Spitfire IX XVI BEST KITS 1/72

[wellsprop]

Following the interest and good comments on a thread I started about the XIV kits, I am going to create another thread but this time about the IX.

In this thread I will sum up the pros and cons of each kit from the mainstream manufacturers. I to create a useful resource to those looking for the best IX kit.

Airfix (IX)

Pros

• Pretty cheap at £7
• Really easy to get your hands on
• Really easy to build
• Nice decals (two options)
• Good shape and looks good overall

Cons

• Deep panel lines
• Wing chord too thick at roots
• No cockpit detail
• The canopy is fairly thick and one piece
• No detail in the wheel wells
• General lack of detail

Italeri (IX)

Pros

• Very cheap
• Three piece canopy
• Nice panel details
• Easy build
• Nice glass pieces
• Small and pointy rudder
• High flying versions (separate kit)

Cons

• Small nose (as was on the V's converted to IX's
• FILLER MONSTER
• Inaccurate blisters
• Detail lacking
• Sloped radiators

KP (IX & XVI highback)

Pros

• It's fairly cheap
• Decals are good and there's few different options

Cons

• Raised panel lines
• Rubbish cockpit
• Needs filler
• Shapes a bit wrong in places
• Bad detail
• Bad wheels
• Canopy looks totally wrong as does the mirror

AZ Model (IX, VII, VIII & XVI)

Pros

• Brilliant detail
• Brilliant decals
• Good price (the Joypack is excellent price at around £15 for 3 (without decals))
• Panel detail is fantastic
• Two or three piece canopy
• Very accurate

Cons

• I've never made the kit so I can't comment
• Reviews basically say there are no significant bad points
• Clipped wing tips have to be sawn off if you want to glue on normal span

Sword (IX & XVI)

Pros

• Comes with resin
• Good canopy
• Fantastic details
• Great decals
• Builds very well
• very accurate
• Good all over

Cons

• It is a bit expensive at £13
• Not for beginers

Heller

Pros

• It's ok price
• It's a good shape overall
• The prop is, in fact, very very kids out of the cheaper kits

Cons

• Raised panel lines
• DREADFUL decals (I cannot stress this enough)
• Cockpit isn't great
• Really bad radiators
• Bad exhausts

Czech Master Resin (IX, Tr.IX & XVI)

Images courtesy of Mark Davies http://www.hyperscale.com/2010/features/spitfiretr972md_1.htm

Pros

• Fantastic detail and panel lines
• Great cockpit detail
• Great decals
• Very accurate
• Superb kit
• Full resin kit

Cons

• Very expensive
• Full resin kit (this is both a pro and a con as a lot of people aren't familiar with full resin)

Please feel free to correct me on any of the above

Ben

Edited July 10, 2014 by wellsprop

[Denford]

Good post.

Can I add (con)that Italeri Spitfires have sides of radiators sloped: presumably to assist removal from the mould!

[Miggers]

The Heller:

The prop is about the best injected four blader for the Merlin 60/70 series.

The rads need about a mil.out of their height,glue 'em on,saw 'em off,glue 'em back on again,job done.

The engine undercowl is a bit "pigeon-breasted"(more like a PR.XI),if you've a scrap KP in the box,

carefully remove both undercowls and fit the KP to the Heller fuse.

The cockpit hood is too pointed at it's forward end if it's fitted closed,open lessens the effect,

substitute a vac canopy complete or pinch the spare hood out of Airfix's lovely 22.

The wheels are a bit non-descript,swap 'em for Airfix four-spoke far a wartime kite, three-spoke

for post-war,swap the tailwheel for an Airfix item too,Heller's doesn't look quite right somehow.

The exhaust are a bit weedy,but you do get the choice of wartime fishtails or postwar tubulars.

Decals?,well there's plenty of choice with an XVI.

In short,with a bit of work the Heller builds a pretty Spit XVI.

Edited January 11, 2014 by Miggers

[Procopius]

On the AZ kit, a disadvantage is that normal span wingtips are separate; you have to cut off the clipped tips and attach them. Blech!

[Max Headroom]

I would add the Matchbox IX (later modded to add a low back XVI too). It was easy to put together, but rubbish transfers, no gull wing, one piece cockpit canopy, no cockpit detail, pants propeller and no Aero Vee intake. Robbing bits off a Heller XVI though a nice model resulted. Can't comment on the XVI as I built the original release.

If you add conversions then M&E did a Tr.9 fuselage to go with Matchbox IX wings etc. in the 80's. Just don't go there as it had no redeeming qualities at all.

I believe a Polish firm called Lotnia did a Tr.9 in the 80's too. Never seen it but believe it was not that good.

Trevor

[johnd]

Good post!

May I ask you to elaborate on

• Wing roots too thick

in the Airfix IX cons list?

John.

[Max Headroom]

Don't forget the original Airfix IX too. Never built it but "one for the completist" as Mike McEvoy once said.

Trevor

[Procopius]

I explained myself badly. The wingtips on the AZ Spit are clipped by default; normal -span tips or high-altitude tips are separate parts that require the removal of the clipped tips from the wings.

[wellsprop]

Good post!

May I ask you to elaborate on

• Wing roots too thick

in the Airfix IX cons list?

John.

Oops, I meant the wing chord is 1mm too thick at the wing root.

Don't forget the original Airfix IX too. Never built it but "one for the completist" as Mike McEvoy once said.

Trevor

It's hard to find nowadays and just doesn't compare to the newer kits sadly

I explained myself badly. The wingtips on the AZ Spit are clipped by default; normal -span tips or high-altitude tips are separate parts that require the removal of the clipped tips from the wings.

No problem, I've edited the entry for the kit.

I will keep updating this post till people run out of ideas

Ben

[Giorgio N]

Another problem with the Airfix kit: the ailerons are scribed wrong. The aileron chord on a spitfire is shorter on the top than it is on the bottom of the wing (typical of Frise ailerons) but the kit has the same chord on both side.

The Italeri kit... oh Lord, where should I start.... in addition to the problems mentioned I can add that there is no depiction of the proper 3D shape of the wing-fuselage fairing. The propeller is awful and best replaced. The shape of the cowling is bad. The wing has a curious problem; the position of some of the spent case ejection slots does not agree with the position of the MGs. Positive side: not only the canopy is in 3 pieces but there's also a bonus canopy with external armour that can be used on a Mk.V

The KP kit has a number of problems, but for a long time it was the best Mk.IX available shapewise... things really have changed in the last 20 years ! It really only represents a late Mk.IXe. The radiators are awful, the propeller can be used if modified a bit, the wing-fuselage fairing is again absent

Someone mentioned the Matchbox XVI: the modified tool introduced some strange features: for example the wing had raised panel lines while the fuselage had trenches, although very few of them. Thick canopy and useless decals didn't make this an attractive package. Undercarriage legs were not too bad but the wheels were useless

A couple of kits not mentioned:

Ventura: typical of the company production, it was a "hard-line" short run. Accuracy was good with very fine recessed panel lines. Fit is what can be expected from this kind of kit. The smaller details (guns, cockpit parts) were absent and had to be sourced elsewhere. However it's still one of the few Spitfire c wing kits to have the proper bulge on the gear doors.. this detail alone tells a lot about the love for details that went into these kits. Another plus point: the canopy was a lovely Falcon made vacform in 2 copies. Despite being a vacform, it was very easy to use. The VIII is now back in production under the Jays name... this kit really is a IX anyway, with wide gun bulges moulded on the wing but a pointed rudder. Parts for the thin bulges and the rounded rudder are included in the box but require some surgery

Hasegawa: typical modern kit with lovely panel lines, good engineering and fit (although some people I know have some problems with this). Very nice wing but fuselage inaccurate. Propeller is best replaced. Very little cockpit details and one piece canopy only. Decals OK but nothing impressive. Choice of parts for various variants depending on the box. Not easy to find today and likely to be expensive

[Max Headroom]

Just thought about the Frog VIII. As far as I am aware it's the only one of this mark in this scale, so I would include it to avoid it being overlooked otherwise.

It's another kit I have never seen so cannot comment on accuracy, other than to recall that one reviewer thought the wings were too thick.

Trevor

Edit....didn't Hasegawa also do an VIII?

[Procopius]

Hasegawa and AZ both did VIIIs.

[mike romeo]

Just thought about the Frog VIII. It's another kit I have never seen so cannot comment on accuracy, other than to recall that one reviewer thought the wings were too thick.

Trevor

Trevor,

Ah yes, the old FROG Spit VIII / IX. Here is it next to the new-tool Airfix Spit IX:

The kit comes with only the broad cannon bulges. I thought this was wrong for the Mk VIII, but apparently it may not be as some of the Aussie Mk IXs did at some point fit 4 20mm cannon (although this was not persisted with due to weight).

FROG kit pros:

Reasonable engine cowling contours

Well fitting canopy

Both original and 'pointy' rudders included

Thickness of canopy saves having to put any interior in (FROG only have a square armchair in the 'pit)

Decals still work!

Good fun to have a play with

cons:

Bloated rear fuselage / fin

Lack of detail

Kit has practically zero dihedral when built oob (trimming of fuselage wing root edges is required)

Wing thickness closer to Hurricane than Spitfire. Needs massive thinning

Carburettor intake (large one only) is an odd shape.

No gull wing effect under rear centre-section

regards,

Martin

Edited January 10, 2014 by mike romeo

[Giorgio N]

Yes, Hasegawa did a Mk.VIII. The Mk.IX kit was designed to allow a Mk.VIII to be made easily just by changing a few bits: pointed rudder (also present in some boxes of the Mk.IX) and retractable tailwheel. IIRC some boxings also included the extended wingtips.

A number of features of the Mk.VIII were however not present: the ailerons needed some filling (the original configuration allows both the IX and the VIII depending on which lines are filled) and the panel lines for the wing leading edge tanks need scribing.

This is the Hasegawa kit practically straight from the box apart from the tanks scribed and the ailerons sorted (and aftermarket decals):

Speaking of the Hasegawa kit reminded me of what seems to be a common "issue" in several kits, for example the Hasegawa, Airfix and italeri ones: these feature a large bulge on the wing that is only present in aircrafts used postwar, therefore needs removing for 99% of the subjects reproduced. In the picture I posted the bulge has been removed

[mike romeo]

Yes, Hasegawa did a Mk.VIII. The Mk.IX kit was designed to allow a Mk.VIII to be made easily just by changing a few bits: pointed rudder (also present in some boxes of the Mk.IX) and retractable tailwheel. IIRC some boxings also included the extended wingtips.

A number of features of the Mk.VIII were however not present: the ailerons needed some filling (the original configuration allows both the IX and the VIII depending on which lines are filled) and the panel lines for the wing leading edge tanks need scribing.

This is the Hasegawa kit practically straight from the box apart from the tanks scribed and the ailerons sorted (and aftermarket decals):

Speaking of the Hasegawa kit reminded me of what seems to be a common "issue" in several kits, for example the Hasegawa, Airfix and italeri ones: these feature a large bulge on the wing that is only present in aircrafts used postwar, therefore needs removing for 99% of the subjects reproduced. In the picture I posted the bulge has been removed

Giorgio,

The other thing about the Hasegawa kit that your post neatly illustrates is that the rear part of the cockpit glazing is moulded full depth (ie it's bottom edge is in line with the sliding section). This is a characteristic of the pressurised canopy of the Mk VII (which is available in another boxing of this kit). The rear section of the Mks VIII and IX canopy is not as deep.

regards,

Martin

[Max Headroom]

Didn't some of the Hasegawa releases come with pre painted canopies?

Trevor

[Giorgio N]

Giorgio,

The other thing about the Hasegawa kit that your post neatly illustrates is that the rear part of the cockpit glazing is moulded full depth (ie it's bottom edge is in line with the sliding section). This is a characteristic of the pressurised canopy of the Mk VII (which is available in another boxing of this kit). The rear section of the Mks VIII and IX canopy is not as deep.

regards,

Martin

You're right Martin ! And in this model I totally forgot to sort this. Fortunately it only needs some painting to correct this issue.

Interestingly, Ventura did a kit of a proper Mk.VII, with pressurisation intake, correct aileraons and so on, and guess what ? They supplied a Mk.IX canopy without the deeper rear glazing....

Best course of action would be to swap the canopy between the 2 kits.

Another small problem with the Hase kit is the completely flat wheel well cover, but this is another very common error

[wellsprop]

I don't know anything about the Hasegawa Spitfire's and I can't find them on ebay either (I assume they aren't really available anymore) so I won't post an overview, however it'd be great if some-one else could

[johnd]

I'm afraid that's the problem with Hasegawa kits such as the Spitfire IX and Hurricanes, they don't bother to put them on the shelves. However much they're lauded if you can't actually buy them they may as well not exist.

John.

[Chuck1945]

The Hasegawa Spit VIII/IX suffer the same dimensional issues as its larger 1/48 brother. Excellent wing, one of the worst props (only Airfix's IX is worse) and a fuselage that is 'off'. If you match alongside the Airfix or AZ fuselage, the leading edge of wing is placed differently on the fuselage screwing up both forward and aft proportions, not a lot, but still off.

[The wooksta V2.0]

If you add conversions then M&E did a Tr.9 fuselage to go with Matchbox IX wings etc. in the 80's. Just don't go there as it had no redeeming qualities at all.

I believe a Polish firm called Lotnia did a Tr.9 in the 80's too. Never seen it but believe it was not that good.

Trevor

I've half a dozen of the former and one of the latter. The former has very thick but soft plastic so I thing that it should be salvageable. The latter... i bought one for 20p in 1991. I was overcharged. It's frankly the worst kit I have ever seen - and that includes anything by Merlin and Unicraft. It is literally unbuildable.

The Heller XVIe? Lovely kit. Replace the wheels and the tailwheel, cut off and replace rads and open the canopy - job done. As for the lower cowl - I tend to sand the hell out of it. The decals always were poor but the more recent boxings are vile. If buying this kit, ALWAYS go for the older black boxing or the phototop HellerHumbrol boxing - the plastic is les prone to warping.

KP's IXe was for many years considered to be the most accurate IX available.

Edited January 11, 2014 by The wooksta V2.0

[Max Headroom]

Wooksta!

I still have the mortal remains my M&E.......thing.

Whilst the shape is there or thereabouts, the moulded in exhausts are horrid, the rear canopy (and arguably the crux of the conversion) is the wrong shape, the tail is a joke and the Dutch roundels (?) were totally out of alignment. Memory tells me there was a one piece prop, but I may be wrong.

I ended up chopping the tail and nose off and trying/failing to mate them to a donor Matchbox kit. I gave up.

Trevor

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

Here's what I've found with 1/72 Spitfire IX and XVI kits. I'm not too concerned by accuracy as all the kits I've built look enough like Spitfires to me, I'm more concerned with how they build and the detailing.

Airfix new tool - on the plus side it goes together really well and isn't too expensive but for a new tool kit the level of detailing is very disappointing. The cockpit detailing hasn't improved on old style kits, there's no detailing in the wheel wells and the panel lines are quite deep. In short, if you didn't do any weathering, it will look like diecast model when built oob.

Italeri - (this also applies to the Mk VII) Nicely detailed and cheap! However, they are really horrible to build and as others have said, require a lot of filler, sanding etc. To be honest, I would avoid them.

Hasegawa (Mk VII, VIII, IX) - Easily the best detailed and best to build of the more mainstream manufacturers Spitfires. I've not managed to get a VII or IX but have built 3 Mk VIII's. Despite the accuracy issues, I would recommend this kit to anyone like me that isn't too bothered if it's mm out here or there, simply because it's a nice kit in other regards! Problem is finding them and when you do find them, they aren't cheap. 3D kits do a late Spitfire IX conversion set for the Airfix Mk IX but the Prop and late style rudder will fit on the Hasegawa kit, I know as 2 of my Mk VIII's have had this treatment!

Heller Mk XVI - I got one of these a few years ago, what a horrible kit! I think the moulds are past the best. Mine was mis-moulded and ill fitting. It's an old style kit and cheap but I think it's better spending money to get a decent kit.

KP (Mk VIII) - Old style kit like the Heller one but not as badly moulded. It's cheap and not too well detailed. I painted it to the same standard as my Hasegawa kits and the Hasegawa models looked far nicer built up.

Sword (IXe, XVIe) - Sword do a LF Mk IXe and XVI (highback and bubble canopy) and they look very nice in the box. I've not built mine yet but if they are as good as the other Sword kits I've built (Spitfire Vc, PR IV and Re2001) then they won't be too difficult to build, although not as easy as the Airfix or Hasegawa kits. Detailing is of a high standard.

AZ Models (IX, XVI) - I've not got any of these but if they are a similar standard to the new Bf109G series they have just released, then they'll be extremely nice! Be warned though, the similar Mk VII and VIII are not of the same standard, using older moulding technology.

My conclusion is that if you want a good Spitfire IX or XVI, spend the extra. You may pay more for the Hasegawa (if you can find them!), AZ Models or Sword but in my experience these are far better kits than any others currently available. If you really don't want to spend the money, then I would say go for the Airfix one unless of course you enjoy making hard work of things!

thanks

Mike

[mike romeo]

Here's what I've found with 1/72 Spitfire IX and XVI kits. I'm not too concerned by accuracy as all the kits I've built look enough like Spitfires to me, I'm more concerned with how they build and the detailing.

Airfix new tool - on the plus side it goes together really well and isn't too expensive but for a new tool kit the level of detailing is very disappointing. The cockpit detailing hasn't improved on old style kits, there's no detailing in the wheel wells and the panel lines are quite deep. In short, if you didn't do any weathering, it will look like diecast model when built oob.

Italeri - (this also applies to the Mk VII) Nicely detailed and cheap! However, they are really horrible to build and as others have said, require a lot of filler, sanding etc. To be honest, I would avoid them.

Hasegawa (Mk VII, VIII, IX) - Easily the best detailed and best to build of the more mainstream manufacturers Spitfires. I've not managed to get a VII or IX but have built 3 Mk VIII's. Despite the accuracy issues, I would recommend this kit to anyone like me that isn't too bothered if it's mm out here or there, simply because it's a nice kit in other regards! Problem is finding them and when you do find them, they aren't cheap. 3D kits do a late Spitfire IX conversion set for the Airfix Mk IX but the Prop and late style rudder will fit on the Hasegawa kit, I know as 2 of my Mk VIII's have had this treatment!

Heller Mk XVI - I got one of these a few years ago, what a horrible kit! I think the moulds are past the best. Mine was mis-moulded and ill fitting. It's an old style kit and cheap but I think it's better spending money to get a decent kit.

KP (Mk VIII) - Old style kit like the Heller one but not as badly moulded. It's cheap and not too well detailed. I painted it to the same standard as my Hasegawa kits and the Hasegawa models looked far nicer built up.

Sword (IXe, XVIe) - Sword do a LF Mk IXe and XVI (highback and bubble canopy) and they look very nice in the box. I've not built mine yet but if they are as good as the other Sword kits I've built (Spitfire Vc, PR IV and Re2001) then they won't be too difficult to build, although not as easy as the Airfix or Hasegawa kits. Detailing is of a high standard.

AZ Models (IX, XVI) - I've not got any of these but if they are a similar standard to the new Bf109G series they have just released, then they'll be extremely nice! Be warned though, the similar Mk VII and VIII are not of the same standard, using older moulding technology.

My conclusion is that if you want a good Spitfire IX or XVI, spend the extra. You may pay more for the Hasegawa (if you can find them!), AZ Models or Sword but in my experience these are far better kits than any others currently available. If you really don't want to spend the money, then I would say go for the Airfix one unless of course you enjoy making hard work of things!

thanks

Mike

Hi Mike,

You've clearly had a bad experience with the Heller XVI, but I must admit I'm really surprised. I've built this kit 3 times over the years, twice in late 2012 and, notwithstanding the accuracy issues mentioned previously, they all built up really well. The two more recent ones were sourced separately off e-bay and had different box art, so it's not like they were from the same batch or anything. I wonder if you got a bad 'un?

The kits were built as part of a Heller MkXVI SKGB on another forum and there must have been about 10 built in all. I think that the consensus was that they were easy and fun to build. Of mine, I did one oob as a 'whif', and the other with some modifications to try to improve the accuracy. Here they are, and I thoroughly enjoyed both builds:

Head-on view:

Oob shows original radiators and (rather nice) propeller blades:

Modded shows reduced height rads and (less nice) prop blades:

Side view:

Oob shows 'flat' upper cowling contour, high fin, slightly too stumpy spinner, under nose contour and carburettor intake (rather bulky):

Modded shows my attempt at scribing, adding the 'Packard bulge' to the upper cowling contour, reduced fin height / replacement rudder (3D kits), alternative longer spinner, Hasegawa undernose cowling and carburettor intake:

It is often mentioned that the Heller kit undernose contour is 'pigeon breasted'. I must admit, comparing the two photographs I can't see a definitive difference to the Hasegawa pieces. Could it be an optical illusion caused by the too bulky and too far forward carb intake, and the slightly stunted spinner? Discuss . . .

As you can tell from the photos above, despite some minor differences, the basic Heller kit still looks very much like a XVI. With some relatively simple and cheap mods, it can be made into a nice representation imho.

regards,

Martin

Edited January 11, 2014 by mike romeo

[The wooksta V2.0]

Mike MX, you must have got one of the more recent Heller boxings - if it's moulded in black plastic, it's best use is spares because virtually every one of the one's I've bought moulded in black has been warped to hell. The older boxings are generally fine.

I'd strongly disagree with the review of the Hasegawa kit, because for a supposed top notch manufacturer, it's disappointing. The fit is abysmal, the cockpit interior is no better than the Airfix kit and given it's price these days, I'd rather pay the extra and buy an AZ or Sword kit - probably the former given the sheer volume of spares. The Joy Pack version is even better value and trust me, you can get them for far less than £20! I paid £13 each for three at Telford. The Euro price is comparable with the standard AZ IX but most traders here are bunging on a few quid.