ICM WWII RAF Airfield (DS4802) 1:48

[Mike]

WWII RAF Airfield (DS4802)

1:48 ICM via Hannants

 

 

During WWII the Allies, including the RAF operated from all manner of airfields, from rough temporary strips to fully furnished airfields with all mod cons of the time back at home in Blighty, or after taking over Luftwaffe assets that had recently been liberated.  They hosted numerous aircraft types at once if necessary, plus all of the attendant crew, both groundcrew, aircrew and command staff.

 

 

The Kit

This is a boxed set of three kits that have been brought together to fit the theme, and includes a Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VII fighter (48062), a Spitfire Mk.IX (48061), and a set of Pilots & Ground Crew (48081) to finish off the set.  All of these kits have been released previously under their own individual codes, but in this compact box they represent excellent value and an exercise in convenience too.  The kits arrive in a small top opening box with ICM’s usual captive inner lid, and inside are three bags of sprues for the three kits.  The Spit Mk.VII has five sprues in grey styrene, a small clear sprue and decal sheet, the Mk.IX has five in grey, one clear and a decal sheet, while the figure set is on a single sprue, each one also having their own instruction booklet and painting guide.  Whilst they aren’t modern toolings they were regarded as having good detail, engraved panel lines, and in the case of the figures, realistic sculpting and fabric drape.  We’ve not reviewed any of these kits previously, so let’s get on with it.

 

 

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX (48061)

This kit was first tooled in the 1990s, and time has been exceptionally kind to the moulding, with just a hint of flash here and there, and lots of excellent detail, including a full engine.  The original issues used to have problems with sink-marks, but this has been almost totally removed, with just a few small depressions around the cockpit area on the outer skin.  The instructions are folded A4, and quite busy, spanning just four diagrams, so take your time and make sure you have your glasses handy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the engine, which has a substantial number of parts with plenty of detail moulded-in, including ancillaries and the engine mounts.  The cockpit sidewalls are next, adding additional details to the sides, plus the roll-over hoop behind the pilot’s head, then the fuselage is closed up around the engine, with additional parts and panels added to the front.  The cockpit interior is then assembled from floor, seat, control-column, armour and aft frame, with seat adjuster, gunsight and instrument panel joining it before it is inserted into the fuselage from below.  The instrument panel is well-detailed, but lacking decals for the dials, so if you’re a stickler you should source from Airscale instrument decals or see whether you can get an aftermarket panel to fit.

 

The elevators are two parts each, and slot into the tail in the usual slot and tab manner, and these are joined by rudder that can be posed deflected if you wish.  Moving forward a choice of separate open or closed canopies with two styles of rear-view mirror and aerial post are fitted over the aperture, and a single top cowling panel is glued over the engine if you’re not going to open it up, adding a fuel filler cap along the way.    The single top cowling is a boon to anyone that has had their carefully filled centre seam come back to haunt them, and I’m speaking from experience here.  The lower wing is a full-width part to which the cannons, ammo feed are installed in the port side, and a choice of wingtips are fitted along with the cannon fairings, upper wings and one of the two styles of gun bay door, either with the small teardrop fairing or the large one, the latter shown fitted to both decal options.  Under the wings are radiator cowlings, a choice of smooth chin fairing or one with an oil-cooler intake, and separate ailerons.  The main gear is made up with separate oleo scissors and single-part wheels, which you’ll need to sand a flat into if you are so minded, then there’s the big four-blade prop with separate blades that fix into the rear plate, then are covered over with the pointed spinner and a cap within that secures to the drive-shaft poking out of the front of the fuselage.

 

Optional bombs, rockets and a conformal belly tank are supplied on the sprues to add a little variety to your model.

 

Markings

You two markings options from the decal sheet, one being the mount of a rather famous pilot and smothered in early D-Day stripes.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Spitfire HF.IX Sqn.Ldr. H Armstrong, OC No.611 Sqn., Biggin Hill, Feb 1942
• Spitfire HF.IX Wg.Cdr. J Johnson, OC No.144 Wing, June 1944

 

 

 

Decals are printed by ICM’s usual partners, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VII (48062)

The Mk.VII was a high-altitude aircraft with a pressurised cockpit, and the model is constructed almost identically to the IX we discussed above.  The sprues are identical, and the primary differences are the use of the extended wingtips, the narrow gun bay bulges and leaving the additional weapons on the sprues.

 

 

Markings

Just two markings options are supplied for the Mk.VII, and both are in high-altitude grey over blue.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Sqn.Ldr. James O’Meara, OC 131 Sqn., Colerne, March 1944
• Flt.Off. W Hibbert, 124 Sqn., Bradwell Bay, June 1944

 

 

 

 

 

RAF Pilots & Ground Personnel 1939-45 (48081)

This set provides a generous seven figures, plus a dog and a selection of equipment that would come in handy in an airfield diorama, which is exactly the point.  The figures include three pilots, two of whom are discussing a run-in with the hun, the third is climbing into his cockpit with helmet and mask already in place.  There are two erks included too, one carrying a jerry can, the other stood on the wing assisting a pilot.  An officer is kneeling down, presumably looking at his dog, which looks a bit like a red setter, and last but not least, a WRAF carrying a satchel and folio rounds out the group.  Each figure is sensibly broken down into torso, legs, arms and head, with some variation where appropriate due to the pose.

 

 

The equipment includes a two-wheeled trolley containing two pressurised bottles, possibly oxy-acetylene, a work bench with what looks like a loader for creating links of ammunition for the fighters, a step-ladder, two jerry cans, and an aircraft jack that was slotted through the rear of the fuselage to raise it for alignment of the aircraft’s guns out at the butts.

 

 

All the figures and equipment are shown in the instruction sheet with letter codes calling out painting options, which corresponds to a table below that gives colour names and Model Master codes.

 

Conclusion

A compact and bijou boxing that is full of modelling fun, including some impressively well-detailed Spitfires, especially for the time of their original tooling.  Fix those few sink marks, and the rest should be pretty standard, offering great value at that tempting price point.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd.

 

Review sample courtesy of

 

[Heather Kay]

The young lady would be WAAF. The Women’s Auxiliary Air Force became Women’s Royal Air Force in 1949.

 

I’ll get my greatcoat and haversack…