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1/32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.IXc, "Kicked Up A Notch"


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December 20/18

 

After exactly 1 year, I have finally finished my 1/32 Tamiya Mk.IXc Spitfire.  For those who might be interested in the build threads, I started this project at LSP here:

 

1/32 Tamiya Spitfire MkIXc, "Kicked Up A Notch" Part 1

 

and finished it at ARC here:

 

1/32 Tamiya Spitfire MkIXc, "Kicked Up A Notch" Part 2

 

I added a ton of detail from after-market parts and my own plumbing and wiring, which can be found within the threads above so I won’t go into gory detail about that here, but I would like to make the following comments.

 

1)   As indicated in the first thread, this Spitfire is dedicated to my father who passed away many years ago.  He was an “Airframe Mechanic” in RCAF 401 Squadron, which was stationed in England and later Belgium and France towards the end of the war.

 

2)   This particular Spitfire is also dedicated to F/L W.R. (Bill) McRae, who flew in many squadrons including 401.  In the 2nd Edition of Robert Bracken’s excellent book, “Spitfire II the Canadians” on the front cover and on page 59, is the artwork of Ron Lowry.  Bill is the rear wingman in this pic, as shown below:

 

2whcwF.jpg

VzXzxr.jpg

 

3)  While I tried to be accurate as much as possible, I didn’t worry too much about some details of early vs. late Mk. IX’s.  For instance, I used the later and much larger lower intake, instead of the small one in the pic above, mostly because it looks cool.

 

4)   While I did get the cowlings to fit OK, the fit isn’t great and you really have to man handle the model to get them on and off, which risks damage, and I had a bunch of it, so I won’t be putting them on again- ever.  The main reason for the so-so fit is my addition of the Eduard PE cowling rub strips to the engine frame, which get in the way of clearance.  I knew this was a likelihood when I added them, which is also why I didn’t add some plumbing to the port side that covered the engine cradle, but the strips look so nice, I don’t care.  Good thing I plan on displaying this Spit with the cowlings off all the time anyway, including model contests.  If you’d like to see how they fit, there’s some pics in my public ImageShack site here:

 

Spitfire Build and Reference Pics

 

5)   I wanted a well-worn Spitfire based upon many photos in the Bracken book and also an unrestored Mk.Ia in the Imperial War Museum in London, that I took many reference pics of for such a project.  As you will see, I really wore the paint off both sides of the wing roots to replicate this and other photographs that I could find of the real deal in WWII.

 

6)   None of my weathering included pre-shading panel lines or a dark wash within panel lines, which is usually done to this model.  Based upon the above references, I did the exact opposite, and added a metallic light wash to replicate unpainted panel line edges and raised rivets.  Weathering is like art where some people will like it while others will not, so no offense taken from me if you don’t like some of the things I did.

 

7)  Most of my detail is within the cockpit and engine areas.  The uncovered engine photographs great, but to get good pics inside the cockpit, I need to use a flashlight or other light source, which makes everything look unnatural.  Thankfully, you can see almost everything within the cockpit area with the naked eye.

 

8-)  You won’t find any silvered decals, because I didn’t use any conventional one  All the insignias and lettering were painted on using Maketar paint masks and the stencils were HGW water transfer decals, which leave no carrier film after drying.  I am now a huge fan of both products.

 

Now the pics, starting from the entire model to many close-ups.  Sorry for so many engine pics, but you can’t see everything unless you look at every angle.  Thank you in advance for your interest in this project.

 

First, a pic of the unrestored Spitfire:

 

FOwtWU.jpg

 

4wwcB3.jpg

 

 

And my interpretation of same, even though it's a Mk.IX.  Note that colors have shifted a bit due to lighting.

 

QWThfq.jpg

 

jqJZsf.jpg

 

Eoix9m.jpg

 

tgWM3R.jpg

 

Jx5ST8.jpg

 

3FfTsG.jpg

Edited by chuck540z3
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Chuck,

 

One can almost imagine climbing into the cockpit and starting it up as if performing a ground engine inspection because of the realism factor you've accomplished.  Another magnificent project draws to a close.  Absolutely beautiful.

 

Bring on the 'MiG'!

 

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and all the best that 2019 has to offer.

 

Mike

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Thank you everyone!  I really appreciate your kind words of encouragement.

 

FYI for those who didn't see it in my build thread, this will be my next model:  1/32 Kitty Hawk F-5E Aggressor, "Kicked Up A Notch", in Gloss Black.  I hope to have it started in mid January when I receive the kit from China (where it's made), but I already have decals and Eduard PE for it and I also hope to have seamless intakes by February.  Since resin cockpits aren't available for this fairly new kit yet, I'm going to try and jamb the Black Box resin cockpit in it, which is made for the Hasegawa kit.  I'm likely asking for trouble in doing so, but I love a challenge.

 

                                                           F-5E Aggressor (aka "MIG 28")

 

kuXOoN.jpg

 

v1DY9D.jpg

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
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What a superb example of the modeler's art! Don't pay any attention to those modelers who suggest more weathering! All too often today I'm seeing builds that are ridiculously over-weathered with comically over-emphasized panel lines. I wish I could stand these modelers in front of a real aircraft of the same type and ask them honestly if the panel lines are overtly visible or not? Your work is just flawless as-is!

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