ICM Beer Delivery Spit mk ix - Finished

[jackroadkill]

Okay, it seems to have happened again.  This model building is getting out of hand (but is not yet as out of hand as the kit buying, which is another story...) and I now seem to have three on the go.  As you may be aware, whilst in real life I love a Spitfire, I struggle to find much to get excited about with them in terms of kit building.  I only seem interested in building oddballs, my Brengun "MesserSpit" being a case in point.  I'd not ever owned or built an ICM kit, and I saw this one for a good price, so I took a chance on it:

 

 

The kit is basic in some ways (there's a bit of flash and things like the wheels aren't very well moulded, for example) but the level of detail is good, the engine especially.  I've not done any scratch-building so far but have decided to have a go at adding some detail in the engine bay, and am planning to leave the port side cowling off, and maybe the top cowling too.  I've cut the door out and will use the kit's own open-door option, as well as making my first attempt at open cannon bays etc.

 

The basic plan is to learn some more techniques and try not to screw the kit up too much on the way.  This is the first time I've used a razor saw in action (thanks to @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies for his recommendation) and so far it's been a real boon.

 

Here you can see the progress I've made so far:

 

 

If anyone's got any tips or criticisms, let's have 'em!

 

Thanks,

 

JRK

[bigbadbadge]

Looks good so far, the ICM kits build up quite nicely with a bit of effort and your efforts look very decent so you should end up with a fine example. 

Chris

[Jeff G]

When I built my only ICM kit (so far) it was their 1/48 Po-2. I liked the build but found the plastic quite soft, and ended up breaking two struts just by trying to trim the flash off. I'll be following along with this!

[jackroadkill]

14 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Looks good so far, the ICM kits build up quite nicely with a bit of effort and your efforts look very decent so you should end up with a fine example. 

Chris

Thanks Chris, very nice of you to say so.  I've been intrigued by the lack of locating points on the fuselage and wings but not unduly worried as the engine went together really well.

12 hours ago, Jeff G said:

When I built my only ICM kit (so far) it was their 1/48 Po-2. I liked the build but found the plastic quite soft, and ended up breaking two struts just by trying to trim the flash off. I'll be following along with this!

 

Yes, the material is a little on the soft side but I discovered this before I made any horrendous boo-boos and will make sure I'm careful to bear this ion mind as I go.

[Dandie Dinmont]

Having recently built their He-111 (which I believe qualifies me as an expert on ICM kits), I can only echo Chris and Jeff’s advice. Dry fit everything at least three times (the instructions can be a bit vague on exact locations) and be extremely careful with long slender parts which have a tendency to break in two if glanced at the wrong way. 
 

Looking forward to following your progress with this!

 

Craig. 

[2996 Victor]

This is looking like shaping up into an interesting build. There's a photo of one of these Spits in Johnnie Johnson's book, "Wing Leader", captioned "Our version of the brewer's drey", at least in the edition that belonged to my Dad - unfortunately its 200 miles away so I can't check to see if the codes/serial are visible!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[jackroadkill]

1 minute ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

Having recently built their He-111 (which I believe qualifies me as an expert on ICM kits), I can only echo Chris and Jeff’s advice. Dry fit everything at least three times (the instructions can be a bit vague on exact locations) and be extremely careful with long slender parts which have a tendency to break in two if glanced at the wrong way. 
 

Looking forward to following your progress with this!

 

Craig. 

 

You're not wrong - there seems to be plenty of space for interpretation regarding placement of parts is concerned.  My next task is to get the upper cowling mount off the sprue without looking at it sideways.

1 minute ago, 2996 Victor said:

This is looking like shaping up into an interesting build. There's a photo of one of these Spits in Johnnie Johnson's book, "Wing Leader", captioned "Our version of the brewer's drey", at least in the edition that belonged to my Dad - unfortunately its 200 miles away so I can't check to see if the codes/serial are visible!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

That sounds like a great excuse for me to buy the book, doesn't it?!

[Graham Boak]

I gather the one repeated criticism about these kits is that the engine cowlings don't go on if the engine is installed.  Or at least not readily.  Not had one myself.

[Dandie Dinmont]

5 minutes ago, jackroadkill said:

That sounds like a great excuse for me to buy the book, doesn't it?!

Far be it from me to discourage you from buying this excellent publication but I checked my own copy and the starboard wing is covering the codes and even the strongest lenses in my magnifier couldn’t see a serial number. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that there’s D Day stripes on the fuselage. The photo is attributed to Vickers Armstrong so some digging online might come up with a clearer version. 
 

Not much help, I’m afraid. 
 

Craig. 

[jackroadkill]

2 minutes ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

Far be it from me to discourage you from buying this excellent publication but I checked my own copy and the starboard wing is covering the codes and even the strongest lenses in my magnifier couldn’t see a serial number. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that there’s D Day stripes on the fuselage. The photo is attributed to Vickers Armstrong so some digging online might come up with a clearer version. 
 

Not much help, I’m afraid. 
 

Craig. 

Cheers Craig - I'll get the book anyway as I should have read it and it's been on my to read list for about thirty years!  I'll do a bit of online digging and see what I can turn up, although the intention at this stage is to use the kit decals (can't remember the unit and I'm not at home to check until tonight), assuming they're correct.

[2996 Victor]

3 hours ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

Far be it from me to discourage you from buying this excellent publication but I checked my own copy and the starboard wing is covering the codes and even the strongest lenses in my magnifier couldn’t see a serial number. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that there’s D Day stripes on the fuselage. The photo is attributed to Vickers Armstrong so some digging online might come up with a clearer version. 
 

Not much help, I’m afraid. 
 

Craig. 

 

3 hours ago, jackroadkill said:

Cheers Craig - I'll get the book anyway as I should have read it and it's been on my to read list for about thirty years!  I'll do a bit of online digging and see what I can turn up, although the intention at this stage is to use the kit decals (can't remember the unit and I'm not at home to check until tonight), assuming they're correct.

 

Its a great book, as I recall, and well worth seeking out! Shame about the pic - thanks, Craig - I really couldn't remember how much of the aircraft was visible!

 

Wing Leader

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[Marklo]

So I have to ask the obvious question. Assuming that the two kegs don’t contain beer, what was in them ?  Some kind of really cheap to manufacture drop tank?

Edited November 25, 2020 by Marklo

[Rob998]

It really was beer.

 

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/the-beer-barrel-bombers-keg-carrying-spitfires-brought.html

[Marklo]

Just now, Rob998 said:

It really was beer.

Well there you go. I was expecting the link to be dated April the 1st  but no. The things we’ll do for alcohol 

[fubar57]

I stand to be corrected here, (usually am) but the aircraft depicted as Johnsons's making a beer run, isn't. I think the late Edgar Brooks mentioned this as myth as Johnson's Spitfire was still in England at the time

Edited November 25, 2020 by fubar57

[jackroadkill]

On 25/11/2020 at 13:54, jackroadkill said:

Cheers Craig - I'll get the book anyway as I should have read it and it's been on my to read list for about thirty years!  I'll do a bit of online digging and see what I can turn up, although the intention at this stage is to use the kit decals (can't remember the unit and I'm not at home to check until tonight), assuming they're correct.

 

On 25/11/2020 at 18:28, fubar57 said:

I stand to be corrected here, (usually am) but the aircraft depicted as Johnsons's making a beer run, isn't. I think the late Edgar Brooks mentioned this as myth as Johnson's Spitfire was still in England at the time

 

Right, I'm back home now and can report that this model will be in the scheme of MJ452, a mk ixc of 412 Squadron who moved from Tangmere to Normandy post-invasion, in July 1944.

 

I've started the scratch-building and have made various bits for the engine, some pipes and leads for things, the odd fuel line, the airlines that run down the control column and the cowling bracket for the port side of the engine bay.  It's all very fiddly and my eyes don't like it, but I'm hoping the end result will be good.  I have a feeling that I'll need to scratch some of the gubbins that sits between the rear of the engine and the bulkhead, but one step at a time, eh?

[Alex Gordon]

I built one in the Spitfire GB earlier on this year,here,but without the engine.There are lots of little corrections that can be made if you've a will to but generally the kit builds up well with plenty of dry fitting and a bit of forethought.Enjoy the build,it's never a dull moment.  

[jackroadkill]

16 minutes ago, Alex Gordon said:

I built one in the Spitfire GB earlier on this year,here,but without the engine.There are lots of little corrections that can be made if you've a will to but generally the kit builds up well with plenty of dry fitting and a bit of forethought.Enjoy the build,it's never a dull moment.  

I've just read through your thread...  Wow, what a job!  I don't think I'll get as far with the scratchbuilding as you did but I'll give it a shot in a few areas.

[mark.au]

I’m a bit partial to the ICM Spitfires and shall follow along on this one with interest.

[jackroadkill]

20 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

I gather the one repeated criticism about these kits is that the engine cowlings don't go on if the engine is installed.  Or at least not readily.  Not had one myself.

 

I wondered about that myself, so I'll see what happens.  I'm not overly worried as I'm going to have the port cowling off and leaving the upper cowling off too would be simple enough.  I'd like to leave it on if possible but it's not going to be  big issue for me either way.

3 minutes ago, mark.au said:

I’m a bit partial to the ICM Spitfires and shall follow along on this one with interest.

 

You'll be very welcome to do that, Mark.

[jackroadkill]

Well, it turns out that you were right, @Graham Boak, the upper cowling won't fit over the engine.  This means that the upper cowling will be missing from the model and also that I need to do a bit more scratchbuilding to fill the frankly cavernous space behind the engine and in front of the firewall.

 

I've done a bit of scratching so far:

 

 

The odd pipe and the pump under the manifold, also the coil(?) that's clamped to the engine mounting cradle.   I've also made an attempt at the cowling mounting bracket.

 

 

Port side pipework and the three air-lines from the gun button.

 

Slow progress with fiddly stuff.  It's better than no progress, I suppose.

[Flying sailors]

Looking great and such a strange and wonderful subject. The lengths we will go to for a pint! might have to have a go at one of these myself one day.

FS.

[jackroadkill]

I'm making slow but steady progress; as I was warned above nothing fits so bodging and hammering is the order of the day.  The engine is in, for a given value of "in", but nothing lines up for is the right shape or fits, so I'll do my best to make this all go together.  The results of my first attempt at scratchbuilding can be seen, too - mostly pipes and cables.  The detailing on the firewall is nowhere near correct, and I debated buying a Brassin set but decided against it based on the fact that if nothing from the kit fits, then nothing that's not from the kit will fit it either.

 

 

Well, the IP doesn't look too bad....

 

 

The engine's been in and out like an indecisive schoolboy and the wings don't fit very well.

 

 

Not very pretty but at least this side looks passable.

 

So, in summary - it's a dog's breakfast but I like it.

[bigbadbadge]

Your extras in the engind bay look good.  It all lis progressing well too.  Wiyh a bit if fettling the wings will go on and soon be well on the way to paint.   I am not sure, but on earlier releases there may be some sink marks on the wings , just something to look out for.

Great work so far.

Chris

[Troy Smith]

On 29/11/2020 at 20:23, jackroadkill said:

've done a bit of scratching so far:

 

Exhausts are not rust coloured.  Exhaust start out as steel colour, and then discolour,  if left, they will rust eventually 

so it's really burnt discoloured metal, and then you get exhaust deposit on these. 

Spitfire Mk.IXC      1945 by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

the colours and deposits are clearer here

Spitfire Mk. IIA, 1941. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

engine bay

Spitfire LF Mk. IXe ,  1946. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

Spitfire Mk.XVI     1945. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

What you need to do is study photos,  and then study them some more.   

this is a link to all the Spitfire shots the above come from,  the amount of information that can be extracted from these is vast, 

 

On 24/11/2020 at 22:07, jackroadkill said:

I'd not ever owned or built an ICM kit, and I saw this one for a good price, so I took a chance on it:

A general point, research specific kits, assuming a blanket approach to any manufacturer is a not a good idea, as they vary.

As for price,  the price differential, say  this specific case, the 1/48th Spitfire IX,   given you can pick up a weekend Eduard Spitfire for under £15,  or the profipack, with etch, masks and 5 decal options, for £20-25,  it make every other 48th Spitfire kit 'obsolete' if you want an accurate model OOB, as they are that far ahead, unless you like fixing up old kits,  then the cost between the most expensive and the cheapest,  is in real terms, not much cash difference,  once you factor in all the additional costs and what your time might be 'worth'  so just get the best kit of the subject, unless you happen to be interested in the kit history of a specific subject.

If that make sense?  This is speaking as someone who has indulged in 'kit research',  I have collections now of kits of certain subjects, Hurricanes in all scales,   and some idea that what is required to match the best of as given subject, vs cost and effort. 

 

Sorry, rambling off. hope of use?