Tamiya 1:32 Spitfire Mk IXc

[flyjoe180]

Great Merlin Colin. The airframe is looking very clean and certainly ready for paint.

 

[colin m]

one of these days im going to cave in and get one!

I think it's something we all have to do. I'm sure the new Revell 1:32 Spitfire is great, but when you see how Tamiya have engineered this thing, well.

really liking the merlin looks real

The engine could be a kit in itself - well it took so long to build, it practically is !

The airframe is looking very clean and certainly ready for paint

Which brings me to this phase. Later tonight I hope to have the underside grey, painted. Right now, it's primered and pre-shaded (although having seen Dave's post shading on his Lancaster I'm wondering if it's worth pre-shading)


Also I've done a little bit of yellow and some of Laurie's magic blue tape for masking the curvy bits off.


View attachment 122805

 

[Judas.1044]

It looks fantastic mate!

 

[stona]

I'm sure the new Revell 1:32 Spitfire is great, but when you see how Tamiya have engineered this thing, well.

I've built both and though the Revell kit is a decent kit the Tamiya kit is streets ahead, vastly superior in every aspect. Yours is starting to look the business now.


Cheers


Steve

 

[Stevekir]

What is "Laurie's magic blue tape for masking the curvy bits off"

 

[PhilJ]

Colin this is looking incredible and I have heard great things about this kit, the merlin looks beautiful. One question why the red seat? I've not seen that before.


Regards


Phil

 

[stona]

Colin this is looking incredible and I have heard great things about this kit, the merlin looks beautiful. One question why the red seat? I've not seen that before.
Regards


Phil

The seat was made from a composite material, often erroneously referred to as bakelite, which is similar but not the same stuff. I've seen it referred to in contemporary documents as a 'plastic seat'.


It was a reddish brown colour with some variation.


I've also seen the material for the seat described as SRBP (synthetic resin bonded paper). In the 1940s that 'synthetic resin' would have been a phenolic resin. Because some official documents do refer to a Bakelite seat this has become accepted as the material. It is more likely a use of the Bakelite name as a generic term for any product based on a phenolic resin, somewhat like 'hoover' to mean any vacuum cleaner.


Cheers


Steve

 

[colin m]

What is "Laurie's magic blue tape for masking the curvy bits off"

Laurie, on this forum discovered it. It's a plastic tape from the automotive industry which bends quite nicely.

Colin this is looking incredible and I have heard great things about this kit, the merlin looks beautiful. One question why the red seat? I've not seen that before.
Regards


Phil

Steve has 'hit the nail on the head' with his reply. My seat is probably a bit to bright, also is missing the cushioned back. I got a bit lazy there.

 

[colin m]

I've built both and though the Revell kit is a decent kit the Tamiya kit is streets ahead, vastly superior in every aspect. Yours is starting to look the business now.
Cheers


Steve

The Revell in its completed form does look nice, but I haven't seen one close up.


But the Tamiya, as you know, is in a league of its own. I still smile to myself every time I look at the engine.

 

[Benhur]

For me the engine is a bridge too far. I can see me losing small parts (why is our carpet grey) and there would be more glue than plastic. Maybe its the old eyesight even with a magnifier or I just don't have the patience.


This looks like it is going to be great model and I envy your skill.


PS maybe I could find and engine builder and do the rest myself lol.

 

[T. van Vuuren]

That spitty is looking great mate! I wish my mustprang was as far as your build.


Theuns

 

[colin m]

For me the engine is a bridge too far.

No, the engine is a great piece of modelling engineering - don't fear it, embrace it.......you can do it, just go slow and look at plenty of pictures, that's all I did.

I wish my mustprang was as far as your build

That is a problem with these kits. They are full to the top with parts that need to be fitted somewhere. There's literally hundreds of bits.

 

[Benhur]

Thanks Colin. Maybe I will buy one of these kits and have a go. Problem I expect is that if the engine is not exactly right then it wont fit between the fuselage halves. As I don't really want it on show anyway it does seem a waste although I think it can be made for display or not with small magnets. Could be wrong though.

 

[stona]

The cowlings, which incidentally are super thin moldings, can be fitted with little magnets making them removable. You can always glue them in place if you wish. It depends whether you want to be able to show the engine. It will all fit together with a complete engine (unlike some kits) but you do need to be careful with your fitting, alignments etc.


Cheers


Steve

 

[colin m]

The build has moved on a bit. I pre-shaded, as I always do. But, I don't think I'll bother doing that again. The pre-shading added very little to the result, but post shading made quite a difference. The post Shading was much more controllable. I think, this might be the way forward for me from now on. We'll see.


The engine cowlings are held in place with tape, hence the silly gaps. Actually, they can come off now the camouflage has been applied.


View attachment 123482



View attachment 123483



The light wasn't brilliant taking these pics, but the post shading shows up in places, also. It is actually grey, not that sort of blue grey it seems to be in the picture.


Colin M..

 

[dubster72]

Very nice Colin, nice crisp paintwork

 

[PhilJ]

Looks really nice Colin, watching this one with great interest. Post shading isn't something I've tried yet. I pre shade but probably like yourself, I find when you get a good base down its not really that effective.


What is the process of post shading then? It seems pretty daunting to me.


Phil

 

[colin m]

Very nice Colin, nice crisp paintwork

Thanks Patrick, but, it might be a bit too much crisp for me. I might have to fire the airbrush up again.

Looks really nice Colin, watching this one with great interest. Post shading isn't something I've tried yet. I pre shade but probably like yourself, I find when you get a good base down its not really that effective.
What is the process of post shading then? It seems pretty daunting to me.

So Phil, it might be you and I are sort of thinking the same thing, is pre-shading worth it ? I often end up doing both, but am now thinking, I might ditch the pre-shading.


Post shading just involves using a slightly different shade of paint to that already applied, go for lighter and spray it in the centre of panels, go for darker and spray the panel seams. The really nice thing about post shading is you can see the effect as you go along.

 

[PhilJ]

Thanks Patrick, but, it might be a bit too much crisp for me. I might have to fire the airbrush up again.
So Phil, it might be you and I are sort of thinking the same thing, is pre-shading worth it ? I often end up doing both, but am now thinking, I might ditch the pre-shading.


Post shading just involves using a slightly different shade of paint to that already applied, go for lighter and spray it in the centre of panels, go for darker and spray the panel seams. The really nice thing about post shading is you can see the effect as you go along.

Ok that makes sense, sounds simple. I'll give it a go cheers.


Phil

 

[colin m]

Well then, I wasn't totally impressed by the original paint work, just too uniform for me, it needed a bit of 'life' to it. So, back to the spray booth (cardboard box in the garage) to add a bit of more post shading.


Below are the results, not too easy to see in the pics, but in real life, it has worked quite nicely.


View attachment 124539



View attachment 124540



Hopefully the matt coat will highlight this further.