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1/32 Spitfire MkIXc


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Yet another 1/32 Tamiya Spitfire.

Originally this was going to be a straight OOB build just to see how good it is, and to plan out a PRXI conversion for down the road.

However, after getting into it I couldn't help but add various bits and pieces that Tamiya left out.

I don't know yet exactly which specific aircraft I'm going to build. Unless I have a epiphany before I get that point, it will be the in box JE.J.

Various cockpit parts.

(just dry fitted. There is still some cleaning up to do here and there.)

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Control column was missing the pneumatic lines for the gun operation.

Tamiya provided a nice PE external drop tank fuel switch and release handle, but didn't provide the reset of the tank release mechanism.

The brass on the ends of the rudder control rods are to take the control wires after painting.

I also lengthened the elevator control rod so that it will meet up with the control horn behind the seat.

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This will get the control wires added after painting.

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Tamiya provided the de-icer tank and control switch, but not the pressurization pump and the plumbing.

Also added the handle for the seat harness lock control

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Undercarriage control needed the pneumatic lines added.

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Oxygen tank. The line will eventually meet up with the control switch that is molded into the fuselage. The rest of the plumbing will have to be added after the cockpit is together as it has to run through the holes in the frames.

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Despite a number of very clear views of this object in their reference guide, Tamiya didn't supply it.

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Throttle got the throttle and mixture control arms, the boost override switch and the landing gear warning horn switch added.

Because the seat doesn't have the distinctive padded back, and because Tamiya provided such a nice figure, I'm going to use the seated pilot.

However, with an open canopy and door to show off the cockpit work, he will look odd with the goggles down and oxygen mask up, so his head got some work.

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I cut of the oxygen mask, hogged out the rest of the head from the helmet, then cut off the standing pilots face and transplanted it into the helmet.

The oxygen mask will be hung from the side with a tape strap and the goggles pushed up onto the helmet. A more natural look I hope.

That is going to be pretty much it. I still have a gun camera counter to make for the port side.

Once I've taken care of the few noticeable ejection pin marks in the fuselage sides I can add some final wiring then off to paint.

Cheers for now.

Matt

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Cockpit is done.

PollyScale British Interior Green and Citadel Silver. Oil wash over a semi gloss coat.

I ended up doing some dry brushing with the base colour and then a light touch of Tamiya Sky to get the details to pop a bit.

Detail painting is all Citadels.

I ended up having to not use the pilot figure. It just didn't fit right, so I had to use the PE seatbelts which I hate, I can never make them look realistic.

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Cheers,

Matt

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  • 3 weeks later...

I had to completely rebuild the computer at home, so I haven't been able to post regular updates to this build so its moved on quite a ways.

All the major construction is pretty much done.

The Merlin is done.

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It was actually painted a very dark grey, but after a gloss coat to let a wash work its magic in all the detail, it ended up pretty much black.

I did do a thin dark brown wash just to make it look a little dirty. The detail painting of the fittings is somewhat fanciful just to give it some 'pop'.

The ignition harnesses are scratch built and fought me all the way. If I did this again I would attach them before painting, not after.

After I had it all done I did a dry fit for the outer engine panel mounting frames which were interfering on the plug leads, so I had to pull them all out and shorten them so they would clear.

The firewall is getting all the lines for the hydraulic circuits and the oil separator for the vacuum system. There should be a lot of other wiring here, but without good references to work from I left it alone.

(Apologies for the blurry pic, no idea where the camera was focusing)

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First dry fit. The long lines are soft solder and will eventually connect the oil separator with the vacuum pumps that Tamiya chose to model on the front plate rather than the engine itself.

There is still a lot of wiring and pipework to add that Tamiya left off, but its going to have to be done after all this is painted and assembled to get the routing right.

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And here's the full thing so far.

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Fit is typical Tamiya, it just needed a little filler around the Cannon mounts and the MG ports.

Cheers,

Matt

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Beautiful work Matt. :worship:

The additional plumbing is a definate improvement and helps "busy" the whole area up nicely. Well worth the extra effort I'd say.

All of these Spitfire builds are fantastic to watch. If Tamiya ever release an early version I'll be all over it. :yahoo:

Glad you got your computer fixed so that you can post updates. Can't wait to see more of your build.

:salute:

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Thanks for the comments. I'll try and post more frequently now I'm back online here.

If Tamiya ever release an early version I'll be all over it. :monkeydance:

Looking at the way Tamiya broke down the sprue layouts I'm pretty sure there could be a single stage version to come. All the supercharger parts are off on their own sprue, and other parts had to be drilled out to accept bits that you wouldn't find on an earlier Spitfire.

Cheers,

Matt

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Quick update as the engine bay parts are now painted.

Same as the cockpit, PollyScale British Interior Green, a gloss coat, a brown oil wash and finally a dry brush of 50/50 Interior Green and Sky to pick out the details.

The large silver lines will eventually be attached to the hydraulic pump on the end of the engine. They are attached to the fittings here with small 24 gauge copper wire pins to provide some strength to the join for when I have to bend them to fit.

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The kit supplied pipe work is just held in place with tape for now. I wasn't sure if it would be place-able after the engine was fitted, but I don't want to cement it in place until I can make sure it lines up properly with the header tank, which you can't add until after the engine is in.

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Cheers,

Matt

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Another quick update.

Engine , bearers and firewall are all together.

I also added some of the more obvious missing pipework for the crank case breather and the intercooler coolant pump.

I still have to finish off the lines to the hydraulic pump and add a last line for the intercooler and then I'll call it a day other than touching up some paint here and there.

All the additional lines are silver solder, attached with small copper wire pins for strength. The solder is fast becoming a favourite. It comes in different diameters and its easy to bend into any shape but it holds that shape nicely. The only down side is that ti shows tool marks very easily. I've started to wrap all my tweezers in tape to try and keep that to a minimum.

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Cheers,

Matt

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  • 2 weeks later...

Putting the engine aside, its time to move onto the paintwork.

First up was the Sky Fuselage stripe. Tamiya provide a decal, but why use a decal when you can just paint it.

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Various shades of Tamiya Sky.

Once that had dried and was masked off, its time for the undersides.

Various shades of the new Tamiya MSG with about 25% of their clear gloss added. This makes for a smoother finish which will hopefully make for an easier time getting a nice smooth gloss coat for the decals.

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I decided to keep working with something that I did for the BoB GB recently. Rather than pre or post shade to the panel lines, I just worked in different shades of the base coat in more random patterns, finished off with a very thin 'filter' of the base coat to tie it all together.

It may still be too subtle and get lost in the gloss/flat coats later on, but I'm happy with it. It breaks up the monotone appearance without looking too 'fake'.

Cheers,

Matt

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A quick update.

The Ocean Gray is done on the upper sides.

The same as the underside, the monotone is broken up with lighter and darker shades in a more random pattern than just following the panel lines.

I start with darker streaks either in the airflow direction on the horizontal surfaces, or vertical on the vertical surfaces followed by random patterns and finally a very thin coat of the base colour to tie it all together. I'm still working how subtle I can be without losing it all in the gloss and flat coats later on.

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Tamiya provide 2 side doors, one to pose open, and one to pose closed. The open door is what I'll be using in the end, however I'm using the closed one here to make it easier to mask. It is just tacked on with a little white glue.

The masking for the clear parts comes with the kit, (although its not precut). It doesn't seem to stick quite as well as regular Tamiya tape. You can see one corner on the top of the windscreen lifting up. I'm probably going to have some overspray to clean up. I'm toying with replacing it with regular tape before the Dark Green

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In case you are wondering, the tail planes and all the flight control surface and engine covers are being painted the same way at the same time to maintain consistency, I'm just not taking any pictures. I will probably have to bring them together to properly mask the camo to make sure it all joins up nicely.

Cheers,

Matt

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