Hot Rod Spitfire - FR.XIV (Laminar Flow Design Conversion)

[Martinnfb]

That phantom looks like a million dollars.  Merry Christmas John.

 

Cheers

Martin

[John1]

Prop and spinner are mostly complete.   Using this pic as a weathering reference but most others also show the spinner to be pretty grimy.    

 

A couple of notes - the Griffon was so powerful, RR needed a 5-bladed prop to convert all the power into thrust.     The blades were wood, with a brass leading-edge strip. 

Spinner is only press-fitted in place, so it's sitting a bit loose on the cowling. 

 

 

Still need to add some scratches and a bit more grime but I'm getting there. 

[geedubelyer]

Looking superb John. 

[dennismcc]

Looking good, Griffon Spitfires do look really aggressive to me far more than their Merlin cousins.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Tolga ULGUR]

Looks great John

[jeroen_R90S]

That looks awesome!

[John1]

Weekend update - Did a bit of touchup on the weathering, this time primarily on the scuffs on the wing root.   After that, time for decals.   I used my favorite gloss, Tamiya X-22 (I'll never touch Future again after discovering this stuff).   After giving it a day to dry, onto the main event - applying the decals.   I'm still waiting for Aviaeology's Spitfire stencil set to arrive, so I just went with the national insignia and the ID numbers / codes.   I'm a bit disappointed with Aviaeology.  Their research and instructions are amazing (at the same level as Fundekals, who I consider to be the best in the business).   However, the decals themselves are thick and really don't settle down well.   Closest equivalent I can offer up are the ones that Wingnuts had.   Even though the directions said only use mild setting solutions like Micro Set, that really did nothing.   I used multiple coats of Micro Sol to get the national insignias to settle and even then, they still aren't down on the plastic tightly, like most other aftermarket decals I've used.   I'll go back later and try again but for now, I'm rating the decals at 4 out of 10.    I used their decals a year or so ago on my Mosquito build and don't recall any issues so maybe this is a one-off?  

 

Anyway, I've got everything from the sheet applied.   My biggest trial was going to be figuring out how to apply the roundels over the fuselage side camera fittings.   I finally decided to pop the fairings off (they were only held on with a few dabs of white glue for the painting phase).  I then applied the full roundel onto the fuselage, covering most of the opening I had carved out for the 3D printed camera fairings.   Once dried, I cut out the portion of the decal that overlapped the cut-out area.   Since the decal sheet had a couple of extra roundels, I used scraps of those decals to apply to the fairings.  Again, I had issues getting the decals bits to adhere to the curves of the fairings.  In the end, I was able to cover a good portion of the fairings with scrap decal material.   I'll go back once they are dry and use yellow, dark blue and white paint to touch up the rest of the areas on the fairings.   After that, I need to cut a couple of 8mm circles from acetate packaging for the camera windows, glue them in place and then glue the fairings onto the fuselage.   I was really dreading this step; I expected to have a high probability of failure with the decaling, with the end result being a model that was headed to the shelf of doom.   In retrospect, I was overly pessimistic.    Unless things really go sideways when I try to install the camera windows, I'm going to be in good shape for this next step.  Anyway, enough text, here are a few pictures of my progress.    Don't worry about the visible cuts on the upper wing national insignia, I had to make a couple of slices to allow the decals to settle around the MG access doors and it looks pretty rough.   I'm going to very carefully add a bit of thinned paint into those cuts and they won't be visible afterwards. 

 

Note also, the bright red stripes on the aft edge of the port upper wing.   These were used by the pilots to properly aim the sideways mounted recon camera. 

 

 

Below you can also see the two camera fairings, in the process of being decaled. 

 

Camera fairing in place prior to being decaled, just so you can see what I'm dealing with. 

Once everything's done, I'll tone down the bright insignia and squadron code with a wash.

 

That's it for this weekend, thanks for following along. 

[Uncarina]

On 12/22/2024 at 8:18 PM, John1 said:

My game plan for this coming week is to get the weathering adjusted a bit more (especially around the wing roots), then get her glossed up and start what will be a very challenging phase - the decaling.  I still have no idea how I'm going to get the fuselage roundels over the camera housings.   Suggestions are very welcome!   Engine exhaust will be applied after the decaling process.    Only reason I'm doing the weathering at this stage is that I'm killing time until Aviaeologies' Spitfire stenciling decal set arrives.   I neglected to order it earlier in the build.  

 

 

 

Edit: I apologize John for the late reply here, and the fact that it’s moot! I posted without realizing you already applied the decals (which really do look great by the way). Please consider what I wrote below for your next build:

 

Advantages of using masks for the markings instead of decals:
 

-instead of being at the mercy of decal colors you can custom mix to create a faded effect

-you won’t obscure the lovely rivet detail

-you won’t have to risk silvering, wrinkling, bubbles, etc.

-instead of getting only one shot at it you can correct and reapply as many times as you need.

 

Especially over multi-curved surfaces, where you would need to paint any gaps in the decals anyway (and get a perfect paint match besides).

 

Cheers,  Tom

Edited December 30, 2024 by Uncarina

[John1]

7 hours ago, Uncarina said:

 

Edit: I apologize John for the late reply here, and the fact that it’s moot! I posted without realizing you already applied the decals (which really do look great by the way). Please consider what I wrote below for your next build:

 

Advantages of using masks for the markings instead of decals:
 

-instead of being at the mercy of decal colors you can custom mix to create a faded effect

-you won’t obscure the lovely rivet detail

-you won’t have to risk silvering, wrinkling, bubbles, etc.

-instead of getting only one shot at it you can correct and reapply as many times as you need.

 

Especially over multi-curved surfaces, where you would need to paint any gaps in the decals anyway (and get a perfect paint match besides).

 

Cheers,  Tom

I thought long and hard about going with masks.   In the end, I felt that when it came to painting over the camera fairing, they would distort just as much as decals and I'd have the same problem.  I also felt that painting with masks was outside of my wheelhouse, skill-wise.   In retrospect, I wish I had at least taken a shot at the upper wing roundels.  I'm really not happy those decals.   I suppose on my next build I'll give this a shot.    Any chance you (or any other LSP'ers) have come across any video tutorials on how to use these masks?    Also, always open to suggestions on paint that's a good match for RAF blue / dull red.

 

Regards,

 

John

[Uncarina]

15 hours ago, John1 said:

I thought long and hard about going with masks.   In the end, I felt that when it came to painting over the camera fairing, they would distort just as much as decals and I'd have the same problem.  I also felt that painting with masks was outside of my wheelhouse, skill-wise.   In retrospect, I wish I had at least taken a shot at the upper wing roundels.  I'm really not happy those decals.   I suppose on my next build I'll give this a shot.    Any chance you (or any other LSP'ers) have come across any video tutorials on how to use these masks?    Also, always open to suggestions on paint that's a good match for RAF blue / dull red.

 

Regards,

 

John

Far be it from me to dictate, but from what you’ve amply demonstrated over the years you have more than enough skill with painting and finishing to excel at masking. For some help check out the LSP sister site: https://www.scalemodelpaintmasks.com

You’ll find tips on application, downloadable mask files if you invest in a craft cutter, and examples of masking in action. A huge advantage of printing your own masks is that you can pick any subject to depict vs. being limited to those covered by decal manufacturers.

 

A tactic that’s been very helpful to me with masking is to apply the positive mask first, then the negative mask around it, and then remove the positive mask. This will allow you to precisely position the masks. For an example with roundels, first draw a vertical line on the roundel from the center to the top (for alignment), then apply the roundel to the wing or fuselage. Once in place apply the mask outline (what I’m calling the negative mask) around it then remove the roundel. I’ll then apply MRP White, reapply the roundel masks except for the red center, apply MRP123 Marking Red, add the center mask, remove the mask for the next color, etc.  I also use MRP Marking Blue and MRP122 Marking Yellow. I hope this helps, and apologize for distracting from your world class build!

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

 

[John1]

So the show goes on.   I'll take the lessons learned from this build and file away for the next one.   Thanks very much for taking the time to provide all this info Tom. 

 

Minor update for tonight, completed painting and installing the lateral camera housings.   I cut out a couple of 8mm disks from clear acetate sheet and popped them into the fairings.    After that a quick polish with Nexus #1 polishing fluid (I use this on all my clear parts, really improves the clarity and also keeps dust / lint away).    After that they were both installed.    I'm still messing with the decals a bit.   Just got word that my stencil sheet from has shipped, so hopefully I'll have that in a few days and I can finish up the decaling.   After that, it's just a matter of a quick flat coat, final weathering, installing the exhausts and a few small parts and this one will be done.  

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for all the support on this one!  Happy New Year's Day. 

[Dpgsbody55]

Excellent work. You've "wrapped" that roundel over the camera port really well.  Great looking model so far.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[MikeMaben]

Yep. 

[Uncarina]

You’re showing just what this conversion is capable of John!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[John1]

Thanks guys.   I'm puttering around killing time until the stencil decals arrive.  Figured I'd paint the cockpit door.   For S&G's here's a picture of my three options.   The very nice Barracuda offering in resin at left, the Tamiya door in plastic (uncharacteristically of Tamiya, the molded the crowbar into the door itself, which isn't a great idea in this scale) and LFD's printed offering on the right, which is amazing.   My crappy picture doesn't do it justice, the detail is at the next level.   You can count the coils on the door latch springs and every rivet is in place.     Hate to say it but the future of aftermarket upgrades / conversions is 3D printing.   

 

 

 

One note on the crowbar (which was used to pry open or break the canopy in the event of a crash).   It's commonly shown in red but from what the experts have said lately, it was usually either unpainted steel or Interior Green.   Red crowbars are a post-war / warbirds thing.