Hi guys
done some searching on the net and came up with this on the ICM spitfire i am thinking of building in the GB
Spitfire Mk. IX,
ICM Kit Number 48061
Review written by Jarrod Cunningham
Photos taken by Steve Bamford.
Please note....these photos were taken of a different example of this kit....so Jarrod's comments don't always match the photos in this review.
Steve Bamford's review copy supplied by North American Hobbies.
I would like to start this review by stating that I am by no means a "Spitfire expert". I am mainly I guy who likes building models. I am using the Squadron's "In Action" book to identify differences in the versions offered in the kit. I am aware that there are better reference materials available, but for the purposes of this review, I think it will suffice. Now that I have the "disclaimer" in place, let's get to the "meat and potatoes" of it all.
I was very excited about the release of this kit since the previous Occidental kit fell way short of expectations. My purchase of this offering proved wise. In my opinion, this is one of the better kits of the Spitfire available at present. I do believe that ICM has got another winner with this one!
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Here's the whole kit
From out of the box, the kit comprises of ten sprues one of which is clear. The clear sprue is somewhat "cloudy" it will clean up a little better, but some may want to replace it with a Squadron canopy or other.
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Two complete canopies are included
The others are of a pale, almost white color and have a good "smooth" mold cast to them. Overall panel detail has recessed lines that are nicely done and rivet detail appears to be correct to scale. Flash is present but is nothing that a sharp #11 blade or a sanding stick can't correct. My kit has a little mold release grease/oil present, so I would recommend a thorough wash down before assembly.
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This spade grip should be round instead of square. More delicate detail
Upon further dissection there are sinkholes present on some assemblies. The most glaring ones appear around the upper and lower wing halves around the aileron areas as well as the trailing edge of the wing at the wing root and the rear of the gun bay. In my example they correspond with the inject release points on the inner part of the wing. Theses aren't really that catastrophic, and with a little filler or Mr. Surfacer can easily be corrected. Another area that has these present is the fuselage around the tail wheel. These correspond to the attachment point for the tail wheel assembly. These are also minor and can be easily corrected as well.
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These wheels might not be accurate for a Mk. 9 Bit of flash can be seen on prop blade tips and elsewhere.
The main wheels also have them present, but these can be fixed with filler or just replaced with aftermarket wheels. The rockets included have sink marks in them as well but the same goes for them. Many RAF kits come with these and they can substituted if you choose not to fill these in. The last area that these were present was at the propeller blades around the base. These also aren't too bad, and can be fixed again with filler or Mr. Surfacer. All things aside, the bottom line is the kit does have sink marks, but ALL can be overcome with little detail loss in the process.
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Blurry photo of prop cone. A good example of the flawless recessed panel lines to be found all over this kit.
I did have two areas that were incompletely molded. The first was the rudder pedals, the upper part missing. The second incomplete mold was the clear that I had received. I had one my canopies only partially molded. In this aspect of the kit, I have heard of other buyers having these problems and others who have not. I wonder if the Quality Control department may have changed personnel or inspection criteria thus causing such irregularities.
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Plenty of beautifully molded engine pieces. Engine cowl might not fit over assembled engine.....check engine cowl fit in advance. Good photo of part of one of the bombs. There are delicate parts in this kit that are very well done.
There are several "extras" that do compensate for some of the kits flaws. The first that I would like to mention is the Rolls-Royce engine of good detail and separate cowls that allow the option of an exposed engine if the modeler desires. The second are a separate set of rear control surfaces for late and early marks of the aircraft. The wings can be "clipped", rounded or "extended". I have only seen the "extended" on the HF Mk. VI and the Mk. VIII, so these may fall into the "questionable zone" like I said I'm no expert. It appears that both a "C" wing as well as the "E" wing can be built with parts supplied in the kit. The ailerons can be positioned, as they are separate items. The Gun bays can also be displayed open if chosen. A "slipper" external tank is included with this kit, as is external stores. The stores offer two different bomb load out types, or external rockets. The bombs can be mounted on the centerline or wing stations. The external rockets haves separate rails and such have a better detail level.
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Instrument panel.
The cockpit appears to give the modeler the basics and with a little help would look very nice. The instrument panel although correct in shape, doesn't offer any instrument detail other than bezels. The kit offers decals for the instrument faces.
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Right side of cockpit Left side of cockpit.
The fuselage has the cockpit door closed but can be opened similar to the Tamiya Mk.V series. A separate door is provided for those who choose to door this option. It looks like the walls of the cockpit have all the correct framing present, and the throttle quadrant and flap levers are molded accurately.
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Gull wing effect is there in all it's glory. Slight indentation is missing, this indentation can be found on the full sized airplane.
The landing gear bays look to be represented correctly with the detail comparable to other Spitfire kits in 48th. Both landing struts are molded cleanly and will require only minimum cleanup. The tail wheel is molded as one piece, and it is a fair molding.
The best thing I think this kit offers is the "Merlin" engine option. It is a fine casting and depicts the engine quite well. The basics of the engine framing are included as well. The possibilities of displaying the engine out of the box are definitely there, since the separate engine cowlings are provided as well. With a little wiring added to the kit engine the results would be very pleasing. I like this for the reason that no other Spitfire kit offers this option from the box.
The decals provided look well printed, at least mine were. I have also heard that they have had some with some printed off register. I guess I was lucky this time. The markings give the modeler a very nice selection from which to choose. The fact that six different examples are present counts for something. All of these are fairly colorful, so the average modeler should be satisfied with the kit decals. If not, aftermarket ones are readily available.
In an overall view, I like what I see. It is not perfect by any means, but it is a better kit that what Occidental brought to the table. If you take the negatives with a "grain of salt" most modelers can over come the shortcomings and have a Mk. IX that is very nice. With some motivation and some "extra-cheese" (my accolade for aftermarket resin and such) in the cockpit, a truly outstanding model can be built. I would recommend this kit to the person looking to build a Mk. IX Spitfire.