Spitfire MK IXC RAF Fighter

The Hasegawa 1/48 Spitfire Mk. IXc, No. 09079 is an excellent kit for its price point. Critics of this kit claim that it is slightly smaller in scale size then it should be, and the propeller is oversized for its scale. However, the kit's strengths greatly exceed these minor criticisms. Parts fit is precise, and the level of detail is excellent. As the kit does not have seat belt detail molded on the seat nor is there a seat belt decal provided, I used photo etch seatbelts from the Eduard No. FE203, Spitfire Mk. IXc for Hasegawa kit detail set. I also used the Montex Mini Mask, Item Code SM 48020 to mask off the clear canopy parts. Upper surfaces were painted using an airbrush to apply Vallejo British Standard Dark Green and Vallejo Ocean Grey. The Vallejo Sea Grey was too dark in tone for the undersurfaces of this aircraft, so I used Granite Grey acrylic paint as a substitute under surface color. I opted to build the No. 316 Squadron Royal Air Force version flown by Polish pilots. This version had the full elliptical wings and rounded vertical tail plane. The kit also allows the builder to make a clipped wing version with the peaked vertical tail plane from No. 449 Squadron, Royal Air Force. The kit's decals were in register; however, they were thick in contour. The decals required copious amounts of Micro Sol (red label) to make them conform to the surfaces of this model. The underwing roundrels and the decals over the gun ports had to be perforated during their installation. The numerous stencil decals were tedious to install but added visual interest to the aircraft. The use of precision tweezers, a magnifying glass and toothpicks were used for this time-consuming task. Decal silvering was avoided as the decals were installed over a Rustoleum Spray Gloss enamel finish. Once the decals were installed, a protective coat of Johnson's Floor Polish (i.e., Future Floor Wax) was airbrushed over them. I then panel washed the recessed panel lines with Tamiya Brown Panel Liner. This was then sealed in with a final coat of Rustoleum Spray Matte enamel. Exhaust and gunport stains were added using Tamiya Weather master pigments. This kit is recommended for intermediate to advanced fine scale modelers with airbrush and decal installation skills. With careful attention to assembly, painting and weathering an excellent result can be obtained with this kit.