The cockpit and tailwheel bay were masked off with tape and facial tissue in preparation for painting. I wiped the model down with 70% alcohol to remove finger oils. The undersurfaces were painted PRU Blue using custom mixed Tamiya paints. A number of commercially available model paint ranges feature this colour, but I like working with Tamiya paints. I added a few drops of white to the base colour and went back and painted small random areas to break up the monotone. I repeated the process with the blue darkened a bit with black paint.
The undersurfaces were masked off and the Medium Sea Grey was applied using my trusty Paasche H airbrush. Again, a number of shades of the grey were
After masking off the cockpit and canopies (the supplied masks are excellent) the undersides were sprayed with PRU Blue. I mixed mine from Tamiya paint, but this color is available in a number of aircraft model paint lines.
With the undersides masked off, the upper surfaces were sprayed in Medium Sea Grey. Don’t forget to paint all the other uppersurface parts at the same time, such as the spinner, engine cowlings, antenna mast, mirror, and the like. Ask me how many times I’ve forgotten to paint some small parts and had to go back and load the airbrush up again!
The undersides are masked off in preparation for painting the narrow invasion stripes. Don’t skimp on the masking. Overspray can travel quite a way and mess up your other color applications.
I always mask and spray the upperwing walkway lines on my Spitfire models. It takes a bit longer, but it looks great, and its easier than fighting with very long and very thin decal strips.
CHAPTER 9 SPITFIRE HF Mk.VII, 131 SQN RAF
sprayed at random to give the paint a subtle blotchy look. A look at real vehicles and surfaces will show that few colours are even and unaffected by the environment. The more they are exposed to the elements, the more organic and visually textured they become. Even one night of dew and dust kicked up by passing vehicles or even the wind will dull down an aircraft, and impart a subtle visual texture. The invasion stripes and wing walks were next masked off, and sprayed with Tamiya Flat White. The white areas were masked off, and scale black was applied to the invasion stripes and the wing walks. With all painting completed, all masking was pulled off, revealing the finished basic
scheme.
At this point, there is usually some touchup work to do to
make the scheme as clean and complete as possible. The entire model is then sprayed with Future Floor
Wax (Johnson’s Clear in some parts of the world) thinned with a few drops of water. Left to dry overnight, the model is now ready to be decalled. One of the reasons I decided to model MD111 was that I had included this scheme on the BarracudaCals Spitfire Part 1 sheet (BC32004 for 1:32 scale), and was looking forward to using them to build one of my all-time favorite Spitfires.
Now, I have an embarrassing admission to make. When I started to apply these decals to the model using photographic references of NX-Q and other aircraft from 131 Squadron, I discovered that these reference photos showed that this Squadron did not use the standard roundel sizes called out for high altitude RAF fighters at this point in the war. They should be 30” diameter for the fuselage and 40” for the wings. Neither looked right when applied, so I removed them before they started to stick. Some deeper research and taking careful
measurements, I discovered that both the fuselage and wing roundels were actually 32” in diameter. Decidedly non-standard.
As time was short, I started searching desperately for replacements. As luck would have it, the upper wing roundels for a 1:48 scale Typhoon are exactly the right size. I used 4 of these roundels from an Aeromaster roundel sheet and they worked perfectly. The only trouble was that the roundel red that Aeromaster used was too red. The real colour is very close to Model Master Rust. The centers were masked off and later repainted, after the decals had dried. The balance of the decals was now applied and everything looked great. The next day, the model was washed to remove excess decal adhesive and the decals were sealed with a coat of Future.
The panel lines were highlighted with a thin dark grey enamel wash. A few minutes later, I wiped off the excess with a cotton rag lightly moistened with mineral spirits. Done properly, this leaves the wash
Small parts painted and ready for weathering. I always paint the prop tips white first, then yellow. Note that RAF Identity Yellow has a orange cast to it. Once cured, the tips are masked off and the blades are sprayed scale black.
With the panel line wash finished, and the final satin coat applied, it’s time for final assembly. Due to a tight deadline, the engine on my model was painted but not detailed. I may come back to this later.
My Spitfire HF VII completed. I am pretty fussy about Spitfires. Tamiya have done a terrific job of capturing the subtle shapes of the Spitfire. The shape of the prop and spinner has eluded many manufacturers, but they have nailed it.
CHAPTER 9 SPITFIRE HF Mk.VII, 131 SQN RAF
The undersides, showing the non-standard narrow invasion stripes and the lack of underwing roundels typical of the high altitude scheme. Note that both ailerons are up in this photo; A function of the somewhat loose hinges on the posable flying surfaces.
This image shows well the subtle variations of paint colours as discussed in the text, the medium grey wash applied to the panel lines, and the fuel stains and dirt I applied to make the airframe looked “lived in”. Subtlety is the key for weathering most aircraft.
CHAPTER 9 SPITFIRE HF Mk.VII, 131 SQN RAF
in the panel lines but cleans the excess off the surface. Once this process was finished, the model was oversprayed with a satin coat. I do not like dead flat finishes on aircraft. It makes them look lifeless. I use Testors Dullcoat mixed with Glosscoat to make a light satin sheen.
Two tips for applying clear coats: First, thin them enough so they will go on wet and not orange peel on you. I tend to thin with as much as 40% Testors Thinner and Brush Cleaner. The second tip is to apply the clear coats liberally. Some modellers tend to jut mist them on, but this leads to uneven coverage and a spotty finish. I lay it on almost wet.
All that remained now was some further weathering and final assembly. All small parts had been previously painted and finished and only needed to be attached. The excellent engineering of this kit
contributed to getting this job done with minimum fuss. I unmasked the canopies and cockpit. A careful study of the model at this point will help you find any areas that need touchup. I was sure that the removable cowling panels would not fit, but they do surprisingly well. Getting the cowlings on and positioned properly takes some care, but the final effect looks almost like they are not removable. Earlier, I had ground out an ice cream scoop shaped area from each wingtip nav light and cut off the blister for the nav light on the trailing edge of the rudder. These depressions were painted silver. I then mixed some 5 minute epoxy and filled the scooped out areas until they were nice
and round. I also built up a new lens for the tail light. When set, I painted the port tip light clear red and the starboard one clear green.
CONCLUSION
That pretty much brings this build to a close. I have been building models for some 34 years now, and I have to say that this kit represents the pinnacle of plastic aircraft models. It is a truly awe-inspiring kit that is as close to flawless as it gets. If I have one concern regarding the accuracy, it would be that the model seems to sit a little low on the main gear. It’s subtle, but when viewed from some angles, it strikes me. That said, this is far and away the most accurate and detailed Spitfire kit ever produced. I thoroughly enjoyed building it, and once the memory of the late night marathons I put in getting this model, photo and article finished in time to make the publishing deadline fades, I will look forward to building another one.
This shot of the tail shows the finished effect of the work done to recreate the retractable tailwheel. Note also the rudder with its nice depiction of fabric covering. Tamiya thankfully avoided the heavy scalloping that other manufactures apply to fabric flying surfaces.
This view of the upperwing shows the leading edge fuel tank access panel and filler cap just inboard of the cannon barrels that I scribed into both the port and starboard wing. Note also the fabric patches doped over the machine gun ports to keep out dirt and debris.
Tamiya really paid attention to the details. The subtly raised cover over the fuel tank in front of the cockpit, the amazingly clear and distortion free blown sliding hood, and the lack of upperwing wheel bulges show the research and clever engineering that went into the design of this kit.
CHAPTER 9 SPITFIRE HF Mk.VII, 131 SQN RAF
The removable cowling panels are impressively thin, and fit pretty well with a little tweaking and prodding. Still, I’d love it if Tamiya would release a version with no engine and a simple 4 part nose. Note the incorrect rear fixed canopy section. Later on, I will replace it with a vac formed clear part.
The individual exhaust stubs are labour intensive to clean up, but look very good with some careful painting. The camera port in the wingroot should have a glass lens, the one part that seems to be missing from this otherwise very complete kit.
The sideview shot recreates the wartime photo of MD111 that originally inspired me to want to build this model. I really like the high altitude scheme, and it makes a nice change from the disruptive camouflage scheme worn by most Spitfires.