Spitfire GB

Another variation I do is use "leather" to paint the leather area and Tamiya Hull Red for the seat pan.  It provides a different contrast than black for the leather areas.

Wheel wells:  aluminum dope was the coat of paint over the first coat of primer in early Spits.  Alternatively, and generally more widespread, was underside color for the wheel wells because it required no masking and sped production/maintenance.  Unless you can find a photo that makes it clear one way or the other, it's not an arguable point so you get to choose.

Struts & wheels and inside of main wheel doors: aluminum dope.

Of note, Supermarine used a slightly greener shade of interior grey-green for the cockpit.  Tamiya XF71 is actually pretty close.  The remainder of the aircraft interior was aluminum dope, in all cases over the initial coat of primer.  Use of a second color indicated during manufacture that both required coats had been applied.

The breaker bar on the left-side door should be cockpit green, not red, unless modelling a post-war machine.

 I too encountered the same issue when it came time to paint my seat. I had found that same pic Mike yet found others with black padding. Thus, like Doogs, not having any photos of my particular subject I opted to paint it black simply for the contrast and to attract the eye to the cockpit.

                                                                Joe

Thanks Mike! Can't wait to finish out the 'pit and get some real pictures of it! 

As to the seat, I've seen both natural and black leather padding in pics. If you want to stick with the natural leather (I went with black only for the visual contrast...so far as I know there are no existing interior pics of the exact plane I'm building), something I found very useful in my recent biplane build was working in some raw umber and burnt sienna oils. Just literally dots applied with a toothpick and then worked in. It'll help give some of that leather look, and provide a subtle difference from the bakelite seat.

jeaton01

The panel looks very good,  just the right amount of dust.

On the seat, the back had a leather pad but the rest was either metal or bakelite so the colors usually vary between those two parts.  The Tamiya Spitfires are really fun to build.  Too bad they haven't done a Mark 9, for those the dread ICM kits await.

Thanks.

Not knowing much about Spitfires I've been doing lots of searches on the web.  Seems the more research I do the more confused I get.LOL  Tamiya instructions did say to paint the back of the seat black but most pictures I found were like this.

I've also seen various colors for the main gear struts and inside the main gear doors.  Does anyone know what the correct colors should be for these areas?

Thanks,

Mike

That cockpit looks awesome Doogs.

Some solid progress on the VIII tonight! The cockpit's very nearly done. Waiting for the harness anchor to cure before I bend down the shoulder straps. Got a few small details I forgot to paint that I need to go back and touch up, and need to give the cockpit a wash to dirty things up a bit, but it's close, and I couldn't resist showing a few pics. 

Everything's closed up in the fuselage right now to ensure that the pieces all cure in proper alignment.

Better pics to come once the cockpit's done, but so far, WOW! I'm in absolute love with this kit. There are so many bits in the cockpit that you really have to pay attention, but seeing it come together is making it all worthwhile!

jeaton01

The panel looks very good,  just the right amount of dust.

On the seat, the back had a leather pad but the rest was either metal or bakelite so the colors usually vary between those two parts.  The Tamiya Spitfires are really fun to build.  Too bad they haven't done a Mark 9, for those the dread ICM kits await.

I have an ICM VIII and IX in the stash. Not much desire to build either at the moment. I've seen them made up pretty, but after starting on the ICM LaGG-3 (lost a cockpit window, so it's on indefinite hold until I find it), ugh. Reminded me of everything I don't like about the old Eduard/Gavia kits, with not much of the good.

The panel looks very good,  just the right amount of dust.

On the seat, the back had a leather pad but the rest was either metal or bakelite so the colors usually vary between those two parts.  The Tamiya Spitfires are really fun to build.  Too bad they haven't done a Mark 9, for those the dread ICM kits await.

Have been working on the Tamiya 1/48 Mk. Vb.  Have had no issues so far, typical of a Tamiya kit.  I'm building out of the box, pretty much have the inside fuselage done.  Did a gray dry brush on the instrument panel to bring out the details and added some color on a few buttons and instrument faces.  Will do a pin wash on the fuselage sides and dry brush some aluminum to show some wear and assemble the fuselage.  Also have the wing assembly done.

Stunning work on here!

I would like to join in with a little 1/72 Academy Spitty to go with the 1/72 scrathbuilt V-1 doodlebug.

Theuns

[quote user="lewbud"]

Some really nice work going on here, really need to get started on my little Airfix kit soon.  Joe, if your camera won't do close ups, try this.  Take your pics on the highest megapixel setting, then crop the heck out of it.  Should work.

lewbud- Thank You for the tip. Utilizing your advice here is a cropped version of my previous pic as a test

Another tip, dont touch the silly putty while painting! haha did that once.

DoogsATX

 

A quick tip for masking with silly putty (or that poster tack stuff) - put the plane in the refrigerator for half an hour or so before you remove it. It'll make it easier to remove an ensure that no bits get left behind in the process.

Thanks for the refrigerator tip!

Seeing some awesome work here and very nice after market parts.  Afraid mine will be a out of the box build.

Buckeye

Finally getting a start on my Spit.  Looking forward to painting, this will be my first attempt at masking with silly putty.

Nice! I'll be following this one closely. I very nearly pulled this kit out of the stash instead of the Mustang I'm working on.

A quick tip for masking with silly putty (or that poster tack stuff) - put the plane in the refrigerator for half an hour or so before you remove it. It'll make it easier to remove an ensure that no bits get left behind in the process.

Finally getting a start on my Spit.  Looking forward to painting, this will be my first attempt at masking with silly putty.

Some really nice work going on here, really need to get started on my little Airfix kit soon.  Joe, if your camera won't do close ups, try this.  Take your pics on the highest megapixel setting, then crop the heck out of it.  Should work.

Well, Here be a rather substandard pic of some of my progress on my Vb cockpit. My Kodak EasyShare just does not do close ups. I also have the wings together and just continuing on with painting, weathering and PEing the cockpit. 

Doogs - The Ultracast seat I'm using is a blank with Eduard PE seatbelt. I couldn't agree more about the quality, in fact the seat snapped off the molding and required very little sanding. My only issue was mounting it which entailed cutting of the original mounting tab and gluing it, very carefully, to the Ultracast seat. Your cockpit is looking very excellent indeed.

ww2psycho

Hey Doogs, lookin nice! Sorry guys, havent been very active lately, havent had much enthusiasm to build lately. Summer is paintball season, and work kills me half the time. I do have the fusalage/wings together on the Vb, still working on the Mk I.

Yeah, here, summer's the season when it's just too friggin' hot to do much of anything. That, and I've found if I don't put in bench time at night, I'm very crabby the next morning. 

I've been making pretty decent progress on the Spit pit. Lots of parts in this big Tamiya, and the Eduard PE isn't helping. BUT...I finally started gluing subassemblies tonight, and test-fitted the main sections of the cockpit:

So far, so good. Still need to drybrush a few areas, then hit the whole thing with a wash before I start locking in the assemblies. That, and the sidewalls still need significant work.

Hey Doogs, lookin nice! Sorry guys, havent been very active lately, havent had much enthusiasm to build lately. Summer is paintball season, and work kills me half the time. I do have the fusalage/wings together on the Vb, still working on the Mk I.

Looks good indeed, Doogs

JOE RIX

Lookin' good there Doogs. It appears I'm at the same spot you're at, cockpit and PE parts scattered all over in various states of assembly, painting and detailing. That baracudacast seat looks real nice, well done. The ultracast seat I have is the one thing I have got completed and I am rather pleased. I need to get some progress photos up here soon. Thanks for sharing.

                                                                                             Joe

P.S. Doogs thanks for the tip from the glue thread on gator glue. I picked some up but have yet to really test it but I beleive I'll try it on my cockpit.

Looking forward to seeing that Ultracast seat! Of all the resin makers, they're my favorite, both for sheer quality and for the ease of stub removal. Does your seat have the harnesses molded in or is it one of the blanks?

Also, you'll love the gator glue. Definitely my go-to for PE. Though the Eduard set for the big Spit is self-adhesive. I hate it...dealing with the backing paper while trying to clean up the fret tabs is a huge PITA, but it's made glue unnecessary for about half of the pieces.

Lookin' good there Doogs. It appears I'm at the same spot you're at, cockpit and PE parts scattered all over in various states of assembly, painting and detailing. That baracudacast seat looks real nice, well done. The ultracast seat I have is the one thing I have got completed and I am rather pleased. I need to get some progress photos up here soon. Thanks for sharing.

                                                                                             Joe

P.S. Doogs thanks for the tip from the glue thread on gator glue. I picked some up but have yet to really test it but I beleive I'll try it on my cockpit.

Got some progress pics to show...not much yet...the cockpit's still all over the place, but I think it should really start coming together in the next couple of days.

First...the Eduard IP. Have to say, as impressed as I was with the panel in their 109E-7, I think this one has it beat. Detail, depth, it just nails it.

Second, the Barracudacast seat. Aside from tapping at it with a silver pencil where some various metal bits attached, I haven't really started weathering this at all. The seat actually has some tears in the leather pad molded in, so I think I may try to play those up.

Oh hai!

Did some minor parts work last night. The only pieces I glued were the rear fuselage sections (different tailwheel from the Mk IX). The sort of slot in from the inside. The fit? Stupid good. 

Also started filing down some of the kit parts to accomodate the Eduard PE (seriously the best-executed PE set of theirs I've seen). The PE instrument panel is a thing of beauty, but it was still hard to do this:

Lastly, I started the long and tedious process of removing the Barracudacast seat from its pour stub. Why can't all resin be like Ultracast, with those thin stubs?

Looking forward to seeing your builds satch. Its been a bit hot here lately to do anything on mine. we dont put the ac on very often to save money.

jeaton01

My B-25 is the B-25C/D version of the same kit you have.  I'm having heartburn over the fit of the nose parts right now, considering disassembling that part to get a better fit and using vacform clear parts.  I had substituted a Monogram nose clear part which has better shape and framing but it has some problems fitting the lower nose part.  That may be because in assembling the lower nose part I may have drawn it in some.  It's kind of fiddley.  It's a nice kit that probably is easier to build the second time around.  I am also a little too fussy about B-25's, it is an interesting and important airplane to me.

 Thanks for the info, Im debating how to build mine. I would really like a doolittle plane but i also find some of the other paint schemes ive seen very appealing.

The two kits I'm building.  Hope to finish this week, but it's too darn hot in my garage.

My B-25 is the B-25C/D version of the same kit you have.  I'm having heartburn over the fit of the nose parts right now, considering disassembling that part to get a better fit and using vacform clear parts.  I had substituted a Monogram nose clear part which has better shape and framing but it has some problems fitting the lower nose part.  That may be because in assembling the lower nose part I may have drawn it in some.  It's kind of fiddley.  It's a nice kit that probably is easier to build the second time around.  I am also a little too fussy about B-25's, it is an interesting and important airplane to me.

jeaton01

Thanks, everyone!  I really had a good time building this one, which I was happy to do because an Accurate Miniatures B-25 had gotten me to wondering if I was still man enough to model.  I will finish that thing!  Not a bad kit, it's just hard to get it done to the level you aspire to when you begin.

I will put links for all four sheets of the templates n the next post.

Which B-25 is it? I got the Doolittle Raiders one last week or the week before. I wont start on it anytime soon, but I herd it isnt the easiest one to build.

Rather than use up the bandwidth here I have put the Spitfire template drawings on my website at these links.  Go there, right click, and save to your computer.

http://yolo.net/~jeaton/mymodels/spitfire/templates/SpitfireATemplateDrawing.jpg

http://yolo.net/~jeaton/mymodels/spitfire/templates/SpitfireATemplate.jpg

http://yolo.net/~jeaton/mymodels/spitfire/templates/SpitfireBTemplateDrawing.jpg

http://yolo.net/~jeaton/mymodels/spitfire/templates/SpitfireATemplate.jpg

Thanks, everyone!  I really had a good time building this one, which I was happy to do because an Accurate Miniatures B-25 had gotten me to wondering if I was still man enough to model.  I will finish that thing!  Not a bad kit, it's just hard to get it done to the level you aspire to when you begin.

I will put links for all four sheets of the templates n the next post.