I agree Andrew. Thats a half decent pilot for sure.
Andrew's 1/48 Airfix Spitfire XVIII (A05140)
- Thread starter adt70hk
- Start date
Pilot does indeed look good andrew, nice that you get the seperate arms too , cheers tony
Thanks chaps. He's actually much better when fully in focus!!
He really is very nice.Unfortunately, when I had a quick look at my phone after taking the picture he looked alright but by the time I was about to post the picture, it was too late to get a better shot as I'd started to paint him.
Tony - as you say nice that he has separate arms. Hopefully I can place him so that he has his hand on the joystick.
Thanks as always for the support guys!
ATB
Andrew
Hi all
So cockpit and pilot are ready for assembly....just waiting for the varnish to fully cure.
In hindsight, it would have been easier to not glue the cockpit's main frame elements in place until all were painted, as it makes installing the seat in particular much harder....you live and learn!
The pilot is far from my best work but whilst I'm ok at doing your typical white European individual e.g. British and German, I'm obviously doing a plane from the Indian Air Force, post independence, and so need a different skin tone. I'm much happier with the colour on the hands but neither the hands or face are anywhere as dark as it appears in the below shot.....will try to get a better shot next time.
Next time you see this, it should all be assembled and the pilot in place.
And as you can the prop is also completely done
ACW as usual.
ATB
Andrew
So cockpit and pilot are ready for assembly....just waiting for the varnish to fully cure.
In hindsight, it would have been easier to not glue the cockpit's main frame elements in place until all were painted, as it makes installing the seat in particular much harder....you live and learn!
The pilot is far from my best work but whilst I'm ok at doing your typical white European individual e.g. British and German, I'm obviously doing a plane from the Indian Air Force, post independence, and so need a different skin tone. I'm much happier with the colour on the hands but neither the hands or face are anywhere as dark as it appears in the below shot.....will try to get a better shot next time.
Next time you see this, it should all be assembled and the pilot in place.
And as you can the prop is also completely done
ACW as usual.
ATB
Andrew
Last edited:
OK chaps, bit more of an in-depth update:
And a WARNING for any of you tempted by this:
More details below with the pics.
ACW as usual.
ATB
Andrew
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pilot in situ.
Wing and dry fit
WARNING: Pre-build trims required
- pilot added to cockpit and generally looking ok in situ
- cockpit 'tub' closed up and fits very well
- initial fuselage dry fit tests are promising, with interesting way of fitting fuselage to lower wing helping a great deal.
And a WARNING for any of you tempted by this:
- you have to trim the fuselage in four places before assembly...cockpit sides if you want a closed canopy and also for the tailplane
More details below with the pics.
ACW as usual.
ATB
Andrew
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pilot in situ.
- had to cut off his feet and front of the chair to get him placed properly. However, can't rule that out being my fault, given the self-made problems I had fitting the chair.
- as you can see the posable arms means that he actually has his hands on the controls.....a nice touch! I need to do do a touch up on the tops of his arms/shoulders now they have been glued on
- cockpit tub went together very well, aside from my self-made problems
- fit against fuselage side is very positive and absolutely no ambiguity in where it goes....so much so it almost holds itself in place...it is purely dry-fitted in the last shot....no glue...almost defies gravity!!
Wing and dry fit
- Noticed some odd knobs/blocks on the underside of the fuselage, with holes in
- turns out this is how Airfix ensures proper alignment when adding the wing....assuming you glue the wheel well parts in place properly but that is almost impossible to get wrong
- as you can see holds together nicely even without the glue
- the holes in the knobs are the main attachment points for the undercarriage, so hopefully that will fit very well, with no room for error
WARNING: Pre-build trims required
- closed canopy requires two minor trims
- tailplane also has to be trimmed....regardless
Last edited:
Looking good Andrew. Same warnings apply to the Mark 1. In the Mk1 kit using the pilot, the rudder pedals are not fitted.
Great work Andrew. And a brilliantly detailed build thread as well.
Coming along very nicely Andy.
Top work andrew , cockpit and pilot are looking excellent . Rest of the kit looks really nice too , hopefully it carries on co operating , cheers tony
Crikey! I’ve missed your build completely Andrew so am just catching up 
.
It’s looking very good, P.O. Singh looks great too.
As much as the earlier Mks of Spitfire are pretty these later ones look very aggressive, good stuff
Geoff.
.It’s looking very good, P.O. Singh looks great too.
As much as the earlier Mks of Spitfire are pretty these later ones look very aggressive, good stuff
Geoff.
Crikey! I’ve missed your build completely Andrew so am just catching up
It’s looking very good, P.O. Singh looks great too.
As much as the earlier Mks of Spitfire are pretty these later ones look very aggressive, good stuff
Geoff.
Sincerest apologies chaps!! Completely forgot to reply and as you're about to find out I encountered a few issues!!
@colin m - thanks for the compliment on the build thread, I do wonder if I overdo it sometimes, so your support is very much appreciated.
Thanks again chaps!
ATB
Andrew
OK chaps.....so some long awaited progress.
It's been so long because I had some fit issues....still not sure that they're not my fault....and possibly a slightly twisted fuselage, both of which put me off picking it up for a long time.
In terms of fit, a review had warned me about them....fuselage joint seams and wing root.
In terms of the fuselage joins, I still think it might have been my fault and if I had been more 'assertive' when gluing the fuselage halves together it would have been fine.
The lack of assertiveness however caused issues when inserting the final part of the fuselage directly in front of the cockpit, as it left a step all the way around I could nothing about, other than try to blend it in with a bit of filler...one side looks ok....one side not quite so ok if you get the angle right (or wrong).
As for the twist....it definitely looks a biff off from dead ahead/behind but is not noticeable otherwise....again can't say 100% that it's not something I did, and I don't think it's purely not getting the dihedral right....but something is off.....
As you'll see I have done my usual black base mottling technique. It's hard to pick up with the mottling effect with the metallic sheen, so I've taken a couple of deliberately odd shots so you hopefully get a bit of an idea.
ACW as usual.
ATB
Andrew
---------------------------------------------------------
Fixing the fuselage seams using Mr Surfacer 1000 and and the problem fuselage part.....
Masking and Mr Surfacer applied
Ready for sanding....
Sanded back......
This is the bit I had real problems with......
Fuselage twist.....I don't think it's something I have done but I may be wrong.....
Black primer and mottling....as you can the cowling seem is still just visible despite my best efforts....
The mottling was done using Sky Grey as it's tonally quite similar to the metal colour.
You will also see that I have some more solid mottling in places, as I decided to have a play around. The idea is that these panels represent replacement ones or ones that have been repaired and repainted and so are less warn.
Metal finish.......Vallejo Metal Colour....Aluminium and Duraluminium (to darken it a little bit - my personal taste) at c. 4:1, with a light misting coat of Sky Grey over the top to tone it down a bit.
Next up the black wing tips and fuselage band.
It's been so long because I had some fit issues....still not sure that they're not my fault....and possibly a slightly twisted fuselage, both of which put me off picking it up for a long time.
In terms of fit, a review had warned me about them....fuselage joint seams and wing root.
In terms of the fuselage joins, I still think it might have been my fault and if I had been more 'assertive' when gluing the fuselage halves together it would have been fine.
The lack of assertiveness however caused issues when inserting the final part of the fuselage directly in front of the cockpit, as it left a step all the way around I could nothing about, other than try to blend it in with a bit of filler...one side looks ok....one side not quite so ok if you get the angle right (or wrong).
As for the twist....it definitely looks a biff off from dead ahead/behind but is not noticeable otherwise....again can't say 100% that it's not something I did, and I don't think it's purely not getting the dihedral right....but something is off.....
As you'll see I have done my usual black base mottling technique. It's hard to pick up with the mottling effect with the metallic sheen, so I've taken a couple of deliberately odd shots so you hopefully get a bit of an idea.
ACW as usual.
ATB
Andrew
---------------------------------------------------------
Fixing the fuselage seams using Mr Surfacer 1000 and and the problem fuselage part.....
Masking and Mr Surfacer applied
Ready for sanding....
Sanded back......
This is the bit I had real problems with......
Fuselage twist.....I don't think it's something I have done but I may be wrong.....
Black primer and mottling....as you can the cowling seem is still just visible despite my best efforts....
The mottling was done using Sky Grey as it's tonally quite similar to the metal colour.
You will also see that I have some more solid mottling in places, as I decided to have a play around. The idea is that these panels represent replacement ones or ones that have been repaired and repainted and so are less warn.
Metal finish.......Vallejo Metal Colour....Aluminium and Duraluminium (to darken it a little bit - my personal taste) at c. 4:1, with a light misting coat of Sky Grey over the top to tone it down a bit.
Next up the black wing tips and fuselage band.
Looks like you have conquered that seam issue, looks good in the photos. The section for the fuel tank forward of the cockpit was not an exemplary fit on the Mk.1 either.
Paint work is coming along very nicely, looking forward to seeing the main paint job.
Paint work is coming along very nicely, looking forward to seeing the main paint job.
Great work Andy. The twist is barely noticeable.
Thanks chaps! Glad you approve.
Joe - glad to hear it wasn't me with the fuel tank, although I have thought about how I could approach it in the future - I have the Mk XIV in the stash, which is the same mould.
Thanks again chaps!
ATB
Andrew
Well despite the issues it looks fine now. Pilot looks the part.
OK chaps, so we're nearly there.
Black wing tips applied, again gone for a slightly mottled look.
Also painted the black fuselage band, again with a slightly mottled look. There is a decal version in the kit but a painted version looks so much better. That said it was really hard to get the masking line both straight and parallel especially around the sloped curve on the underside.
It's also fair to say, I probably went overboard with the masking but being black, I didn't want to risk any overspray.
Canopy, exhausts and both radiators also stuck on.
Word of warning, of ever you build this kit, the base of the exhaust parts need significant shaving and a slight shortening to get them in the slot, once the bulges above them are in place. The fit is so tight that they need no glue.....
Next up, varnish, once a couple of touch ups have dried.
ACW as usual
ATB
Andrew
----------------------------------
A modicum of masking......
Paint......black mottling over the silver.....then the finished job
Black wing tips applied, again gone for a slightly mottled look.
Also painted the black fuselage band, again with a slightly mottled look. There is a decal version in the kit but a painted version looks so much better. That said it was really hard to get the masking line both straight and parallel especially around the sloped curve on the underside.
It's also fair to say, I probably went overboard with the masking but being black, I didn't want to risk any overspray.
Canopy, exhausts and both radiators also stuck on.
Word of warning, of ever you build this kit, the base of the exhaust parts need significant shaving and a slight shortening to get them in the slot, once the bulges above them are in place. The fit is so tight that they need no glue.....
Next up, varnish, once a couple of touch ups have dried.
ACW as usual
ATB
Andrew
----------------------------------
A modicum of masking......
Paint......black mottling over the silver.....then the finished job
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