1/72 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.Vb Trop. |
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Gallery
Article by Bill Bunting |
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This
one is straight out of the box except for the retracted landing gear.
Tamiya includes the stand, and I thought it would make a nice small
desk-top model.
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images below to see larger images
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Construction:
Straight out of the box. The cockpit detail was brought out by dry-brushing only although you can’t see much through the canopy as it is a little on the thick side. The Vokes filter and ferry tank fit very well. The wheels had to be filed to half of their thickness to fit in the shallow wheel wells. The only snag was the wing tips. They are separate pieces to allow for the regular or “clipped” wing. Extra care should be taken to ensure they go on straight and level. Mine are a little off, but this didn’t show up until the colour went on.
Painting and
Finishing: Primer was Tamiya
“Japanese Army Grey” followed by shading all major panels with Tamiya flat
black. The “Azure Blue” was
Polly-S acrylic, the “Middle Stone” and “Dark Earth” were Gunze.
Future clear was applied and the kit decals were added with Micro-sol and
set. The decals went on nicely and
are both thin and opaque. The panel
lines and control surfaces were accented using “Burnt Sienna” oil paint wash
with the excess cleaned off with a cotton pad soaked in thinner.
Very fast and easy. A topcoat of Modelmaster
semi-gloss was next followed by exhaust and gun stains using Gunze
“Tire Black” a nice, smokey grey-black.
All airbrushing was with a Tamiya HG airbrush.
Conclusion:
A nice little kit. The moulds are Tamiya quality and the engraving subtle and very clean. The stand is fun and reminds me of those Airfix kits I used to build with my Dad (or he built with me!). I normally build 1/48, but this was fun and very quick.
Sorry about the background in the photos but the Digital camera was at work and I had to take the pictures there. It’s tough to make a clean back drop and adjust lighting when the boss is looking over your shoulder!
Bill Bunting
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