Spitfire Mk. IX c 1/48

[StuartClark]

Next build is a Mk. IXc Spitfire in 1/48 by Hasagawa.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Only after market will be a PE cockpit panel, seatbelts and mask set.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

[StuartClark]

[youtube]9xsZZ_EiUQk[/youtube]

[StuartClark]

Started work on this on the weekend. First up is the cockpit.

Seat etc. goes together very well.

spitfire4 by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

spitfire5 by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Test fitting instrument panel as I'm going to sand it away to put this on. A prepainted photoetch panel from Yahu

yahu panel by Stuart Clark, on Flickr


A few passes with the Super Sanding Blocks and it's looking good.

spitfire2 by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

spitfire1 by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Test fit. I won't add it until the rest of the cockpit is painted and weathered.

spitfire3 by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

[Mylightweight]

Looking good, I'm building a mk IXc by Eduard and it's interesting to see the difference in how different manufacturers tackle the same subject.

Watching with interest

[StuartClark]

Got the cockpit area primed and painted.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

[NorthernModeller]

Excellent work so far Stuart looking really nice

[StuartClark]

Quite a bit of work done over the last week.
After painting the cockpit I gloss coated it and then began the weathering process.

Lighting up some areas of the side panels with some Tamiya weathering powders and just a bit of dry brushing. Some of Tamiya's excellent black panel wash was then used to darken up some of the recesses.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Once that was done I started work on the photo-etch seatbelts. Eduard makes some very nice sets and although fiddly, thanks to a magnifier and some patience I got them into place.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

I then attached the part with the Yahu instrument panel and attached the assembly to one side of the fuselage.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Been very pleased with how this build is working out. Next will be putting the fuselage together and starting on the landing gear assembly.

[StuartClark]

Excellent work so far Stuart looking really nice

Cheers mate. Really nice to have a build which almost falls together.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Gorgeous looking work so far and a good intro video
Your PE and painting skills are gonna make this a knockout!
Have to add that Hase to my wish list; beautiful box art

[StuartClark]

Gorgeous looking work so far and a good intro video
Your PE and painting skills are gonna make this a knockout!
Have to add that Hase to my wish list; beautiful box art

Thank you for your kind words. It's a great kit with several versions produced over the years. Nice to work in a slightly larger scale as well.

[Stokesy44]

Really nice cockpit. The PE harness looks superb, doesn't look metal at all.

[StuartClark]

A bit more work was done this weekend.

Gave the inside landing gear doors a quick spray of interior green. Will probably start work on the gear tomorrow if time permits.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Attached the upper wings to the lower wing assembly. Fit hear was very good with minimal cleanup required. Also got the fuselage together, a bit more filling and sanding was needed here but nothing too bad.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Attaching the Fuselage to wings were a different story. I don't know I had warped something but there was a sizable gap on the port top wing where it meets the fuselage as well as the underside center rear section. Fortunately, a bit of filling with putty seems to have solved both areas.

Tail planes were added without any drama as well.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

[StuartClark]

Although I haven't posted in a while I have been making steady progress. I'll get things caught up in a post or two.



Got the wingtips on and it's starting to look like a Spitfire now.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

[Fridgy]

Aww man.... if you guys keep it up, I might have to start and try to do some WW2 planes

[SteveW]

Great work Stuart. Very nice job on the cockpit.

[StuartClark]

Been working away on the Spitfire, I have not been as diligent in updating the build thread...

Canopy has been masked with the excellent P-Mask set. First time using a mask set so I had one issue with the main canopy section. Put a insurance piece of Tamiya tape on to be sure. Very fiddly work and I have some mask sets in 1/72 for some other projects. I may need new glasses.....

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr


On to the main painting. First up. A coat of Ultimate gray primer over the whole aircraft. Left it to dry for 24 hours.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

The underside was then airbrushed with Tamiya XF 81 Medium Sea Gray.

After 24 hours, I masked the underside with Tamiya tape and thin card and sprayed XF 82 RAF Ocean Gray.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

[StuartClark]

I then proceeded to mask the camouflage in preparation for the green. I downloaded John Eaton's excellent camouflage paper masks and after some cutting and taping it was set. I saw these masks a few years ago and I wish I could find similar ones for other aircraft.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

I sprayed Tamiya XF 81 Dark Green being careful to spray at a near 90 degree angle to the masks.

44FA7CCF-F27A-4866-8AF2-FA208611DA18_zpsifcgylnt by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Waited an hour and took the masks off. Very pleased with the result.

6FA96546-5968-449E-9175-8F51E36C9295_zpsucdbmh3m by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

[StuartClark]

Decided the decals for the wing leading edge and the fuselage identification strips were not going to work out, so I made the decision to mask and paint these yellow. I use Tamiya XF3 yellow and a drop of XF4 Yellow Green to darken it up.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

If I was to do this again I would mask and paint the yellow right after priming.

[Avgas]

Great work Stuart, pit is excellent.

[StuartClark]

Put two coats of Aqua Gloss on in preparation for weathering using Ultimate Weathering Wash. An application of Dark Dirt nicely weathers the panel lines.

16CC9B30-3F76-45DA-9D3F-A54BF812ADFA_zpsv69feing by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

After the wash is put on
Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr



Another coat of Aqua Gloss and decaling has begun.

1D3D551D-9B8C-446F-80FF-9A035E6BD5FA_zpsypgftitj by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

[StuartClark]

Decalling has been completed. Had some issues with some of the decals which surprised me, but nothing too bad. Another coat of aqua gloss was put on in preparation for final weathering. Details like landing gear and propeller have been done.

754D8E45-DD67-4AEC-AF71-BCD1362E83B7_zpskqcdpjvz by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Not much longer and this one will be done.

[demarcation]

Nice work!

[StuartClark]

Calling this one done.
Propeller and landing gear was added. The final gloss coat and then a coat of Army Warpainter Anti-Shine to tone things down.

Removed the canopy masking which came off fairly well after a bit of work. Cleaned up the canopy with a bit of Windex to remove one small spot where there was some overspray. Overall I like the canopy masks. The main issue is I think I left them on too long. I've read that others have had similar issues so lesson learned.

Overall happy with this build. Not perfect but tried and learned a few new things. I have another one with different markings in the stash and I would enjoy doing another one.

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

Untitled by Stuart Clark, on Flickr

[Twokidsnosleep]

Absolutely beautiful
A solid build indeed

[StuartClark]

Final Video Reveal.

[youtube]OB2Hg50NWpw[/youtube]