The Bobby Oxspring Spitfire Mk1 build....

[scottie3158]

Barry,
All looking very nice mate.

[BarryW]

Barry,
All looking very nice mate.

Thank you.

I popped back to spray the red gun patches. Decals are supplied but never use a decal if you can paint something and these are so easy to paint.

first - masking up using Mk1 eyeball.




when spraying problematical colours always start with a suitably coloured primer. White, yellow and sometimes red can be problematical specially over dark or multicoloured surfaces. So I am using the MRP red oxide primer. I also decided to use a different shade of red to the dull roundel red as these were coloured patches, not sprayed from the same paint tin as the markings. Consequently I decided on signal red.



First a fairly light dusting of the primer then a second light dusting. This just provides base for the main colour.

Then the base colour. All we are really doing is tinting the primer shade to the right colour and not much paint at all is needed.


It is really important to use the lowest possible air pressure in these situations. MRP are ideal for this given that they naturally spray best at a low psi.
if the air pressure is too high the paint will be pushed into the corners of the tape or around the curve of the front of the wing.

Tape removed and perfectly painted gun patches. No touching up at all needed.





I will be painting the no walk lines next but that won’t be until tomorrow.

[langy71]

really love the finish Barry, those colours look spot on... :thumb2:

[Steven000]

Nice progress Barry :thumb2:

[Defiant911]

Looking good Barry. How do you go about your modulating. Do you do a primer coat followed by panel patches in something darker and then onto main colour over top until you have good coverage but can just see the previous colour underneith?

[BarryW]

Looking good Barry. How do you go about your modulating. Do you do a primer coat followed by panel patches in something darker and then onto main colour over top until you have good coverage but can just see the previous colour underneith?

it is simpler than that. The black primer forms my black basing. Over the primer I spray a light overall coat of the base colour and then I concentrate on the inside of panels and areas that catch the light. This lightens these areas and creates a contrast with the rest. You stop at a point before you achieve the effect you want, this is important as it’s easy to overdo it. The you spray an overall mist coat of the base colour, do it slowly allowing a little time between coats for it to dry, stopping when you get to the effect/contrast that you want. Sometime you will need to work some localised areas where it is darker than you want. I always finish by adding Mr Levelling Thinner (MTL) to the empty cup and doing an overall mist coat which reactivates the paint and improves the finish. Do not flood the MLT whatever you do. Sometimes, like this build, I want a more subtle effect, sometimes I want a dirtier finish or, particularly in the case of a desert based aircraft, I want a much more sun bleached effect. This method is controllable enough to get whatever you want. On darker colours, such as the Dark Green of this build, the black basing does not do the job, in this case because it was applied over the Dark Earth. So in this situation you need to post-shade with a lighter shade of the base colour or, perhaps, add a spot of white to the base colour. Apply this to the inside of the panels and areas that catch the light. When I do this i will set out to exaggerate the contest I want to then tone it down with mist coats of the base colour.

This method works well with water based paint, such as Vallejo MA as well as the lacquers I use. I won’t know whether MLT will work with them though. If using water based paints you may need to do thin to varying degrees, for post-shading and mist coats even if using Model Air, non of which is necessary with MRP lacquers, except for the final MLT application that is, which is part of the airbrush cleaning regime anyway.

One important point, it must not look too even and regular. I have seen models done using post and pre-shading as well as black basing that demonstrate superb airbrush skills but the models look wrong simply because they look too neat as a result of those skills...

[BarryW]

No walk line painting. I will cut the ‘No Walk’ writing from the decals to use but these painted lines are so much better than decals. Never use a decal when you can mask and paint....

it is just so easy to do....

First, using the decals as a guide I found some masking tape of exactly the right width. It is for this reason that I have tape of all the different widths I can get.

I applied this tape where the lines go.


I then apply a piece of wider tape butted up against this thin tape.


and remove the thin tape.


And widen the masked area


Here are all the lines masked.


It is again important to spray in very light coats at a very low air pressure. I decided to use the primer black for this.

all done, perfect no walk lines, so much easier than trying to lay down long thin strips of decal and then bed it into the detail.

[Guest]

Never use a decal when you can mask and paint....

I have recently arrived at the same conclusion, Barry. And your no-walk line technique is simple, but brilliant. Thanks for the post.

[Defiant911]

it is simpler than that. The black primer forms my black basing. Over the primer I spray a light overall coat of the base colour and then I concentrate on the inside of panels and areas that catch the light. This lightens these areas and creates a contrast with the rest. You stop at a point before you achieve the effect you want, this is important as it’s easy to overdo it. The you spray an overall mist coat of the base colour, do it slowly allowing a little time between coats for it to dry, stopping when you get to the effect/contrast that you want. Sometime you will need to work some localised areas where it is darker than you want. I always finish by adding Mr Levelling Thinner (MTL) to the empty cup and doing an overall mist coat which reactivates the paint and improves the finish. Do not flood the MLT whatever you do. Sometimes, like this build, I want a more subtle effect, sometimes I want a dirtier finish or, particularly in the case of a desert based aircraft, I want a much more sun bleached effect. This method is controllable enough to get whatever you want. On darker colours, such as the Dark Green of this build, the black basing does not do the job, in this case because it was applied over the Dark Earth. So in this situation you need to post-shade with a lighter shade of the base colour or, perhaps, add a spot of white to the base colour. Apply this to the inside of the panels and areas that catch the light. When I do this i will set out to exaggerate the contest I want to then tone it down with mist coats of the base colour.

This method works well with water based paint, such as Vallejo MA as well as the lacquers I use. I won’t know whether MLT will work with them though. If using water based paints you may need to do thin to varying degrees, for post-shading and mist coats even if using Model Air, non of which is necessary with MRP lacquers, except for the final MLT application that is, which is part of the airbrush cleaning regime anyway.

One important point, it must not look too even and regular. I have seen models done using post and pre-shading as well as black basing that demonstrate superb airbrush skills but the models look wrong simply because they look too neat as a result of those skills...

Thanks for the detailed explanation Barry.

[adt70hk]

Looking very good as always Barry.

ATB

Andrew

[BarryW]

Unfortunately I found that the masks for the markings are not sized properly for this model. There is not much in it but it’s enough to cause positioning problems particularly for the top wing roundels as they are very precise going between the ailerons and red gun patch, with the narrowing wing. These were sized for the old Revell and Hasegawa kits and, though there should not be a difference, there is. I don’t know if this kit is very slightly under scale or if the old Revell and Hasegawa are over scale, as it’s two to one I suspect that it’s this kit being under-scale.

I decided to put this mask set, kept intact, in the spares box as, who knows, they might be of use on a future project.

So, do I get another set of masks or not? With the sizing issue it would have to be a set made for this model but I did not find a set previously hence buying the one I did.

I decided to go with the Revell kit decals as I don’t want to risk wasting more money on masks that don’t fit.

This is a real pain as painted markings are so much better, but at least the Revell decals are not as bad as others and tend to conform reasonably well and are more resistant to tearing than most.

I have taken it slowly. Below I have applied the main starboard decals and have attached a piece of masking tape to help position the serial number. As you can see the red dot in the roundel is separate. I will apply that after the first application (of several) dose of softening solution.


one problem is getting the decals to fully conform and even with solution the may not do so into every bit of detail. Consequently after the first dose of solution I go round with a pointed scriber, running it gently along panel lines and poking in rivet holes. Then the second dose of solution. I am using Daco Strong. Below it’s mostly done, a bit more to do. Hopefully the wash will work as well over the decals as a result. as it does over the paint....



Getting the underside decals in place on a Spitfire is always a challenge due to the bulges it has to fit over. It helps to make small slits in the decals with a craft knife in the right places. Some touching up with paint is usually necessary. One reason it’s easier to use masks, no colour matching issues arise for obvious reason, though, thankfully in this case it looks as if only the white is a problem so it should be easy.

Below is after the second application of softener and after being left overnight. As you can see I still have some ‘bubbles’ around the detail to sort so I need to apply the knife to them and apply another coat of softener.




Here is a quick shot of the top. I still have another coat of decal solution to apply, the third, there is a stubborn ‘bubble’ on one of the decals.

[BarryW]

I should add that I did not go a gloss coat before applying the decals. This is because the MRP is so very smooth, has a gloss/semi-gloss finish and is helped as it is by the light sanding between coats and, above all, the mist spray of MLT that I do. A gloss coat is just not necessary and I can confirm that I have no silvering at all to contend with.

[Vaughan]

All's looking good Barry despite being unable to use the masks. I've always found the Revell decals have been good despite being a little on the thick side looking forward to the finished photos.

[Steven000]

Nice progress Barry,
I too used the Revell decals and was quite happy how they turned out.
Looking forward to the rest of your build :thumb2:

[stillp]

Looking good Barry. Those rivets aren't exactly subtle though are they, considering the scale. Great paintwork as always. In some of your photos the green looks glossier than the brown - is that just the photos, or is the sheen visibly different on the actual model?
Pete