Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF ***Finished***

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Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF ***Finished***

Post by Molly-new »

In my attempt to build most of the aircraft used by the Israeli Air Force, I will be starting as they did with the venerable Spitfire. In this case, a Mk. XIe, as used by 101 Sqn in 1949.

The donor kit will be this Italieri Mk9:

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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by mightymikeD »

Any idea how the Italeri kit builds up, Chip? I'm going to be using one as the donor kit for my own build..
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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by Gregers »

It's not a bad kit at all. Some say the nose profile is out but it looks fine to me.

Not got any pics of my (now dead) built MKIX but here are a couple of the just about identical construction wise kit of the MKV that I made as a prototype for a floatplane conversion for work.
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Hope this helps.

All the best.

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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by Stuart »

wow, thatfloatplane looks cool!!
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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by Molly-new »

Sorry for the lack of updates but real life has been getting in the way. :roll:

Better late than never, here are the sprues:

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Most Spitfire Mk. IX were fitted with the same type of canopy, a Malcolm Hood with bulged sides. Only the few earliest examples were equipped with a flat-sided model known from the Mk. V. Another change introduced during the production run was a round rear-view mirror replacing the earlier rectangular type.The canopy sprue holds the two variations to enable building either type:

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In general the molding looks crisp with minimal flash, finely engraved panel lines and only a couple of ejector marks to deal with:

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First impressions are that this should be quite an easy build. I have built a couple of spitfires before so prior knowledge should help, and I have heard somewhere that you can never have enough, so that should encourage me to finish. :ha:
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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by mightymikeD »

yeah, it does look like a nice wee kit.. just got mine today
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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by Molly-new »

Started to splash a bit of paint around, and build up the cockpit.

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I have added seat belts out of painted tape.
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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by TomW »

Looking good, watch the three part nose though, it can be a real pain to get all aligned neatly.

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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by MDT »

Cockpit looking good - Not really seen much of the Italeri Spit...Unusual for them them to over-engineer something!
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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by Molly-new »

TomW wrote:Looking good, watch the three part nose though, it can be a real pain to get all aligned neatly.
Thanks for the warning on this Tom, dry fitting it has highlighted what a pain this is going to be.
MDT wrote: Italeri ...Unusual for them them to over-engineer something!
First time I have come across this set up, and hopefully it will be the last. ;-)
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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by Stuart »

Looking good
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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by Molly-new »

Sorry for the lack of updates but life and work keep getting in the way. :???:

With only occasional snippets of time at the bench I have been able to progress, all be it in a fragmented fashion.

The fuselage went together first, followed swiftly by the wings which were a surprisingly good fit. As Tom mentioned, the nose is in three parts. To tackle this I attached each piece in turn, allowing time for the previous piece to fully cure first:

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I then added the horizontal stabilisers and a thin piece of card to represent the seat retaining bar:

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Whilst scratching I decided to leave the door open, so added a little bit of detail using superglue and a bit of thin wire:

Image

Not brilliant but will do for 1/72 scale.
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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by Old_Tonto »

Coming together mate.

I have never built the Italeri kit (I don't think! :???:), what is the fit like?
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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by Molly-new »

Old_Tonto wrote:what is the fit like?
The only real problem I have encountered is with the carburetor air intake, which seems to sit too low:

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I am not sure whether this is due to the 3 piece nose not being fitted correctly, or poor design but I have overcome it as best as I can.

I have painted some of the add-on's:

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and printed out the rudder and Squadron decals:

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The rudder has been painted gloss white in preparation for the decal.
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Re: Chips Spitfire Mk. IXe, IAF

Post by Sissel »

Ah, the Israeli rudder stripes. Lovely.
This is coming along mighty fine. Good job on tackling the air intake.
I know I've built an Italeri Mk IX kit, but can't remember if it was this one. Don't know how many Mk IX kits they have in 1/72. I can remember the fit is usually good but believe many are underscaled.

And now an important question. What music are you listening to while building? :grin:
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