BASIC BUILD
SPITFIRE F.22BASIC BUILD
SPITFIRE F.2246 Airfi x Model Worldsprayed with XF-82 RAF Ocean
Gray 2 mottled, and sealed in
the same way as the undersides.
Reference photos of Spitfire
PK553 showed a hard edge to
the camouflage demarcation, so
this was re-created with the aid of
Tamiya Masking Tape for Curves,
cut into fine strips to make it as
curvy as possible. The Ocean Gray
was then covered with standard
Tamiya tape (and Humbrol Maskol
in highly awkward areas) before
XF-81 RAF Dark Green 2 was
applied and mottled as before.
Although the kit paint guide didn’t
show the yellow outboard leading
edges, reference photos showed
these were there in reality, so the
boundaries were masked and
yellow sprayed. The next stage was
to gloss the airframe in preparation
for the decals, which were quite
simply the best in any Airfix
release the author recalls using.
Once sealed with more gloss, thepanel lines received an oil wash,
with different homemade colours
being used for the different tones
on the model. The advantage
being it avoided a stark contrast,
as can sometimes be the case if a
universally dark wash is chosen.
After assembling as much of the
airframe as humanly possible,
it was remembered that slight
trimming was required to get
several of the undercarriage-
related items to fit. The barsattached to the outer main wheel
well doors were removed, the tops
of the main gear leg doors trimmed
and the gear legs themselves were
also in for attention to remove a
protrusion or two, which affected
the fit near the locating hole. With
the model on its wheels, more
Xtracolor Flat Varnish was applied
in many fine, light coats to subdue
the model’s final finish. A 2:1 mix
of XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red
Brown was then used to replicatesprayed with XF-82 RAF Ocean
Gray 2 mottled, and sealed in
the same way as the undersides.
Reference photos of Spitfire
PK553 showed a hard edge to
the camouflage demarcation, so
this was re-created with the aid of
XF-81 RAF Dark Green 2 was
applied and mottled as before.
Although the kit paint guide didn’t
show the yellow outboard leading
edges, reference photos showed
these were there in reality, so the
boundaries were masked andpanel lines received an oil wash,
with different homemade colours
being used for the different tones
on the model. The advantage
being it avoided a stark contrast,
as can sometimes be the case if a
universally dark wash is chosen.attached to the outer main wheel
well doors were removed, the tops
of the main gear leg doors trimmed
and the gear legs themselves were
also in for attention to remove a
protrusion or two, which affected
the fit near the locating hole. With Dark Green paint concluded the camouflage phase, but it was also treated to lighter and
darker shades to ensure tonal variation.
After a gloss coat, the decals were applied and sealed. They were possibly the best
markings from an Airfix release the author has ever worked with.Subtle post-shading
produced accumulated
grime around panel lines.Post-shading also
occurred on the upper
surfaces, to produce
panel dirt and
exhaust stains.