Spitfire Innards...1/48 ICM kit.

Dave Ward said:

Richard,
top view of a Merlin III......................................
View attachment 421895
The Merlin has two spark plugs per cylinder - one on the inlet side, the other the exhaust...................
Dave

Click to expand...

I just realised why there is s spine. These were on early Mks of the Spitfire. Later RR engines had a box like thingy in the way after the cam shafts so the spine was removed I think. The later engines were even busier at the top and plumbing different. Many versions which I just found for all types of aircraft from the Lancaster to the Mosquito.

Cheers,
Richard

Hi Richard
Engine and cockpit detailing adds so much to the look of the model. I think people will notice the wires and cables and fasteners in the engine bay but very few observers indeed would have any idea of it's accuracy. Probably the same would apply to the seat belts. I would look at it all and think "Superb detailing, the modeller really knows his stuff"
Jim

Thanks Jim, I studied commercial art and am used to delivering a simplified image that at one look is understood by all with as little interpretation as possible within the budget...basically taking the lazy way as opposed to fine art where meticulous hours are spent to define your style and finish and still have differing answers everytime by new 'experts' as to why the artist did it that way.
Thank goodness Shep came up with the term Gizmology for this sort of building innards...I would have called it bluffalogy or wingitlogy.

Cheers,
Richard

Here comes the basic prep before painting the colors in. Gunze Primer 1200 sprayed throughout the kit to even the base color and hide any blemishes besides having a surface for the paint to grab on.



Pre-shading with diluted Nato Black carefully applied...



Lighter colors like white for the invasion stripes are applied first...also it makes for easier masking and the pre-shade can be seen nicely.



Removed the masking to check if anything creeped in...also checked on the fitting of the rear canopy section. Notice the pre-shading to create darker shadows on the side of the fuselage. I have also started masking the invasion stripes.



Cheers,
Richard

Looking great with all the extra work and details you've put into it.

Richard,

An excellent build as one would expect from you.

Top work Richard.
Jim

Thanks John, Jim and Scottie,

The kit itself provided the impetus to do it justice so I poured as much I could into it.

After I sprayed the black for the invasion stripes, I started with the dark green...



Careful masking to make sure no paint creeps into the cockpit. The side door was temporarily attached with white glue.



The canopy cover was not easy to mask due to its curved nature.



I got carried away with the spraying that I forgot to take snapshots of the masking for the grey. The sequence now starts with all masking off except the canopy and cockpit area as a coat of varnish was to be applied.



Some paint actually managed to creep into the corner of the engine bay which is easily dealt with paint and brush. The step at the wingroot is seen clearly here and only annoyed me much later to eventually correct it.



The pre-shading is there in very subtle tones...



After the varnish a spot of white was sprayed onto the area where the roundle decal will be applied just in case the black will show through the thin decal.



Thanks again for sticking in so far. Not much to go now...decals next.

Cheers,
Richard

Lovely work richard , the enhanced merlin looks excellent , cheers tony

Hi Richard
Great paint job. Good airbrush control to have kept the preshade.
Jim

Apologies for the late reply and update. Thank you Tony and Jim for your kind comments.
Now on to the decaling...

The red dots unfortunately were off center so I cut along the white areas with a brand new blade.



Good thing I had pre-sprayed white on the spot where the whites of the roundels would sit and just centered the red dot. There's a reason decal companies provide the red dots separately to avoid such mis-alignment.



The rest of the decals went on just fine. Any bubbles was removed with a tip of a blade and decal solution. I always try to fit the front canopy before painting to get a nice fit and to fix any gaps with white glue or putty if needed.



I missed out scraping the mold line on the undercarriage legs but looking at some images show a thin wire running the length on the same spot as the mold line so I left it.



She's so clean without the panel wash and exhaust stains. The exhaust haven't been painted as well. The red crowbar on the door too hasn't been painted. I've just painted the tip of the gun barrels.



Cheers,
Richard

Beautifully clean richard , only problem with this build , and its a big one , is that its so nice its really making me want to get one , and im trying hard not to increase the stash !! Ive got my eye on the raaf mk viii and the beer truck mk ix My will is crumbling

Richard,
All looking very nice mate.

My apologies Tony for making your life so hard...it wasn't intentional as the kit isn't half bad. Most kits have a problem with the fit at the T between the chin to the lower and upper wing and body. But this wasn't the case here. You might find the plastic a little soft which suits better for 1/72 scale.
Thanks Scottie...yup and all ended well and got a first prize that came with a 1/32 Skyraider gift.

Cheers,
Richard

The extra detailing really pays off, looks fantastic.

Thank you Mark, I had just switched off and headed to bed when you posted. The 7hr time difference does make instant replying a hit and miss thingy.

The following are images after a light pin wash of the panel lines, red tape over the gun openings in the wing leading edges and the exhaust stains. At this stage I hadn't tackled the noticeable step at the wing root which was starting to annoy me.



Next shots I hope to show the repaired wing root.

Cheers,
Richard

Hi Richard
Looking very nice indeed. Shame you had to sort out those off centre red circles. Come on ICM
Jim

Richard

Just had a catch-up after getting behind. That really has turned out very nice indeed. A top top finish said love the extra work you put into it.

Very well done.

Andrew

Thanks Jim and Andrew,
Yes ICM must have dozed off when the decals were made. Not easy silk screen printing and I think that's the reason some decal manufacturers do the red dot separately.
The engine was just crying out to be detailed.

Haven't yet taken pictures of the new wingroot correction

Cheers,
Richard