Spitfire Mk1 – part 11

The work with the camo contiues. First of all, don’t leave the black goo too long! 🙂

Then this happens! No bigger problem to fix though.

After some back and forth with the camo colours and masking, it looks like this.

I had a bit of overspray on the underside.

Easily sorted though.

Now it’s ready for clear cote and later decals.

Spitfire Mk1a – part 10

The underside was masked and then the topside was given a preshade in black.

Then dark earth was painted over that.

Then I used some black symbiote goo was used to cover parts that shouldn’t be painted.

After that I painted dark green.

Turns out that I got some of the fields all wrong. Something I have sort before proceeding.
Other than that I’m quite happy with the colours.

Spitfire Mk1a – part 8

The tires was painted with a mix of tire black and black. The exhaust stacks was given a dry brush with gun metal and a slight layer of rust. Also in the pic is the canopy parts with mirror and handle in place, as it should.

Then the plane got some primer.

As the primer says it needs a 0.4 needle I used my Evo. Super speed painting that sadly sputtered a bit. I shifted to my cheap 0.3 airbrush and diluted the primer a bit before painting the topside. I think that went a lot better even if it took a minute to cover instead of 10 seconds with the Evo.
Now I’ll let it dry for 24 hours before I can sand it and take care of a few problem areas that I spotted.

Spitfire Mk1a – part 7

I assembled the exhaust stacks and drilled the holes a bit.

Landing gear parts and propeller was painted.

I used the closed canopy and closed door to close up the cockpit.

Lastly the exhaust pipes, tail gear and door was painted.

The tires will be painted with a mix of black and tire black, and the exhausts will be dry brushed with gun metal and maybe also some rust will be added.

Not much left to build, but still quite a bit more to do. Masking the open canopy parts, painting the plane with primer to check for flaws, and hopefully I actually have the colours needed.

Spitfire Mk1a – part 6

The side panels was glued in place. It’s a very tight fit.

The wing filets was glued in place.

The cockpit was glued to the fuselage and then the fuselage was glued together. The stabilizer was glued in place and the sight was assembled and painted. The front cover with the sight was then glued to the fuselage as well as engine covers on both sides.

The wings was glued in place, and I must say that the fit is very tight. Checking that all sprue nubs are sanded flush and removing paint from areas where glue is supposed to go is a good idea.

Lastly I’ve glued the propeller and spinner.

Next will be sorting the landing gear and exhaust pipes and a few more parts that needs to be done. I also need to check a few spots that might need a bit of sprue glue and sanding to look good.

Spitfire Mk1a – part 5

Some aluminium got painted.

I later added the glass to the spine and painted the bulb, but forgot to take a pic.

The instrument got a bit of kristal klear, but it hardly shows.

Then I started to assemble the cockpit.

I started with the rigging. Using wire from a broken cable.

Adding bulkheads as I worked my way backwards. So far it looked alright.

While drying, I glued the upper wing halves.

I sorted the radiator and glued it in place.

The rigging was quite messy, as it was hard to keep the wires straight.
I gave a few spots a little black wash, and if I’m not re-doing the rigging or something, I’ll start to put things together.

Not sure what else to use, unless I get some stretchable tread, but I guess it have something I’ll try on the next kit with internal rigging.

Spitfire Mk1a – part 4

The instrument panel got decals (most of them anyway).

Then the side panels.

It’s very nice decals with hardly no surrounding film at all. The problem is that some are very small, and some of them failed. The main most visible decals are there anyway.

Now I need to let them dry properly and the lay a protective cote of varnish over them. I’ll probably use kristal klear on the instruments to make it look like glass.

Spitfire Mk.1a – Part 3

Detail painting seems to take “forever”, but I’m getting there.
Even though the instructions are very nice, I had to check reference pics on the internet.
I’ve also started working with the wings, and painting the visible areas.

I need to find the proper colour for the tubes and a few other details, and I also need to add quite a bit of decals to both the instrument panel and side panel details.