Tamiya 1/48 Spitfire MkI

[chief5437]

Hi guys!

Adding another spitfire to my collection! This time it's Tamiyas MkI.



I haven't done a build thread on any of my others, so I thought I'd do one for this kit.

Usual tamiya instructions, clear and easy to follow.



Two marking options.



And a two sided, full (scale) size paint guide.



Decals. I've heard they can be a problem, although I've never had and dramas myself. That said, I've only built a couple of tamiya aircraft before!



I'm assuming the white is a bit thin, hence the extra white backing decals?!

Nicely printed though, you can easily read the smallest stencils.



Only two sprues with this kit, plus clear parts. Compared to the five huge ones in my Eduard Mk VIII, I'm expecting this to be a quick(ish) build!

Sprue 1




Sprue 2




Clear parts. Three canopy and two screen options. A bit of magnification, but I think that's hard to avoid with blown canopies. And it is dated 1993!



I also got Eduards zoom set for this. Which looks very nice, no surprise there! I especially like the name plate, so I might see if I can find a wooden base for it to sit on.



So that's what's in the box, all looks very nice, no sign of Flash Gordon anywhere! And I have faith in Tamiyas legendary engineering to make this a pleasurable build, lol!

Thanks for looking in

[Joesdad]

You've gotta love Tamiya, a lovely kit...
Enjoy yourself Chief old boy

[AndreFerro]

Hi!
I´ll be following this topic with lots of interest.
Have plans to built a Spit MkV with Portuguese colors... But plans, only.

Cheers and Happy Modelling!

[Nige201980]

Can't beat another spit best of luck with her mate.

[das84]

This was the second kit I build, the plane goes together great but the decals were a nightmare no matter how much microsol/set I used they hardly even flinched ended up striping them all off and replacing them with a set from hannants. Don't know if you would have more luck with a stronger decal solution.

[Puj]

I bought the same kit last week.... it is on my 'to do' list. Looking forward to seeing your build progress.

[chief5437]

This was the second kit I build, the plane goes together great but the decals were a nightmare no matter how much microsol/set I used they hardly even flinched ended up striping them all off and replacing them with a set from hannants. Don't know if you would have more luck with a stronger decal solution.

Thanks for the heads up! I'm wondering weather to try the kit decals, or just cut my losses and get some aftermarket ones before I start!

Thanks for the comments guys! hope to post some progress later

[chief5437]

Cheers for the info

[chief5437]

Hi guys, here's the first update.

First things first, gave the clear parts a klear bath, the put them aside for later.



Then got the cockpit built and painted. Lovely instrument panel from Eduard.



Some great seatbelts too! I'm doing a little experiment here. Normally I'd put a wash on the seatbelts, this time I'm leaving them to see if they will be a bit more visible once the fuselage is closed up.



Main assembly done. Very little filler needed. Just a bit on the cowling seam...



And some where the lower wings join the lower fuselage. Also sprayed the wheel wells and radiator/oil filter areas.



That's where we're at right now. This seems to be falling together by itself! I'll make a start painting some of the smaller pieces next.

Thanks for looking fellas!

[JohnModeller]

Nice! I have the Tamiya 1/48 Spitfire Mk Vb Trop kit with the eduard zoom as well. This is great reference for my upcoming build on it..
John

[Nige201980]

Looking great Chief

[UKguyInUSA]

That's a nice PE set by Eduard, really sets off the tub.

[chief5437]

Cheers guys, hoping to get some paint down tonight!

[chief5437]

Hi guys, another update, with some words of caution, so read carefully!

Got the little fiddly bits painted up.



Then laid down the upper colours. Not strictly accurate, but I wanted a prominent brown/green camo.



Underside sprayed 'sky'



And here come the words of wisdom! I'd recently spilt my bottle of micro sol, and my lhs only had Vallejo decal 'medium' in stock. So I got a bottle of the Vallejo stuff. Now this stuff comes in the same type of bottle as Vallejo paint, not very easy to dip your brush in!
So I thought I would transfer it to my nearly empty bottle of micro set. Hey, it might make it last a bit longer too! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! I ended up with a horrible gloopy mess.
Once settled this is how it looks.



Whatever stuff is in the Vallejo has separated, god knows what's in it?!

So I did the best I could with the thick tamiya decals, got some klear down and added a dark wash to the upper side.



And a grey wash to the lower.



Then a semi Matt coat on top.



That's it for now. Bit of weathering and adding the details next.

Thanks for the comments guys!

[UKguyInUSA]

Looking very nice mate, enjoy the rest of your build!

[shortCummins]

looking really good, I must build a Spit!

any comments, good or bad on the kit?

rgds
John (shortCummins)

[Nige201980]

Looks great mate you've done a great job with those decals.

[Aliktren]

hi chief, what did you use for the panel line wash - looks great!

[chief5437]

looking really good, I must build a Spit!

any comments, good or bad on the kit?

rgds
John (shortCummins)

Hi mate, the kit is good, typical tamiya. Decals are a bit stubborn, especially with my micro sol debacle! It's dated 1993 but still great moulding. However, having just built Airfix's Mk II & Mk Vb, I would say that the airfix are actually better! More build options like different wheels and canopies, positional control surfaces. Also Airfix's decals are by cartograf, so far superior. Airfix will be releasing a Mk I soon, so I expect it will be even better, and cheaper.

Never thought I'd say that about a tamiya/airfix comparison!

[chief5437]

hi chief, what did you use for the panel line wash - looks great!

Hi mate, the panel line wash was done with Flory Models washes. (Sorry Lee and Paul, I ordered the full set just before the Ultimate washes came out!) I used the dark dirt on the upper surfaces, and the grey on the underside. HTH

[Aliktren]

good work then, I cant get that stuff to work well!!

[chief5437]

good work then, I cant get that stuff to work well!!

What problems are you having?

[Puj]

Very nice indeed

[das84]

Looks good, you certainly had more success with the kit decals than I did.

[chief5437]

Hi guys, I'm calling this done for now. Great little kit, let down by the decals. Oh well, on with the pics.











I haven't found anything suitable for a base just yet, so she'll be living on the shelf for now. Not to worry, she'll be in good company. Here she is with a MkII, MkV and MkIX.



MkVIII next!

Thanks for looking and the kind comments guys, you rock!

[Filmman586]

Great work!

[mincemeat]

I really enjoyed building this kit last summer. Nice work here!

[Nige201980]

Great work chief