Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire MkVIII - FINISHED!

[Bstarr3]

2 hours ago, nmayhew said:

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 

Its definitely not CA glue, but I've found it a useful tool. More flexible and with more working time than CA, but thin CA +/- accelerator is still what I use if I want to get something very fiddly or tiny to stick the first time I touch it to its place.

[Bstarr3]

1 hour ago, BloorwestSiR said:

 

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

 

 

Yours is coming along really nicely. 

 

Carl

Very nice, Carl. Too bad the pointed wingtips ruin that classic spitfire profile on the MkVII, because the color scheme is really nice and unique

[Bstarr3]

A little work on landing gear last night. MRP medium sea grey, Molotov liquid chrome, with a little weathering from brown and black colors, followed by panel line wash. The tires are the kit parts, seam lines scraped and weathering completed with fine sanding stick. I think the tires look quite good, although hard to give a weighted appearance. A final dullcoat was given after these pictures were taken.

 

 

Edited July 18, 2019 by Bstarr3

[Gazzas]

The details on that lg look exceptional.

[Bstarr3]

Thanks, Gary! They're going to get some mud, too, before all is said and done

[Biggles87]

Very convincing undercarriage legs and wheel.

 

John

[Bstarr3]

1 hour ago, Biggles87 said:

Very convincing undercarriage legs and wheel.

 

John

Thanks. I was quite happy with how they came out

[Bstarr3]

As anyone who's built one of Tamiya's big Spitfires, Mustangs, or Mosquitoes knows, their Merlin is very impressive right out of the box.  It's got a tremendous amount of detail (fifty parts just for the engine, not including engine bearers, firewall, and additional plumbing) and is very faithfully rendered. 

 

I scratched up a little extra detail using various sizes of solder, copper wire, styrene rod, Meng hex bolts, and a couple parts from the Eduard PE set. I only used the Eduard bits for the fuel priming lines (I was really happy to find this in the kit because scratching it was very fiddly and didn't turn out great when I did it on my Mossie) and the RR nameplates. Flat PE ignition wiring just doesn't look right to me if it's bigger than 1/72. 

 

I did skip the mechanical linkage on the port side magneto, done beautifully by Wolf on his build. 

 

 

 

One part I have experimented with but have not yet done to my satisfaction is the return pipes between the coolant tank and the heads, right on the front here.  Since I'm going to be displaying with the engine open, I want to have this rather prominent part, but I haven't been able to build anything that looks right to my eye.  Suggestions? 

 

Edited July 23, 2019 by Bstarr3

[Dpgsbody55]

Nice work so far.

 

I built a pair of such hoses for my MkXVI from either 1.6 or 1.2mm rod (I can't remember which) by heating a section of rod over a candle and bending, then cutting to length.  I did this only after fitting the header tank.  From all the pictures I've seen, these hoses go between the header tank and each inlet manifold.  Here's a picture.  You can just make them out, but worth adding, I think.

 

 

Hope this helps,

Michael

Edited July 23, 2019 by Dpgsbody55

[Bstarr3]

Thanks, this is just what I was looking for. Do you happen to have a picture of your work from above?

[Dpgsbody55]

Sorry, nothing that shows any more than that, I'm afraid.

 

 

Michael

[Bstarr3]

3 hours ago, Dpgsbody55 said:

Sorry, nothing that shows any more than that, I'm afraid.

 

 

Michael

Thanks anyway. I like your idea of just using 2mm rod.  I tried some 2mm copper tube and also tried scavenging some parts from other kits but couldn't find anything that looked or went together right.

[Troy Molitor]

Wow.  Another fantastic build going on here.  Thanks for sharing this one with us Michael.   

 

Troy 

[Bstarr3]

10 hours ago, Troy Molitor said:

Wow.  Another fantastic build going on here.  Thanks for sharing this one with us Michael.   

 

Troy 

Thank you.

[Bstarr3]

Small update - first coat of paint on the engine. Light coat of grey stynylrez, followed by two light coats of MRP AMT-6 black. It's a nice "off-black" like NATO black, and like all MRP colors dries to a nice satin finish. Next is getting some color on the firewall and engine bearers, then detail painting. 

 

Tamiya has the oil and radiator pipes in interior green, but I'm planning to do them in copper. Theres only so much monochrome one can do before making an aesthetic consideration