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Looking good Nick. How's the build going? I'm slightly past this stage and had heaps of problems fitting the engine. It's now in but the top cowling won't go on but I'm not concerned as I intend to have it sitting on the ground when done with the port engine cowling off too. Good luck and keep the progress shots coming.

Regards

Andrew

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Wow.

What a pain.

I've already built ICM's Mk.VII and managed to fit the engine in that one so I thought that this time around would be OK.

Very tricky to get everything fit to fit and since the ICM plastic is so flexible it's pretty easy to break stuff.

Quite the frustrating experience.

Edited by nickdanger
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Hi there

I am also on an ICM Spitfire, it's going to be a MkIXe LF ex Czech on the transition flight to Israel with all the extra fuel tanks it could carry. I too had problems with the Merlin and had to cut down valve covers and remove the firewall in order to be able to close the cowling. All in all the kit is nicely detailed but a pain to build. White plastic, very soft and some parts not even usable. On mine the ruder pedals were mis-shoot and also the scissors for the landing gear legs were not even recognizable. I replaced the wheels, prop and seat with Ultracast parts.

A very nice touch are the RAF ground crew figures that came in mine, excellent molding, dark gray plastic and the sculpturing has the level of pewter figures ala www.hecker-goros.de

All that for 15EUR, I can't complain after all...

cheers

Uwe

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Some progress:

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Oil wash applied

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Fuselage halves joined (with much work).

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Typical ICM kit. Little bit hard to make it come together.

This is actually 1/3 of a three plane kit - The Operation Husky boxing with two Spits and a Mustang. For the next Spit I'll definitely forgo the Merlin.....

Edited by nickdanger
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Hi Nickdanger

Just spotted it...did your ICM really come in gray plastic? Mine is all white which is a pain to work with, also very soft. If they are now gray...and maybe a bit harder...I might need to get some more. The RAF personal that came with my kit are molded in gray!

cheers

Uwe

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Aloha Uwe,

I try and get the older ICM boxings off of eBay, especially the 3 in 1 kits. I've gotten a couple that way and the cost per model is less than $10 - I spend more getting the after market decal sheets (since the ICM are so useless) than on the models themselves.

I built an ICM Spit Mk.VII was had white plastic, but the other two kits with Yaks, Spits and a Mustang have all been gray.

The plastic on all of the ICM kits I've done very soft and hard to work with.

On this Yak I'm pretty sure I broke every small fiddly part that there was to break - landing gear, radio mast, engine mounts....very frustrating, but the price was right.

IMG_8774.jpg

Edited by nickdanger
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  • 2 weeks later...

Primered and pre-shaded

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Azure blue for down below

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Can't forget the fiddly bits

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Using Xtracrylics which is definitely a Love/Hate one for me. Pain in the butt to deal with via an airbrush but I just love the results.

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Hello again

Looking very good so far...but why are the ailerons both hanging down a bit? I ma sure that Spitfires didn't have the flaperons feature yet, this didn't come up until much later in the jet age.

cheers

Uwe

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..but why are the ailerons both hanging down a bit?

You got me. 100% artistic license. No basis in reality.

I like how the plane looks with slightly drooping elevators. Figured I do the same with the ailerons. Since they came separately molded, I figured that I might as well take advantage of it.

That being said wouldn't lack of hydraulic pressure when the plane is on the ground with the engine off lead to a certain level of droopiness for all the control surfaces?

Or am I showing my ignorance here because the control surfaces would be moved via cables?

Edited by nickdanger
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That being said wouldn't lack of hydraulic pressure when the plane is on the ground with the engine off lead to a certain level of droopiness for all the control surfaces?

Or am I showing my ignorance here because the control surfaces would be moved via cables?

For the sake of discussion, yup, all the Spitfire control surfaces are chain/cable actuated. The undercarriage , braking and gun firing/cocking systems were pneumatic systems. Don't let that stop you from building it the way you want to though.

Cheers,

Matt

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Main painting is done:

IMG_0617.jpg

Normally I'd save weathering for after decals, but this one will have field applied US markings, so I wanted the decals to look new over a pretty beat up, sun bleached base coat:

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Sprayed a super thin black/red/brown mixture along panel lines and then bleached things with a very thin tan.

IMG_0620.jpg

Next up is future, decals and fiddly bits

Edited by nickdanger
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@Tonto - Thanks. It is a fun one....

Here's the field applied brown to blackout the RAF roundels, fin flash, and ID....

Masked...

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In process:

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The result:

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I'm pretty pleased. The brown stands out more on the wings than on the fuselage - I figured that the wings would be more faded:

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Layer of future and then I can get to decaling.....

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  • 4 weeks later...

Had a slow down - broke the front section of the kit canopy while masking so I had to order a vacuform set from Squadron. Takes things a while to get to Hawaii but getting back down to business.

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All of the decals are on. Man Spits have a lot of decals.

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Weathering is pretty much done.

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Just the fiddly bits to go and some finishing touches....

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Fiddly bits are on....

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Cannon and landing gear....

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Seatbelts are in...

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Canopies, mirror, antenna mast are on

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Just have to do rigging and get the lights ready for the photo shoot...

Edited by nickdanger
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And she's all done....

So to recap, ICM Spitfire Mk. IX from the Operation Torch 3-in-1 set.

Middle Stone/Dark Earth and Azure Blue are from Xtracrylics

Painted out RAF roundels is a generic brown from Tamiya

Extras:

EagleCals Spitfire Mk. IX #114 (excellent decals - very easy to work with and disappeared into the camo)

Quickboost exhausts

Tried to use True Details wheels but the ones I got have a strange skew to them...bad mold? Went with the kit wheels instead.

Seatbelts are wine bottle foil

Was planning on using the kit canopy but broke it so the front section is a Squadron vacuform (man I hate working with those)

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A processed shot for fun:

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And some natural light pics since last night was a pretty sunset

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