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1:32 Spitfire Mk.IXc - Pierre Clostermann


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Hi All,

 

My next project will be Tamiya's lovely Spitfire Mk.IXc. The wife gifted me this as a birthday present 18 months ago - I've periodically pulled it out and had a little peek and rapidly put it away again, because I was frankly a little intimidated. I don't normally model in this scale, and I guess I didn't want to risk ruining such a lovely kit. However, with mojo in a healthy place I've decided to give it a red hot go! Here's the box art:

 

20210618-174756.jpg

 

This is a very high quality affair, and a very full box! Here's the sprues:

 

20210618-174439.jpg

 

20210618-174534.jpg

 

20210618-174633.jpg

 

That's a lot of plastic! Now although I knew that this would build beautifully OOB, as I did not buy the model (??) I thought I'd indulge in a few extras:

 

20210618-164806.jpg

 

The wheels look superb as does the cockpit door (and separately moulded crowbar, which will look lovely in red 🤣). On @shortCummins recommendation I've invested in a Yahu instrument panel (thanks for the tip John!), and I'll be trying out HGW seatbelts for the first time.

 

The kit provides for a number of schemes, including the ubiquitous EN398, Johnnie Johnson's mount. Although I was sorely tempted by this scheme, I wanted to spray the markings, and therefore selected a Montex mask set:

 

20210618-164828.jpg

 

The lower scheme depicts MH526, as flown by Pierre Clostermann whilst part of 602 (City of Glasgow) Sqn. I actually want to depict this aircraft:

 

a4709f7ee0f9072d89e3b348f8fa7ac5.jpg

 

This is MJ586, as flown by Clostermann whilst the squadron was part of 2nd TAF based at Longues-sur-Mer during July 1944. I'll therefore need to adapt the a/c serial and figure out how to represent the kill tally (the squadron and a/c codes also look more compact than the 'other' LO*D - hmmm). The partial worn invasion stripes will also present a weathering challenge!

 

This will not be a quick project and I might have other WIPs running concurrently, but I'm now quite excited to be getting going on this icon - wish me luck!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

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By all accounts the Tamiya kit is a state of the art kit with the only tricky bits being the removable engine covers, I have had this kit and several other Tamiya 1/32 super kits in my stash for quite some time but keep putting off building any of them, Intimidated is probably the right word for it and I am a dedicated 1/32 builder.

So I will pop in now and again to see how you get on. with it, I'm just about to start a 1/32 scale PCM Spitfire IX which I will finish as JE*J and like you I will use Montex Masks for the markings..

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

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1 minute ago, spitfire said:

By all accounts the Tamiya kit is a state of the art kit with the only tricky bits being the removable engine covers, I have had this kit and several other Tamiya 1/32 super kits in my stash for quite some time but keep putting off building any of them, Intimidated is probably the right word for it and I am a dedicated 1/32 builder.

So I will pop in now and again to see how you get on. with it, I'm just about to start a 1/32 scale PCM Spitfire IX which I will finish as JE*J and like you I will use Montex Masks for the markings..

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Thanks Dennis! I very much look forward to seeing your JE*J take shape - happy to share tips and learnings as we go! Happy modelling,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

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  • 2 weeks later...

Brilliant,  what a wonderful gift from your wife, you are a lucky man Roger.

Really looking forward to this  I have the same kit with extras too.  I will say that once you start down the 32nd scale road you will love it and hopefully build more.

I love a good Spitfire and will follow along with great interest.

Chris

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23 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Brilliant,  what a wonderful gift from your wife, you are a lucky man Roger.

Really looking forward to this  I have the same kit with extras too.  I will say that once you start down the 32nd scale road you will love it and hopefully build more.

I love a good Spitfire and will follow along with great interest.

Chris

Thanks Chris,

 

I don't normally venture up-scale due to space (and competency) restrictions. However, given that Blind Freddy could make a fair go of this kit, I'm sure I'll be fine! I just want to take the time and do it justice, so the normal pace may not be apparent. As you say, I am a very lucky man!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

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5 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Thanks Chris,

 

I don't normally venture up-scale due to space (and competency) restrictions. However, given that Blind Freddy could make a fair go of this kit, I'm sure I'll be fine! I just want to take the time and do it justice, so the normal pace may not be apparent. As you say, I am a very lucky man!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Hi Roger, take your time and enjoy it, you can always have a break and build another , no you see why I have distractions when I was finishing my 32nd  Tiggie and Spitfire I had a few others on the go.  

We will be hear to offer support and encouragement  too.  I have some 32nd scale projects in the pipeline too.

Good luck with your build

Chris

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Hi All,

 

Well I've finally got started on the Spit! As inspiration I've been re-reading this:

 

The-Big-Show.jpg

 

Although there is reference to LO*D within these pages, there was no differentiation between MH526 and MJ586, so no clues there :mental:.

 

I started out by masking the canopy during the week (actually during a rather tedious evening meeting with folk in Europe and the US!):

 

20210629-211819.jpg

 

Although Tamiya thoughtfully provide the masks, you do have to cut them out yourself. No big drama, and the tape is nice and thin. Next I drilled the lightening holes in the bulkheads:

 

20210628-153828.jpg

 

20210628-160121.jpg

 

The central spar was particularly buttock clenching as it was so delicate, but survived intact :elephant:

 

Here's a shot of the Yahu instrument panel, which is a thing of beauty:

 

20210703-100007.jpg

 

I think I'll use the compass in conjunction with the kit part. Here's the glazing under a coat of the interior colours (Tamiya call out flat black for the frame of the windscreen):

 

20210703-112327.jpg

 

Finally, here's the fuselage halves after a coat of primer, base coat of black, and then interior green, mask and aluminium:

 

20210703-115426.jpg

 

Both were sprayed from an angle to leave a 'shadow' effect, which shows up much better to the naked eye than in the photo! More to come later,

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

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Hi All,

 

Another quick update. I sprayed the seat red-brown, and then dry-brushed it with mid-stone to give it a bit of life. I also sprayed the resin side door:

 

20210703-140657.jpg

 

The level of detail on the latching mechanism is simply astounding. I'd highly recommend this inexpensive addition as it is so visible with the door open - even comes with a separate crowbar! 🤩. Next I turned my attention to the Brassin wheels. Here they are freshly sprayed:

 

20210703-140819.jpg

 

I'm trying out Flory pigments for the first time, so here they are after a liberal dusting, and a dry-brushing with MSG to pop out the detail:

 

20210703-141501.jpg

 

Pretty happy with them :guitar: Here's another shot with the door grubbied up and dry-brushed with aluminium:

 

20210703-143930.jpg

 

Finally, here's the cockpit starting to go together - you can see the PE armour has been added:

 

 

 

20210703-150921.jpg

 

That's all for now - detail painting looms tomorrow!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

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Hi Roger

It's great to see this started and some fab progress.  The wheels look good and did mot know about Flory pigments will have to look them up.  Yes the door is absolutely stunning with the level of detail  I have these for all my Spitfire models too.

Great work fella.

Chris

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9 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Hi Roger

It's great to see this started and some fab progress.  The wheels look good and did mot know about Flory pigments will have to look them up.  Yes the door is absolutely stunning with the level of detail  I have these for all my Spitfire models too.

Great work fella.

Chris

Thanks Chris,

 

The pigments are quite a revelation! You can just brush them on and build up the desired grubbiness level, and knock them back with a damp cotton bud if required. They certainly give a pleasing effect to my eye,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

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4 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Thanks Chris,

 

The pigments are quite a revelation! You can just brush them on and build up the desired grubbiness level, and knock them back with a damp cotton bud if required. They certainly give a pleasing effect to my eye,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Thanks Roger  will have to check them out. 

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5 hours ago, Dunny said:

Here's a shot of the Yahu instrument panel, which is a thing of beauty:

 

20210703-100007.jpg

 

I think I'll use the compass in conjunction with the kit part. Here's the glazing under a coat of the interior colours (Tamiya call out flat black for the frame of the windscreen):

 

that is really nice

 

I've just ordered one but I might not have the guts to try and pry off the kit version that I glued, I don't understand why Tamiya supply a blue artificial horizon?

 

rgds

John(shortCummins)

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1 minute ago, spitfire said:

That's a really solid start, looking good.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Thanks for the kind words Dennis - much appreciated!

1 minute ago, shortCummins said:

that is really nice

 

I've just ordered one but I might not have the guts to try and pry off the kit version that I glued, I don't understand why Tamiya supply a blue artificial horizon?

 

rgds

John(shortCummins)

You know you want to John - fortune favours the brave!

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8 hours ago, Jeff G said:

What tool did you use to drill out the holes in the bulkhead? A teeny dremel, I assume?

Just a twist drill with a 0.7mm bit (0.5mm for the smaller holes)

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Hi All,

 

Some good progress today! I started out with the instrument panel. After detail painting the bulkhead I added the 3 wires on the left hand side:

 

20210704-123029.jpg

 

After a pleasant couple of hours detail painting I got to this:

 

20210704-132222.jpg

 

20210704-132230.jpg

 

Assembly was pretty straightforward, as everything fitted beautifully. Here's before:

 

20210704-144128.jpg

 

And after:

 

20210704-145608.jpg

 

I then added the HGW seatbelt, which was hellish fiddly, but I think it looks rather spiffing:

 

20210704-155630.jpg

 

And here ready to close up:

 

20210704-160719.jpg

 

That's as far as I've got - hope you all have a good day's modelling!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

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Looking good Roger, great painting and I love the way this builds up.  The IP looks wonderful, I will have to take a look at mine to see if I have the yahu panel or not.  

Great work fella, looks awesome all together. 

Chris

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Thanks Chris,

 

The Yahu panel is definitely worth the investment - detail is superb. HGW belts also good if fiddly,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

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Looking good, very much like a Spitfire, the Yahu panels are superb used them on my last 3 Spitfire builds.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

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6 minutes ago, spitfire said:

Looking good, very much like a Spitfire, the Yahu panels are superb used them on my last 3 Spitfire builds.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Thanks very much Dennis. I agree, the Yahu panels really do lift the level of detail,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

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3 hours ago, Dunny said:

Thanks Chris,

 

The Yahu panel is definitely worth the investment - detail is superb. HGW belts also good if fiddly,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

All ordered, along with Seatbelts and a new resin exhaust,  SWMBO is giving me one of her stern looks now!!!

Chris

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12 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

All ordered, along with Seatbelts and a new resin exhaust,  SWMBO is giving me one of her stern looks now!!!

Chris

Don't you dare blame me. Oh go on, I am too far away to feel the pain 🤣

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Don't worry fella, I'll take one for the team there😄. You may be far away but she knows people!!!

I have ordered today so reckon it will all arrive on Friday when she's at work anyway, I can sneak into the mancave and if questioned , I have had them for ages😉

Chris

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On 18/06/2021 at 10:38, spitfire said:

By all accounts the Tamiya kit is a state of the art kit with the only tricky bits being the removable engine covers, I have had this kit and several other Tamiya 1/32 super kits in my stash for quite some time but keep putting off building any of them, Intimidated is probably the right word for it and I am a dedicated 1/32 builder.

So I will pop in now and again to see how you get on. with it.

 

I'm the same as Dennis although not exclusively 1.32 builder, I just feel my current skill level can't do the the kit justice.  I'll be closely following the build which looks like is off to a great start :yes:     

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