Spitfire Mk.II (Revell 1/32)

[colin m]

I’ve never understood why the red centre dots are often separate on decal sheets these days. It only seems to make them more difficult to apply for the modeller — I suppose there’s a benefit to the manufacturer, but I fail to see what it is.

Is it a throw back to the days of frequently out of register decals ?

[AlanG]

Coming together very nicely Steven. I'll defo be getting one of these now i've seen this build progressing

[Wouter]

Wow, those decals sit ver nice in and around the details. Something which is hard to obtain with japanese thick decals and set and sol. I assume the revell ones are printed by cartograph?

Keep up the good work!

Cheers

[Guest]

Is it a throw back to the days of frequently out of register decals ?

That would be more of a problem with the red/blue discs, I’d think, because you would probably get a dark line where the two colours overlap, and if so, then likely also a clear or white bit on the opposite side.

[Steven000]

Thanks for the comments guys! :thumb2:


Wouter : I don't know if they printed it via Cartograph, it says this on the bottom :



Since my last update I added a panel-line-wash (Tamiya black).


On the real plane the rivets might not be so visible, but I like to accentuate all the small details.
I broke off the landing struts and one aileron during the wash-cleaning oop: ...



After the wash the model could dry for a few days...
Then I sprayed a few coats of Lucky Varnish (Ultra-Matt)...


After the varnish I sprayed the exhaust-stains, this should be more 'black-ish' for Allied aircraft as I learned here on the forum, but I liked the look of a dark-brown for this one.
I also added some chipping (aluminium paint)


I added a few colors to the exhaust-pipes to make them look more interesting, the wheels were painted too...


The aerial-wire was added with superglue (at the moment only on the rudder).
I used a thin plastic 'sewing thread' from the local warehouse.


I made a base again with MDF, I thought the oval shape had something Spitfire-ish :smiling6:.


The figure was stared a while ago, I used one of the Masterbox RAF pilots, which is probably the most used figure-box for all 1/32 spitfires :smiling5:...


I don't know anything about dogs, but I wanted to make it look more interesting then just plain-brown.
So I searched google for dogs and colors :smiling2: ...


Today I will continue on the base, aerial and canopy...
At the moment the model looks like this :

I wanted to make a grass-diorama, but because I'm running out of time (present for new-year) I glued a piece of sandpaper on the base (grey-primed), as a sort of runway... Will try to add some grass-tufts in the front ...


Thanks for reading and kind regards : D,
Steven

[Si Benson]

Morning Steven,
You are making a very good job of this...love the pilot and pooch :smiling4: Your pictures are really clear, well lit and crisp, do you have special lighting? What camera do you use?
Sorry for lots of questions

[yak face]

This is looking great steven , who ever is getting this as a present is going to be delighted , cheers tony

[Guest]

Beautiful work Steven.

[yak face]

That would be more of a problem with the red/blue discs, I’d think, because you would probably get a dark line where the two colours overlap, and if so, then likely also a clear or white bit on the opposite side.

It was more often the red dot in the middle of a white section that was out of centre and wonky looking , Most kit makers had a wobble occasionally with this problem so providing the dot seperate is a way to ensure it doesn't happen - unless of course the modeller doesnt get it central !!! In which case its nobodys fault but their own . Surprisingly its very easy to get the dot bang on judging it by eye . A kit maker that used to get their decals off register all the time was Novo , the russian firm who bought all the old Frog mouldings after they went bust.

[Steven000]

Your pictures are really clear, well lit and crisp, do you have special lighting? What camera do you use?

Thanks Si!
I made a light-box myself with MDF and a 2 fluorescent light tubes :


That box is used to light my desk, it gives a good (cold) overall lighting with soft shadows.
In addition to that I use a (warm) white LED (320lm) in that Ikea lamp thing.
It's nothing specially set up for photographing but it works for me :thumb2:


I use my old Canon 1100D camera that I bought in early 2011, it came with a standard 18-55mm lens.


Cheers ; )
Steven

[Wouter]

Ah, I have the same old camera ^^

Nice work, those rivets are nicely visible now. Love the exhaust staining. Nearing the end now ey. New year present, you need to hurry indeed

Cheers

[Si Benson]

Thanks for that Steven :thumb2:
I keep looking at decent lighting and a proper camera, rather than my phone and desk light. Maybe next year:thinking:

[Guest]

It was more often the red dot in the middle of a white section that was out of centre and wonky looking , Most kit makers had a wobble occasionally with this problem so providing the dot seperate is a way to ensure it doesn't happen

True, but why is that? It can’t be that the printing is out of register, because then all the other red bits would also be shifted on the sheet.

unless of course the modeller doesnt get it central !!! In which case its nobodys fault but their own .

That could easily be solved by the decal designer adding a blue circle (not a disc) the size of the red one in the middle of the roundel, exactly where the red one is to go. This would give the modeller a guide, but it seems nobody thought of that before me just now

A kit maker that used to get their decals off register all the time was Novo , the russian firm who bought all the old Frog mouldings after they went bust.

This does not surprise me — quality control in the Soviet Union wasn’t always of the highest standard after all

[yak face]

True, but why is that? It can’t be that the printing is out of register, because then all the other red bits would also be shifted on the sheet

Exactly that , all the red bits were slightly off register but with things like the codes it didn't make a difference , sometimes you would see it on the fin flash too. The colours were printed one at a time so if the decal paper shifted slightly between colours then you would get the problem no matter what the colour .

[Guest]

Looks great :smiling3:.