Super detailed Spitfire Build

[JamesWhom]

That's really helpful, thanks man. Planning to start painting this weekend.

 

[gibby mcfender]

Looking great, man! Can't wait to see it after the paint

 

[JamesWhom]

Cheers man, I can't either!

 

[JamesWhom]

Just incase anyone didn't know, I intend to paint the Spitfire in early green and brown camo with a black and white underside, much like the Spitfires just before the war had begun.


This is pretty much exactly the paint job I'm going for - pure spitfire. Maybe some slight variation in the decals, but thats about it.
Tell me what you think!

 

[xuzme720]

The brown and green is what I went for on mine, but did the light blue-grey on the nethers...

 

[Scottie]

Looking good james,you have done a good job on that.I will be waiting to see the finished model

 

[JamesWhom]

Cheers guys -Scottie, thanks, you've done a great job your Spitfire too! I may have to modify mine with flaps some time.

 

[Scottie]

thanks james Im building another 1 just now ,much the same as last one,just with retracts aaaaand a few other mods...

a sneak peek

 

[marc60]

Does anyone know why the pre-war spits had that half white underside? Orientation would not be an issue, pilot being inside

 

[nistrum]

how did you set up the retracts scottie?

 

[Scottie]

hi nistrum,im not going too hijack james thread.
I will be posting an article once I have finished

 

[JamesWhom]

Does anyone know why the pre-war spits had that half white underside? Orientation would not be an issue, pilot being inside

Haha, well, being a history student I actually know the answer to this! The idea behind this strange underside colour scheme was to aid identification of RAF aircraft by anti-aircraft artillery. It was dropped soon after it became apparent the enemy aircraft could see and identify the Spitfires rather easily too, with bad consequences for the RAF. This is why they went for the light blue sky colour instead.

Thanks Scottie, appreciate the no hijacking policy haha That looks super cool though. Gonna so have to build another Spitfire with similar mods to yours when this one is done!

 

[JamesWhom]

So the minwaxing isn't working, as I haven't got the right stuff (I can only find clear yacht varnish) which is prone to coming off. Can anyone recommend any other UK brands of Polyurethane varnish I can use?

If I can't find any, I think I may just (very carefully) paint the aircraft with spray paints directly onto the foam board. All the tests I have carried out have shown that the exposed foam isn't easily damaged if the can is held at a distance, as the propellent doesn't seem to contact it.

What do you guys think?

 

[Scottie]

Hi james
I used ronseal quick drying varnsih,which I believe is WBPU.
tbh mate I absolutely drenched it on then spread it out thin using a sponge brush.As for the paint I used 'valspar' from B&Q,originally it was 'plasticoat'...'valspar' is incredibly expensive,I paid nearly £9 a can so you might want too shop around.However it is really good paint.
I also tested painting without varnishing and yeah you can do it,if your not that fussed about the life time of your bird I would just skip the varnishing and horse on,no doubt youre already planning your next build

 

[xuzme720]

Have to be careful on the dollar tree foamboard and WBPU as the water tends to warp the paper. Most other foamboards don't have this tendency but you pay for that in a higher weight board. If your rattle cans aren't wreaking havoc on your foam, I say go for it!

 

[JamesWhom]

Cheers guys. I have just noticed that the most recent tests for my polyurethane varnish are seeming to work a lot better than before. Previously I think I put too thicker coat on, so today I think I will slap some paint on and see if it works any better to before.

Scottie- Thanks for the advice man. Yeah I actually have some of that plasticoat/'valspar' paint. It is good quality. Although I am planning my next build (you were right haha), I do want it to have a reasonable lifespan, so Im gonna keep testing. I think Im nearing the solution

Xuzme720- Yeah haven't used dollar tree foam board, however Ive used 3mm, so its already quite light. Haha, yeah I may just end up going for it. Im gonna test what ever I do first on this scratch build http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?7924-Warbird-Trainer-(FieldHawk) which I have been building in tandem to the Spitfire.

Ill keep you posted on the updates!

 

[JamesWhom]

Oh and does anyone know where I can get any good RAF decals?

 

[JamesWhom]

So to update people on where Ive been (again), more college work, but Ive been amending the tape and paint issue too.


Ive been gluing paper too the surfaces where tape has been used.

Hopefully this will mean the paint will look even and the same over the whole thing.

I got the Tamiya paints this week too, and the Tamiya spray varnish in gloss.


In other news, I found this earlier today, my first book about aircraft! Purchased for the grand total of 10 pence.

It's got great illustrations, probably one of the reasons I got so into planes at a young age.

It gets pretty technical too surprisingly.

Anyway guys, give me some feedback! Its great hearing from you.

 

[SP0NZ]

Wow, the exhaust and wing/body fillets really add a lot to the scale look. Nice work!

 

[JamesWhom]

Thanks! They do indeed.