Cliff I can tell you're disappointed but I think it looks better than you realize. If you need a fresh canopy I have an extra bubble canopy with an unused mask. It's your's my friend just let me know and I will mail it to you.

I understand that feeling of wanting a project done and off your bench. I felt that way on my Spitfire Mk. II and the Matador, but remember you talked me into repainting them and as you saw they turned out fine, not perfect but good enough to keep.

Harold

Hey Cliff, it has come out really well, you have a great looking Spitfire there! Nice work on the base and the pilot is looking great too.  But i know what you mean, there are sometimes that you just want that kit off the bench and into the deep recesses of a shelf somewhere. Hope I do mine as well when the time comes.

And as 68GT says, still plenty of time to go, this GB goes till end of March 22, and that's just for sign ups...

And you get a motor with the ICM spitfire too, nice. But as you say, not much point continuing until you locate the top wing, the model won't look so good without it.

Okay I think I'm done. Some things didn't come out as well as I hoped. Maybe I'll try to fix them, I dunno- I just wanted the thing finished. 

The decals went all wrong, I ordered three sets and liked a set twenty-thirty years old best so I used them. I probably wouldn't have had the same issues if I'd used one of the newer sets. 

The canopy has some sort of krap all over it. It looks like overspray, how it got there I have no friggin' clue. 

I got some silvering in some of the decals, mostly on the bottom. I might try to fix them, right now I just want to move on to something else. 

I think the ANZAC pilot turned out better than the fighter. 

So I have 3 months to complete this one.  I'm not sure how detailed its going to be but this is where I am right now.  Have to find the upper wing section I misplaced though first or it's senseless.

My Spit is 99.99 complete. The missing clear part sprue turned up last night. So I can now add the reflector gunsight and the missing navigation light behind the cockpit.Took some photos but don't have the right USB cable and don't want to log into Google mail on the work PC.

Cross your fingers I'll have the completed photos tomorrow. Thanks for the extension Piers- with you guys being 13-16 hours ahead of me I may not make the end of the year there... 

Wow, I've never tried washing the kit with anything but dishwashing detergent and water.

I hope things are working out better now. The brown earth should cover any issues I'd think.

Dodgy

Patrick that is just plain unkind. I've never seen a kit do that before. Was there any difficulty with the fit of the fuselage halves?

I had to shim the front out a mil or so, but otherwise it seemed OK?  In the cold light of day I wonder if it was the white spirit pre-paint wipe that did it - had this make plastic crumble distressingly before and every bottle I buy smells a bit different so I assume the composition changes?

The port horizontal tail did actually part company but hopefully this won't show in the eventual result (currently in the middle of the dark earth stage...) 

Looks good Piers! I like the idea of using Milliput to stabilize the guns in the wings, when I replace them I just cement them to the front. I may have to borrow that idea for myself.

Thank you Rob, good to get started mate.

Harold

Sounds interesting Harold. 

Darren, yesterday I thought the Poms were on there way back and we were going to have a contest. Then came the afternoon........... I guess we'll see how good the Aussie bowlers are today - or not.

Patrick that is just plain unkind. I've never seen a kit do that before. Was there any difficulty with the fit of the fuselage halves?

Sergeant

lostagain

Harold, geez, I dunno, after all you did promise me a Lancaster....

Just kidding, be really good to see the Spitfire!

Tony, the Kittyhawk is off to a racing start there, the resin seat looks good.

 

Thank you, Piers, I normally don't change my plans so much, but I have this cool new cockpit upgrade kit from Eduard and the decals for a RAAF Spitfire, plus I will have time between now and March.

Harold

Harold

Fl/Lt. Brendan (Paddy) E.F. Finucane

There is a bit more done n the yellow jacket. Using the conversion template I have drilled holes for the rocket brackets, and filled in all the wrong cartridge holes.

Next I used coarse milliput to mount brass gun barrels in the wings. Next to close the wings etc etc.

Merry Christmas guys!!!

I could use a nice warm Aussie Christmas up here. Though it is running about 16 C so I can't complain!

Hahahaha, we're a bit careless like that Darren!

I'm off to the MCG for the first day's play tomorrow, let's see how it goes.

A Merry Christmas to all you Aussies as well. Shame you've already opened the present we sent from England (the cricket team) and broken it 

Aaaarrrrrrrggggghh!!

Patrick that is a real bummer, but as you said it is still in place so a bit of glue and grumpy energy should see you right.

And a merry Aussie Christmas all and have a good safe time!

Yeouch!!! Sorry to see that Patrick, I'm dealing with some peeled paint on mine but I've never had a model crack like that. I mean, I've had stuff cracked in the box but never while building!

Good luck!!! If nothing else works squeeze some superglue in the gap and sand it flush. I just hope nothing else decides to crack like that too.

Merry Christmas guys!

Happy Christmas all :)  This I guess is an early present:

aint_no_rest by Patrick Nevin, on Flickr

Not sure what caused it - left the model to dry after pre-paint sanding and this is what awaited.  The forked crack extends around most of the port horizontal tail with a nice jag though some panel lines.  (I'd just mixed a batch of the 'fancy' Sky recipe too :))

OK, time to break out the liquid cement and loud grumpy music.  What does not kill us, makes us stronger.

Cheers Tony, aiming for the split underside scheme, hoping for a credible Sky...

As I understand it, and as Red Roo models publication 'The Buffalo Down Under' states, the underside is the split scheme, the fuselage band is sky type S. I trust these guys to get it right every time. 

Cheers

Tony

Gamera

Good luck Patrick!!!

And you, Gamera, sir :)

Thanks also to Darren, good point well made.  It turns out I actually have the components for one of the fancier recipes of RAF Sky and will see how this works out for the fuselage band, also the prop spinner (third time and last, I hope.) 

The Buffalo is now stuffed full of wet tissue to mask various bits, my extremely cool (until you find out what blades cost) #65 scalpel found sterling use, some GS Hypo watch cement seems to have earned its keep and hence I have reasonable hopes of primering the beast tomorrow.  :)

The 1/144th Buff is still awaiting etch incidentally, and it seems a shape not to wait for it.  I have enough issues with native clumsiness and etch in 72nd so this is to be a trial of detailing in smaller scales for me, alas the shortage means I can see it missing the GB but the experience gained here with the larger-scale one (and indeed learning to three-point a Buffalo in War Thunder!) suggest it will get made later.  Maybe I will know what colour to paint it then...    

Good luck Patrick!!!

I'm hoping to be done with my Spit by the end of the year. Little more work on cleaning up a few rough areas and cross your fingers I'll be done.

Well, that fuselage band looks to be the same colour as the middle of the tail flashes (or as close as my ageing eyes can tell) in the photograph, but is obviously sky in the colour chart. This is with all the usual caveats about colour(ized?) photographs from that era.

Having spent many a long hour down the rabbit hole of researching LRDG paint schemes in the past, it's probably best not to just go with something reasonably sensible and claim "field conditions"/availability of paint of the correct colour in theatre/weathering if anyone complains

Although, having said that, I need to pick an "intermediate blue" (ANA608) for the Catalina, and I gather that causes a lot of debate...

lostagain

But now i'm going to throw you a curve ball Darren - I have found more info on the 21 Squadron scheme.  Bit of a throwback to the old pre war fighter command split colour on the undersides, but with sky blue and black, and a fuselage band of sky?

21 Sqdr planes wrecked in Malaya show the black underside port side.

And a photo of one of the 453 Sqdr planes (at the other end of the line up) shows the same black port undersides.

So it looks like the info from the previous post's photo was incorrect. SO hopefully I have not thrown you too far off course.

 

@Lost, thanks for the response :)

I did find a debate on this on BM which made me feel a little better, there seemed much contention on the subject (and that's without the eminent Tom Cleaver's "US Paint" suggestion - https://modelingmadness.com/review/allies/us/cleaverbuffalo.htm)

To me the colour picture above is most informative, I have heard of the photographic quirks which had everyone making A6m's in white for fifty years vice the pea green they turned out to be painted in, but the fuselage band does like a lot like the white in the roundels and fin flashes in addition to looking lighter than the undersides (previous pic...)

Might be academic, beast is fighting me with skill and passion.  Still I have found the radio antenna and drilled for it after considering a day to make another. I'm about to try a second type of canopy glue too, maybe this will work :)

But now i'm going to throw you a curve ball Patrick - I have found more info on the 21 Squadron scheme.  Bit of a throwback to the old pre war fighter command split colour on the undersides, but with sky blue and black, and a fuselage band of sky?

21 Sqdr planes wrecked in Malaya show the black underside port side.

ANd a photo of one of the 453 Sqdr planes (at the other end of the line up) shows the same black port undersides.

(photo's not showing, I will sort that out tomorrow)

So it looks like the info from the previous post's photo was incorrect. SO hopefully I have not thrown you too far off course.

Thanks both for the replies.  I spent a certain amount of time cleaning airbrushes after posting and the mad panic is beginning to abate :)

Hi Patrick,

I had a look through some of my references, and the most I could get was that the Buffaloes were RAF standard Dark green and dark earth on top and the underside was sky. To be lighter, I am thinking that the fuselage band must be white?

To have a great rundown on RAF Dark Green, Dark Brown and Sky, You should have a look at Horold's (Sergeant) work in the Supermarine Vickers GB. The RAF Sky does have a green tinge to it.

Patrick: Sorry no idea about the colour but I'm going to bump this back to the top in case someone knows might see it. 

The band and spinner are much lighter for sure. Maybe a light blue or white? I dunno. 

Can I seek help, all?

RAF Sky Grey, eeek!    I have Xtracrylix (XA1007) RAF sky which is - to my admittedly imperfect colour vision - too green-ish and Tamiya XF-19 Sky Grey close to hand.  But I am not sure about their deployment as the deadline looms.

This pic in particular shows some of the aircraft I'm trying to model - to me (accepting the light may be washing out the colours) the underside might be a lightish grey on the port side but the band on the rear fuselage and spinner seem a lot lighter, possibly white?

What drives at the moment is getting the engine onto the model to allow painting proper to begin.  There is however a black to (lighter underside colour) divide up one of the frontal ducts and, though others might be able to remask that in-situ I'm not sure I can. 

So I seek advice from the forum on what lighter colour (XF-19, XF-19 cut with, say 1/3 white, XF-76 IJN Gray Green [no offence meant], neat white, RLM65)?  Likewise the fuselage band, which in the the picture above appears in the aircraft second from the camera to be lighter than the undersides....  

(I mention RLM65 as the kit mapping calls the undersides 'light blue'.)

Any advice gratefully received....

Patrick

Harold,

I saw the detail kit and was interested. I bought the 1/72 version to put into a Ventura short run Spitfire VIII. One of these days...