Softscience's Spitfire IX, eh?

[AndrewR]

....contemplating on how to make little orange cones. Hmmm.....



No Andrew, I'm using decals from a Baracudacal sheet.

Oops I forgot to read your first posting, eh?

[Softscience]

I'm trying really hard to like this kit.

Last night I spent some time getting rid of some gaps in the lower wing that I didn't catch before. Afterwards I applied some silver paint to check the smoothness of my finish, and it threw the big Airfix trenches into stark relief. I'm really wishing the Hasegawa Mk IX was still available...

[Dirkpitt289]

Having some problems keeping motivated on this one, Ralph? I'm sure you already know this but the best thing for me when that happens is to just put it to the side of your bench or somewhere else you can see it. Then when the feelings come back continue where you left off. Don't let the time limit of a group build force you to make mistakes. Remember this is suppose to be fun and if you force yourself to build something you're not in to then IT JUST ISN'T FUN ANYMORE.

[Softscience]

very good advice. I put the model away. I don't anticipate finishing it for the GB, so feel free to lock the thread if necessary

[Softscience]

Its not even the panel lines Bruce. Yeah, they suck, but whatever. What really irked me is the landing gear. After fussing with boxing in the wheel wells I gave up and thought I would fit the gear up option. But the designers even got this wrong! The raised gear comes nowhere close to fitting! Airfix did it right on the classic Spitfire I, how did they get it wrong now?!

No matter, its something I can fix, but I just don't feel like dealing with it now.

[AndrewR]

Its not even the panel lines Bruce. Yeah, they suck, but whatever. What really irked me is the landing gear. After fussing with boxing in the wheel wells I gave up and thought I would fit the gear up option. But the designers even got this wrong! The raised gear comes nowhere close to fitting! Airfix did it right on the classic Spitfire I, how did they get it wrong now?!

No matter, its something I can fix, but I just don't feel like dealing with it now.

Don't worry about finishing it. If it's a chore instead of fun, then put the kit aside.

This was one of the earlier releases by the new Airfix, with a new R&D team and new toolmakers, so it doesn't compare that well to their previous efforts. I think they have the shape, but the lack of cockpit and wheel wells should have been addressed.

Cheers

Andrew

[Softscience]

Actually all this talking has convinced me to suck it up and just build the kit.

This morning I loaded up the airbrush with medium sea gray and sprayed both my spitfires.



I still think the wheels on the Mk IX look too wee

[Martin R]

I still think the wheels on the Mk IX look too wee

I think you're right!

I'm sorry you're finding the build a bit of a chore, though. Re the kit, I'm not going to comment on the various issues you bring up beyond saying I wouldn't disagree with any of them. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed building mine and am happy with the result. I'm guessing I'm a bit less discerning than you, though!

I'm hoping to have a go at cross-kitting this kit and the Airfix MkXIX to make a Mk XIV and PR X. The beauty of it is, if I make a hash of it, I won't have wasted too much cash!

regards,

Martin

[Softscience]

I'm down, but not out.

While the big spitfire lies back in its box, waiting for me to work up the drive to repair it, I went back and worked more on the little guy (thanks also to Martin's words above - which I found inspiring). I did it the old fashioned way, and painted it with a brush (ok, the yellow leading edge stripes were airbrushed, as was the medium sea gray).

I hope to get the decals on later this evening.

[Softscience]

....and with decals. And I sprayed on a flat coat, with just a dash of Radome tan mixed into it. Its amazing how much difference that makes

[AndrewR]

That's a neat trick with the subtle tan shading Ralph, it certainly blends the colours together nicely.

Cheers

Andrew

[Softscience]

And here is where I eat my own words. It would appear to me that with some paint and weathering, this kit looks pretty darn good. Unless you inspect it with a magnifier and ruler.... but I'm not one of those guys.




The bottom weathering is just about done. I applied a mist coat of the light tan, just like up top, and followed it up with a "wash" of highly diluted black, green and brown acrylic paints in the areas where spits tended to get dirtiest (the belly and behind the wheels). Before this had a chance to fully dry, I took a dampened wide flat brush, and streaked it from front to back across the dirty areas, to seperate the "mono-stain" ( ? ) into smaller more distinct stains. Its very faint, but in 1/72 its more than enough.

The only things left to do are as follows

1) add exhaust and cordite stains
2) paint and assemble the prop and spinner
3 ) scratchbuild and add a rearview mirror.
4) figure out how to display the model.


As for step 2, how wide are the yellow prop tips in 1/72 supposed to be?

and as for 3, any suggestions/ideas?


**Edited for spelling - hey I'm ESL, leave me alone

[Martin R]

....and with decals. And I sprayed on a flat coat, with just a dash of Radome tan mixed into it. Its amazing how much difference that makes

Wow, Ralph, that looks great!

I don't know how it looks in real life, but in the photo with the weathering and the flat coat, The panel lines appear to be visually de-emphasised. Everyone gets excited about the "massive" panel lines on this kit, but if you don't put in a heavy black wash, they just add some visual interest to the surface - in my opinion anyway. Accuracy - nil points; trompe l'oeil - hell, yeah!

regards,

Martin

[AndrewR]

Wow, Ralph, that looks great!

I don't know how it looks in real life, but in the photo with the weathering and the flat coat, The panel lines appear to be visually de-emphasised. Everyone gets excited about the "massive" panel lines on this kit, but if you don't put in a heavy black wash, they just add some visual interest to the surface - in my opinion anyway. Accuracy - nil points; trompe l'oeil - hell, yeah!

regards,

Martin

I had to look up "Trumpy Oil"

And you are right Martin, it looks great and the panel lines give some visual interests. Actually, if you think about it, either raised or engraved panel lines are usually a trompe l'oell.

Cheers

Andrew

[Martin R]

Actually, if you think about it, either raised or engraved panel lines are usually a trompe l'oell.

Cheers

Andrew

Andrew,

Quite! See how 'toy like' your model looks like with no surface detail at all. It may be more accurate - but somehow it doesn't 'look' right. I think some of Allan Buttrick's stuff, where he sands off raised panel lines and then uses pencil lines to 'reinstate' them, is absolutely fantastic.

regards,