spanner's 1/72 Airfix Starter Kit Spitfire.....'Reach for the Sky' (1956)

[spanner570]

First upper camouflage colour. I prefer the green to the brown as is shows up the pencil lines a tad better when I mark out the actual in's and out's of the camo. itself.

Here's the green (Pot 30). I've also sharpened up the colour demarcation lines and painted bits and bobs as I've gone along.....

I've brushed on a single coat, which luckily, again will be sufficient.


This is the true colour.




The sunshine hit this and made it a bit brash.....


Next, I'll mark out the camo. pattern.

Cheers,
Ron

[langy71]

OOOO some more chopperooney fun, I'm in ..

[papa 695]

Cracking work so far Ron.

[adt70hk]

Looking good!

[JR]

Very nice for an old wood butcher 570

453

[yak face]

Lovely job matey , I love these new tool Airfix kits , as you say they go together lovely , in fact ive got two of these spits , which i got for 50 p each at the car boot last year . The bloke was selling the bigger pots of Humbrol acrylic too 3 for a quid so I got me some of them too , the no. 90 ( sky ) is a really nice paint as you show here , very smooth and good coverage.

[Mickc1440]

Nice work Ron, I built this a little while ago, it was another Aldi Christmas buy, it's a great little kit. I'm just finishing another Aldi buy for it to chase :smiling:

[spanner570]

Thanks for all your positive comments boys. Nice to have you along....

I'm glad to read it's not just me who rather likes these excellent kits. I've build the full set of 'Starter Kits' (Sometimes twice) on here including the Airborne Jeep and HMS Victory. I still fondly remember Ian's (papa) Victory G.B.
A big heap of no pressure, no pages of 'Bumph', fun build.

Back to this build....

Using the same method I used to paint my Lancaster Mk.III, I've marked out the pattern in pencil for the brown paint to follow. Not exact, but close enough for me.

Note the letter 'B' This helps me to not stray into the green areas. Obviously 570! :upside:




Cheers.
Ron

[Jim R]

Coming on nicely Ron. Now remember B stands for brown not blue 'cause if you get it wrong you'll muck it up :rolling:

[spanner570]

Thanks Jim. I thought it mean't B***sed up!

Using pot no.29 (Dark Brown) I've brushed on two coats of paint.

The first to make sure I've painted the right bits! :upside: and to obliterate the pencil lines.
The second and final coat to give the colour more depth.

First brushing. Don't worry about streaks and blotches on the first coat, just aim for a smooth surface. Such is the brush 'ands lot!....Come to think of it I'm not too bothered about them on subsequent ones either


More loose dust specks.....



Final coat.




Time to tackle the cutting up of the one piece cockpit moulding.

Cheers.
Ron

[Jim R]

Looks good Ron. Your hairy stick technique works well.

[adt70hk]

Coming on nicely Ron!

[JR]

I wouldn't bother about any brush marks 570 , they don't stand out. Any way from the photos of WW2 planes I've seen after they had been in the air they were pretty dirty.

453, with sopping wet hair from being out side draining the pond as it overflows with this rain !:disappointed:

[Graeme C.]

I really like the idea of this build Ron, the paint looks good, using those little pots & a brush has worked well.
Where are you going to cut the fuselage? I've read a book about Douglas Bader, that said the tail broke off just behind the radio mast, but I've not seen the film & that could be different.

[spanner570]

Thanks chaps. I'm more than happy with the result so far and I'm chuffed you folks approve too! :thumb2:

453, quite right. I don't worry about light brush marks as they can be part of the weathering process, but at the same time I do like to try and avoid them.

On our pond I've rigged up an overflow system out of plastic overflow pipe. I siliconed it to the stonework at a suitable height and hid it in the ground. The excess water now runs out into the lane.
Could you not make a basic soak-away?


Graeme. Thanks for the question. I've read the book and seen the film. Both very good. I've reasoned that if the collision did actually happen and was not a result of friendly fire, then the impact speed could have been in excess of 400mph. So I reckon the damage would be severe and not as suggested in the film and book just "Sliced off"
Also, on the model, the two oxygen cylinders are in the same area as the antenna, so if the impact was there, I would suspect the cylinders would have exploded.

However, if the collision was a figment of Bader's imagination put about by him to protect his ego, and he was indeed shot down by friendly fire, then the damage would probably have been far less. (Perhaps, maybe).

Either way, I'll try and model the impact somewhere just aft of the antenna, mid way towards the tail section and just hope no one suggests it was further this way or that along the fuselage.......

Cheers
Ron