1/32 Tamiya Spitfire Mk. IXc

Gallery Article by Andrew (kaysersoze) Holloway on Mar 24 2010

 

I'm not going to write loads about the aeroplane, as people a lot better qualified than myself have written in more detail than I ever could. I WILL say for those who are not military aviation enthusiasts that this was possibly the highest scoring airframe of the Allied air forces, and was flown by James Edgar "Johnnie" Johnson, who was the highest scoring pilot of the Western Allied air forces in the European Theater of Operations.

The kit is being lauded as the greatest Spitfire kit in this scale, and I think that it is a well deserved accolade. The build was painless, and there were moments when I wondered what I must have missed out in the build sequence, as it seemed to fall together with no effort. There was virtually no need for sanding aside from some very basic areas, such as along the spine and underside of the fuselage. There was no need for filler, and dry fitting confirmed that when everything would be glued, there would be seamless joins everywhere.

I added additional wiring and pipework to the beautifully molded engine, as I wanted to display it 'panels off', and also added some cabling and wires to the cockpit too, although to be honest, a kit built straight out of the box would be a proud addition to any display cabinet.

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The kit comes with various marking options, but for me, there could only ever be one choice. EN398. It is possibly one of the most commonly built aircraft models, but, in my opinion, the perfect kit should have the perfect Spitfire markings.

This was where I hit the only drawback on the entire build. The quality of the decals supplied did not come up to the standards of the rest of the kit. The issue was solved with a swift purchase of 'Victory Productions - Aces of the Empire' decal sheet. These were perfect and went on with no problems at all. I used the kit supplied stencilling and they were great too.

I used Humbrol Satin 123 for Ocean Grey, Humbrol Satin 165 for Medium Sea Grey and Revell Matt 65 for Dark Green, and then used Humbrol Satin 135 Varnish to seal everything down.

There is a very famous photograph taken of Johnnie Johnson stood by the starboard wing root of EN398, and for years people have discussed the subtle colour changes that show on the uppermost panel between the roundel and the cockpit, and the apparent lighter patch of camouflage grey below the 'E'. I decided that my build would try and show what it may have looked like. The debate about the colour of the Maple Leaf is another hot subject. I opted for a diplomatic solution.

This is how Johnnie Johnson may have seen the aircraft for the first time after he had his initials added, and seeing as it was a Canadian wing, and all the aircraft had red Maple Leaf insignia, I decided to go with that too. If Johnnie decided to have it changed to green, then it must have happened a few hours later.....
 
People may ask if this kit is worth the price tag. I wholeheartedly say YES. It is the kind of kit that you may build once a year, sometimes twice if you can afford it. I was given the kit as a Christmas present by SWMBO, and I know what I want for my birthday now too........

Andrew (kaysersoze) Holloway

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Photos and text © by Andrew (kaysersoze) Holloway