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Having built a
Spitfire , Hunter & 2 Hurricanes , all of which wound up finished in Dark
Green/Dark Earth/Sky , I decided that , much as I like the colour scheme , I
wanted a change . Having
discussed this with my fiancé John , he suggested the Airfix Chipmunk , on the
grounds that it was cheap , simple & colourful .
I wasn’t familiar with the aircraft , but we found one at one of the
obsolete kit dealers at the UK Nationals last year & I decided to take the
plunge . Brief
examination showed the kit was nicely moulded , in spite of its age , and
included nicely printed decals for 2 RAF options and 1 Canadian .
I immediately chose the early RAF aircraft , finished in silver with
yellow trainer bands and the blue trim of Cambridge University Air Squadron .
I built the kit
straight from the box , with the exception of a pair of Aeroclub white metal
bucket seats & a set of Airwaves etched harnesses .
Since the cockpits are black , the canopy quite thick & the cockpit
openings small , this is about all that’s visible .
In a change from previous procedure , John masked the canopy for me with
Bare Metal Foil & I fitted it prior to painting in order to allow me to fill
& rub down the gaps under the base of the windscreen .
Once all was satisfactory , I gave it all a final coat of primer & a
coat of Halfords aluminum auto touch-up paint .
John masked the yellow trainer bands on the wings & fuselage & I
made my first attempt at airbrushing the yellow .
I found this rather difficult since the paint had to be misted on in very
fine coats to prevent excessive build-up along the masking or paint bleeding
under the masking down the flap lines , so John finished it off for me .
I then brushed on the black anti-glare panel , followed by several coats
of acrylic gloss & applied the kit decals , which, in spite of all the abuse
directed at Airfix decals on various websites , were in near-perfect register
& went on fine , without a trace of silvering .
Once it had all dried & been washed to remove the decal adhesive
& setting solution residues , I applied a final sealing coat of gloss .
We’d originally intended to finish it off with a sprayed coat of satin
varnish , but it looked so good gloss that we decided to leave it as it was ,
just applying a coat of flat varnish to the anti-glare panel .
I removed the canopy masking , removed the inevitable adhesive residue
left by the Bare Metal Foil , fitted the pre-painted wheels & propeller and
there it was finished.
Catherine
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