Hi All,

This is going to be my second project after a long break from the hobby. I picked up this kit at a local supermarket and liked the look of it. I thought I'd open a thread here so that more experienced modellers might offer some useful tips or advice. I would be extremely grateful as I'm still very new to using an airbrush and techniques such as weathering etc.
I don't have much time these days and I'm not really sure how long this model will take to complete. This doesn't really bother me because I think I'm hooked on modelling now and am in it for the long haul

Here I've assembled the wings and cockpit.

The cockpit painted and glued to the fuselage. I used masking tape for seatbelts and dry-brushed the control panel. I then uses a pencil in an attempt to depict 'wear and tear'. I'm not sure about the results. I also now realise that my choice of interior colour is much lighter than that actually used by the RAF. Oh well, another lesson learned

The completed fuselage section. Quite a narrow cockpit opening so the only real detail visible is the seat and instrument panel.
Well that's about as much as I could get done so far. It'll probably be next week before I finish the airframe and see how much filling and sanding need done. The wing roots already look like they'll need some tender loving care!
Mike

Hi Mike.
Good start
This is the same mould as the Airfix kit and is probably the best MkXVI in 1:72 scale.
Enjoy building it and keep posting the pics.
Nige

Great choice to get back into the hobby. I really like that 1/72 scale, that is what I build. Looking forward to seeing your work. All the best. Russell

Welcome back to the hobby, Michael!

There's a lot of lessons to be learned, especially if you haven't been modelling for - let's say - some twenty odd years (this is the case for quite a few of us). The materials and the techniques have evolved a lot. You'll get many friendly hints on this site (please note that there is the beginners section). I would also like to recommend the "tools and tips" section at http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com. Lot's of valuable stuff. The best way to learn is to build a lot and not to be scared of some experimentation.

I picked up a model two years ago, and since then I'm hooked. I have hardly any space nor time since I became a father a couple of months ago, but since I work in the small to tiny scales, I manage to accomplish some models every now and then.

You're off to a great start with the Spitfire! I'm looking forward to seeing the progress!

Cheers!

Hi everyone,

Thanks very much for the words of encouragement and advice. Unfortunately I've been ill this week so there's been zero progress on the Spitfire front. Hopefully, I'll be up and about by the weekend and can post a progress report.


It does look nice Nigel and I'm really looking forward to it taking shape. I find the black plastic a little strange to work with though ...
Thanks for that link Bjorn, will definitely check it out when I have some time. Speaking of time I can totally relate to the whole father thing, I've got a 6 month old son and have very little time and sleep as a result ...

I'm also quite tempted to sign up for my first campaign here on Aeroscale, but I think my wife would kill me if I tried to do 2 models at once Do you think i should risk it?

Thanks again,
Mike

Hi,

After a long break and the distraction of the Stars of the VVS campaign, work, life, etc., I've finally made some progress on the Heller Spitfire Mk XVI.







Still some touching up needed before a gloss coat and decals, but it's getting there.

Hi,

The Spitfire was glossed up nicely for decals (bling, bling), which went down really well. A follow up coat of floor polish and "Winston" is ready for a wash and dry-brushing and weathering.

Good job on this little beauty, Mike. It is nice to see work is progressing slowly but surely

Thanks for sharing

Thanks for the encouragement Jesper.

Applied an artists' oil wash (first time trying this) to the panel lines and gave it a flat coat. Some further weathering, chipping etc. to come over the weekend.

Nice job on the camo paint job. I like how you used the wash to show some streaking from the gun covers. At least that looks like what you did. Keep it up.

Very nice camo and good streaking effects. Perhaps a bit more wash around the panel lines. Have you heard of pre-shading? I really recommend it as it gives a lot more depth to the panel lines once the model has been painted.

Chas

Thanks guys.

The streaking effect was intentional
It was my first time trying an oil paint wash, in the past I used pastels, so I was really interested to see how it would turn out.
I have seen pre-shading and I'm familiar with the technique, but I've never tried it myself mainly because I have a single action siphon feed airbrush (running on compressed air cans) and I wouldn't be able to get narrow lines, particularly as I do 1/72.
However I'm seriously trying to convince my wife that a double action airbrush and compressor are a must for any family

You could try painting the preshading on with a brush. I'm in the process of experimenting with this, so far it looks ok deepens the shade around the edge of the panel, but it is more of a hard line.

The other thing I've seen done is to paint some panels a tone lighter than the primer, others a tone darker, then apply the colour, that will give some variation of tone between panels.

Hi JP,

I thought about brushing the panel lines for the preshading, but changed my mind, like you said I thought the line would look too hard. Interesting idea about painting differently shaded panels though, I'll definitely try that one on my next model.

Thanks,

Mike.

All done.

Finally got my Spitfire done. I really enjoyed the build even though it dragged on a bit. It was my first time using acrylics (Gunze Hobby Color) which were a pleasure to airbrush with, but a little trickier for brush painting. The model is OOB with the exception of seatbelts made from masking tape. I used an oil wash for the first time and i think I need more practice. Some pastels were used for weathering and silver paint applied with the end of a toothpick was used for chipping. Comments and advice are welcome.

Thanks,

Mike