Airfix 1/72 Spitfire Mk.IXc
By Robert Allen
The Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX was essentially an improvisation, despite over 5,000 being eventually produced. The Focke-Wulf Fw 190A appeared in 1941 and immediately outclassed the Spitfire Mk.V, the primary plane used by RAF Fighter Command. Fortunately, a solution was already in the works, a Spitfire variant with a Merlin engine fitted with a two-stage supercharger, which developed 300 horsepower more than the single-stage Merlin at altitude. However, this version of the Spit-the Mk.VIII-was a significant redesign of the type, and the RAF could not afford the time needed to place it into production without something to use as a stopgap. Therefore, the new Merlin 61, with a four-blade prop, was basically grafted onto the Mk.V, despite the airframe not being stressed for the more powerful engine (and being heavier than the Mk.VIII to boot), and the Mk.IX was born. The Mk.IX, despite its inauspicious origin, was more than a match for the Fw 190A, and more were built than the superior Mk.VIII. Although it has nothing to do with the operational career of the aircraft, the Spitfire Mk.IX is often considered the most attractive version of this most attractive fighter.
Airfix's previous 1/72 Spitfire Mk.IX is one of those kits that seemed to have been around forever. For most of us, it has. Airfix issued the kit in 1955 and it was their first original aircraft kit. Prior to this they issued a Spitfire directly downsized (either with permission or not; no-one quite knows at this late date) from the inaccurate 1/48 scale Aurora kit. The tooling was slightly revised in 1960 and it has remained in the catalogue for the succeeding half-century. With only 22 parts, a one-piece wing (with far too shallow wheel wells), no cockpit detail, and the famous Airfix rivets, it has been obsolete for at least half that time. It's no surprise that Airfix felt the need for an all-new Mk.IX kit.
The new kit consists of 38 parts, 36 of them on three medium gray sprues, with the other two being the clear canopy and gun sight (the clear sprue is packaged in its own bag, something all manufacturers should do). There is an eight-page instruction booklet (four pages of which actually make up the instructions), a large decal sheet, and a very nice color sheet with four-view drawings of the two decal options.
Unlike the Revell Mk.V of several years back, the distinctive gull wing profile where the lower wing meets the fuselage is present. Unfortunately, the subtle curve of the upper engine cowling seems to have been missed! The sprue gates on the fuselage are huge, the type one associates with limited run kits, so they will require careful separation. That the gates are on the upper fuselage doesn't help, either. The engraved panel lines are done fairly subtly, and there are no rivets. There is an attempt to replicate the fabric on the rudder, but for some reason the forward part of the port rudder doesn't get the treatment.
A much greater problem is the complete lack of cockpit detail. Aside from the previously mentioned gun sight, cockpit detail is limited to a cockpit floor (which Spitfires didn't really have), a seat that looks more at home in a furniture store than in any aircraft, the seat armor, and a pilot, with poseable arms. Having such arms on the pilot is nice, but I suspect it would be considerably down the average modeler's wish list. Missing are the control stick, instrument panel, and rudder pedals, omissions that are more glaring because of their inclusion in Airfix's recent Spitfire Mk.XIX kit in the same scale, which also featured a seat recognizable as a Spitfire seat.
In fact, this kit is most notable for its omissions than anything else. The Spitfire Mk.IX's long production run meant that it was built with many variations. From a modeler's standpoint, the most obvious external differences would include regular and clipped wings; rounded or pointed rudder; regular or bubble canopy; long or short air filters; and several variations of exhaust stacks. The single difference catered to in the kit is the air filters. The modeler is therefore limited to a Mk.IX with regular wings, rounded rudder, flaired exhaust stacks, and regular canopy. The wing is set up as "C" wing, but the armament is separate. You could switch the location of the cannon and model it as an E wing, hoping that no-one notices that the cannon and wing blister aren't lined up.
Another move that reeks of cost-cutting (although this was present on the Mk.XIX, also), is the molding of the main landing gear leg together with the wheel cover. While it does solve alignment problems, painting it will require a deft touch.
The decals are probably the best part of the kit. The first is a desert Mk.IX of No. 145 Squadron flown by Stanislaw Skalski, in Middle Stone, Dark Earth, and Azure Blue (although only Humbrol paint numbers are provided). The second decal option is one of Johnnie Johnson's mounts, JE-J in Dark Green, Ocean Grey, and Medium Sea Grey. However, this isn't EN398, which had been featured in the old kit, but MK392. MK 392 featured invasion stripes which are included on the sheet. The decals look nicely printed, are in register, and contain sufficient stencils for this scale. The Sky rear fuselage band, yellow leading edge stripes, and wing walkways are also included on the sheet.
Despite my fairly negative remarks, this kit isn't a total disaster. On the whole, it looks like a Spitfire Mk.IX, and it's certainly an improvement on the old Airfix kit. It's inexpensive, and if you just want to build a bunch of Spit IXs in their various color schemes, it's about half the price of the Hasegawa kit, the benchmark for Mk.IXs in this scale. But it could have been so much better, and the lack of cockpit detail, especially given the cockpit of the Mk.XIX, is inexcusable. Airfix had the right idea by releasing this kit, but it falls short of the mark. The review kit came from Skyway Model Shop.