Okay, my first model in 35 years, so keep that in mind [;)]. I’m looking for feedback from all you experts, so be kind [:D] , nah be honest! I know the weathering is weak (as I’ve seen and learned on here). It’s a Revellogram Spit, pics are a little foggy, not sure if it’s the camera or operator but it is definitely forgiving of my building sins.
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Looks good to me [Y] BUT…I ain`t no expert…[:D]…lol.
Pics are blurry but looks good far as I can tell. Nice effort.
Regards, Rick
Looks pretty good for a 35 year break from the work bench.[;)]
Here is another. Yeah, can’t tell why the pics are so blurry. I’m using a Kodak EasyShare C195 do you all have special equip to get such clear upclose pics?
Select the mode that shows a flower icon. That means macro mode and lets you get real close. Also select the flash mode that looks like an eye. It tends to put more light all around the subject as it bounces with a first flash before the main flash/picture.
Press the shutter slightly and hold until the brackets are green. If they show red, back up the camera an inch or so until you can press/hold and get the green brackets. Once green, press the rest of the way to take the picture.
Practice, practice, practice…
Tim
Nice looking Spitfire. You’ve gotten back into modeling with great success. And I have trouble with digital cameras, too.
It’s a shame the pics are blurry. I love Spits.
Yup, as stated above, use the macro mode. I also have a pair of desk lamps that I use for lighting. I usually start with one to the side and one above and adjust as I go. I never use a flash as I find, even with the ‘eye’ setting, everything just gets washed out. As I use fluorescent bulbs I also adjust the camera’s white balance. And finally, I also recommend grabbing a tripod. You can get a desk one for pretty cheap or scour thrift stores, which is where I picked up mine. It seems like I used to see multiple tripods every single time I went ‘thrifting’ and I finally picked up a real nice one for like $5. It looks quite odd with the tiny little Kodak Easyshare I use on top! I like to set it one the tripod and then set the timer so I can keep my hands off. I have found that even when the camera tells me my shot will be good, I mess it up with my natural shakes.
Ah, thanks for the info all. I really wish I could get better close up shots of detail so you could give me some pointers on what I can do different to improve. I will try your suggestions and maybe repost, thanks for looking.
Do you have Windows Vista? If so, you can use the photo-editing software installed along with it… The main thing is to get it focused properly… Anything closer than 4 inches won’t focus, so back up a bit more, maybe to about eight inches…
As for lighting, I use a direct light overhead, and a “fill light” which lights the model’s sides, and the flash on…
Now that you have a picture, just open it with the “My Photos”… At least that’s where it should be… Then click on “Fix” at the top of the toolbar. A list of things will open up on the right side. Click “Auto Adjust” first. If that’s not enough, then adjust the lighting with the slider bar. After that gets “right”, then you click on “Crop”. A box will appear in the picure. Use the arrows to drag the box and to set the area you want to enlarge. (Remeber, it has to be a FOCUSED picture above all else for this to work)
When you get the box set and showing the area the way you want it it, click the button, and the pic will enlarge… Then click “Next”. That’ll save the work. Click “go back” and check to see if you ned to increase the lighting, or color saturation (decreasing it all the way left will make it a B & W photo)…
Right now, I’m on my computer, which doesn’t have that function, or I’d fix the pics for ya a bit… If you want, email me (or put some into a PM) some of the better ones, and I’ll fix them for ya… Remeber to keep focus as the priority…
Thanks Hammer, I do have Vista but haven’t fiddled with the photo editing program. I took a couple more using (as suggested above) the macro setting and it seemed to help. I think the big challenge is keeping it steady without a tripod. I will attach these newer photos. beloow and see if it looks like I’m on track. Boy, does the underside detailing need help. I think I know what to do different on my next build a P40.
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Much better photos, Reasoned…
By all means, play with it… None of your photos will actually change until you hit “next” or “Save”… Plus, you can just hit “restore” on the “crop” function (BEFORE you hit SAVE) if you don’t like it…
Regarding the model now… Overall it looks pretty good to me, from here… Were I to suggest anythig, it’d be that the streaking on the underside be a bit more “reasoned” (get it?) as to what and where the streaking is from, be it dirt, oil, hydraulic fluid, etc and what color it is…
The gun’s soot-stains look pretty good, but the streaking from the engine & radiator area as well as the gear strut area need a just a little more work… The Spit II’s Merlin engine operated with a “partial loss” oil sysrm, so they got pretty dirty underneath, especially during that time-frame you’ve depicted with Doug Bader’s Spitfire… The only other thing I see is the bright metal exhaust stubs… They’s only look like that for a few hours after being installed… Heat rusts steel, so a reddish-brown color would be “more better”, as my grandson says…
Overall, an excellent job for your first in THAT long a time!
Looks great, that was one of the first kits i made after a 25 year lay off myself!
It was a pain in parts for me, but it comes out pretty well.
I forgot to add the pictures!
Yeah, the “streaking” and getting the hi-lighting of the raised panels with dirty wash is an art I’ve yet to master. I saw on your Hurricane you were able to draw out all of the rivets, panels etc. which is what I’m gunnin for. Good point about the engine exhaust, I wondered about that when it called for “steel” color [:S]. Thanks again with your feedback, that’s what helps us novices progress.
Chris, thanks for adding the pics for comparison. I see how you were able to show the hi-lights like Hammer was talking about on the underside especially. BTW, did you also use “Duck Egg Blue” for the underside/prop? And you painted the wheel wells interior green, hmm. I also notice you have a hard line on the camo vs my soft. Since this was my first airbrush piant job (let alone camo) I just winged it and sprayed the green in and cut it as sharp as I could free hand. I see also how your exhaust looks much more real as Hammer stated. Excellent, thanks for posting that, it really helps.
The hard edge is from brush painting, although i have an airbrush I rarely use it, just eats paint and the compressor makes so much noise i loathe it!
The underside is modelmaster ‘sky type s’ which is the correct english color, also called ‘duck egg blue’.
There is some dispute about the wheel wells being the underside color, I went with the interior green because it makes a better contrast.
The details on the bottom were done with a liner brush in a semi black wash, as the kit had raised rather then recessed details.
The exhuasts would usually in servive look black from useage, and you get a film build up behind them unless the plane was cleaned often.
Glad you liked my version, its nowhere as good as many builders here, but its teh best i could do.[;)]
Oh, some added trivia, the book the plane is sitting on was issued by the royakl air force museum for the 70th aniversary of teh battle of britain, a british friend of mine sent it to me for christmas last year. [:D]
If you can find or order them, Tamiya makes little weathering sets that look like make up compacs. One set comes with a “soot” among the three colors and is excellent for use on aircraft kits. It allows for very precise application and will have you looking like an expert in no time. Look at how it came out on this Mosquito.
One technique you may want to try on your exhausts stacks is after you paint them steel and allow to dry and cure, give a top coat wash of Burnt Sienna to give it a nice heat induced rusty patina.
