Airfix Spitfire IX "Club Special" Israel and Egypt

[John]

I agree about the ovettrees, I've got 2 of them. Great idea from Eduard, especially if you have plenty of spare decals to choose from.

John

[JBr]

If you read the history, it's probable that the blue "outline" is nothing more than the remains of a slightly larger Yugoslav roundel that the aircraft carried on the trip from Yugoslavia to Israel. The white of the IDF roundel was (for some reason) painted smaller than the Yugoslav.

Actually Spitfires from the Velveta 1 didn't wear Yugoslav markings at all - there was no need to at that time. The first leg from Czechoslovakia to Yugoslavia was flown without any marking and for the final leg they wore Israeli insignia, hand painted during the stop in Podgorica. There are photos from Podgorica showing Spitfires without any markings and photos from the final leg showing Spitfire with Israeli insignia already painted on it. Regarding the blue outline around the fuselage insignia of white 14, a two-part article about Czechoslovak Spitfires in Israel published in REVI magazine states that the outline may actually be dark green or khaki.

Yugoslav markings were only used during Velveta 2, in December 48, and only for the first leg from Czechoslovakia to Yugoslavia. There the Israeli markings were hand painted over the Yugoslav insignia and the final leg was again flown without any disguise.

[NPL]

Actually Spitfires from the Velveta 1 didn't wear Yugoslav markings at all - there was no need to at that time. The first leg from Czechoslovakia to Yugoslavia was flown without any marking and for the final leg they wore Israeli insignia, hand painted during the stop in Podgorica. There are photos from Podgorica showing Spitfires without any markings and photos from the final leg showing Spitfire with Israeli insignia already painted on it. Regarding the blue outline around the fuselage insignia of white 14, a two-part article about Czechoslovak Spitfires in Israel published in REVI magazine states that the outline may actually be dark green or khaki.

Yugoslav markings were only used during Velveta 2, in December 48, and only for the first leg from Czechoslovakia to Yugoslavia. There the Israeli markings were hand painted over the Yugoslav insignia and the final leg was again flown without any disguise.

Shame and ashes on my head! If only they were as good at taking Photos back in 1948 as they were at flying! But studying the Photos in Yofe's books says that you are right. Thus the outline problem remains. Kagero has in a profile in one of their Topcolors series chosen the khaki solution but it is a colour definitely darker than the background of probably worn grey (Yofe, Spitfire Mk.IX, p. 22 bottom). One thing for sure, the Yugoslav eventuality does not fit in here. Furthermore, it would not have been a Czech national insignia that was overpainted as the Czech Spitfires did not have such markings on the fuselage, only on the tail (and they did not, as far as I know, have a blue board. So the idea of overpainting something does not make sense, and definitely not an overpainted roundel. The Czech squadron codes had been overpainted but that does not explain the dark circle around the Israeli codes.

A last thing, it was very neatly done.

NPL

[Fernando]

An amazing move by Airfix. With the Eduard kit available theirs is better quickly forgotten. And the decals are not enough of a hook, there are plenty available. Price I do not think is so advantageous as to justify buying a third rate kit.

Fernando

[NPL]

An amazing move by Airfix. With the Eduard kit available theirs is better quickly forgotten. And the decals are not enough of a hook, there are plenty available. Price I do not think is so advantageous as to justify buying a third rate kit.

Fernando

Hey, you forget that it is a Club issue, not generally available. Probably also a special Price. Airfix's Mk.IX is not a top rate kit, but with some Work it can undoubtedly be made into something worth looking at.

NPL

[AlCZ]

But - why bought a worse kit, when you can have better - and decals - i think - isn't problem ?

[NPL]

Yup, and it forms the basis of all the main 1:48 spits. I have built 2 Airfix IX's for both of these decal options and 2 XVIe's with a Mk1 in the stash, and they all have the same plastic and they are not very nice to build. Also they do not come with a genuine wheels up option so you have to use the kit parts and filler to make it so.

Collector's item

NPL

[Adam Maas]

But - why bought a worse kit, when you can have better - and decals - i think - isn't problem ?

Because it's actually a decent kit, lacks some of the issues of the ICM IX (pointy fuselage behind the canopy and tendency for short-shots at the wing roots) and can be turned into a rather nice IX with a little care and a lot of sanding (to thin the wings). And it's a LOT cheaper than the Eduard, at least until Eduard ships the Weekend Edition.

It also comes with an absolute ton of spares, useful if you need C or E wings for anything else, or spare wingtips.

[Roo]

I have just got around to placing the decals on the Israeli spit, and so I have a small piece of advice. for the red line rudder decals, it woul be easier to place them before either the rudder itself or the tailplanes are attached to the fuselage, as they are a complete pig to place with it all in place. Another option would be to use the decals to cut a template in masking tape and paint them. I found all this out too late and ended up having to do it by hand.

[John]

Because it's actually a decent kit, lacks some of the issues of the ICM IX (pointy fuselage behind the canopy and tendency for short-shots at the wing roots) and can be turned into a rather nice IX with a little care and a lot of sanding (to thin the wings). And it's a LOT cheaper than the Eduard, at least until Eduard ships the Weekend Edition.

It also comes with an absolute ton of spares, useful if you need C or E wings for anything else, or spare wingtips.

Exactly. Comparing the Airfix fuselage to the benchmark Aeroclub fuselage shows a very close similarity, certainly close enough to make a bit of extra work well justified.

I have just got around to placing the decals on the Israeli spit, and so I have a small piece of advice. for the red line rudder decals, it woul be easier to place them before either the rudder itself or the tailplanes are attached to the fuselage, as they are a complete pig to place with it all in place. Another option would be to use the decals to cut a template in masking tape and paint them. I found all this out too late and ended up having to do it by hand.

Thanks for that, useful to know.

John

[Nigel Bunker]

And Airfix "nine" is really tragic kit

Please elucidate AICZ

[Roo]

Please elucidate AICZ

the Airfix Spit IXc/XVIe kit has poor fit issues all over the place.

I found that a small seperate section of the wing ailerons will not fit whatsoever after you have fitted the internal brace, it's easier to leave them off.

The top half of the wings don't line up properly and have to be trimmed and the wings do not line up to the fuselage very well.

The kit is only designed to be built wheels down. Wheels up is possible, and not too much effort, but it involves filler as the wheel strut shrouds are too short.

The fuselage really needs clamping or very tight with tape as the 4 I have recently built, all the fuselage sides are bent at the front.

These are just the ones off of the top of my head, from my experience. I am sure others will say more.

[Adam Maas]

the Airfix Spit IXc/XVIe kit has poor fit issues all over the place.

Note really true. It has two real fit issues. One is the over-thick wings which desperately need thinning at the trailing edges, the second is that the flaps require a lot of work if you want then in the raised position that they typically are in when not on final approach

I found that a small seperate section of the wing ailerons will not fit whatsoever after you have fitted the internal brace, it's easier to leave them off.

I suspect you are referring to the flaps here, not the ailerons. The inner flap sections fit poorly. So do the outers, but the inners need the real work.

The top half of the wings don't line up properly and have to be trimmed and the wings do not line up to the fuselage very well.

My experience is the top half of the wings line up fine, no trimming required. Fuselage/wing fit requires the usual fuselage spreader bar that is a common fix for many Spitfire kits and a bit of filler, as is typical for most Spitfire kits. Certainly less issues at this joint than with the ICM and its short shot upper wing root.

The kit is only designed to be built wheels down. Wheels up is possible, and not too much effort, but it involves filler as the wheel strut shrouds are too short.

The fuselage really needs clamping or very tight with tape as the 4 I have recently built, all the fuselage sides are bent at the front.

These are just the ones off of the top of my head, from my experience. I am sure others will say more.

I've not run into bent fuselage issues, but it's been a couple years since I last bought one.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Adam Maas

[Fernando]

John, you are giving up the point. By saying it is a runner-up to the Aeroclub fuselage conversion, you are stating that the real choice is the latter. And if we add the comment by Maas in the sense that he was thinking about mating the Airfix fuselage to ICM's wings, and consider the risk of short shots he himself noticed, we learn the wings are crap. Therefore, the choice (before Eduard) has to be Aeroclub fuselage plus some set of really good wings, like... those in the FUBAR Hasegawa kit. But this is not news, it has been on the net for ages. Why beating that horse again? The Airfix Mk IX can be built, no doubt, but there is more to a "decent" kit than that. It's only redeeming couple of pieces are the wheel doors (which have the correct bulging); otherwise, not a single small piece shows proper finesse and detail, so the spare box will not be happy anyway (I know, the Mk I comes with plenty of IX pieces). Price is not an issue anymore; life is too short to waste time on second-rate kits when better options are available. For kids and, in the case of these special editions, collectors, it's ok, though.

Just food for thought

FErnando, back in the bush