New 1/48 Eduard Spitfire MK IXC Work in Progess Build...FINISHED...

Thanks guys.  Nathan, welcome aboard.  Due to budget cuts, there will be no movie on this flight.  I did have a taping/painting marathon in the overnight hours.  I was surprised how much I got done.  I decided to do Billing's Tangmere mount, so I broke out the trusty mirror, Exacto and roll of Tamiya tape.  By using the instruction sheet profile of Billing's plane, I taped off all of the areas to remain white.  It was somewhat tedious but by no means difficult. 

The stripes were painted XF-1 Flat Black and taped off.  I sprayed the fuselage stripe XF-21 Sky and the wing leading edge ID stripes were done in XF-3 Flat Yellow mixed with a touch of XF-7 Flat Red to deepen the color a bit (I did the same with the prop tips).  These were then taped off and the RAF day fighter scheme was started.  I started with XF-83 Medium Sea Grey and shaded in the lower surface color.  This was then lightened with XF-2 Flat white and condensation streaks were added.  After this, I used some dilited XF-64 red brown and XF-1 flat black on some panel lines to dirty it up a bit.  I went easy at this point but it will likely get more later.

I then flipped it over and sprayed XF-82 Ocean Grey. I did the streaking and postshading here too.  On the latter, I decided to go a bit heavy...more than usual.  I figure these MK IX Spits at at this stage of the war were rode hard and put away wet.  I like the way it turned out and again my do more.   

At least the camo pattern will be easy thanks to the stripes.  I rolled up Blue Tac laid it out to match the profile picture. 

I then used XF-81 for the Dark Green.  Its common knowledge that rubber mats were used to mask off the real thing so a hard edge was the result, but I prefer a "slight" feathering on my RAF aircraft.  Artistic license I suppose.    I achieve this by getting close with low presure, about 5 or 10 psi) and it reduces overspray.  I added a few drops of XF-57 Buff and streaked the green.  I removed everything and after a few more details are taken care of, such as adding the black foot pad (I think?) at the port wing root, it should be ready for a clear coat. 

Thanks for looking,

Joe

She's really coming along Joe.  Yeah, strange on the cowl design especially when you consider it is all one piece on the real thing.

Awesome Joe. Gotta get me one of these. No modeling time now though. I'll build vicariously through you though...

Thanks Reasoned.  I have been slowly but surely finding some modeling time and I did  manage to get the airframe together.  Its been a real pleasure so far and I am just in awe over the detail Eduard has presented on perhaps my favorite single engine fighter...the Merlin Spit.  The fine rivet detail is remarkable and these are the best reproductions of Dzus fasteners I've ever seen, at least in this scale.  One small gripe though, I don't understand the two piece top cowl panel.  It was unecessary seam work and kind of hard to preserve the rivet detail on top .  They were able to hollow out the cannons and exhausts, but they couldn't make the cowl one piece?  The fit was good though.  Here it is pre seam work....

Speaking of the exhausts...they're leaps and bounds head of their FW 190 Dora and ME 110 subjects.  There's no need for the aftermarket here.  I sprayed mine XF-1 Flat Black then dusted them with XF-64 Red Brown.  They were then drybrushed with Floquil Old Silver.   They come out with a nice worn metallic look, at least to my eye.  Its too bad they couldn't design these so they could be installed from the outside though.  I will install mine then tape them off. 

I got the airframe together.  It was fairly painless and needed no filler anywhere.  The tail assembly design was clever and allows you to pose the stabilizers lowered with virtually no modification.  I did this slightly.  The wing tips and ailerons went on without a hitch. 

...and primed with Alclad Grey.  This is also the nicest detailed "stock" prop hub I've seen in a kit.   

I gave it a preshade of XF-1.  This took forever with all the rivet lines. 

I will be succumbing to the option with the full invasion stripes, namely Jerry Billing's post D-day June 7th 1944 mount.  I guess it was before he named it Dorothy?  I also have Super Scale decals which include the mounts of Johnny Johnson and John Plagis so there's a chance I may still change my mind.  The problem is that everyone does Johnson's Spit, so I want to be different.  I started painting the XF-2 Flat White for the stripes which I cut with Tamiya lacquer thinner for extra bite since there will be a lot of taping here. 

Thats where I left off.  I hope to get more work in soon.

Joe

Rather speechless Joe, fantastic workmanship as usual.  I can't wait to see your paint job on this one!

Thanks for the compliments Nathan and Gary.  Nathan, thanks for the heads up.  I guess I'll have to use the Ultracast wheels for an alternate project (no biggie...lots of Merlin Spits in the stash).  I am considering getting some aftermarket exhausts though.  I'm likely going to go with the subject with the full invasion stripes.  I'm not sure I can resist the temptation.  Antoni, great reference pics.  Unfortunately I already painted this area green, but I'll remember that for next time.  So the regulator is supposed to be there...good. 

I was able to get a little more work in last night.  The instrument panel was installed as was the rudder pedals  The starboard side was then assembled which fit like a glove. 

One last look before I close it up.

The fuselage was sealed without a hitch.  There are two Hasegawa-esque plugs that go in each forward wing root.  Apparently this area is different on the various Marks of the Spitfire, again suggesting there will be others soon.  Unlike Hasegawa, these fit fine.   

I then taped the wings together to get a preliminary idea on general fit, especially the wingroot area.  It seems to be perfect so far with no need to glue the upper wings on first.  Just look at all that beautiful detail on those wings.  I hope other companies are taking note.

I still don't understand Eduard's need to complicate things uneccessarily.  There is like 13 pieces to build the gear bay.  It reminded me of their 190 series.  It does seem to fit fine when welded with Tenax (I keep my Tenax in an old Tamiya Extra Thin Cement bottle because I like the attached applicator).  We will have to see low it looks painted an weathered.   

Heres how it will look when completed.  I suppose it will look nicer than the others.  Maybe Eduard will have a crack at the P-51D and correct this area which is wrong on all 1/48 scale examples...hum.

You are right about the flare rack, it is unlikely that it was fitted. No problem leaving it off, just remove the tabs on the sides of the seat.

Everything fits perfectly, including the canopy. Its sometime a problem getting cement into the joints.

Parts F40 and F56 would most likely be Aluminium.

The two black cylinders is the voltage regulator. This type first appeared on the later Mk Vs.

On the decal sheet for the stencils numbers 39 to 41 inclusive are variations for the stencils on the inside of the door. I cannot find any mention of them on the instruction sheet. As it is possible to have the canopy and door open this might be a disappointment to some who would like to include them. For the later Mk Ixs number 40 is the one that seems to have been most common.

Good start Joe. What scheme you doing? I've read the Ultracast wheels don't fit due to Eduard's engineering of the axle stubs...May have to use their Brassin ones. Just a heads up before you buy.

Okay, that's just freaking unbelievable!  What team of master modellers did you pay to do that?  Huh?

Really, I would hate to see it if you had had PLENTY of time to work on it!

I'm just going to go crawl into a corner with Mr. Teddy... 

This is going to be a work of art.

Gary

Looking good Joe!

Hello. I'm checking in with a small update.  Unfortunately an obscene amount of overtime at work has cut into my modeling time.  As I said, my love for the Merlin powered Spit propelled this guy to the front of the pile.  I plan to go out of the box, but I might use Ultracast wheels.  We'll when I get to that point. 

The cockpit is very nice and in my opinion better that the Hellcat.  It has just the right amount of PE too.  I know there is resin Eduard has available for it on the side, but I just don't see the need.  I painted it XF-69 NATO Black as a preshade (I'm out of XF-1 at the moment) then taped off everything that is supposed to be black.  I then concocted RAF interior green with XF-71 Cockpit Green mixed with a touch of XF-66 Light Grey.  I then shaded this color in.  The seat was painted a mixture of XF-64 Red Brown and few drops of XF-7 Flat Red to simulate the bakelite resin material the seats were apparently made of.  I wonder if any Spit seats were metal?  Murphy's law would dictate that the flare holder thing on the seat and double cylinder thing (technical terms) on the back of the seat frame were not on the MK. IX.  Doh!...too late...next time.  I guess Eduard may be planning on other Marks.  To add further insult to injury, I painted the the flare holder in Aluminum to add further interest, since I didn't thing green would have looked right.  Eh...nobody is really gonna see it anyways.   The PE seatbelts on this kit are phenomenal.  They are some of the best I've seen.  I gave the pit a post shade of a diluted Red Brown and NATO Black mixture then it got a Testor's clear gloss coat.  Everything then got a "Detailer" wash and it was sealed with Testor's Dull Coat. 

A quick test fit.  It looks promising.  I do wonder if that support bar between the frames is going to interfere with the fit of the back window as it does on the Tamiya Spitfire MK I. 

I hope to have it sealed up in the next few days

Joe. 

Antoni that looks great.  How about a work in progress thread?

Joe

Aww, you guys are making me jealous!! Ive had no time to finish my Dora and get started on my IXc. I am really looking forward to seeing the lawdog treatment on Eduards newest kit!

Antoni, do you have a build log up anywhere of your work on this kit?? Would love to see it as well.

Nothing like bringing a new release to the front of the build pile! This is gonna be sweet! Nice work Antoni. I've seen the rear fuselage painted aluminum or green. Not sure if both are correct or not.

Already started mine.