The ICM Spitfire Mk IX - 1/48 With Crew! January 2022

This kit is highly rated for those on a budget.  I liked the fact that there was so much extra stuff as you will see.  My intent with this post is to focus on the kit itself and the challenges it presented for me as opposed to techniques I employed in the build.  Overall I recommend ICM.  The kit arrived just after Christmas from Kiev, in Ukraine.  Delivery took about 3 weeks.  The package is efficient and tight in a heavy duty box and sustained not even a scratch, so don't worry about shipping.

I began with the character/crew package.  Six male and one female Woman's Airforce Auxiliary Officer, plus the Golden Retriever - woof!  The molding was excellent IMHO and each figure consists of a 6-8 piece construct.  I chose to do most painting after assembly - except for the dog, which I painted on the sprue using 3-4 colors.

constructed and lined up.

This is my typical M.O.  custom mixing in water bottle caps.  The only downside is if I need larger quantity of a mixed color, then I have to keep it from drying out too quickly.

Details of mine include red finger nails, even though she seems all business.

The painting instructions are very detailed and I followed them except for adding the ranking stripes on the sleeves.  You can see the stripes on our WAFA. Most got only one blue/white/blue, but I doubled up to commander stripes on two of the officers.

Here is a two stripe Commander in a tactics describing pose.

I gave this gentleman a bit of a roguish look.  The daredevil pilot.

Looks like two of the boys making eyes at their girls?

There is a lot of ground maintenance equipment that is included to be assembled and painted.  Ammo belts being loaded and inspected by the Spitfire pilot.

The pilot is the most detailed of the figures to paint.

More equipment and very delicate in removing from the sprue - I had to make a few repairs!

With equipment and crew assembled and painted I could turn my attention to the Mk IX!

This is a good example of the molded detail of this kit, but there are no panels decals so I had to do detailed painting based on photo research.

Easiest to do on the sprue.  A lot of paint/remove/repaint/scrape off etc. but I got it to look ok.

Now we can talk about detail and fit.  Detail is good, but fit is not quite as good as the molding suggests, so be cautioned that there is a lot of trimming required and dry fitting to get things aligned for proper fit.  I was excited though as this was my first detailed in-line motor - The Merlin 70!  Lots of pieces and lots of painting.  A nice challenge.  Besides my wine foil seat belts, the engine was the only place where some extra was added (not entirely OOTB).  Oil lines and ignition equipment etc. I added using 26 gauge wire and 0.5mm styrene rod.

In order to see the engine, the kit gives the option for cutting away the engine panels from the fuselage, which I did - both sides.  Of course there are replacements on the sprue.

Likewise the access door is cut out and replaced for more detail and seeing the cockpit, for which there are also many detailed parts.

The cockpit assembly is built and ready for installation.

Jumping ahead I close up the fuselage as the cockpit slides up from below and snaps into place nicely.

And Merlin is mounted.  There are many detailed and fragile parts to make this happen and the sequence of assembly has to be planned as the instructions are nothing but schematic blowups with arrows pointed to attachment points and nothing to guide you on the order of putting the parts together, except your own Gray Matter!

As previously mentioned the trusty wine foil makes for good seat belts.

Tail has been added along with the wings.  Note that the port side gun panel has been left off to show the gun and loader.  Another kit option.  It also shows that the windscreen and Malcom Hood have been painted and installed in the open position.  A complete closed canopy is also supplied.  Note the bottom engine panel is shown in this pic.  It is a two piece option in the kit but is appropriate for the Mk IX.

The problem is that the panel does not fit well now that the Merlin is installed.  A little tension was put on the engine mount such that the panel could match up with the front of the engine mount which then left a gap where it fits in the wing.  More trimming and window glue solves this problem as you will see.

Now for the propeller which is a 5 piece construct, not readily apparent on how to build it.  Some dry fitting results in what turns out to be the correct method of attachment.

So all blades are on and painted.  Keeping them all correctly oriented is critical and takes a good eye.

It looks much better with the spinner.  Starting to look like a Spit.!

I almost forgot that the ailerons are separate pieces installed in a down position.

Prop decals have been applied at this point and the tips masked for yellow.

Looks good!

This is one of many photos showing the paint scheme with invasion stripes - I love invasion stripes as you have seen if you have visited this Blog.  This is another June 1944 aircraft to accompany my rehabbed mosquito and P-61 builds, all June 1944 with invasion stripes.  Later the diorama of these builds will be revealed.

Let the striping begin.  As seen in my other builds mask is used for the white stripes and then the black is filled in by hand which results in a "painted in the field" look.

This not only shows the progress of the striping but also the ghost gray of the underside.  I can then carefully scribe the molded panel lines with a sharpened tip of my xacto.  Also note that the previous gap in the bottom panel to wing has been sealed (with window glue).

With striping completed the dark green and gray can be applied topside......

.......followed by decal application.  the decals are solid but Microsol or other setting solution should always be used to maneuver and seal the decal to the model.  John Plagis chose this particular Spitfire because of the "K" on the tail.  His sister Kay was also evident in the name above the victory symbols and the nickname "Muscat" in English and Arabic. 

The kit includes many small detail decals which adds to the realism. 

See what I mean?

It is finally time to add the gear.  A five piece construct that is well molded and goes together easily; however, as with many of the pieces that require insertion into a receiving hole, some trimming is first necessary.

Looks like John is ready to go!  I suggest you google John Plagis, the Southern Rhodesian Ace that flew this Mk IX.  It is quite a story.

Bottoms up shows the installation of 250lb GPBs.  I could have added a 500 pounder as well, but thought it was a bit too much.  Some weathering is also added .  I almost forgot the yellow Fighter Command ID on the wing edge!

After noted heroics in the 1942 battles in the skies over Malta Sqn. Ldr.  Plagis led his No. 126 squadron in  June of 1944 on several successful sorties destroying radio installations, oil tankage, power plants etc.  He was shot down over Arnhem during Operation Market Garden but was only slightly wounded and got right back into the sky.  With 16 confirmed victories (shared two others) he is the highest scoring Ace of Greek origin and winner of the Distinguished Service Order..

Engine panels on.......

......engine panels off.

 This is why I detailed up the Merlin with a little extra "stuff"

So, there we are with  dullcoat applied, ready to set up the diorama. Here are some ideas,

Another orientation.

This is a photo my brother took at last years EAA fly in in Oshkosh, WIS.

In summary this is good and challenging kit and if all of the detail included is applied then this is definitely not for the novice builder.  That being said, I would say that a young builder that wants to build a spitfire and perhaps hang it from the ceiling in flight would not have to bother figuring out options and detail.  Leave panels in place as molded and simply insert the exhaust manifolds, use the single piece Malcom Hood and paint in some dark green for camo color.  A much simpler build and still a good representative Spitfire!  Here are a couple of outdoor shots which include my rehabbed Monogram Mosquito and my downed bf 109.

On The Bench: DIY tabletop gaming scenery - rivers.

I have had an on-and-off relationship with miniature figures and tabletop gaming since grade school (Airfix men and ROCO minitanks, homebrew rules), college (Minifigs, Grenadier, and Ral Partha for D&D), as a father with young boys (Games Workshop, primarily WHFB and WH40K), and the latest iteration (or come full circle?) of Bolt Action, 28mm tabletop WWII gaming. Throughout,  I've always been on the lookout for good scenery on the cheap, purchased or homebuilt. I feel it adds immensely to the ganing experience. In this case, rivers. I wanted a solution that met the following requirements:

1. Sectional, to be easily rearranged to meet the needs of many different scenarios.

2. Sturdy, capable of being used, transported, stored multiple times without damage.

3. Large enough to cross a standard 4x6 game area 

4. Capable of being laid out on top of a standard game mat while still giving a 3d appearance of depth

5. Using as much as possible scenery materials already in hand.

Like any old school engineer, it begins with a drawing...

What I settled on was 4" x 12" straight sections (6) and 16" outside diameter curves (6), a circle cut into 60 degree slices. In combination, enough to cover nearly corner to corner should I need to.

I have worked with cardboard and foamcore for scenery basing, and have had some issues with warping, so I chose to go plastic to reduce (but as we'll see, not eliminate) this problem.

I had on hand a partial package of plastuct .010 styrene, in 7 x 12 sheets. Using a 1/2" overlap, I used some Tamiya Extra Thin to make a single large sheet from which I could cut a 16 in. diameter circle. An exacto and a few minutes time and I had 6 60 degree arcs.

The six straights were cut from the full 7x12 sheets. Note, you'll need more than one package of sheets to replicate this.

Now for the river banks. Any of a number of materials could be used, but having just completed repairs on some model railroad scenery using a lightweight, flexible, air drying "foam clay" (my words), it seemed it could work. In reality, when I bought it, I had this in mind as well  ;-).

This material is light, easily formed, dries firm but remains flexible. It does not take fine detail, as it is resilient and springs back, but is fine for smooth, rolling features. If you want hard edges and fine detail, it can be carved when at least partially dry. It shrinks slightly, so plan accordingly.  I simply ripped off chunks and hand formed it to my taste, tapering to zero thickness at the edge, building up to ~ 1/2 - 3/4 in. at the "bank".

I had decided that to make them match up, regardless of how wide or narrow the channel, the ends of each section's "water" would be 3" wide, centered.

I have a 100+ year old home, whose cast iron radiators furnish a great drying rack, so off it goes...

Once firm, I reglued the edges of the "clay" to the plastic card with white glue, filling in gaps and securing and sealing the edges.  Once dry, it was painted with a dark brown acrylic paint (a quart of house paint from my local big box store, a lifetime supply).

Next, for the river bottom, a covering of sand, rocks, debris. I had a mix I made of building debris from a prior project, hammered into a finer consistency, made of paint-tinted joint compound, mixed with some model railroad track ballast. A variety of colors and textures, while remaining in the same pallete, appear more natural than monochromatic "gravel". This was sprinkled over thinned white glue with some dry dark earth pigment mixed in.

Note the middle section, I wanted to create a plausible "ford" so I built up the river bed somewhat with clay, and when dry, ran ruts into it repeatedly with a wallpaper corner roller to dent the still somewhat spongy surface. Not as rut-y as I'd hoped, have to finish the effect with Grass, or lack thereof.

Next, I used a two part clear resin to make the water. 

I closed up the ends of each section with blue painter's tape, and poured on a level surface, with foil underneath,  as some leakage will occur. This provides a clear, smooth "water". I am still seeking ways to create or add "current". After a few hours of curing, it's time for turf. I have accumulated a number of different colors and textures from both model railroading and figure basing. I mix colors and textures to get a blend I like; as with the debris, avoid using single color/texture, it will look unnatural. Daubing on the thinned white glue/pigment solution on the banks up to the top but not over the edge, keaving the inner banks the base "mud brown".

Shake off the excess, let dry. 

More can be done to add individuality and detail; rocks, ruts, log jams, etc. subject only to your time and creativity.

I still ended up with some warpage, the edges lifting up. Not too noticeable for pieces of this size, and probably only avoided by using much stiffer and/or thicker substrate.

On the whole, I  am happy with the result, and look forward to seeing tanks and troops deal with it in a game.

Now for some 3d roads ;-)