Camerons Spitfire

[Anthony in NZ]

Well, my son Cameron and I have been working on this together for a couple of years. He ground to a halt in the cockpit so I helped him finish it, then the engine compartment got too much for him and I had to step in again, LOL, not really a kit for a 14yr old!

 

We have made dozens of models together over the years but this is his special one and has tried to do as much as he can himself. I try not to get too bossy and make him do things my way, but we are having a lot of fun together with this (one of the reasons you don't seem my own projects move very quickly, cos I am doing this with him and trying to teach him stuff along the way.

 

Here is where we are at for now. He pre shaded it so much that we decided to then go the black basing method and something we could both experiment on. He sprayed the Azure and Stone and all I had to do was tidy it up a little. We lost all the black basing effect as he put too heavy a coat on the blue, never mind we will have a go at post shading it later on. Then he rolled up the Blu-Tack sausages and positioned them. One thing he learned was not to put them all on in one go because when we were trying to spray the Dk Earth most of them fell off!

 

Anyway enough waffle, this is where she is at...

 

 

You can see here we messed up the cammo pattern on the outer port wing, but there will be a roundel there so you wont see that

 

 

He really wants to weather it. He wants to put big exhaust stains on etc.... so we shall see how that goes.

 

Great fun though and I am getting a chance to practice some techniques with him

 

Thanks for looking in, and Cameron I am sure will be interested in your feedback as well.

 

Cheers

Anthony

[LSP_Kevin]

That's awesome!

 

Kev

[Anthony in NZ]

Thanks Kev! He has often sat on here logged on as me reading the tips and techniques section....

 

You should see all the old kits and parts he has been practicing his spraying on etc

Edited March 12, 2017 by Anthony in NZ

[BloorwestSiR]

The Spitfire looks great there Anthony and Cameron! It's definitely not the easiest of kits at times, mostly the gun barrel inserts on the wing leading edges. I can't wait to see the engine under all that masking tape.

 

It's a great feeling being able to share our hobbies with our kids. On a completely different skill level but I just built a couple Bandai Pikachu with my two sons. They're 6 and almost 4 but they were really into it. We'll see how soon they're ready for more challenging kits

 

Carl

[Joel_W]

Anthony & Cameron,

  Looks darn good to me.   Looking forward to both of yours update.

 

 I tried for years to get my son into modeling, but he was always into electronic gaming. Of course he would beat me at every game, every time.  I'd read and study the manual, then practice. He never looked at the manual, and his fingers always flew over the game controller like it was an extension of his hands. I of course was all thumbs with it.

 

Joel

[Jim Barry]

For a 14 year old that's very impressive. The camo boundary looks fantastic. When I was 14, compelled to build everything Airfix ever made in 1/72,  I spent just a few days with any given kit.  A teenager with that much patience for one subject, Bravo! 

[Anthony in NZ]

Thanks guys!

 

Cameron is enjoying your feedback. Although this build has not been without its bickering LOL!

 

We have had some laughs and some tears along the way, but mostly laughs. We messed up the Tamiya decals (tears) and ended up having to find some aftermarket ones on ebay. We brought some Techmod ones(smiles again), which seem to work really well after he stripped the Tamiya ones off with tape, I patched up the cammo and he re-glossed it. We are finishing up the Techmod decals here, with just stenciling to go now.

 

 

 

Here he has been weathering the underside, but he is not sure if he is going overboard? I have advised he stop so he can finish off the decals and put another glosscoat on before he continues. He disagrees as he feels the washes wont go in the panel lines over the decals with another clear on....

 

 

Top view

 

All photos taken by Cameron for you all.

 

I can see weathering is going to cause arguments, we are going to have to find a happy balance between us here! I have to say I am pleased how the cammo demarcation I did turned out with the blu-tack sausages he rolled.

 

Thanks for looking in on our project

 

Cheers

Anthony & Cameron

[BloorwestSiR]

Cameron, that looks great. I think you have a better handle on decals than I do. They tend to give me a fair bit of grief.

 

Anthony as I said before, any chance we get to share our hobbies and passions with our kids is a big win for everyone. I've just started building a Tamiya 1/10 RC car with my oldest and yes, there will some tears but hopefully lots of joy. Especially when he beats you to drive the finished model.

 

Carl

[MikeMaben]

I'm trying to see something wrong here.

 

Can't do it

[dodgem37]

Good show, Cameron.  Listen to the voice of experience.  You won't regret it.

 

'Although this build has not been without its bickering'

When it's just you and the model it's called swearing.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[DeanKB]

That's an impressive build for anybody, 14 or 40!

 

You're a lucky dad to have a son like that - he's a lucky boy to allow his son to build his Tamiya Spitfire, I'd have fobbed him off with a Revell!!

 

I do like that Camo finish on a Spitfire, one of the more interesting ones and a good choice. Do I see a hint of pre-shading?

 

You son is correct, it needs weathering! All that desert sun & sand would have played havoc with that paint, to say nothing of exhaust stains.

 

My son shows absolutely no interest in the hobby. If it doesn't take batteries or can't be switched on, he's not interested. Or, at the moment (he's 17), wear a skirt.

[dennismcc]

That's looking great, the desert scheme looks great on a Spitfire, I just wish that my son had shown such an interest at Cameron's age. Keep up the good work

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Rainer Hoffmann]

Now that's really impressive. At the age of 14 I just had glue residue and finger prints all over my models.

 

Great show, Cameron!

 

Cheers

Rainer

[Joel_W]

Cameron​,

  Just an outstanding build todate. Your lower fuselage weathering looks excellent, certainly not over done by any means from what we can see in your pictures. But your Dad is right that the decals should go down 1st. if they're thin enough, and lay down into the nooks and crannies, your weathering washes will flow right in. And the overall weathering will kill the stark shinny newness of the decals compared to the weathered paint scheme.

 

Anthony,

  You're one lucky guy to have a son interested in your hobby. Mine is almost 30 and has never shown any interest in anything that didn't have an electronic controller and you played it on a screen.

 

Joel

[Anthony in NZ]

Cameron and I are writing this together as a 'Thank You' for your words of encouragement!

 

Carl, thanks very much....but dont look too close Cameron says!

 

Mike, thank you very much

 

Mark, thanks buddy! It's always good for Cameron to hear someone say he must listen to his Dad more, LOL!

 

Dean, thanks very much! I am bowing to pressure and we are both going to start weathering it tonight probably. It will be a battle because Cameron wants it weathered to within an inch of its life I think and I barely want any, so between us we might be able to find a middle ground to make us both happy Lol.

 

Dennis, yes I am pleased he is enjoying it too, even if it has been fractious at times!

 

Thanks Rainer, that is very kind! There are a couple of fingerprints on there still. Also Cameron says that he loves your Viggen!

 

Joel, thanks buddy! It was your comment that 'sealed' (scuse the pun) the deal and we have just put a glossy coating over everything. Attached is a photo taken today.

 

 

So next up is dirtying her up......lets see how that goes.

 

Thanks again everyone, you dont know how much it means to a young fella to hear your comments!

 

Cheers

Anthony & Cameron