Tamiya MK1 Spitfire ~ My return to modelling

[Hosbabon]

Its been probably about 20 years since I've built a model aircraft, however having recently painted a number of 28mm figures for Wargaming purposes my interest was re-awakened.
Having spent much time perusing the site reading fantastic build logs, aswell as you tube etc. I went out and bought Tamiyas 1/48th Spitfire MK1.


Ive already got quite a few tools including an aztec airbrush thats been in the family for a number of years. So much so the box includes a VHS instructional video. The compressor is even older and is unregulated, but they are in working order, although I've never used it in years.


As well as the kit i purchased the three primary colours for the aircraft in Tamiya acrylic along with XF71 for the cockpit interior, for use with the airbrush. I already have some Vallejo Model colour from the figure painting along with a collection of of tools and bushes etc.

I was greatly impressed with the quality of the parts and i assembled the cockpit. This was all sprayed interior green without incident. I then used some dry brushing on the instrument panel before picking out raised lines with a collection of colours. I was really happy with the outcome.
I then blobbed some gloss varnish onto the instrument dials.
Having seen so many other build threads and the use of PE parts i felt i wanted to enhance the model and add seat straps.I had some green material which i cut into strips the then used super glue to glue them into the seat before painting them. I unfortunately had nothing to make buckles and didn't fancy painting them on. I am desperately conscious of not rushing the model and besides with family commitments my modelling time is limited, however i felt i had to draw the line somewhere!
The dry fitting of the fuselage highlighted my lack of painting the cockpit floor, which needed correcting, aswell as the fact the seat belts connected to nothing beyond the seat!
I used tamiya extra thin and super glue to bond the parts and other than filing seem lines, no need for filler.

So far so good. Much like the figure painting, if the face is good it brings the model to life. I got this same feeling looking into the cockpit.

[Hosbabon]

I subsequently added the wings and despite dry fitting and sanding, found i needed some filling. I bought some Revell Plasto, which was 'ok' although i had some green stuff in my box. I had read about masking the edge pre applying the filler which i though worked really well, cutting down on mess and additional sanding.
The rest of the main construction went well. I decided to model the horizontal stabiliser in the down position. Again this was seen on another thread. I was unable to score and bend them, as they snapped. They were subsequently cur, sanded and glued into position. Again no major dramas.
The cockpit canopies had caused some consternation unto this point. I have bought some pledge multi surface wax from the supermarket and dipped the clear parts in it. I couldn't find Klear or johnsons as mentioned elsewhere, but hopefully this is similar. Once dry i polished with a cotton bud. The glass seemed clearer but upon reflection who knows. I used tamiya masking tape as shown on you tube to mask the canopy and glued using white glue. I've decided to make the main canopy in the open position, so masked it but left it off the model. I then used tape to mask off the open cockpit.

[chief5437]

Great work so far buddy. Cockpit looks very nice, you figure painters really know how to get the details to pop!

[Hosbabon]

I then went onto undercoat the model in Tamiya Grey surface primer out of a can.
I was again happy with the result but i found my attention drawn to the join on the front cockpit glass and a tiny hole where the filler cap was placed.
I used the plasto again masking as close to the join as i could. Once dry, with some careful sanding i was happier
I then went on to airbrush Sky grey onto the underneath of the Spitfire. Ultimately I'm happy with the result, although the airbrush spray consistency wasn't great at times. I wanted to try preshading but had no black suitable for the airbrush. In hindsight this was probably a good thing given my lack of skill and experience with the airbrush. Hopefully i can use a wash to highlight panel lines later in the build.
Once the sky was dry i masked up ready for the upper surfaces.

[Jack]

Looks great love the cockpit

[Hosbabon]

Well my build thread is up to date now. Tonight I've sprayed the Flat earth onto the Spitfire. I had very lightly and roughly drawn in some guide lines for the camouflage. I loaded the airbrush and set to work.
I found this frustrating and hard. The airbrush has a set of interchangeable tips and i selected a fine thinking it would be easier to draw in the camouflage. Again i found the paint spray consistency to be a problem. The airbrush is dual action so perhaps i need to tweak it, or most likely gain more practice. I would occasionally get some bubbling ( visible slightly on the second picture). I had thinned the paint with vallejo thinner, effectively mixing manufacturers, which may have affected things. Also with a fine tip the coverage was not as even as i imagined it should have been. Ultimately i placed many coats onto the brown.
Hopefully later in the week i can move onto the dark green. I intend to mask of the brown which should hopefully mean a more even wider coverage can be used. Again never masked off the camouflage before so ay try either cutting out a template as pictured above, or using blue tac to form an edge prior to overlaying masking tape.
I welcome any comments, criticisms or feedback on my build so far.

[Danta2er]

It's really great that you're sharing this. I'm collecting my tools now to start on my 109 after many many years away as well so it's nice to see that just because it's been a while, it doesn't mean you lose all of the skills. Keep the great work coming!

[Paul]

Great work so far, its a cracking return to the hobby

[AAC]

Very nice work Good job and a fun subject for a return

If your looking for some ideas for masks I used the instructions just like your thinking of doing here in my build thread /viewtopic.php?f=34&t=10695, maybe it will give you some ideas however after looking at your thread, I doubt it .

[StuartClark]

Nice job and a great way to return to the hobby, I've got several 1/48 Spitfire's in the build queue myself.

[patrickroos]

Welcome back to modelling!

Build looks great, cockpit also, great job on the instrument panel, nice detail painting!
Camo turned out great also.
Looks like a nice come back mate!

[Nige201980]

Brilliant build to get you back into the swing of things. Love the cockpit great work.

[Mylightweight]

A brilliant return, keep the updates coming

[Hosbabon]

Thanks to all for the comments !

Reasonably slow progress since the last update due to a combination of shift work and the school holiday parental duties !

Im almost ready to begin airbrushing the XF-61 Dark Green.
Having considered how best to mask off the flat earth, either using a template, or using blue tac 'worms' for the outline; i decided on the latter. My thought process being as to how i would form a seal between the template and the aircraft, without paint leaking underneath.

The worms weren't too bad and with practice was able to manipulate them using a sculpting tool into a position i was happy with.
I've now just got to apply some masking tape over the flat earth and I'm ready to airbrush.

Thinking ahead ... once the painting is done i intend to add a coat of the below, via airbrush, multi surface wax, to aid in the application of washes.
Is this stuff suitable? Ive have read and seen many things, just wanting a second opinion that this stuff is similar to the clear etc. Ive already used it on the canopy parts.

[Homerlovesbeer]

Looking really good! To give you a bit of help with your masking, this is what I did with my 1:72 Airfix model.





Which turned out like this.....








Using these masks...cut out and blu taked should give you a much cleaner camo pattern that you are after. Here is where I got mine from. Print them out to scale and cut them out. Use blutak to raise them off the surface just a bit so you get a really nice pattern.

http://www.yolo.net/~jeaton/mymodels/sp ... tTemp.html

[frack]

look forward to building this kit

[Hosbabon]

Homer, thanks for your advice and your Spit looks great.Unfortunately i'd already committed down the tape over template route; of which ill post my thoughts below with a better update

[Hosbabon]

Frack, I'm really enjoying the build, and as a novice can say that its so far gone together really well. *(touches wood quickly)*

[Hosbabon]

Having marked out the camouflage with blue tac worms i then used masking tape to fill in the areas. Again a fairly fiddly, time consuming job and with hindsight will next time try the template method as Homer outlined above. The result pre painting is as shown.



Of note, to those new to airbrushing is my spray booth ! I definitely need one, over the cardboard box i presently have. Also on the list is an Airbrush holder / cleaning 'pod' to rest the airbrush on and also something to hold the model. Ive seen Tamiya do a rotating disc with clips to anchor parts too that ill get.
The spraying of the Dark green went ok, I used a different wider tip for my airbrush, but again found this one produced relatively fine lines. I also had difficulty manipulating the model to reach everywhere, resulting in a fingerprint on the lefthand fuselage which hopefully I've remedied with over spraying. The paint sprayed, was again thinned with vallejo model thinner and at times seemed to spray very watery. I applied very thin coats to overcome this. On the next airbrushing i will perhaps thin the tame paint less, or possibly experiment with av model air undiluted. Im not too unhappy, ultimately i see it as all part of the learning curve.

[Hosbabon]

Ill allow the paint to thoroughly dry, before removing the masking and post results later. Thanks for your comments, criticism and learning points

[Paul]

Great work, nice clean paintwork

[Hosbabon]

Masking removed and some mixed results.The overall paint finish I'm happy with. With regard to the efficiency of my masking i have some paint bleed under the masking tape and also some primer visible between the top colours. All my own fault and I'm attributing this to poor placement of the blue tac worms or, when I've pushed the tape onto the worms it has caused them to perhaps push out or in . The results are more clear on the following photo.

Masking bleed can also be seen here too.

So, out with the brushes and I've tried to correct this as best as i can. The result is below. The picture appears to hide the corrective work; as the brushed areas can be seen in reality, due to the thickness of the paint thats applied, as opposed to with the airbrush. Its disappointing ... but its the ups and downs of modelling i suppose. Positively, with decals, washes and weathering this may be hidden somewhat.



Ending this update on a positive; the main canopy, which is separate to the model was also sprayed. Ive removed its mask and it looks great, as well as being crystal clear. Happy days. The next plan is to spray the whole model in pledge prior to washes. I'm still tempted to use vallejo gloss varnish, but no. This ones all about a return and trying new things. multi surface wax it is.

[patrickroos]

That Multi surface wax is indeed the same thing as Klear as it was called before...but now its new and improved!
Looks milky but is in fact clear.
Just spray it in thin coats and let it self level.

Nice paint work!
Good luck with the rest.

[Hosbabon]

Thanks for that reassurance Patrickroos. Ill update once I get the time to get it done.

[tferedo]

Camo painting looks good.

[Hosbabon]

Limited progress so far. Airbrushed the entire Spitfire with 'Pledge' which went on without issue. This was allowed to thoroughly dry.
I then moved onto the decals. Ive read on the forum regarding the quality of Tamiya decals however have nothing of my own experience to compare them with. The initial decalling of the upper surfaces has been slow going. I have not used any decal solution in either fixing or setting, however will certainly acquire some for the next build! Progress so far ...
Im setting the decals using a cotton bud to smooth them and wick away water, i found that that they did not easily form over surface detail; moreover silvering was visible. I have tried to counter this using pledge multi surface wax. This i applied with a detail brush to each decal as it was applied. I also had to use a sharp blade to to cut decals slightly. This has been successful to a degree. I also have, possibly residue from the decal (glue) forming on the model,again I've tried to wash this off post decal. Next update should be a fully decalled Spitfire

[Willem]

Lovely job mate.

Looking forward to seeing it completed.

[das84]

Tamiyas decals are a complete PITA. However I read somewhere that if you use water from a just boiled kettle to dip them into they become much more workable. Have only tried it once but it did seem to work fairly well on a large roundel, sucked it into the panel lines without the need for a setting solution.

[JediBoer]

Great job mate! Yes, I struggled big time with the decals in this kit. Built it a month or so ago and was happy with everything except the decals!

[Klargplutte]

Sad to hear this kit has such poor decals , im looking to buy a Mk.1 as my next build and was interested in this one as i havent built a Tamiya before but maybe i should buy an Airfix instead.

[Hosbabon]

Decals complete ! Das84, thanks for the tip about using warmer water. Filled my bowl with just boiled water and seemed to make application a little easier.

Reasonably happy with them although some slight silvering is apparent. It appears worse on the pictures most likely due to my phone's flash. Im hopeful this will be mitigated with wash, weathering and matte coat.
My next course of action is to mix up an oil based wash using white spirit and a touch of oil paint, coating the entire model, before wiping off the the excess. I had considered a pin wash using fine detail brush on the recessed panel lines, however other than being more time consuming, can't see much benefit over a general wash at this stage.

Again thanks for the tips and comments, much appreciated.

[Homerlovesbeer]

Nice! You must be chuffed!

[Hosbabon]

Yes, overall I'm very pleased.

I then went on to give the Spitfire an overall mix of an oil based wash i made up myself.


This was a bit hit and miss getting the right consistency in a small plastic mixing bowl with the white spirit. In hindsight ill most likely use a pre formulated wash next time, and having watched Pauls ISM tutorial would opt for something like the Ultimate water based wash.

The Spitfire was then cleaned with tissue dabbed in white spirit in the direction of the airflow.
Overall it turned out OK, but id have liked the panel lines in places to have been more defined. I also had to use cotton buds to clean out some of the harder to reach areas underneath. This was all then resealed with floor wax.
I have now used some more oils to streak the airframe some more and finish the build. Ill post final shots shortly.

[patrickroos]

Looks good!

[Hosbabon]

Thanks Patrick !

I'm finished ....


I finished the build and added some streaks with some oil paints (black and brown) feathered with a brush and white spirit.
I'm really impressed with the canopies and the tamiya masking tape. I could probably do with some more exhaust streaks and have just noticed i need some wash in the wheels along with cockpit mirror fitting.

As my first model in many years i would highly recommend this kit. Its gone together really well with little more than the very basic of minor filling. I'm also glad i chose 1/48 over 1/72. Yes theres more detail in the build but its not been at all fiddly or complex.
I also feel I've learnt so much and that theres also so much more room for improvement on my next build. All in all thoroughly enjoyable.

[StuartClark]

Looks great, I really enjoyed following along with your build.

[patrickroos]

Now that's a return to modelling in style!
Good work mate, looks great!

[Homerlovesbeer]

Yep that's a cracking return to the hobby....nice work!