Ok, so I’m not going at 450mph on the 5 Spitfire project, I realized that if I wanted to have something to put on the tables at the local contest this March, that I’d better focus on getting at least one done, so here’s the latest.
Academy Spitfire XIVc, I’ve tossed the kit decals and D-day stripes, masked and painted my own. I’ve got some Letraset RAF dry transfers that I’ve been saving for the last 15 years for a ‘special’ project, and this is it…
Jeff saw your website immediately following your posts. Nice job and nice fleet of Spifires. Nice job on your FW-190 and your ME-109. I never knew there were so many Spits or ME-109’s. Is there any website that is devoted to the variants of these? I know nothing about either one and would like to learn the distinguishing characteristics of these aricraft.
Thanks and keep going. I am 27 and just getting started on my first two serious projects, I am doing two F/A-18 Hornets for the USMC group build. I am doing an A and a C. Good luck nice job and keep going.
I have a good airbrush (Iwata HP-BCS) and a new compressor. I use good paint, and quality masking tape and Glad Press N’ Seal. The biggest thing is taking your time and letting the colors dry and cure before working the model.
I sprayed the white, let it dry for 48 hours, then put a light coat of Future over the top, let that dry for 48 hours, then applied the black. After that had 48 hours, I Futured the whole mess and readied it for the decals.
That’s why I usually have a bunch of projects going. While paint is curing, I’m building something else. It also keeps things interesting.
I hope you have luck with the Letraset dry transfers. I used to love them, but they stopped production because the inks dried out in a relatively short time. Hobby Shops stopped carrying them because of the short shelf life and the number of complaints/returns. 15 years is OK for properly stored decals but it’s stretching it for the Letraset. Sincerely hope you get lucky, cause those tranfers were beautiful.
Hey Bruce, the life raft stores in the back if I’m not mistaken…hey, even a Spitfire will float for a little while
Rick, the Letrasets I have were sealed…the previous owner had them in a photo album, so they’re perfect. I’ve tested a few already and no problems. If they don’t work out, I already have a set of Superscale water slides waiting as a backup.
They worked fine, I had no troubles with them at all. I did, however, pick up on a trick passed on to me by the owner of the local hobby shop, who’s a model railroader. He told me to heat the transfers up with a hair dryer prior to applying them. It apparently softens the film and makes it more sticky.
