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Hasegawa Spitfire Vb


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Hello all,

 

I'd like to participate if I may?

 

Hasegawa MkVb in desert scheme built strictly OOtB using kit decals for UF-X.

If any of the local Spitfire experts can furnish me with any facts/help on this build I'd appreciate it.

I'm new to Spitfire building so don't know much about them except that the cockpit interior was usually greyish green with a black IP.

The model that I'm using was bought off E-Bay so luckily the instructions are in Japanese......and for the MkVI :(

I think I'm ok with the assembly sequence for the most part. By comparison to a 1/32nd scale jet this has far fewer parts thankfully and I've managed to identify most but I have no colour call-outs nor cammo scheme diagrams so help in that department will be invaluable :piliot:

I'm also going to be a bit stuck with stencil decal placement as these instructions don't necessarily tally with the numbers on the decal sheet.

 

With all of that said, this should be a fun build. I'm stoked about this GB and look forward to seeing everyones' contributions.

 

:frantic:

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Looking forward to it Geedub! I say don't sweat the small stuff and just have fun. That's how Russ would've played it.

 

Kev

I aim to heed your good advice Kev and build this one for fun. My aim is to complete this build without attempting to add any extra detail. Now to some that will sound natural but for me, it's a definate deviation from the norm :piliot:

I confess I started a very old Revell kit of the Spitfire some time ago but it is sooo bad, I've let it languish in the shadows (and will leave it languishing for the foreseeable future).

 

Ok, so I'm good to go but there are one or two areas where I could use some guidance please folk.

I'm going to mix a shade of green for the cockpit that looks close enough by eye so no problems there but do I use this same colour for the wheel bays or are they bare aluminium?

The box that I was sent contains extra sprues,.......some are for the MkVb, some are for the MkVI :huh:

These sprues include three and four bladed prop hubs with blunt and sharp style three bladed spinners. Would someone mind telling me which prop/spinner I should use on a desert MkVb? (It looks like the sharper version on the box art but I can't tell whether it has three or four blades.... :hmmm: )

On the same theme, the box includes two different styles of prop blade. One set is straighter with almost parallel sides until after half way along their length with an angled tip, the others are more oval/eliptical, starting narrow, flaring out before returning to a rounded tip.....which style would you recommend I use please?

 

Another question relates to the underfuselage air intake. There are three versions available to me, the first is what I would call "normal sized",..i.e. what I've seen on most Spitfires. The second is larger, deep at the front end then tapering toward the rear (this appears to be the one on the box art...) The final version is huge! It replaces the underside cowling at the nose completely and comes with an optional underbelly slippertank. Just to confirm my suspicions.....I should be using the middle of the three versions should n't I? :unsure:

 

Whew! All of these questions :goodjob:

If you're still with me, my last queries are to do with the colours of the cammo. The desert scheme on the box shows Dark Earth, Mid Stone uppers and Azure blue undersides with a red spinner. Was the cammo applied to the same pattern as European theatre Dark Earth/Green cammo? I think I'll build a beat up, war weary airframe so the exact shade of colour is n't too important. I hope there'll be quite a bit of fading and shading going on so I won't get hung up on exact colour matches. So long as it looks ok, I'll try to be happy with it.

 

I'm also going to steer away from my comfort zone for this build and try a couple of more "artistic" techniques on the paintwork. Never a big fan of pre-shading up to now, I'm going to give it a try along with post-shading, chipping and pastel weathering.

 

I'm eager to get started so see you all soon. :speak_cool:

 

:piliot:

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Looking forward to seeing you out of your comfort zone! :speak_cool:

Good old Humbrol 78 is close enough for the interior.

White Ensign do great base colours for you to start with.

Don't forget, NO SUPERDETAILING!!!!!

I've got a 1/24 VB in desert camo on ready for inspection a few pages back now if that can help.

All the best with this one mate!

 

Phil :goodjob:

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Looking forward to seeing you out of your comfort zone! :speak_cool:

Good old Humbrol 78 is close enough for the interior.

White Ensign do great base colours for you to start with.

Don't forget, NO SUPERDETAILING!!!!!

I've got a 1/24 VB in desert camo on ready for inspection a few pages back now if that can help.

All the best with this one mate!

 

Phil :hmmm:

 

Superb finish on your Vb Phil. Thanks for the heads-up :goodjob:

Now I've got something to crib ideas off :piliot:

 

Good of you to suggest some paints too, thanks. Are the colours you mention available in acrylics? The reason I ask is that I spray in my loft and prefer odourless paints if at all possible.

 

As for the detailing.........oh my.......it's so difficult not to get carried away. The OOtB thing is self imposed so I guess I could stray but then, I might as well continue with the Tomcat! I've been studying reference pics of various marks of Spittie and see loads of areas where I could improve things but..........I must n't!

No, this thing has got to be straight out of the box, no additional stuff at all (except maybe the antenna wire but I'll use the kit sprue and stretch it for that :piliot: ) I want to concentrate on banging this thing together and then enjoying the painting, weathering, finishing stages.

When Tamiya release an early "Battle of Britain" era Spitfire (what I personally always think of as a true Spitfire), that's when I'll go to town.

 

Ok, I'm off to prep the cockpit parts. see you all soon.

 

:unsure:

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Good of you to suggest some paints too, thanks. Are the colours you mention available in acrylics? The reason I ask is that I spray in my loft and prefer odourless paints if at all possible.

 

Don't think White Ensign do acrylics but if you look at the IPMS Stockholm colour charts you should find an acrylic alternative.

Me I'm an enamel fan. It also helps having one of these:

P7120008.jpg

Bought the unit but built the cabinet myself saving £400! :speak_cool:

Thanks for the kind comments about the Spit, its one of my old builds but it does ok for me.

 

Phil

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Should be fun GW...Although Russ himself tried to stick to OOB, he often threw his own book out of the window and went for limited (by his standards) detailing - In true Russ style, he often re-wrote the rules as he went along and the whim took him anyway! I look forward to seeing how this one comes out.

 

PhilB: Nice spray cabinet! :speak_cool: (I also have the same paint extractor unit myself).

 

Derek

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Me I'm an enamel fan. It also helps having one of these:

P7120008.jpg

Bought the unit but built the cabinet myself saving £400! :speak_cool:

 

PhilB: Nice spray cabinet! :goodjob: (I also have the same paint extractor unit myself).

 

Where did you guys get such a thing? I'm desperate for some sort of spray booth or extraction unit, but I can't afford a 'proper' one and couldn't put one together to save myself. But I reckon I could manage this set up. Where did you get this extraction unit, how much did it cost, and what's it called? I'm hoping Bunnings will have one...

 

Kev

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Where did you guys get such a thing? I'm desperate for some sort of spray booth or extraction unit, but I can't afford a 'proper' one and couldn't put one together to save myself. But I reckon I could manage this set up. Where did you get this extraction unit, how much did it cost, and what's it called? I'm hoping Bunnings will have one...

 

Kev

 

Kev,

 

The company that manufacture the spray booth unit is Graphicair (My unit is the Model A300 S-D). They are not cheap, but they are very good indeed.

 

HTH

 

Derek

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Another vote for the Graphic air.

 

I ordered mine via Paul at little cars.

 

Very good unit.

 

Not very loud at all. Louder than an Iwata sprint jet for example, but you can easily have a normal conversation with it running in the room.

 

Widespread Solutions

 

They would know if they have an Australian stockist.

 

Excellent customer service re questions.

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Howdy folks,

 

Nice fume box Phil. If I have to use enamels I put the part in an old plastic watertank with a vacuum cleaner plugged into the outlet hole. It's not perfect but I don't use enamels often. :D

 

So I've made a start. I could n't wait so I dolloped some primer on the cockpit parts and dived in.

 

......................

hope to see some pics soon

Hi blackbetty, here you go:

 

I use spray primer from Games Workshop and it comes in either black or white. Once I'd got a thin coat on I pre-shaded with medium green. This particular paint is acrylic Valejo ModelAir.

tn_Spitfirecockpit038.jpg

I was unsure whether this airframe had a bakelite seat so plumped for a painted metal version. Incidentally, how much chipping (if any) would the seat show?

I went over this pre-shade with a colour mixed by eye.

tn_Spitfirecockpit051.jpg

I then used pastels to darken the shadows and dry-brushing to lift the highlights.

tn_Spitfirecockpit045.jpg

Now I've got to add the detail parts to the sidewalls before I think about buttoning up the fuselage. Before I do, I need to find out what colour I ought to paint the air bottles on the left hand fuselage side and the smaller cannister on the right hand fuselage side behind the seat bulkhead. Anyone know please?

I have a Haynes manual on the Spitfire which shows the air bottles in light grey with a white retaining band. Is that correct for a WWII airframe or is that the colour on a modern/preserved aircraft?

Any help is appreciated. Cheers.

tn_Spitfirecockpit048.jpg

Hasegawa provide a great IP with plenty of relief detail in the instruments. To bring out the dials I painted them cream then used a thin wash of black to settle on the dials before adding a drop of Klear/Future for the glass. I'm pretty pleased with the result since very little can be seen once the fuselage is closed up, the gunsight is added and the canopy attached. :D

 

I've gotta say, I'm having a ball. Things have started out well and it feels like someone is smiling on me :)

See you all soon.

 

:D

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Where did you guys get such a thing? I'm desperate for some sort of spray booth or extraction unit, but I can't afford a 'proper' one and couldn't put one together to save myself. But I reckon I could manage this set up.

 

Kev

Kev,

If you can get the Graphic Air make sure you get the A300SD like Derek and I have got with the external flue.

They do another model which is recirculatory(hope there is such a word but you get the idea) but it has carbon filters which are hugely expensive.

They sell a metal cabinet to mount it on but it works out at nearly £400 more, I spent about £40 and made my own.

The flue is standard 100mm extractor pipe so I used ordinary extractor fan flue from my local DIY store to extend so I can chuck it out the window.

Its the dogs doodahs. Can spray Alclad primer without a mask. (Health and safety note, don't try this in your home without one of these!)

 

Geedub,

Sorry going off at a tangent mate, but you are really cracking on with this one.

Looks absolutely superb!

Well done!

Phil :speak_cool:

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Kev,

If you can get the Graphic Air make sure you get the A300SD like Derek and I have got with the external flue.

 

Thanks Phil. I've emailed the company asking if there's anywhere down under I can acquire one.

 

Kev

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