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ICM 1/48 Spitfire IX

After many years of hearing about improvements to ICM's quality control I bit the bullet and purchased ICM kit number 48061. I must admit that I am impressed by the amount of engineering (over-engineering?) in this thing. It's a fiddly kit, but at least it is finely and accurately molded.

It will not fall together like the Hasegawa kit, but sometimes modeller's actually have to do a little work to achieve a good result - it doesn't do us any harm! Its definitely not a model for beginners, but with a little patience it is definitely the BEST 1/48 Spitfire at the time of writing (12/2010). IMHO.

 


One thing that is vital with this kit is to reduce the width of the control panel and (I seem to recall) the front bulkhead. Otherwise the fuselage is too wide and the wings will lose their characteristic dihedral.

I did very little work to the engine,believing I was going to close the cowlings. I understand that the version of Rolls Royce Merlin modelled for this kit is incorrect, being based on a restored aircraft with an earlier engine. It's certainly different to the one in the beautiful Hasegawa 1/32 Spitfire, anyone know if this is true?

I have to admit that I am not a scratch builder, just a "shake it together and slap some paint on it" type.
 

I wanted to represent a relatively early version of Spitfire IX. Hence the larger wing bulges. I separated the elevators and re-positioned them in the typical Spitfire slightly dropped manner.


Cannon bay bulges

 
 

It didn't require much filler, the only panel I had trouble with was the under chin area. I ended up cutting it in front of the carburetor intake to allow a better fit. I do not know if this is a kit problem or mine. There's plenty of fiddly bits at the sharp end to mis-align.
The canopy was perfectly shaped and commendably thin. In this picture I have PVA'd the cockpit door temporarily closed to allow me to spray. This is my favourite Blu-tak sausages method of masking.

 

  A slow build but a satisfying one... I used the new Tamiya RAF colours they brought out for their fantastic 1:32 Spitfire IX.
  The ICM decals were unusable - here I have sanded one off and will paint a new 'Y' by hand.
  As mentioned above, the Rolls-Royce Merlin is apparently the wrong version, having a single-stage supercharger of an earlier series. It cries out for extra detailing, I only used transfers from the spares box and Barracuda prop blades from Hannants in the UK.
  The ICM Spitfire IX really does capture the looks of an early Spitfire IX. Highly recommended, despite being a complex build.
 

Best features:

  • Overall shape, dimensions
  • fineness of details, thin wing
  • separate ailerons

Worst features

  • Shape of propeller blades
  • wheels slightly dodgy
  • cowling alignment can be awkward
  • some sink marks in mouldings (have to check carefully!)

The best Spitfire IX in 1:48 scale by far - worth persisting with.



 

 

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(c) Copyright Brian Greenwood 2011