discussion Part 1 Supermarine Spitfire MkVb

[PhilJ]

Looking good Robert, did you say your not using masking tape now? As tony said make sure you spray at 90 degrees and don't go mad, I now use multiple really coats at a slightly lower pressure which gives a nice faded edge.


Also don't worry about colour match too much as if you are weathering say with oils and pastels (which I probably would for a Malta subject) this will give you different colour variations and tone and I reckon would be in keeping with the subject.


Also what compressor did you get? Did you get one with a tank of so do you think it makes a difference?


Cheers


Phil

 

[Robert1968]

Hi Phil


Yes I de msked the diy tape and am now going with Ralph's suggest of White tac only ( about half way through masking up


The colour match will not make that much dig I suppose as there will be a mist of med blue over the colours anyway plus weathering etc


The compressor I got was As189 and John at SMS sells em about £70 I think and as far as I know he has some left ( good deal of you ask me


It's got a huge tank on it and also can run two ab from the same unit. Variable tank pressure etc


Scotts got one too and they are really something else!!

 

[stona]

Try to make the 'sausages' a bit thinner.This will enable you to more closely match the curves of the scheme. Here's a couple of very old pictures I found of a Spitfire masked using this method. It was during my flirtation with acrylic paints


Obviously this is the Day Fighter Scheme colours, but the pattern would be the same.


Before:


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After:


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Cheers


Steve

 

[Robert1968]

I have eventually made my new masks from white tac thin worms and Then made patties to fill in the gaps.


I'll use a modelling tool to get a more exact wavy line before I commit to spraying ( thanks for this wonderful tip Ralph.


The wife just returned with 3 new packs of white tac .29p each from Home Bargains ( deal eh )


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[Robert1968]

When I come to spray it will be light coats poss 2/ 3 but leave to dry compleatly before next spray.


Thanks to all the advice I'm getting ( your all in this is f it fails ) hahahahaha

 

[Guest]

This looks well better Robert.

 

[Robert1968]

Well I took advice from a lot of people in this, yes it stil not perfect and ther will be touch ups etc but nothing major. On the whole I'm rather impressed with the finish. It took only 3 swipes of the spray to obtain the colour desired.


Masking with Tamiya tape caused a few niggly spots but they can easily be masked around and resprayed or touched up with paint as I have the 3 mixtures to hand.


Pics and comments most welcome


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[Guest]

Looks good to me Robert! A great result after all that masking

 

[Guest]

Turned out nice Robert.


See pm.

 

[Robert1968]

Looks good to me Robert! A great result after all that masking

Thanks Partick I have all my great efforts to thank Ralph for ( in the spraying and camo help department


Robert

 

[Robert1968]

Turned out nice Robert.
See pm.

Thanks Ralph


Pretty proud of it too even if it's a first time. I'll be using the same method differant colours for my Vc


Regards


Robert

 

[flyjoe180]

Nice job there Robert. I've often used tac sausages for these sorts of camouflage schemes. You can vary the 'softness' of the edges by using higher or lower sausage boundaries between the colours. The 'sausages' are easier to manipulate when they are smaller/lower. Also, you can save on your tac usage by using thin strips of masking tape in the gaps, or post-it style paper.

 

[Robert1968]

Sorry been away from the table a lot as work getting more time than personal


Anyways I've now given the Vc the earth camo and now it's back to the Vb


I've started camo again this time over the earth using the sausage etc as I found it very good to get the camo shapes better.


This time the mid stone only will get the dark sea blue Val 70.898 spray, this will be a light spray poss 30/70 but I'll practice on the old milk bottle first eh


There's no exact on this overspray as in the real aircraft ( Stona ) our expert on spitfires has informed me


Pics and comments welcome


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[Guest]

Looking good Robert.

 

[Robert1968]

Overspray went good to what I'm hoping to achieve.it looks blue green but the colour is dark sea blue . Although I masked up with the white tack there were a few lines of mid stone which I duly spared giving a small overspray on the dark earth which was on the original aircraft.


When it comes to the Vc this will have a total overspray but it still will show the camo pattern ( I'm hoping


Next will be a coat of klear ( once fully dry ) then I'll start decals and weathering.


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[PhilJ]

That's quite a involve paint scheme already Robert, and interesting colours. What is the idea behind the mid stone then overspray with dark sea blue then?


Phil

 

[Robert1968]

During the Malta crisis the Spitfire was hurriedly rushed to Malta aboard aircraft carriers and as they were originally in the temperate scheme they were not suitably painted to be camo over the water so an order was requested that the Spitfires be over sprayed ( Stona can give you more exact details )


This was done with what paints were available onboard the aircraft carriers ( dark sea blue and dark slate gray )


There are a lot of discussions on this and I have amassed some good ref pics


Once the final spray is finished you will see a better view of my creation.I still have to highlight.


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[stona]

AB264, above, was delivered on operation 'Spotter' from HMS Eagle. This was the first and hurried Spitfire delivery, and the aircraft arrived on Malta in the standard tropical scheme. Once there a 'locally mixed' (according to some accounts) blue grey colour was applied. There is good evidence that some aircraft, like AB264, only had this new colour applied over the lighter Mid Stone colour and the Dark Earth colour was left unchanged. Again, what exactly that Maltese colour was is not known and much debate surrounds the subject.


BTW, Dark Slate Grey is actually a greenish colour and I think Robert means Dark Sea Grey or Extra Dark Sea Grey,which may have been grey/blue or grey colours available and used on Malta. Bottom line is nobody really knows.


Spitfires delivered slightly later on operation 'Calendar' were painted on USS Wasp, you'll get as many opinions as answers as to what colour was used, but it was some kind of blue/grey. I think a US aircraft colour, or mixture of the same, is likely, simply because I find it unlikely that a supply of British paint was sent on an American carrier. The British could have painted the aircraft before they left, or en route at Gibraltar, as happened for other deliveries. They got an all over thin coat of the new colour to tone down the tropical scheme. Robert's other build is one of these Spitfires.


Cheers


Steve

 

[Robert1968]

Hi all and well disaster really ( I never really thought the deep sea blue sat right with the spitfire and it just looked at me and said I'm not wearing the correct colours ( my error ) so back to stage 1 of the painting process


I have made a good start on the removal with IPA and well it's start again!!


The azure blue is still masked and not damaged ( I'm hoping )


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[PhilJ]

During the Malta crisis the Spitfire was hurriedly rushed to Malta aboard aircraft carriers and as they were originally in the temperate scheme they were not suitably painted to be camo over the water so an order was requested that the Spitfires be over sprayed ( Stona can give you more exact details )
This was done with what paints were available onboard the aircraft carriers ( dark sea blue and dark slate gray )


There are a lot of discussions on this and I have amassed some good ref pics


Once the final spray is finished you will see a better view of my creation.I still have to highlight.


View attachment 152968 View attachment 152969 View attachment 152970 View attachment 152971 View attachment 152972 View attachment 152973 View attachment 152985

AB264, above, was delivered on operation 'Spotter' from HMS Eagle. This was the first and hurried Spitfire delivery, and the aircraft arrived on Malta in the standard tropical scheme. Once there a 'locally mixed' (according to some accounts) blue grey colour was applied. There is good evidence that some aircraft, like AB264, only had this new colour applied over the lighter Mid Stone colour and the Dark Earth colour was left unchanged. Again, what exactly that Maltese colour was is not known and much debate surrounds the subject.
BTW, Dark Slate Grey is actually a greenish colour and I think Robert means Dark Sea Grey or Extra Dark Sea Grey,which may have been grey/blue or grey colours available and used on Malta. Bottom line is nobody really knows.


Spitfires delivered slightly later on operation 'Calendar' were painted on USS Wasp, you'll get as many opinions as answers as to what colour was used, but it was some kind of blue/grey. I think a US aircraft colour, or mixture of the same, is likely, simply because I find it unlikely that a supply of British paint was sent on an American carrier. The British could have painted the aircraft before they left, or en route at Gibraltar, as happened for other deliveries. They got an all over thin coat of the new colour to tone down the tropical scheme. Robert's other build is one of these Spitfires.


Cheers


Steve

Really interesting guys, great reference.