In progress 1/72 Spit IX in D-day markings...

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Hey guys,

Thought I would post a pic of my Spit IX by Hasegawa in 1/72 scale. I’m building it for a group build over at ARC. Also in the photo is an MPM Fokker D.XXI that is almost ready for paint. The Spit has an Eduard photo etch cockpit and other details in addtion to a Squadron replacement canopy. I also took the time to cut and drop the elavators a bit. The final paint, weathering and decaling await!

Happy modeling!

Joe Youngerman

2

Hey Joe!!
That Spit looks pretty good!! Make sure you post at least one picture of it when you finish. Kee up the good work.

3

Looking good. Keep us posted. what other details did you add and why replace the canopy? I’m looking to maybe do a Spitfire or a Typhoon for the D-Day group build.

4

cool name joe. great looking bird. i agree with the above, keep the pics coming.

joe

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looks great

6

Thanks for the comments guys. Chris, I am replacing the sliding portion of the canopy so that I can display the it in the open position. This isn’t possible using the kit canopy…though the kit canopy is nicely molded.

Here is a pic of the cockpit…click on the image for a close up look!

Joe

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Looking good so far. I think the 1/72 Hasegawa Mk VII/XI is more accurate than their 1/48 version. BTW how was the MPM Fokker XXI as a build. I have the kit on my “to build some day” pile.

8

The MPM Fokker has been a good build except for a couple points…
*the glazing on top of the fuselage just behind the canopy was slightly crazed and it cracked badly after the fuselage was joined. I tried a couple of fixes with clear spure but was unsatisfied with the result. I have now filled the window with strip plastic and sanded it smooth. I will have to have this glazing painted on…oh well, its not an important build for me anyway.

  • My second squawk would be over the cowling which comes in three pieces with no locator pins. Getting the cowling the correct shape is a little fiddly but was achieved. Care has to be taken not to sand off the rocker cover blisters after assembling the parts.
    Other than these issues…its an easy enjoyable build which I would highly recommend!!

Joe Youngerman

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Nice progress on the kits ! Looking forward to the Fokker.

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nice looking paint job ninediver! what did you use for masking to get the hard edges? keep sharin’ and i’ll keep starin’. later.

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Thanks guys…Saltydog, I use regular old masking tape in a way that works for me but many will find crazy! After the base coat, (in this case gray), I put a 2-3inch strip on the kit where the color seperation will be. Using a three view of the camo-scheme as a guide, I draw the line on the tape with a pencil. I then carefully pull the tape off and cut on the line with a very sharp blade (with the tape on glass or a synthetic cutting surface). I then re-apply the mask on the model. I keep doing this, connecting each section carefully so that it blends flawlessly. This process takes about an hour for an a/c like the Spitfire but the final result is very good. I only do this for a hard edge…otherwise I freehand airbrush with a fine tip or make paper masks attached just a couple of mm from the surface with little pieces of rolled up Tamiya tape.
I know this sounds crazy but I really like the final result…hard edge camo with no paint build up or knife marks!

Joe Youngerman

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Looking good there! I’m just heading into the finishing stretch with my 1/72 Tamiya Spit. Good looking planes. I like the look with the stripes. Are you going to weather it up?

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Thanks Maddafinga,

Yes I’m adding some weathering now…the panel lines have been detailed with an artist’s pastel pencil and grime and scratches have been added here and there. Its a bit hard to see in the flash photo though. I’ll also add some exhaust stains using a 70/30 black/rust mix thinned to about 50/50 once I get the decals on. Heres a belly shot!

Click image for larger view…

Happy modeling!

Joe

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Thanks for the info and the cockpit pic

15

That looks stunning.

Love the invasion stripes.

How was the Eduard cockpit set to work with?

Karl

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No problem Chris…Karl, the Eduard cockpit was really well done I thought and I had very little problem getting it to fit. The set is made for the Hasegawa kit so I’m not sure the results would be the same if used on a Tamiya or Italeri kit. It is a huge improvement over the kit parts!

Happy modeling!

Joe

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lookin mighty fine there ninedriver.
I will try your hard edge masking method on my next RAF build.
thanks.

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Obiwan…you should check out Dave Pluth’s 1/72 SM.79 article on Hyperscale.com today. He used sillyputty to do the same thing I did with tape. I have seen this used before and it looks much quicker than my method. I just have not got around to getting any sillyputty yet to give it a try!

Joe

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Ninedriver, thanks for that.

I’m entertaining thoughts of the Revell Fw190 with the eduard detail etch, including cockpit.

Keep up the good work.

Karl