Battle of France/Battle of Britain Group Build – Tamiya 1/72d Spitfire Mk.I
Finally finished this morning, Not much to tell that wasn't in the WIP blog.except for the propeller. I took Seamus's advice and used the "PropBlur" brass parts to make a mask the
airbrushed the prop on to a clear disk. The yellow is a colored marker.
Also a big thank you to Simon and Lady Rose for posting their trouble with the kit decals. I salvaged mine with a coat of MicroScale decal fluid, otherwise this probably would have never been finished for lack of decals.
Weathering was done with oils and pastels.
Just for grins I also built up the "PropBlur" blade on spinner made from a drop tank.
I painted the blades silver then misted thin coats of black along the leading edge of the blade. I intended to go back and shoot more silver on the trailing edges, but everybody I showed it to liked the clear disk better. Here it is still in a "roughed it" state
Looks great, Rick, beautiful model. The prop came out very well.
Thats cool Rick, beautiful Spitfire and a great idea, love it 🙂
Thanks guys, I have to admit I was pretty frustrated at the end. I made some poor choices about painting etc so the finish isn't as "fine" as I'd like on a 1/72 fighter.
Nice little build...the yellow marker idea was a nice touch.
Thanks Craig, I had tested the marker on my first attempt on this prop, ( you're looking at #4), It was sure easier than trying to airbrush it, but you have to get it right the first time, esp going over the paint
Beauty personified. Awesome Spit Rick. Well done!
Thank you Morne
Very good job, I really like the effect of the propeller
Thank you Miguel
Hey Rick, very nice job I especially like the cordite staining around the gun ports and ejection shutes,I have to admit I'm not a big fan of the prop blur effect but thats just me ,altogether a really nice little Spitfire.
Neil.
Hey Neil. I was surprised at how dirty Spits got, so I went heavy on the streaking and powder residue. As for the prop, I'm happy with it, in that I was able to achieve the "effect" I wanted, but on the other hand, the next time I do a "spinning" prop, I'll lightly tint the whole disk with the blade color and the tip warning bands. That way it's not a simple clear disk, and "the eye" would perceive the rest. Hopefully that made sense 🙂
Rick
Turned out well. I think you forgot to mention that the colors on the aircraft are brush painted.
True, this is the first completely brush painted model I've done since I got my first airbrush in 1972. I thought it would be faster and easier to brush paint the camouflage on such a small model. NOT..for me anyway..lol. Fortunately I used Polly Scale paint which was forgiving of my blunders, and ultimately came out okay.
Rick - that is a great idea to use the prop blur to create a mask for the clear disc! I have been toying around with doing the moving prop effect with either a clear disc or the prop blur, but wasn't 100% happy with either. You have solved it for me! Very nice job on the Spit and very motivational for the moving prop - really nice effect!
Thanks Paul, I'm glad you like the effect, I can't take full credit though since it was Seamus that suggested the technique. Check out my reply to Neil for another way I think this effect can be done.
You have done a great job there Rick.
We like the prop effect mate.
Nicely finished too, good pics as well.
Well done Rick.
Simon, knowing that Lady Rose had finished her Spitfire, motivated me to get mine done. It's as much her model as it is mine. 🙂
Good one Rick. Theres not enough planes displayed "in flight" yours looks great.
Thanks Gregor, it almost did take flight a couple of times... 😉
Extremely well done Spitfire. Prop blur effect came out great. I can almost hear that Merlin whistling.
Thank you Seamus. I hope you've been able to make more progress on your Hurricane, I'm looking forward to that making its Headline debut.
Nice work. One small thing that a lot of people miss: for some reason this particular Spitfire had the vertical fin stripes reversed. I know I missed it the first couple times. Basically, it's due to the fact this airplane was early, as can be seen from the upper wing insignia, and with all the insignia changes issued between September 1939 and June 1940, they didn't keep up and apparently got confused when it came to the fin flash. I particularly like doing this Spitfire because of all the markings changes shown on her.
Nice work and the prop blur works.
Thank you Tom. I wasn't aware of any of that information on the markings, I just followed the instructions and the box art.
Nice work, Rick, you must be very pleased with the result. The prop effect is great, as is your finish and weathering, and, it's good to see a plane in flight for a change.
Thank you George, it was a learning experience for me, and I'm pleased with the overall result.
I love the way you have mounted your Spitfire. They are so much more evocative.
Lovely build.
Thank you David, it's the first non-science fiction model I've mounted on a stand in years