xmh53wrench Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Ok, so I got this really old (can tell by the nearly deteriorated instructions c.1967, and equally musty smelling kit) off of E-vil Bay, wasnt even in the correct box. I thought I would use this for another project, but too much modifying was involved. So I decided I would build it as run of the mill Spitfire. Well last night my weirdness and complete inability to just build it out of the friggin box took over.....as I was looking at the kit, I first wondered if us Americans flew Spits, turns out we did, although probably not the MK1 version. Also wondered "WHAT IF" we had some real cracker jack pilots, that specialized in night flying, very early on in our involvement in the war in Europe. "WHAT IF" they had gotten their hands on some hand me down MK1s and maybe hot rodded them up a bit, and...... Painted them entirely flat black, then added some typical Spitfire camo but did it in Olive Drab, that had been darkened up a bit with some black. I havent worked out all of the details yet, going to do some research on some available mods say in Summer of '42, maybe 4 bladed prop, maybe extra wing guns, and maybe the addition of drop tank(s) and or some underwing ordinance....I will see what comes of the research. What I had in mind was low level night missions to strafe and or bomb either airfields or anti-aircraft gun posts. My "Ghost Squadron" would soup up the planes, paint them as mentioned above, and carry a ghost silhouette on the tail and somewhat subdued insignia. Markings, stripes, and squadron identifiers are up in the air thus far, as I dont want to put some on that belonged to actual squadrons. Anyway, on with the build..... My first order of business was a few thumbnail sketches, and some nose art that will tie in with the concept as well. Here I go.... And a bit of a start last night.... Research thus far dictates that my drawn insignias are not correct for my time frame, so I will modify the ones I have to be just a round black circle with off white star, to go with the subdued look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeroenpeters Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Nope! love the idea of a what if. But... if you need any reference, drop me a PM. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Wolf Grant Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Nope ... I think it's pretty cool too. I hope you enjoy yourself, it's an original concept and great fun as well. I'm really looking forward to seeing this one play out. Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmh53wrench Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Thanks guys for the words of encouragement!!!! Wasnt real sure how this would be taken....all of my recent model building, and digging out my old model stuff has made me realize I probably have NEVER built a model straight out of the box...so hopefully as folks here get to know my builds they will understand, and not be surprised by my tendency to add my spin (aka weirdness). Got some done last night, as I said this wouldve been a hand-me-down, so I really beat up the paint in the cockpit. Got the fus halves assembled, only to realize I forgot the pilot....so hope I can shoehorn him in now. Also did a final sketch of the nose art, so I can scan it into my sign program to make the decal....I really like the way he came out, I think I will send a copy to my son-in-law who is just about ready to start his Air Force Pilot training in the hopes of being assigned to an F-22...maybe he will want him on his plane (but on a missile instead).... Thanks again, hope to get more done tonight... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Wolf Grant Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Like it ... you're really cracking on with it. Are you hand-brushing everything? Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmh53wrench Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 All the stuff painted so far has been brushed. The exterior flat black will be done out of a Model Master spray can, I am going to mix up some MM Olive Drab and flat black and try my hand at airbrushing the camo scheme (been a long time since I used an air brush). Then the plan is to dig through my decals for what ever will work, and print the rest on a Testors decal kit white sheet. Then I will probably overcoat the entire thing with dullcoat. I cant recall if I have ever even done this type (no-gloss) paint and decal work before...if I have it was 1985... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmh53wrench Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Well it took some doing, but got the pilot in place, and attached all the flight surfaces. Huge twist in the left wing, so Im hoping all my weighting will remove it as the glue dries....thats all for tonight....YAY, the weekend is almost here!!! I am really enjoying this old kit, and really really looking forward to the paint work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmh53wrench Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 Well, its black... :D ...and I like it!!! Can you imagine a 109 pilot out on dawn patrol, suddenly he takes gunfire to the left wing, he looks over his left shoulder.... and THIS IS BANKING AWAY!!!! A few more pics before the OD green goes on, Thanks Maru for the compliment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmh53wrench Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 I soooooo lack patience.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tnarg Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Nice!!! It's great to see historical fiction sometimes since we can become so obsessed with recreating each rivet and data plate. This really opens up the creativity channel. I can't wait to see your "nose art" come to reality. Tnarg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmh53wrench Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 Maru..."Tenacity"...I like that, I will have to explain that to my wife...LOL Tnarg, Thanks, I appreciate your thought. And your wish is my command... Dry run on paper, but this is what it should look like, as well as putting a stripe behind the fus insignia, so I can do the red stripe on the tail... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 awesome graphics!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmh53wrench Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 Thanks Shawn, I wish the background color wouldve been a bit closer to the paint...its a real guessing game. Well its getting there. Few things I need to improve on (as far as my skills {seams, weathering, paint distressing}) wouldve taken this build to the next level. And a few of the decals didnt come out as well as I had hoped. But I really have enjoyed this. I still need to finish a bit of the normal assembly, and i dug through my stash and came up with a decent looking fuel tank, and a couple of little bombs, so I will be working on those and getting them placed under the wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 But I really have enjoyed this. That right there is the key, no matter how it turns out. And I think it's looking great! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmh53wrench Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 All done... I took a bit more creative license with the armament, as well as with the belly tank and figured maybe some sort of early aircraft/target intercept radar pod just to the left of the belly tank. Thanks for all the encouraging words folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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