Kit#: JT79.
Price: Can´t remember.
Decals: Two options.
Notes: Eduard decals used for Pierre Clostermann's aircraft.
History:
From the kit's instructions: "The Mk.VI and Mk.VII Spitfires were special high altitude capable aircraft equipped with pressurised cabin cockpits. Developed to counter a perceived threat by German high altitude bombers, the need for these specialised Spits was negated when the German bomber threat never materialised. The pressurised cabin gear for these aircraft was subsequently removed, resulting in a new type, the Spitfire Mk.VIII.
When production of these aircraft proved to be too slow to face the growing threat from the German Fw 190A, the Mk.IX was rushed off the drawing boards to replace it. The Mk.IX was built around a slightly modified Mk.Vc fuselage and powered by the Merlin 61 engine. The first production model rolled off the assembly lines in June 1942, with production of all models of the Mk.IX reaching nearly 5600 aircraft by the end of production in June 1945..."
The Kit:
The kit comes inside a top opening box. All the parts are moulded in a dark grey hard plastic, bagged inside a single bag. The clear parts and polycaps came inside their own bag to avoid scratching.
Decals are provided for two aircraft:
1) Spitfire Mk.IX of RAF 316th Squadron.
2) Spitfire Mk.IX of RAF 443rd Squadron.
Both of them are painted in the standard late war RAF camo of Extra Dark Sea Grey, Dark Green and Medium Grey, with yellow ID bands on the leading edge of the wings.
Construction:
Before starting the build, I checked the instructions of the Eduard Spit Mk.IX to see if there were any differences between it and the Hase kit for the decal option I chose. The only difference was in the wings, Hasegawa includes four extra bulges that are missing on Clostermann's machine. These were deleted with a sharp blade, and all the imperfections were sanded and filled with CA. The wings were then built and left aside, while I worked on the cockpit.
The cockpit is were the instructions actually tell you to start the kit. I painted all the parts with Interior Green (Revell 48), with many of the smaller detail parts in black. The parts were all glued together after the paint had dried, and the cockpit was glued to one side of the fuselage, which subsequently was trapped when I glued the other half of the fuselage in place.
With the fuselage complete, I glued the wings, horizontal stabilizers and rudder to the fuselage assembly, which were left alone for the glue to cure.
Colours and Markings:
Pierre Clostermann's aircraft (LOoD) isn't any different regarding the camouflage, Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green on top with Medium Grey on the lower sides. I painted first the EDSG (Revell 79 Grey Blue), then came the DG (Revell 68 RAF Dark Green), and finally I painted the Medium Grey (Revell 57). After painting, I painted the D-Day stripes on the lower half of the wings and on the fuselage. After that, the aircraft received two coats of Revell's gloss varnish.
I used a mix of Hasegawa and Eduard decals, Hasegawa provided the national markings, while Eduard provided the personal markings for Clostermann's machine. After the decals were dry, I gave the aircraft two coats of Revell's matt varnish.
Final Construction:
I painted the landing gear struts in aluminium, the tyres were painted with RLM 66 and the hubs painted in aluminium. The propeller was painted in black with yellow tips, and the guns were finally added. The final bits to attach were the gunsight and the canopy parts.
Conclusions:
Although outclassed by Eduard's Spitfire in 48th scale, the Hasegawa kit is still a viable option.
References:
Instructions.
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