Stona's Spitfire...with floats

monica

“When there's no more room in hell, the dead will
SMF Supporter
Joined
Oct 30, 2013
Messages
15,105
Points
113
Location
Melbourne
First Name
monica
nice progress Steve,


real wont to know how your going to do the seal line,or can you just hide it a little


with the making,?
 

stona

SMF Supporter
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
11,455
Points
113
First Name
Steve
Hi Monica. It's not as bad as it looks! You can see it under an initial primer/guide coat further up in post 57 (I think). I will re-scribe a couple of lines and detail before priming again to see how it looks.


The join has been filled with Superglue and one small slip has been filled with putty on the spine.


Cheers


Steve
 

monica

“When there's no more room in hell, the dead will
SMF Supporter
Joined
Oct 30, 2013
Messages
15,105
Points
113
Location
Melbourne
First Name
monica
very nice work Steve,you are right can hardly see it at all,


great cover work,some times i think the camera shows it for the worse it is,


so you mean how there is the dip were the wing meets the body,need you speccial treatment
 

stona

SMF Supporter
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
11,455
Points
113
First Name
Steve
Things are moving along. I've now sprayed the camouflage. It's the Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey over Sky of the standard TSS. (Edit TSS = Temperate Sea Scheme) This is the scheme with which these aircraft were refinished, prior to shipping to the Middle East. The scheme has low contrast and demarcations are hard to see in B+W images which is why some have been led to believe that the aircraft were finished in one upper colour...they weren't


I didn't mask the camouflage but applied it freehand as this was not the original factory finish.


I have also used Xtracolor rather than WEM enamels as I don't have these colours in my stash. They spray okay and have a gloss finish (which I'm not bothered about) but where I've post shaded it has matted down which gives an odd effect which will only disappear under the final varnish. Xtracolors also seem to take a long time to dry, and I'm used to enamels! The colours look good to me straight out of the tin.


View attachment 105664



Cheers


Steve

IMG_1390_zpssxyhrmcy.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Ian M

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
SMF Supporter
Joined
Dec 14, 2008
Messages
19,583
Points
113
Location
Falster, Denmark
First Name
Ian
That is coming along very nicely Steve. Great job on getting the tail joined and blended.


Found the floats yet? Lol
 

yak face

Wossupwidee?
Staff member
Moderator
SMF Supporter
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
12,265
Points
113
Location
sheffield
First Name
tony
Looking good Steve , seems strange seeing a spit in these colours ! cheers tony
 

stona

SMF Supporter
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
11,455
Points
113
First Name
Steve
\ said:
Looking good Steve , seems strange seeing a spit in these colours ! cheers tony
Yeah, should be a Seafire :smiling3:


Cheers


Steve
 

monica

“When there's no more room in hell, the dead will
SMF Supporter
Joined
Oct 30, 2013
Messages
15,105
Points
113
Location
Melbourne
First Name
monica
coming along very nicely Steve, ;)


do like the little stand you have made to rest it on,good job, :smiling3:
 

stona

SMF Supporter
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
11,455
Points
113
First Name
Steve
The Xtracolor paints have now dried to a nice gloss finish, but they still feel a bit soft. I know that gloss paints tend to take longer to dry and cure, so discretion has got the better part of valour and I'll be leaving the Spitfire for another 24 hours before the next step. I intend to mask and spray all the markings and for that I want the camouflage to be properly dry.


On the positive side I am very impressed with the accuracy of the two colours I've used. It's also the first time I've sprayed paints of this brand and I treated them like any other enamel, thinned with white spirits, and they went on with no problems at all. If my beloved WEM Colourcoats do not get resurrected then these may be a viable alternative.


In the meantime I've got to scratch build some bits and bobs for the final vignette, including a ladder, a jack (for under the tail) and various straps etc. The bits are on their way! I have already acquired some oil drums. Plenty to keep me busy.


Cheers


Steve
 

stona

SMF Supporter
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
11,455
Points
113
First Name
Steve
I've embarked upon the process of spraying the markings using Mal's Miracle Masks. The masks come with very good instructions and if you follow them they are very easy to use.


View attachment 105830



A word of caution. Anyone using the Trumpeter camouflage and markings guide, the one in colour, typical of Trumpeter kits, should be aware that the camouflage scheme and position of some markings is not accurate. The fuselage roundels are much too far forward for example.


Cheers


Steve

IMG_1395_zpsehoznuow.jpg
 

stona

SMF Supporter
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
11,455
Points
113
First Name
Steve
Most of the markings are sprayed, just the serial number to go (which is a one step, one colour process). I'm pleased with the results and impressed with Mal's masks. The under wing roundels, which you can't see here, do need a bit of tidying up due to the lumps and bumps on the bottom of a Spitfire wing over which they were painted. Given the uneven surface the masks have done a decent job in any case.


View attachment 105946



Cheers


Steve

IMG_1396_zpsu0zhf75u.jpg
 
P

Polux

Guest
Mmm...very cool Steve :cool:


I know you are a 1/32 builder..., but I sincerely hope, you build more 1/24 planes someday...
 
Z

Ziper_it

Guest
Looks great Steve, but I had no doubts.


I should think about getting these masks for my spitfire, provided that I get to the point of painting them.


Francesco
 

stona

SMF Supporter
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
11,455
Points
113
First Name
Steve
\ said:
I should think about getting these masks for my spitfire, provided that I get to the point of painting them.


Francesco
The masks certainly work very well. There's nothing wrong with decals, as long as they are good quality and you can make them conform nicely, but at this scale I fancied a go with masking. It is of course an extra cost on what is already not a cheap model, particularly once you've added a harness. I've also spent extra money on a replacement seat and the correct tail unit for the float plane. It's been worth it for me, but I can see why others might hesitate to spend so much on one kit. You could buy a lot of smaller kits for what I've spent on this :smiling3:


Luckily I got a figure free, courtesy of IanM. He appears to be at least a Group Captain, possibly an Air Chief Marshall, going by his insignia. I'll be demoting him to Flight Lieutenant for the purposes of my story. I've also spent on some 1/24 scale oil drums, everything else I will scratch build.


Polux you silver tongued devil! I'm not sure that I'll be doing much at this scale in the future, the models are just too big, even compared to 1/32. I have thought about a 1/24 Fw 190 D, but this Spitfire has discouraged me. I can afford the models but not a new house to go with them :smiling3:


Cheers


Steve
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Ian M

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
SMF Supporter
Joined
Dec 14, 2008
Messages
19,583
Points
113
Location
Falster, Denmark
First Name
Ian
That is looking great Steve.


Still no sign og the canoes yet?
 

monica

“When there's no more room in hell, the dead will
SMF Supporter
Joined
Oct 30, 2013
Messages
15,105
Points
113
Location
Melbourne
First Name
monica
looks great Steve, ;)
 
Top