those 1/72nd spitfire are moving along nicely, they are way to small for my eyes but I still like the muliti engine bombers in 1/72. Btw the preshading  Way to go.

fotofrank

Good morning, everyone. The weather over the weekend has been really nice so I've been out on the patio using up a lot of paint. Yeah. Having to do a hobby shop run today.

Painted the underside of the Mk VIII. I had to mix my own Azure Blue. I got close to the color but it's not exact, but it'll do. I mixed the color 4/1 thinner to paint and built up the color very slowly. The idea is to make the pre-shading look subtle without completely covering the shading. After clear coating, I'll go back and highlight some panel lines and control surfaces with Tamiya panel line accent.

 

Harold

Nothing to it really, Harold. You should give it a try on something that you use for practice. Pre-shading is a simple process that adds depth and dimension to your build. Check out some videos on YouTube. That's what I did to teach myself how to do the pre-shading process.

When I pre-shade I usually use a black under the main paint color. I spray at 9 or 10 psi and just cover the main panel lines. I don't try to accent all of the little tiny panel lines. The black is usually Tamiya Rubber Black or Tamiya NATO Black. After that I begin building up the main camouflage color.

The basic colors have been applied, using MM Flat Black, Tamiya Earth and Dark Green 2 RAF, as it is labeled.  Stencils were made and the white markings have been painted, as well as backgrounds for decals that have white in their makeup. In addition, the black foorprints that indicate safe places to walk on the wing have been painted on in flat black, stenciled also.  A decal would be a silvering nightmare, I feared.  First time I've seen a walkway indicated in that fashion.

John, Good job on the stenciling, especially by the wing roots. Such an interesting aircraft, I had never heard of it until I saw your build.

great job on a unique airplane..

That looks very nice tehre John. Great job on the scheme and those stencils are really well done.

1st coat of tamiya gloss clear and decals soon.

VC-10 looks good, Nick. Nice smooth finish.

Until I get the vac canopies for the Wellesley, it's a dunner.  Doubt you can tell the difference with the cockpit but it's fairly obvious with the gunner as it's not there.  I did try to repair that canopy (after stepping on it) but it fit so poorly in the first place it looks better absent.

I used Tamiya Earth and RAF Dark Green (2) and it has very low contrast compared to my usual Model Master painted planes.  Should I get used to it or try something else?.  This scheme was worn by Wellesleys operated by 45 Squadron in Egypt so I guess it's just faded.

People think the Wellesley odd looking so I included a picture of a contemporary of it, the Heyford. (Also by Matchbox, I built it about 1975 when I had permission to use a brush and pass on the rigging) so the younger ones would know what odd really looks like.

Hello John, Wellesley looks good - congrats on the build.

To me, it does not look odd, maybe just not graceful?

About Tamiya paints - their XF-81 was specifically formulated when they released their 1/32 Spitfire, and most people tend to like it.  Same can't be said about their Flat Earth, which is often described as being too red.  Some prefer adding 50% XF-64 mix.

Photo below is suppose to be genuine WW2 period:

regards,

Jack

Thanks, Jack.  I am red green colorblind so the colors are best not mixed by myself.  But thanks.

The Heyford was a odd kit to sell.

My S5 waits in the wings for free time.

I have a Valiant in the stash, the Mach 2 kit.

Highest offer gets her.

Bill

Holy balzes John, that thing has got one he(( of a wing span. Nicly done.

Bish, I'm sorry to have to do this to ya mate but the Kongo is on back order. I can find it elsewhere but I'm not keen on the price (I really don't have the time for an additional ship anyway)
So here's the really, really bad news. I bought myself a 1/72 Airfix Mk.1 Spit for an excelent price ane want to switch out the Kongo for the Spit. I was going to get these decals when the time comes. Until then I do have the Walrus.

Thats a very nice looking build there John and its certainlysomthing different. Thanks for shareing that here. I'll get the front page updated.

No worries Steve, i'll forgive you. Would have been nice to see the ship, but these things can't be helped. I'll get the roster updated.

VC-10 up date... the DECALS. a real slow process.

Looks good Nick. Was the stripe along the side one decal or in sections.

Thanks Bish the gray stripe came in 4 sections which in turn broke into 2 some times 3 sections but on the bright side it stopped the decals from folding on its self. The Stencils are another story can hardly see them On the instruction sheet .

I was able to get the bottom painted this weekend with my new compressor.

A couple of days of drying time and I will tackle the camo on top.

Thanks for the nice comments on my build, it might be a good R/C airplane, as a powered glider.

And Steve takes away a ship and punishes Martin with a Spitfire.  It it was MY GB he'd be headed straight for the grease trap!

Nick, I think everything disappears on a gray airplane, but it's looking good.

What is that black and white scheme, were they trying to make a compromise with twilight!

(Never mind, I know about the friendly fire)

John: Wow that's some nice work!! Nice looking plane, she does look a little 'off' in the proportions though- kinda like a bodybuilder with huge arms and a tiny little head!

Nick: Love what you're doing there, despite your problems with the decals the stripes look perfect! 

JB: Beautiful job with the bi-coloured bottom. I still haven't built anything in that scheme, not sure I could get it to look 'right'. Love how yours looks though! 

This nice weather we've been having is great. I was able to spray the first color of the Spitfire camouflage today. The label on the Hobby Color bottle says Middle Stone but the color kinda looks like, well, baby poop. Hopefully the color will look better when the Dark Earth goes down over the Middle Stone. Anyway, for your edification...

Well Frank it does sorta have that baby poop tone now but i'm sure it will look good when the next layer goes down. Preshading came through really nice.

I am at the same stage as you on mine but it looks like I will have to wait a while as we are experiencing unusually cold temps and my airbrush is set up in an uninsualated garage.

Your panel lines show through the stone color very nicely Frank.

Harold

Frank, i'm no expert on WW2 British colours, but that looks pretty good to me. But ye, i know what you mean.

JBRaider. nice under side paint !

Gamera. many thanks gave it two coats of clear and three days to dry hope they dont come off with weathering.

FotoFrank. That middle stone went on well with earth and azure blue it will all come together.

I started the weathering but this time I'm using Gamblin ivory black pigment mixed with water.

let dry and brush off lets see how it goes.

Frank: I don't know how accurate it is but I like the looks of it. 

Nick: Looks cool, looking forward to seeing how it comes out. 

Nick- thtat is coming along nicely, that wash really makes the detail stand out.

I braved the cold to get the camo down on my Mk 1. Ready for a clear coat and decals...