Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire Mk XVIe

[BarryW]

This weekend I have done the panel line washes








Above you see them immediately after the clean up but having done that with a flat brush dipped in white spirit I did an overall wipe in the direction of the air flow   It is precautionary in case any of my previous efforts left a mark looking wrong  


I did a single matt coat with the W&N varnish   Another coat will be necessary but when this one has cured I will be dining some more weathering with pigments  

 

[tr1ckey66]

Looking excellent Barry.


Not long to the finish now!


Cheers


P

 

[Vaughan]

Looking fantastic great weathering. I notice that there is a seam in front of the of the air-intake running towards the prop. I presume that it's ment to be there as I thought it was a single cowling that covered the bottom of the engine? I found this on the net and there is no seam

 

[BarryW]

Hi Vaughan


thanks for that.  Tamiya actually produce both types of panel, one in the single piece as in the picture and one as per the model.  I checked the instructions and according to them this aircraft has the one with the seam. 





Given that they have been meticulous enough to provide the alternative parts it is reasonable to think they would have got the right one identified in the instructions. If it was Revell or Trumpeter I would not be so sure!  

 

[BarryW]

Further to the above and having thought about it.  The Mk XVI has a Merlin built by Packard to metric standards so I am wondering if they needed a different panel fit because the engine fits  differently.  Its not only the bottom panel, there is an alterative top panel as well and both the ones used were on an extra sprue presumably only provided for the Mk XVI.

 

[papa 695]

I've just caught up on this one Barry and some excellent work going into this.

 

[papa 695]

I understand what you are saying, but having already masked a 1/48 Hurricane (my experiment with it), a 1/32 Mossie and the Spitty - the material is ready to be re-used on a lot more projects. Bear in mind it is also used for localised masking when touching up.   So I think it is better value than the price comparison would suggest. I also like the ease of use.


Anyway - I have been working on the decals.  Still a lot to do, maybe tonight if I am home in time from a meeting.


View attachment 266237

I agree with you Barry I got some Panzer Putty ( which is very similar if not the same thing under another name ) some time ago to test on here and I use it all the time for masking great value for money.

 

[stona]

This is looking really good now. Despite the old cliche, these Tamiya kits don't build themselves and it's been great to see one put together so well. I'm looking forward to the finished model now.


Cheers


Steve

 

[BarryW]

I was hoping to finish last night but ran out of time.  


I did finish off the last of the weathering washes and pigments with the main focus on oil staining  


here is how the underside now looks 





also





I think the weathering materials used should take a bow 





The Ushi metal powder is a revelation.  It is excellent for chipping among many other things.  It seems expensive for a small pot but make no mistake it goes a very long way.  Thoroughly recommended.


I had a problem fitting the rear wheel.  It slides into a slot and into a rubber ring held inside the fuselage. I managed it on a test fit but could not get it right last night. You cannot see the hole it fits in to line it up and, well, just how hard do you push trying to get it in!!!   I ended up chopping off the end and super glueing it into place.  That worked.








Near at the end of the time I had I tried to fit the u/c but could not get it to fit  


There is a pin that slides into a 45 degree hole at the side and you then fit and screw a piece over it to lock it into place setting the right angle





I think I need to sand off the paint and varnish from the pin for it to go in deep enough to create the room for the fixing piece and the covering panel.  I will try that tonight.  It is made so, in theory, you can swap the gears down aspect to gears up for in flight display.  I am not a fan of this aspect of the Tammy superkits as reality is different to theory, these are models not toys for playing with .  Thankfully they dropped the worse of these toy like features with the later kits.  Besides, what a waste to fit the pilot into the seat obscuring the great cockpit detailing.


Anyway I hope I might have a finished model to post tomorrow.   Depends on how much time I get and how it goes  

 

[papa 695]

Looking sweet Barry

 

[Kressy_13]

This has come along great mate. Looks amazing.

 

[BarryW]

Well - its done and I will open a Completed thread but a couple of final pics on this thread.


Bombs fitted.....  pity abouj the rubber tyres, one of the few weak spots.





Canopy fitted





And - here she is...





To summarise - a great model truly deserving its reputation and the best Spitty model you can buy.


OK - its not perfect...


I dont like the toy like aspects that simply complicate the build, I will say more about that on the completion thread.


The rubber tyres are poor - I will get resin for the next two Tamiya Spitty builds with a mk IX and Mk VIII in the stash.


The cockpit door is a weak spot as well - I may get resin replacements but this is not a major issue.


But - it is well engineered, the fit is outstanding and, while complex, it is not a difficult build and where you get a problem the fix is easy.


As for the new materials I used in the build...


The metal powders from Ushi and MIG are a revelation.  I would not do an overall NMF with it but for detailing, weathering and dry brushing simply superb.


The Windsor & Newton varnish - well I have mixed feelings as it sprays well but it takes a long time to dry and even longer to fully cure.   The varnish had not hardened proberly after 24 hours and when working on the model I found it had rubbed away in places and needed some touch up respray.  The varnish worked best unthinned by the way, using a .4 needle I used 25-30 psi.  I expect it will dry the a good hard finish over several days.  I will return to using AKI's varnish with the next build.