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This is my Spitfire Mk XIVc
converted to an “e” wing. I built it as an airplane flown by F/L Brian
“Blackie” MacConnell while flying with 402 Squadron RCAF in March 1945. He
was credited with downing an Arado 234 on April 19, 1945.
The kit was easy to build,
while the cockpit is ok OOB, a nice detail set would make the kit even better.
To spruce this kit up, I added a seat and a set of wheels from Ultracast.
There
were a few “firsts” for me when building this kit. First off, I have finally
beaten the silvering decal woes. I used Polyscale paints for the first time and
really enjoyed them. When distilled water is added (ratio= 80:20) paint to
thinner, the paint went on very smooth and even. I then followed this up with 2
wet coats of Model Master Gloss clear Acryl prior to decaling. I applied Micro
Scale Sol over the decals to soften them up to ease into the panel lines. After
the decals were dry, I applied one more coat of gloss, and then followed that up
with a dull coat using Model Master Flat clear Acryl.
The second first for me was I
used a wash technique I found out about from an article here on ARC submitted by
Will Hendriks. I used pastel chalk and a bit of water, mixed together with a
drop or two of dish soap, and then I painted the areas I wanted to with it. When
partially dried, I began wiping the access paint off and this left behind and
awesome wash in the panel likes and even the raised detail. I followed the
weathering up with pastels for exhaust stains, and various staining underneath
the aircraft.
The
third first for me was I drilled out the exhaust and the cannon barrels. This
gave a nice realistic look to them. I also masked the canopy using E-Z Masks and
will not use anything else again for masking canopies. I used a piece of a
hairbrush bristle for the whip antenna, and I was done. I hope you enjoy this
kit as I did. I intend on building Academy’s 1/48 scale Low back Mk XIVe in
the future
Brad
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