple! Not close AT ALL to any azure blue I've seen anywhere, not on Tamiya's fancy color profile, not from other paint makers, and certainly not on the reference pics. I tried mixing in some yellow to cut the red tones down a bit, but that just made it this sad, blue-gray looking color. Guess I'll be picking up some MM Azure Blue tomorrow...

OTOH, Middlestone and Dark Earth look sweet.

Satch I don't know what you are worried about sh looks fantastic from where I'm sitting.  Congrats on a fine looking Spitfire.

quote user="DoogsATX"]

Assumption 1: the Rolls-Royce Merlin is of British manufacture, and thus leaks. If it's not leaking, it's probably out of fluids.

Assumption 2: Aircraft engines are built to higher tolerances than contemporary automotive engines. But the tolerances of, say, a mid-60s engine and the Merlin would probably be relatively close. Thus, see assumption 1...

[/quote]

LOL, never a truer word has been spoken ad if you've you can see from this photo

When it come to painting or decaling the wing stripes I would definitely go with the paint before and mask option which is what I do for invasion stripes as well.

Cheers

I'm calling Spitfire #2 done.  Spitfire Mk Vc HL AA as flown by the 31st FG XO, Lt Col R A Ames in the Spring of 1943.

I finished this one the same as the other one, MM enamels and both oil and acrylic washes, with pastels to finish.  I'm not too happy with the weathering job, though.  The gloss cote was the Alcad clear gloss lacquer. I used a burnt umber oil wash diluted in mineral spirits.  The spirits ate right through the gloss cote.  So I had little piles of gloss all over the wings like lint.  Ended up sanding it off mostly.  It never really recovered after that.  The kit decals have some silvering issues when viewed at high oblique angles.  Then when I went to tighten the aerial sprue with a hot knife, the antennae came loose, hence the appearance of the wire.

It won't hold up to close scrutiny but it looks ok on my shelf.

Thanks,

Satch

Vance - that's nothin! You should see the other side of the bench.  I really need to sit down and get it cleared up. Figured with being laid off I'd have time, but not so much as I'd thought!

As for the other...yep, Tamiya actually gives you two different slipper tanks. Cool thing is they mount into poly bushings with these metal pins (same for the air filter or lower cowl to the engine), so you can put it on or remove it at your whim. 

Got so much else back there and offscreen as well. Hispano cannons, gun fairings, prop, prop cap, radiator covers, landing gear, gear doors, tires, stabilizers, cowl pieces, pitots and aerial masts and other fun stuff. 

Bit more progress overnight. Late start due to having to get a print job off to Kinkos so it'd be ready by this afternoon. Putting together a portfolio is a much bigger PITA for writers than for designers...

But anyway, got the prop tips and wings painted yellow (MM Deep Yellow...IMO a much better yellow than their Insignia Yellow), and the machine gun ports and prop cap pieces sprayed Insignia Red. Been awhile since I've sprayed that stuff, and I was a bit worried at first to see it come out all magenta, but it turned that deeper tomato red with successive coats, so all good!

Still have to figure out how I want to tackle the wing lines - paint before and mask, mask and paint after, or just be lazy and go with the decals. And whether I want to preshade. Decisions, decisions!

DoogsATX

 

Ahhhhh - look at that modeling mayhem in the background - I love it!!!  Do I see a slipper tank on your paint rack? I can't say I've ever seen them on models very often. I've got a Mk IX on my list for the fall that will be using the slipper tank as well.

Doogs- Regardless ofthe historicl accuracy, the work and weathering you have done on your Merlin is certainly outstanding. You are to be commended on your efforts

                                  Joe

MECHTECH

I  pity the flight line mechanic that would allow his kit to get that dirty. I would think the flight line Sargent Major would have had his guts for garters! The mechanics took a lot of pride in making sure that their pilots had the best there was to offer. They were often seen on the fight line waiting to make sure their pilot got home okay.

While I could see that type of weathering happening to armoured vechicles, I rather doubt that it would happen to front line aircraft. Just my worth.

Point taken...to a degree. After I finished up priming the main airframe this morning, I dialed the airbrush up to about 40 psi and blew a lot of the loose pigment out of the engine. Cleaner than above, but still not pristine.

In the weathering, I was operating off of one image and a few assumptions.

Assumption 1: the Rolls-Royce Merlin is of British manufacture, and thus leaks. If it's not leaking, it's probably out of fluids.

Assumption 2: Aircraft engines are built to higher tolerances than contemporary automotive engines. But the tolerances of, say, a mid-60s engine and the Merlin would probably be relatively close. Thus, see assumption 1...

Assumption 3: This aircraft flew extensive mixed-mission sorties and operated from at least a mainly concrete-less airfield (Castel Volturno, Italy). From pictures, it looks like there was likely a concrete runway, but the rest was earth. Lots of dust and crud flying around. Engine leaks + dust = crud buildup.

Assumption 4: At least for "Fargo Express" in particular, cleanliness was not close to godliness. The one really good pic I've got of her shows a very, very beaten ship, weathered and stained to a degree that most weathering skeptics, if they saw it represented in scale, would call implausible. Thus, I don't think surface crud in the engine area is out of the question.

Here's the pic I've been working off of:

Sadly the kit exhaust stacks don't have all the rich contours seen here, so the pigments can only go so far...but those were more my target. What the bay looked like beneath the cowl panels is anybody's guess, but based on my assumptions and on the photo evidence, I'm guessing it wasn't anywhere near showroom.

I  pity the flight line mechanic that would allow his kit to get that dirty. I would think the flight line Sargent Major would have had his guts for garters! The mechanics took a lot of pride in making sure that their pilots had the best there was to offer. They were often seen on the fight line waiting to make sure their pilot got home okay.

While I could see that type of weathering happening to armoured vechicles, I rather doubt that it would happen to front line aircraft. Just my worth.

DoogsATX

 

VanceCrozier:

 

 

DoogsATX:

 

 

 

I love the Dirty Merlin & would love to name a band after it!

 

 

Dirty Merlin and the Rotol Four?

I'd go to see them!

Excellent work, Doogs- love that engine!

Rob

VanceCrozier

 

DoogsATX:

 

 

 

I love the Dirty Merlin & would love to name a band after it!

Dirty Merlin and the Rotol Four?

DoogsATX

I love the Dirty Merlin & would love to name a band after it!

That engine compartment is awesome!  Love the weathering on the exhaust stacks.

Mike

And...the Merlin's done!

If I have one gripe about this engine, it's the rather shoddy provisions given for the exhaust attachment. Very shallow stubs, makes alignment a real bear. But the rest is pure gold.

The Merlin itself was painted up in semi-gloss black. Support frames, etc were RAF Interior Green. Metal bits were Alclad Aluminum over Tamiya AS-12. Weathering was done with a mix of a raw umber oil wash and MIG pigment (Black, Burnt Steel Blue, Europe Dust, Russian Earth, Africa Earth and Light Rust), with a few streaks of MIG's grease/oil stain thrown in for messiness. From the one pic I have, "Fargo Express" looks fairly weatherbeaten, hence the condition of the engine.

Have all of the small bits and the underside of the Spit primed - and tomorrow morning I'll be taking advantage of my unemployment to prime the upper surfaces in the morning, when it should be a freezing 85-90 degress (it was still 96 as of 10:30 tonight, ugh...). Hopefully moving into real paint later in the week...

For some reason it seems most roundels I've encountered have been thick. Not sure what the deal is there. Well, in one case they were Tamiya decals, so that makes sense. But even the excellent Wingnut Wings cockades had some undue heft to them. Maybe just having to throw that much color?

This was the first time I've only waited 24 hours after applying the Future.  Usually it's several days before I get back to a model.  The biggest problem this time with the roundels I think was the thickness of the decals.

Mike