1/32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.IX.C

Gallery Article by Murad on Dec 18 2017

 

      

1/32 Spitfire Mk.IX.C Tamiya 60319

Another 1/32 masterpiece from Tamiya.

Click on images below to see larger images

Even though it's a magnificent kit it's not without it's problems compared to the Zero I built previously. First and foremost almost all of the decals were an issue; brittle and stubborn. Tamiya isn't known for particularly good decals alright but these were even lower than their usual quality somehow which weren't becoming a kit of this caliber. For anyone thinking of building this babe my advice would be to look for aftermarket decal set or be prepared to make your own decals and/or masks especially the roundels were a lot of problem since they had a lot of bumps and dents in their location to conform. On hindsight though, painting and weathering the decals made the overall appearance lot more uniform no complaints there.

Second problem is the modular approach these kits have with their engine cowlings and landing gears, they do complicate build, fit and alignment, especially around the engine area, if you want to present your model slick that is. 

Painting was done with Tamiya acrylics over black primer. You could see in the wip stages below all 3 colors were painted in 3 passes. Initially panel by panel with a 0.2 needle sparmax airbrush, than stains and discoloration and finally blending everything all up again with thinner tinted with the respective base color. Weathering was kept to a minimum with oils, pastels and very light sponge chipping around the wingroots and cockpit area. Top flat coat was Testors Visions matt varnish shot at 2+ pressure and wet, result is a smooth yet flat coat without frosting or darkening the paintjob. Overall it was a pleasure.

As usual thank you very much ARC. 

Murad

Click on images below to see larger images

 

Photos and text © by Murad