Tamiya 1/48 Spitfire Mk I OOB

Ain't nuthin' like a Tamiya - engineered cockpit. I usually hate building cockpits - this was a joy. Sorry for the crappy cell phone photos. 

Black base Mr. Surfacer 1500 

Two-tone marble coat  

Floquil Old Silver (yes - found a "new" bottle at a train shop here in Atlanta) for my chipping undercoat. 

Chipping results: AK Real Colors over Tresomme hair spray. Chipped three weeks after painting... and it still worked.  

Yummy details.  

Acrylic ink smoke stains 

For the Acrylic Ink application, I decided to break out my 40+ year old Binks airbrush -my first airbrush - for a nostalgic moment. We shared a lot of builds through the years...  

Light coats of black acrylic ink 

OPR and acrylic ink weathering. I found a picture of a Mk1 with the lower engine panel replaced and I thought the contrast was cool.  

You can debate Tamiya kits are too "easy" to build because of their engineering. Well, for this old wannabe master modeler, it's just what the doctor ordered.