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Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire MkVIII - FINISHED!


Bstarr3

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1 hour ago, Vincent/MDC said:

the second one is nice also as it shows the seat with the bottom armor that Tamiya forgot to provide !

How on earth could you make that out on that photo!?

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4 hours ago, Bstarr3 said:

I saw somebody did a build thread of one of those high altitude grey over blue spits. It was a very nice look. 

 

How is the Revell kit? Cant have a collection of spits without a BoB MkII, so I was thinking of picking that kit up.

I haven't build it so far, but there are plenty of builds here and well it needs work to get a proper Mk.II. On the other hand (in my opinion) value for money (at least in Europe) is excellent.

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4 hours ago, dennismcc said:

With a bit of TLC, Edgar's list  and Barracuda resin the Revell Mk.II turns out great, well I liked it.

 

Sounds good.  I'll have to give that kit a try too

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Inspired by the above posted photos, I've settled on a theme for this project.  I'll definitely be doing UM-C, modeled as an engine maintenance diorama at a Burmese airfield in 1945.  My first inclination for a pacific airfield diorama was to aim for something like this: 

 

Kokwebsite-AWM-pics-023.jpg

 

However, it looks from further research like the airfields in Burma were pretty clearcut, with their defining feature being mud and standing water in the wet season. 

 

Photo-5-152-Squadron.jpg

 

article-2522819-1-A098-BAA00000578-508-6

 

Spitfire-Mk-VIII-RAF-152-Sqn-UMK-and-UMC

 

download.jpg

 

images.jpg

 

I've also found some good up close images of ships from this squadron, which will help for accurate weathering and detailing. 

 

152-m33.jpg

 

Spitfire-Mk-VIII-RAF-152-Sqn-UMC-at-Sint

 

I'm thinking of a base of celluclay, with some PSP, mud/sand effects, and maybe a few tufts of grass for effect, but it doesn't look like palm trees are in the offing for this one.  I might set up a tent in the corner just to create some more visual interest.  

 

I had also envisioned perhaps one of the gun bays open, with the Hispano completely uninstalled and sitting on a table to the side.  There are no commercially produced Spitfire gun bays or full 20mm cannons in this scale, and I think that would be beyond my scratchbuilding skills.  I may save that idea for doing in 1/48 scale sometime.

 

I'm looking for some 1/32 (or maybe 1/35?) figures in hot weather gear for ground crew.  Any suggestions?  I think maybe one of the Tamiya tank maintenance kits could be good for tables, tools, ladders, etc. 

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Got some washes on, placard decals from the Barracuda set, a little touch up painting, and a final dull coat. My Yahu IP is on backorder, so this is as far as we go on the cockpit for now. Mar on the starboard sidewall is where I had the oxygen hose attached, but realized with test fitting that it needs to go on after attached to that fuselage side.

 

20190708-072657.jpg[/url] 20190708-072717.jpg

 

My second attempt at HGW belts was much better than the first. I threaded the belts through the buckles while they were still on the sprue, which made things much less likely to go pinging off into the ether.20190708-072729.jpg 20190708-072735.jpg 20190708-072745.jpg

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22 minutes ago, MARU5137 said:

Oh WOW ! Your last update of seat and seatbelts etc is FLAWLESS from where I am.

 

:bow:  very NEAT and tidy work..looks quite SPLENDID. 

 

 

I don't know about flawless (one only every sees the flaws in one's own work) but thanks very much for the compliment!

Seatbelts look nice, but getting them to drape right is a little tricky.  I tried the trick I've read of balling them up, but they still have a lot of "spring" to them

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24 minutes ago, Gazzas said:

Very nice cockpit detailing, mate!

Cheers Gary. The cockpit placards really add a level of detail. What are you working on currently? 

Edited by Bstarr3
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It's been slower progress on the build for the past week or so after I finished the cockpit, although we're moving along.  For the past couple of days, I've been laboring in the world of "why am I doing all of this nobody's ever going to see it!" with the Eduard PE set.  I must say, though, having completed it (without losing a single tiny part - a first for me!) it is satisfying.  The enjoyment of modelling for me is the process at least as much as the finished product.  PE addons to the main landing gear and radiator fairings (chiseling off the "L" on the left part was more for practice with a new tool - discussed more below)

 

 

20190715-120738.jpg 20190715-120751.jpg 20190715-120826.jpg

 

I had a glue misadventure, unfortunately, while attaching the gun cover panels, and had to do a little rescribing, re-riveting, and sanding.  I sprayed a coat of black primer to see how my work looked.  I decided to wipe it back off so I would have an even surface for final paint, so I sprayed it down with IPA and wiped it off.  This inadvertently gave me a panel line wash/preshading effect, which also gave me a really good look at where my scribing was and wasn't adequate.

 

20190715-123752.jpg

 

Starboard wing got the worst of the glue trauma, and unfortunately lost a few of those beautifully fine raised fasteners, as you can clearly see here. 

 

20190715-123755.jpg

 

In other exciting news, though, my backordered Yahu panel finally arrived, so I was able to do this:

 

20190715-223811.jpg

 

Followed by this: 

 

20190715-233417.jpg 20190715-233437.jpg 20190715-233459.jpg

 

Unfortunately, I did something wrong with that landing/ID light that is sandwiched between the fuselage halves, and ended up with about 1mm x 5mm gap along the bottom of the fuselage, which I filled with thick CA glue.  I take issue with that light, actually, as well as the one that they ask you to delete in the instructions.  Both are, I think, contrary to Tamiya's usual elegant process.  The one involves trying to cut out a perfect half circle from the bottom of the fuselage half, and the other involves removing a prominently molded piece of detail from the middle of the wing section, which includes both raised and engraved detail.  I'm leaning towards being inaccurate and leaving that as is, because I think the likelihood of my messing up the beautiful detail in surrounding areas is great.

 

I also wanted to take a minute to praise a couple of new tools that I'm using during this build.  The first is this micro chisel I got from UMM: 

http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?cPath=21_28&products_id=7431. 

It's a very precise and beautifully (even dangerously) sharp tool, and I've found several good uses for it already. Highly recommended. 

20190715-233511.jpg

 

I also am trying Gator's Grip for the first time.  It is a nice thick PVA glue that dries quite fast and strong. I've used it as well as CA for my PE in this project, depending on the particulars, and found it very useful. 

 

20190715-233536.jpg

 

FInally, these little guys retail for 8.99 at Harbor Freight, and I got them on sale for 5.  The 1/8 shank means that they can be used in my Dremel, but it also happens to be a perfect size for using them as hand drills as well.  These have already been very handy, and I'm sure will continue to be. 

 

20190715-233553.jpg

Edited by Bstarr3
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It's a 'meh' from me on the Gator stuff - it really has no ability to hold anything that 'doesn't want to be held'

 

so if something fits perfectly, yes it will stop it falling off (providing it weighs less than a gram or two, but that's fair enough), but if you want a positive hold look elsewhere

 

just my 2p 

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On 7/4/2019 at 8:15 AM, Bstarr3 said:

I saw somebody did a build thread of one of those high altitude grey over blue spits. It was a very nice look. 

 

I did one a couple years ago. The hardest part was making the deeper fixed canopy section. 

 

DSC_0150-L.jpg

 

Yours is coming along really nicely. 

 

Carl

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