I was originally just going to post finished pics of this subject, but I ultimately decided to do a work in progress anyways. With the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain upon us, I figured I’d pay a little homage to “The Few”. I’ll be piecing together Bob Doe’s 234 Squadron mount from the Battle of Britain. I’ve become a fan of Doe from watching his interviews in documentaries over the years. Doe scored 14 kills and 2 damaged during the battle.
I plan to piece together his X4036 with a mix of decals and Montex paint masks.
Of course I’m using the new Tamiya kit.
I started with the pit which got XF-71 Cockpit Grey mixed with XF-19 Sky Grey. It’s perfect out of the box.
Starboard
Port
Fit is excellent…
Instrument dials are decals. They are pretty well done.
Test fit…perfect!!
No fit issues. Like a glove…
After a preshade, I started spraying and masking the roundels.
Next came AKI Real Colors Sky. Seems a tad yelow to my eye but I used it anyways. Maybe it’s technically correct? I did a bit of reverse basing but it’s really not noticeable in such a light color.
Next came the AKI Dark Earth. I thought this color looked great.
I added some XF-55 Deck Tan and again did some light and dark basing. I intentionally overdid it as the further process will tone it down.
AK Real Colors will all be off from what is known of actual paint shades, since they incorporate into ther formulas scale effect. So they will be lighter, along whatever other spin they’ve put on it.
I sat down and got some more work in last night. I moved on to the RAF Green. I use Blue Tack “worms” as the demarcation masks and I utilized the color profile sheet that came with the kit as a reference. The Blue Tack ensures a nice soft edge to the camo.
Cheap masking tape fills the rest in. XF-81 RAF Green was then sprayed which looks perfect to my eye (I have the AK RAF Green but it looks too green). I then mixed in a touch of XF-57 Buff to fade and marble it. I went back with straight RAF Green randomly concentrating along the panel lines. I was pleased with the effect.
It’s my understanding they used rubber mats to paint the camo on the real thing and they really had a hard edge, but the feathered edge looks better to me. Moment of truth.
Montex performed perfectly…
I have to touch up some of the white in the roundels. Looks like some of the mask lifted. It happens sometimes.
I added some minor weathering, mostly some exhaust stains with XF-78 Deck Tan to simulate heat. I’ll do more with oils later.
I did a bit of dirt streaking on the underside. I may go heavier.
Looks phenomenal, my friend! Regarding the real camouflage painting process, be careful! That is still a hotly contested subject. People who don’t think there were masks used have many pieces of “evidence”, such as the fact that there are no masks remaining, they wouldn’t have been made of such a strategic material such as rubber, even that no self-respecting painter would have used any masks.
My thoughts on the subject are that the RAF had a somewhat complicated camo scheme, yet they managed to make them all the same no matter who painted them or what factory they came from. There had to be something which took the painter’s artistic license out of it!
My god, I just spent way more effort than anyone has any right to talking about RAF painting. Brain turning to mush…
Anyway great job, Joe. Thanks for sharing your build and techniques.
Thanks Max. No fears, except for spiders maybe. I encourage discussion in my threads. I actually saw a photo one time of the masks being used on an early Mark Spitfire. It was a long time ago. I think it was in a book. They may not have been rubber but it was definitely a mat of some sort. I’m not sure on the later Marks though. I would imagine they would’ve had the resources prewar for the rubber and perhaps they kept using the same ones.
Your work never disappoints Joe. Thanks again for taking the time to post. I belive I going to have time on my hands soon to work on my new Spit. Being put on state wide lock down from Tuesday, heading into uncharted territory, starting to get concerned.
Joe, your Spitfire is coming along very well. I always favored the early war dark earth + dark green topside camo rather than the later gray+green. Your paint looks very well aged.
Thanks and your welcome Damian. We start lockdown tomorrow. I’m a public service exception though. It’s like a ghost town already. Strange times my friend.
I finished this turkey up the other night. To recap it’s the new tooled Tamiya Spitfire Mk. I. I built this (along with the Airfix Hurricane Mk. I) to honor “The Few” with the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. I pieced together the markings for Wing Commander Bob Doe’s main mount of 234 Squadron. He was one of the leading aces of the battle with 14 destroyed and 2 damaged.
I certainly remember. Thank you for your service Sir…
The Tamiya kit really needs nothing, so it was built out of the box. It’s right up there with their P-47 and new P-38 in engineering. The main markings were painted on with Montex and I pieced together the X4036 serial with spare decals. I did plumb the brakelines and added aerial wires.
Speaking of aerial wires, I was at my Local Hobby Store looking for more AK stuff when the owner and I got to talking about bi-planes (not sure why) and I said I’d probably never build one because of the rigging. He introduced me to Uschi “Rig that Thing” rigging line. He said I would never go back to invisible thread as it’s easy to use, durable, and not square like EZ Line. Too bad he didn’t have it yet, so I went to ebay and found it for about $12 bones. I used their .005 sized line (bought .003 too) and rigged the Spitfire. I found it especially useful on the fuselage-to-tail lines. As advertised and I rigged the Spitfire in about ten minutes. Maybe the only drawback was that it tends to curl when dipped in CA. I held it closer to the end with the tweezers which helped hold it straight for application to the model. Your mileage may vary.
Amazing as usual. Still looks like you have the worlds smallest airbush to paint your interiors. Love the fading on the camo and the subtle exhaust streaking. Thanks again for sharing!
