These were my first attempts at creating a solid model from scratch. Scale is 1/32
Those are awesome Spitfires. It is hard to believe that they are your first scratch built models. Congratulations on your workmanship. I look forward to your future projects.
Please tell us how you made them. Please post build photos if you have them.
Lou
Lou; I didn't take any pictures of the build process. I wasn't sure how they would turn out. I have 4 more in the "paint barn" so I will take some pictures of their progress. I've started a separate thread on making a P-51D where I am taking pictures as the build progresses. The build method for the P-51D will be the same as I used for the Spitfires.
Great Ken. I love to see how model progress. I look forward to your work.
Lou
Back to work finishing the second batch of Spitfires.
I have opted to go with grey and brown base colors along with the green camouflage pattern
First picture shows the base colours applied.
Second picture is the camouflage pattern after the masks have been removed. I posted some pictures in the "Paint and Finish" board under the " Paint Masks" topic which covers my use of Frisket film for the lager camouflage patterns.
Third picture shows the finish after two coats of water based gloss urethane have been airbrushed over the paint. The water based urethane doesn't yellow and provides Ultra Violet (UV) protection to assist in minimizing colour fade. Hopefully these will be around for a long long time. The urethane also provides protection for the camouflage patterns in case some minor wet sanding is required to remove any mistakes in subsequent finishing steps.
Sweet looking Spitfires. One of my favorite airplanes.
Lou
Very nice indeed Ken, regards Paul J.
Thanks Lou and Paul for the words of encouragement. I have a long way to go to come close to your skill sets. - ken
Now that the clear separation coat of urethane has been applied, it's time to move on to the finishing details. I was able to pick up a second had silhouette craft cutter, which allows me to cut stencils using frisket film. I'll use stencils for the roundels and fuselage identification numbers. Painting these using stencils is a little more involved than using decals, but thought I'd give it a try. Over the next few postings, I'll document the steps to complete these details.
This posting covers painting the small black ID characters at the rear of the fuselage. These are about 1/4" high.
The first picture shows the Silhouette cutter with the cutting mat and a piece of frisket mask ready for cutting. The Silhouette is connected to the computer which controls the cutting instructions via the Silhouette Cameo software supplied with the cutter.
The second picture shows a paper copy of the stencils to be cut. I print these on paper first to ensure the layout and sizing are correct. The Cameo software is geared more to craft cut outs, so I prepare the layout using a CAD program and then import the CAD file into the Cameo software. Graphics software can also be used in lieu of a CAD program. I included some extra masks in the layout in case one becomes damaged during the painting process. I also included several extra "B's" and "8's" since the middle parts of these are very small and easily damaged during installation.
The third picture shows the stencil masked on the fuselage. I was pleasantly surprised that the cutter could cut out the centres of the B and 8 as these are less than 1/16" in height. I was afraid the stencil might be torn by the cutting blade. But everything worked out well.
The forth picture shows the finished painted ID. It's certainly much better than I could paint by hand or cut out from decal paper.
If folks are interested in the process of using the Silhouette cutter, I can put together a separate thread on the painting board.
It does really good looking markings.
Lou
Very nice results Ken, I was looking at the Brother Scan and Cut, my wife could also use it to cut out quilting templates. Regards Paul J.
Masking for roundels and fin flashing completed for airbushing. The roundels (top and underside of wing) were cut from frisket. The fuselage roundels and the large fuselage ID markings were cut as a combined frisket mask. I'll spray the ID markings first and then mask them to prevent any over-spray when painting the fuselage roundels. The previously painted black fuselage numbers were covered with frisket rather than masking tape as it has a lower tack. The manifolds will be hand painted.
I opted to use masking tape for the fin flashing due to some minor variances in the fin size of the Spitfires being painted.
Currently all roundel masks have the various inner circles removed. I'll paint all roundels with a base coat of white and then add in the inner masks as required after each colour has been applied. Although the roundel on the top surface of the wing only consists of red and blue, the white base will cover the underlying camouflage pattern and provide a uniform background colour.
It is going to be a spectacular Spitfire.
Lou
Thanks Lou. But I think there are many works on this site that exceed these Spitfires. I'm still learning with lots left to learn and practice. - ken
Coming along nicely Ken.
Gordon
Have captured some photos on the roundel paint masking process using the craft cutter and frisket mask.
The first photo shows the roundels and fin emblem masked and painted white. As mentioned above, this provides a uniform base colour and for the roundels and fin stripe which incorporate white, lays down the first color
The second photo shows the fuselage frisket masks for the white ring and future red circle in place. This roundel is the most complicated since it comprises 4 colours. The craft cutter allows for a unique masking approach due to the fact all circles are cut out at the same time from the same piece of frisket. Because of this, the circles are completely concentric and self registering. To centre the white and red masks, all 4 mask rings (yellow, blue, white & red) were placed back in position using the taped mask circle (from which the annular rings / circle were cut from) as the register. Once all 4 masks are positions and fixed, the yellow and blue rings are removed for future reuse, leaving the white and red masks correctly centred. The low tack adhesive of the frisket allows for easy positioning and removal for future use.
The third photo shows the mask for the yellow ring reinstalled after spraying. Small pieces of masking tape were placed around the outside diameter of mask to prevent future over-spray from migrating down the seam line. The centre mask has been removed for spraying the red entre circle.
The fourth photo shows the fuselage and wing top roundel areas and fin band sprayed red. The wing top roundel is not masked as any red over-spray will be covered by the blue paint.
The fifth photo shows the wing underside roundel sprayed red. The white mask was installed by positioning both the blue and white ring masks in place.
Most of the painting and detailing is complete. Final roundel blue rings airbrushed and masking removed. A soft lead pencil was used to outline the control surfaces and landing gear. To allow the pencil to bite into the gloss separation coat, the surface shine was removed using 2000 grit wet paper. This seemed to provide sufficient surface roughness for the pencil graphite to remain in place.
Next step is to spray a couple of coats of gloss acrylic varnish with Ultra Violet (UV) protection followed by a coat of dull acrylic varnish.
Well done ! Looks great Ken.
Superbly done Ken.
Lou
Lou and Gordon - Thanks for the compliments. Still lots to learn. I think it's a little easier working in the larger scales. I have a long way to go to reach your levels of accomplishments. - ken
Final finishing complete. After detailing was completed, air brushed one coat of gloss acrylic varnish for toughness, followed by a coat of matt acrylic varnish. Now it's time to send these off as gifts and move onto finishing the Mustangs. :)
Excellent Spitfire Squadron. Please post individual pictures of each model so I can post to the yearbook. A well deserved congratulation.
Lou
Very nice work indeed Ken , excellent Spitfires, Regards Paul J.
Excellent work Ken.
Gordon
Thanks Gordon, Lou and Paul for the positive feedback. Dare I say, they were fun to carve and paint. I learned a great deal, especially in the painting aspect. However, I'm glad they are finally out of the "elf shop". I carved and painted nine of these in total. Now, on to some new solid model challenges.
Lou - I've posted individual pictures of each plane as requested.
Regards - ken
I love the grey brown scheme, a little different!