1/24 Spitfire Mk IXc, Kicked Up A Notch, FINISHED!

[chuck540z3]

October 1, 2024

 

With my Tamiya F-16 Aggressor now finally put to bed, it’s time for another model and as usual, I follow every military jet with a military prop, because I love them both equally and I like the change of focus.  I think that at least 2/3’s of this forum are prop lovers while the rest like jets the most, and that’s OK with me, because I love them both.

 

As discussed in my other threads, this prop build will be the relatively new Airfix 1/24 Spitfire Mk IXc, which came out in late 2022 and I was one of the first to grab one and put it into my stash, just in case it mysteriously disappeared before I had a chance to buy one.  A bit of overkill I suppose, but I didn’t want to take a chance to not have my favorite prop of all time at a big 1/24 scale.  Hopefully Airfix will also create a new P-51B/D at this same scale one day, in which case I’ll be there again early to grab one for the stash.

 

With 2 years since the launch of the kit for the aftermarket community to create a few improvements that I will use, I am also benefitting from some of the earlier builds of this kit in this same forum, to help me with some of the challenges that every kit has.  I have gone through the excellent WIP threads by “geedubelyer”, “CraigH”, and “Shoggz” to name a few, who have paved the way.  As a result, some of my improvements or methods of construction may not be entirely my own, so I thank these gentlemen ahead of time for their ideas which I will use a lot.  I’ve also built the 1/32 Tamiya Mk IXc kit about 5 years ago, so Spitfire cockpit and other details are not new to me.  I’ll also be using the Paul Monforton e-Book, Spitfire Mk. IX & XVI Engineered, so I’ll be referring to that as well.

 

Based upon my review of the instructions so far, I plan to stick to the build sequence whenever I can to help make this thread as easy to follow as possible.  A few years ago, I built the Airfix 1/24 F6F-5 Hellcat and was very impressed with most of it, but also disappointed with a few items that could have been easily avoided, which I have already encountered with this Spitfire kit.  Here’s a pic of that monster, with the build captured in e-Book form at KLP Publishing:

 

Building the Airfix F6F-5 Hellcat in 1/24 Scale

 

 

The first challenge is the fairly rough nature of the plastic on the large fuselage and wing parts, which can easily be fixed with sanding, because it doesn’t appear to have the stressed skin of the Hellcat that you want to retain, as shown above.  The other issue is the overly tight fit of many of the parts, so careful attention to trimming and dry fitting of all parts is a must before committing to glue.

 

The aftermarket items I’ll be starting with, are the following:

 

-  Airscale Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX Cockpit Upgrade (PE24 MKIX).  Like the Hellcat kit, the detail and precision of this PE kit is awesome and as many have mentioned before me, a “must have”.

- Eduard BRASSIN Spitfire IX Exhaust Fishtail Exhausts (624003).  The kit ones look a bit chunky to me and there’s nothing quite as good as well cast resin exhaust tips.

- BarracudaCast Spitfire Mk I-IX Five Slot Main Wheels (BR24449).  There’s no point dealing with a tire seam if you don’t have to and Barracuda resin is always one of the finest.

- BarracudaCast Spitfire Late Control Columns (BR24502).  The original prototype of this kit, which I’ve seen in person, was created by my modeling friend Mike O’Hare here in Calgary.  Like anything Mike creates with his 3D printer, the detail is incredible, so I just have to use it. 

- HGW Spitfire Mk IX Seatbelts (124515).  I used the 1/32 version on my Spitfire build and although fiddly to assemble, they turned out really looking the part, so they go in again.

- 1ManArmy Paint Masks (24DET016).  I want to paint as many of the markings as possible without using decals and these come highly recommended by Guy Wilson (geedubelyer), so that’s good enough for me!

 

I might add a few more items as the build moves along, but this collection should get me started in the right direction.  I don’t have a subject yet, but I’m leaning towards Canadian squadrons for obvious reasons.  My Tamiya Spit was from 401 Squadron that my father served in from 1943-45 as an airframe mechanic, but this time I think I’ll do another Canadian squadron for a change, so time will tell what it is.  I have the book, “Spitfire, The Canadians” by Robert Bracken to give me some inspiration, but in any case, it won’t have D-Day stripes on it, which I think ruin the clean lines of this iconic fighter.

 

One last point before I get started, is that while I will try to build this model as accurately as possible, I’m sure to make some errors.  There are so many versions of Spitfires that continually morphed over the course of the war, it’s not only hard to tell them apart, but a lot of changes in the cockpit and engine occurred within each Mark, so what is “correct” is sometimes a blur.  In any case, I just want to build something that’s pleasing to my eye and if something’s wrong, so be it!

 

Here are all the parts of the first 9 Steps on page 5, including a few of the Airscale upgrade PE parts.

 

 

While all the kit parts look really good, the seat back is way too flat for scale and needs to be “puffed up” a bit.

 

 

To do this I turned to my bottle of Gator Grip glue, which is a type of PVA glue that I use all the time, when strength isn’t as important as not making a mess, since it is easily cleaned up with water before it dries.

 

 

I painted each of the 5 seat back sections with Gator glue one at a time, letting each section dry for about 30 minutes before painting the next, so that clean-up of imperfections was easy.  As expected, the glue conformed a bit to the minor relief underneath and dried a bit lumpy, which was exactly what I wanted for a worn leather seat back.

 

 

The seat back sections were built up with 2-3 coats to create some relief, but not too much, to match reference pics I have of war-time seats.

 

 

Meanwhile I assembled the Airscale parts that are glued onto bulkhead part D11 on the left, while removing the raised detail to ensure a flush fit as per the Airscale instructions.  I also drilled out the lightening holes to create more realism.  The seatbelt rod on the armored plate was made from 0.75 mm styrene rod, which appears to be the right size for scale.

 

 

On the back of part D11 there are 7 almost perfect holes that look like lightening holes, but are really pin marks that are not replicated on the front.  Since you can see at least the top ones through the rear glass, I filled them with CA glue and sanded them smooth.

 

 

The Airscale parts were then glued onto bulkhead using thin CA glue, leaked into the sides with a microbrush, using capillary action to suck the glue underneath and then held tight for a few seconds to dry.  Any blemishes were easily cleaned up with Great Planes CA Glue Debonder.  As you can see, the Airscale detail is beautiful.

 

 

I usually paint my cockpits with Model Master enamels, because after spraying them you can touch them up with a brush with the very same paint.  Now that these paints are no longer made in the full line of colors, I turned to my favorite overall paint, which is MRP acrylic lacquers.  While they spray beautifully right out of the bottle, brush painting with them is a real challenge.  You need to dab small amounts of the paint rather than stroke them, which can create a mess.  The key is to spend extra time masking the parts carefully, so that brush painting touch-ups are kept to a minimum.

 

 

Here’s a head on shot of the seat after painting and assembly, showing the raised black leather seat back.  Not bad.

 

 

The kit instructions call for most of the seat to be painted in a “Leather” color with interior green on the sides, which I think is wrong.  Like all Spitfires made after May 1940, the entire seat should be sort of a rust color, to replicate SRBP (Synthetic Resin Bonded Paper), sometimes also called Paxolin if my references are correct.  To get this shade, I painted the seat Black first, followed by Rust, which seems to have captured the right look.  Although you can find many Spitfire seat photos with a brown leather seat back, these same references suggest that during the war they were black, so I painted mine accordingly, which looks a lot better than a light brown that’s almost the same color as the seat.

 

 

I mentioned earlier that you should always check the fit of the parts before gluing them.  I didn’t with the seat to bulkhead fit, which is impossible without widening the bulkhead notches by quite a bit.  Although doable after painting, it sure would have been easier with plain plastic, where I didn’t have to worry about scratches.  Note to self:  Dry fit everything from now on!  Also note that the seat tabs don't slide into the notches completely, because the vertical supports hit the cross braces.  Those rough looking glue marks on the right have since been repaired.

 

 

While I painted most of the green parts separately, some small bits on the seat were painted this color then masked off with small bits of tape and liquid mask.  Touch-ups were then made with a brush which are tricky to do with MRP paint.  Not perfect, but definitely good enough, since the right side of the seat will not be visible when the fuselage is closed.

 

 

 

Notice that I haven’t weathered anything or added any chipping or grime.  After building a super clean F-16 Aggressor, it crossed my mind that I might build a restored Spitfire rather than a beat-up warbird.  Building a clean model is quite a bit harder than weathered model, where you can hide imperfections and flaws with grime and 95% of the Spitfire builds are understandably dirty.  Any thoughts out there?  Clean or Dirty?!

 

 

As usual, my progress will be slow on this build.  Besides my new challenges with my right arm due to recent surgeries, my wife has big plans to travel a lot this next year while we still can.  Thanks for your patience if you want to tag along for a long ride.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited January 6 by chuck540z3

[spartacus2000]

Great start

[Kaeone57]

NICE!!!

 

Alfonso 

[Shoggz]

Superb start Chuck.

 

I'm so pleased you're tackling this kit, and I feel honoured that my build and its thread may have helped you in any way!

 

I've got another 5 in the stash as I have a load of plans for various marks and conversions, so one of your definitive 'kicked up a notch' builds will subsequently help me!

[Martinnfb]

I was wondering if you're going to build one Chuck.  Another winner in the making. Great idea to use the gator glue for texturing. Any chance you we will see your Viper at the  Gombs show this weekend?

 

Cheers

 

Martin

[dennismcc]

Great start, I too was inspied by other peoples builds (you know who you are) of this kit and being a big Spitfire fan I have one in the build queue, with most of the AM parts that you have also mentioned so I will be taking notes along the way.

As to weathering I prefer the used but not abused  look rather than the ready for the scrap yard look.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[geedubelyer]

It's good to see you begin this build Chuck.

Immaculately neat paint and construction as we've come to expect from you. Definitely kicked up a notch already.

 

I like your technique for adding depth to the seat back cushion. That turned out great. Thanks for sharing that titbit. 

 

Clean or weathered, now there's a conundrum?

 

If you build a clean bird the challenge will be to give it "heft" and prevent it looking toylike or like a large diecast model. Some consideration on how to achieve a realistic yet clean result is in order.

Perhaps adopting a similar approach to Peter Castle on his Sea Fury and burnishing the completed paint gently with fine wire wool could give the paint a realistic finish?

 

Whatever you decide there's little doubt it will be exemplary. 

 

Cheers,

 

Guy

[chuck540z3]

Thanks Guys!  It's fun to get at the bench again.

 

21 hours ago, Martinnfb said:

I was wondering if you're going to build one Chuck.  Another winner in the making. Great idea to use the gator glue for texturing. Any chance you we will see your Viper at the  Gombs show this weekend?

 

Cheers

 

Martin

 

Hi Martin and sadly no.  Although I've never been to the GOMBS model show, I was planning on going this year, but with personal commitments and a chance I could drop my model with my injured shoulder, I thought it best to pass on it this year.  Thankfully models don't expire, so maybe next year?!

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited October 4, 2024 by chuck540z3

[Lucio Martino]

1) My suggestion is "dirty".

2) I am happy that you went back to the ligth blue background.

 

Looking forward to another great build !

 

Edited October 3, 2024 by Lucio Martino

[chuck540z3]

8 minutes ago, Lucio Martino said:

1) My suggestion is "dirty".

2) I am happy that you went back to the ligth blue background.

 

Looking forward to another great build !

 

 

Thanks.  When I changed my photo booth to a larger one, it didn't come with a blue fabric background that I had on my smaller one (and loved), so I was stuck with white, grey, yellow and black.  With the super white plastic of the Thunderbirds kit, photography was really hard to do, due to the extreme color contrasts of the model parts against just about anything.  For this build, I ordered some larger blue vinyl background and cut it to size to fit.  Problem solved!

 

I'm leaning to the dirty look as well, but if I find the right subject soon, that will push me in one direction or the other.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited October 3, 2024 by chuck540z3

[kike_gt]

Great start Chuck!! I like how you handle the "dirty" models, cause they're never over the top! clean models are nice but, they often look like toys! and even at museums you don't get the real feeling of what they really are! just MHO!

[JayW]

Of course I want to tag along for the ride.  Following.  Good start Chuck.

[TankBuster]

Another great build to watch and I vote for a clean one. Cheers.

[Greif8]

Top notch work as always Chuck!  Neat trick using the Gator Glue to add texture and relief to the seat back.  

 

Ernest

[MikeMaben]

Have fun Chuck , hey is that an old bottle of Gator Glue ?  I thot the guy who sold that stopped several years ago.

Is it still / again available ?