Tim’s Airfix 1/48 Spitfire XII

[Tim Marlow]

Well that took some time……but at least it’s cooler now.
Finally got back on this…..


Underneath is now sprayed up, and even though it’s painted and the centre of the panels lightened a little, I didn’t completely obliterate the preshade. Tamiya and MLT really does airbrush exceptionally well.…….hopefully on to the next layer of masking, so I don’t inadvertently spray this with the upper airframe colours, and spray the topside tomorrow.

 

[yak face]

Beautifully done tim , lovely variation in the tone , cheers tony

 

[Jim R]

Looks good Tim. It's not easy to get nice variation but when it works, like this, it don't half put a smile on your face

 

[Flip]

Tim,
That's smart. When I grow up in modelling, I want to be that good.
Kind Regards,
John

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Tim,
That's smart. When I grow up in modelling, I want to be that good.
Kind Regards,
John

Don't worry John....
You got PLENTY of time mate....
Tim's OLD !!! .

 

[Tim Marlow]

Beautifully done tim , lovely variation in the tone , cheers tony

Thanks Tony. Glad you like it.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looks good Tim. It's not easy to get nice variation but when it works, like this, it don't half put a smile on your face

Certainly does Jim. Apart from primer and varnish on the little blokes I haven’t done much airbrushing recently. This build is certainly refreshing my skills, so I’m pleased how it came out.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Don't worry John....
You got PLENTY of time mate....
Tim's OLD !!! .

Oi! I might be old but I haven’t grown up yet Andy………

 

[Tim Marlow]

Tim,
That's smart. When I grow up in modelling, I want to be that good.
Kind Regards,
John

Thanks John, very kind of you. What clicked for me was starting to use the airbrush as a brush powered by air rather than as a spray gun. Takes a little practice to get the finesse on the trigger finger, but that is all it does take. No special skills needed…

 

[adt70hk]

Apologies Tim, got behind on this. That's coming on very nicely indeed.

Preshade has turned out nicely. I know they're not normally your thing but if you do another plane in the future you should give black-basing a go. I think it works a treat!!

Keep up the great work.

Andrew

 

[Ian M]

That is looking very nice. Love the preshade on the undersides.

 

[tr1ckey66]

Looking good Tim.
I like the Spitfire XII - it looks mean. I have a conversion kit in 1/32 (no commercially available kit in this scale). Seeing yours coming together so well makes me want to start mine!
Looking forward to see the finished model
Cheers
Paul

 

[Tim Marlow]

Apologies Tim, got behind on this. That's coming on very nicely indeed.

Preshade has turned out nicely. I know they're not normally your thing but if you do another plane in the future you should give black-basing a go. I think it works a treat!!

Keep up the great work.

Andrew

Thanks for the support Andrew. Glad you like it.
The results you have achieved using black basing are excellent, and show its potential, However, I don’t think black basing is something I could use. To me it is the same as painting figures from a black primer, and would have the same drawbacks. Basically, the few times I’ve tried it I’ve found it very hard to “read“ the model under an over all black coat of paint. I just can’t see the detail. I would far rather use Zenitel priming, which pre shading mimics, to highlight structure and build up colour variation over that. It just works better for me

 

[Tim Marlow]

That is looking very nice. Love the preshade on the undersides.

Cheers Ian.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looking good Tim.
I like the Spitfire XII - it looks mean. I have a conversion kit in 1/32 (no commercially available kit in this scale). Seeing yours coming together so well makes me want to start mine!
Looking forward to see the finished model
Cheers
Paul

Thanks for the compliment Paul. I wasn’t so sure when I started it, but am growing to like it now. The “power bulges” on the cowling hark back to the Schneider racers I think, and I’ve always liked the clipped wings. It is quite an aggressive looking bird over all. I’ll look forward to seeing you start yours

 

[adt70hk]

Thanks for the support Andrew. Glad you like it.
The results you have achieved using black basing are excellent, and show its potential, However, I don’t think black basing is something I could use. To me it is the same as painting figures from a black primer, and would have the same drawbacks. Basically, the few times I’ve tried it I’ve found it very hard to “read“ the model under an over all black coat of paint. I just can’t see the detail. I would far rather use Zenitel priming, which pre shading mimics, to highlight structure and build up colour variation over that. It just works better for me

Completely understand. I'll probably give pre-shading another go on a wingy thing at some point. I've certainly got enough planes to practice on now!!!! ...... And it would be good to have another string in the how!

Keep up the good work.

Andrew

 

[Tim Marlow]

Still progressing slowly……Ocean grey now on…..


Next up, blue tac worms and yet more masking for the green Camo…..then pull off the masking, tidy up any bleed through, and mask up for the invasion stripes and yellow leading edges…I’d forgotten how much masking an aircraft build needs. I’m getting a little quicker at it now though.

 

[Jim R]

Definitely a lot of masking but has to be done. Preshade is still there

 

[Tim Marlow]

Definitely a lot of masking but has to be done. Preshade is still there

Cheers Jim. Yep, it has to be done alright.
Maintaining the pre shade is why I do the Camo this way. I could have just painted the whole in ocean grey, then marked and sprayed the green, but the green on top of the grey would obliterate the pre shade. What I do is pencil on the Camo outlines, and then paint the first colour just over the lines. This will allow me to mark the second colour areas more accurately with blue tack before I paint that. Hopefully this will preserve the pre shade when I do. Carefully spraying the centre of the panels with a lighter shade also helps modulation.

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Cheers Jim. Yep, it has to be done alright.
Maintaining the pre shade is why I do the Camo this way. I could have just painted the whole in ocean grey, then marked and sprayed the green, but the green on top of the grey would obliterate the pre shade. What I do is pencil on the Camo outlines, and then paint the first colour just over the lines. This will allow me to mark the second colour areas more accurately with blue tack before I paint that. Hopefully this will preserve the pre shade when I do. Carefully spraying the centre of the panels with a lighter shade also helps modulation.

Lovely stuff indeed mate...
Blimmin love it
P.S.... at first glance I really thought that looked very much like the early WW2 British Caunter scheme camo