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ICM Spitfire Mk.IX


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Hello gents,

This is the reason why you've seen no updates on my sea harrier recently. I was getting to a point where I needed a break and to get the satisfaction of completing something (other than that next switch or dial).

After seeing BillL's fabulous work on his spit, I decided to take up the task and to dabble in some Eduard PE (my first attempt at applying PE to models)

Enough talk, here are the pictures...

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My work bench after a mammoth spraying session...

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Main components of the engine sprayed. Lovely detail OOB and easy to assemble (relatively)

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Interior green sprayed...I'm using humbrol enamels extensively on this build which is another first. I think I've found the sweet spot when spraying so it's been a lot of fun. Humbrol enamels go on beautifully and I have no problems with acrylics drying on the tip and clogs. I recommend them! I also recommend a respirator!

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Left side wall washed with Burnt Umbre Windsor&Newton Oil paints, dry brushed with white enamel and flat coated with Xtracrylics Flat Coat. Details then picked out with whatever acrylic paints match with the instructions..

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Right side wall treated the same as the left...

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PE IP..(sorry for the poor quality)

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PE seat with PE belts (poor quality again).

Lastly, the PE set I'm using is the smaller version of the set Bill was using in his build (basic cockpit and small bits for the exterior). Also, this build is purely for experience in weathering, airbrushing and more advanced airbrushing. I've done minimal research into this spit and I'm just going with the instructions. It will be a gift to my mother.

P.S. if anyone's interested, my FA.2 is still active and hasn't gone AWOL. Updates will be on here in a week or two.

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Nice start, Papa ! (And thanks for the kind words)

Your first use of PE is turning out MUCH better than my first (10? years ago). Watch out, though - I've become addicted to it. I can't/won't build without it any more.

I noticed that you're using the engine, which will require installing the firewall. Mine was too wide - it would have prevented a flush fit of the wings. You can tape together the fuselage and wing halves, slip in the firewall, then dryfit the wings to the fuselage. If yours is anything like mine was, you'll probably want to trim the edges of the firewall. If you install the lower cowling piece, consider gluing it to the lower wing first. Alignment and assembly of this piece is tricky the way the instructions suggest.

Looking forward to the progress !

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That is some excellent airbrushing, and washing for the inner fuselage. Great work with the PE as well. It is amazing how much a PE set will add to the realism of the model. Keep on posting your progress on this one.

:blink:

J.C.

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MAJOR WARNING regarding the Engine - If you're doing it exposed, you need to do it COMPLETELY exposed. You can't have ANY panels covering it, since it is oversized and it Won't fit. My Advice is build it closed (and since you won't see nothing inside) ignore the Merlin

NICE work so far man!!

Take Care

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Cheers for the lovely comments gents.

Bill...I'd already superglued the halves together before I read your post. I've managed to snap them apart at the front however and have removed most of the surrounding sections of the Merlin whilst keeping the core.

Bill, if you removed the entire engine, how did you go about glueing the exhausts?

Don't worry Mario, I wasn't going to do it exposed. This build is mainly for cockpit painting practise and for me to try my hand at airbrushing camo.

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Bill, if you removed the entire engine, how did you go about glueing the exhausts?

I just glue some scrap styrene sheet to the back of the lower cowlings and sand it flush with the top edge.

NoseGap.jpg

Hope this helps,

Matt.

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Small update.

Not found much time for this project and it's going slower than expected but I've managed a couple of bits and peices.

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Installing the wing bulges, they were way too deep....dodgy fits like this are no good!

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I cut some strips of very thin plasticard and (roughly) cemented them in place.

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I also recommend putting some extra bits of card in to keep the bulges stable when setting.

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Perfect fit :D

Amazing how a bit of time trouble shooting will save you hours of work. A year or two ago I would've just gone straight over that bulge with filler and sanded it till it looked flush :thumbsup:

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Did anyone else get this horrid fit on their wingtips? I'm a little worried about tackling this as I have no idea how to go about it...I guess it's time to get the filler out!

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Yes and no.

As you are figuring out, these ICM kits don't quite have the initial fit quality of a Tamiya. You really do have to dry fit everything a few times to work out the kinks and get the joints as close as possible before you apply the cement of your choice. If you can't remove these, then yes, you probably have to break out the filler and the sanding sticks.

I don't have a really good close up, but this was the last ICM Spit I built, it doesn't look like I ended up using any filler on the wingtips (this was a PRXI, hence the filler in the gun panel lines.)

Assy1.jpg

Hope this helps,

Matt

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Then the ICM shouldn't scare you too much. The fit tends to be the big complaint from the Tamigawa brigades.

Like you, I came from the Airfix/Revell world, so having to sand a little doesn't scare me.

I don't know that I've perfected it yet, but I've built 3 and have a couple more in various stages of progress, so I'm figuring it out bit by bit. In the most recent DDay group build I have build threads for a pair.

It looks like you have it mostly tamed though. I don't see any filler on the wingroot which tends to trip a lot of folk up. I'm looking forward to the rest of your build.

Cheers,

Matt

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  • 1 month later...

Hola again gentlemen,

For the last couple of weeks I've been working at bringing it up to painting standards. Previously, filling was a tedious and somewhat daunting(atleast for me) task. I have now started using SuperGlue (or CA - I don't know if there's a difference!) I use the regular old LOCtite brand that is common around my parts. No accelerator or anything and it works fine! Infact, much better than expected. It has turned filling into something I can do in a evening instead of having to wait for the filler to fully set before sanding :thumbsup: . Anyway, going off on one again... :P

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Some dry brushed grills for the intakes under the wings. Regretting not getting the full PE set which gives you lovely looking PE grills but AH well! perhaps next time!

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Underside. Note prepainting of the intake area...I've also rescribed ALL detail which was removed in the sanding process (a first for moi) and that's come out looking good aswell.

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Top side. Ignore the green and grey paint. I was using it for make-shift primer to check for gaps :P

All in all, so far an enjoyable build. I've learnt SO much about bringing it up to a professional standard which should hopefully be echoed in further (and current) builds.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Back again....stop groaning!

I've been messing around with the underside. Here it is in boring medium sea grey (Hu.165 with about 25% mix ratio of white)

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Pretty dull huh...

Again with a spot of light post-shading...(Hu.165 not lightened)

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As I've learnt from the shading masters on here, subtlety is the key. I've tried to keep it down, and I may even give it another quick dusting with some MSG again but for now I like the look of it. I reckon after some washes and with the oil staining added on, it'll look rather dirty. But in a good way... :cheers:

I'm trying to ease myself instead of jumping in at the deep end with pre-shading. Critiques please!

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Hello gents,

Practically finished painting the base Ocean Grey (Hu.106) colour.

Here are the pictures:

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Ready for paint! Sanded her down with some 1800 grade wet+dry before applying paint...

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Very subtle weathering in the paint. I tried to preshade where I knew dirt was (note: the darker area immediately behind the gun - more visible on the starboard wing) I kept it very subtle as I don't want it purticularly weathered...just 'interesting'...

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This is a closer shot of the starboard wing. I went over the paint with some fine grade wet and dry after it had dried. This gives the paint the streaky effect which the camera pics up on so much. In real life, it isn't as striking as this picture makes it out to be...

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Side of the fuselage. The effect was created using Hu.106 for the normal 'pre-shade paint' (opposed to black)

. I then mixed in white (1 drop of white+3 drops of Hu.106) for scale effect and filled in the gaps, before misting over the whole lot with straight Hu.106 (darkens it up a tad and blends in colours)

After drying, I lightly sanded over the whole thing again to get it smooth for the green camo...

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Undercarriage made ready. Just awaiting a flat coat. Note: I did not bother adding white for scale due to the white used in drybrushing the details...I've noticed this lightens the whole part.

Anyway...waiting for my local hobby shop to reopen (not till friday) so wont be able to paint the camo till Saturday...better get on with my FA.2 I guess.

Cheers guys,

Looking forward to hearing your comments and critiques but please not that this is my second build using my airbrush so I'm still a noob! :D

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I'm really enjoying your build Jake, and I can tell by your attention to detail that you are too. Cockpit looks great, I'm impressed by the trouble you took to get the wing-panels to fit and the rescribing of lost detail. I'm really looking forward to the paint stage, keep it up.

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Wasn't quite happy with the finish so went over it once more (also to eradicate any mistakes or spots I missed)

This is how it is going to look before it gets it's green camo layed in a couple of days:

img3725if6.jpg

Note the stains caused by the machine guns (missed these out originally) and I've blended in the gunsmoke behind the cannons (was to overdone IMHO considering how far they are infront of the wing)

Anyway, back to the bench!

Edited by PapaSmurf630
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Hello again,

Got the camo done a couple of days ago. Went well considering it's my first experience of masking camo and I enjoyed it quite a bit (more than I thought I would!)

I used printer paper cut to shape and then stuck on with blobs of bluetac to raise the paper and create a soft edge.

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After peeling the paper back (IMMENSELY satisfying!) I was relieved and pleased to see it had come out rather well and needed minimal cleanup. I used the same technique of painting as I did for the base coat, applying the base colour first to the panels and then lightening it with white and filling in the gaps.

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Completed paint job! <_<

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Thanks for watching!

By the way! Does anyone know the purpose of the yellow leading edge on the wings?? And the red paper over the mussels?

Edited by PapaSmurf630
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Beautiful work on a beautiful aeroplane. The red you refer to on the leading edges was the dope applied to canvas patches over the muzzles, placed there to keep out dirt on the ground and prevent the entrance of cold moist air once airborne (frozen guns being of less use than a French marriage vow :whistle: ). AFAIK the yellow stripes were intended to be a warning to ground personnel that they were approaching a potentially lived armed aircraft. Kepp up the good work.

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