ANGELO LODETTI

Aircraft Scale Models

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Spitfire MK IX 101° Gruppo, 5° Stormo Vicenza Italy 1950

1. History

The end of the Second World War forcefully raised the question of the structure of the Regia Aeronautica italiana , which had already emerged immediately after the armistice. Even if the hope of a rebirth had been one of the factors that had induced the Italian personnel to endure deprivations and humiliations, while awaiting the conclusion of the peace negotiations underway in Paris, the reorganization of the Aeronautica italiana was the subject of negotiations with the Air Forces Sub Commission of the Allied Commission, chaired by Air Vice Marshal Arthur Brodie. On 17 April 1946, Brodie announced to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Col. Aldo Remondino, that the "Spit" IX for the Aeronautica italiana would be borrowed until further agreement from the 392° Maintenance Unit of Brindisi, choosing the best and considering the worst as spare materials. Between 26 and 27 June 1947 the Italian Air Force received another 85 Spitfire IXs taken from the MU 380 of Campoformido. The 5° Wing was re-equipped with these aircraft. The kit I wanted to build is the beautiful Eduard 1/48, with the insignia of the 5° wing, with the uniform silver coloring (FS 17178). The main role played by the Italian Spitfires was however to guarantee the operational and training continuity of some fighter units, waiting for the clarification of the Italian political situation to allow a broader and more organic reconstruction program of the Air Force.

2. The Kit

* Kit base: Eduard 84137 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc early Weekend Edition 1:48

* Eduard SIN64808 SPITFIRE Mk. IXc ESSENTIAL 1/48 EDUARD

* Eduard 48765 Spitfire Mk.IXc landing flaps EDUARD

* Decals -TAURO MODEL TM48/588 SPITFIRE Mk.IX ITALIAN VERSION

3. Cockpit and Seat

I availed myself of some photos and drawings of the interior of the Spitfire Mk.IXe, so that I could update the kit in this area. The instrument panel is very good ,but I opted to use the photo-etched example from the Eduard set. I Also added cables made from wire of different thickness, and sidewall detail and control levers from plasticard. All of the interior was painted light green; I prefer using acrylics, and therefore used Mr. Hobby H50 . After painting the inside, I glued the reflector gunsight in position ,having first added the‘glass’ element from this acetate sheet. The Kit-supplied pilot’s seat was used, with the addition of etched seat belts from the Eduard set.

4. Fuselage

The fuselage is accurate, with recessed panel lines and the plastic is easy to work. After assembling and painting the inner parts, you have to insert the exhaust pipes resin Eduard and glue them in place. The fit of the two fuselage halves is good, but you will have to rescribe some panel lines that are removed during sanding etc.

5. Wing and Tailplane

As for the wings, I liked modifying them by inserting the Eduard kit to configure the aircraft with the flaps lowered, so I just secured them to the fuselage. This operation proved straightforward, as the join was extremely good.

6. Canopy

After assembling the model I installed the canopy. This was masked with paper, then painted. This painting included the frame of the internal armoured windscreen. When the canopy is finished it can be positioned and secured with cement.

7. Painting

The first task is to smooth the surface of the kit using a very fine brasive sponge, to remove the slight porosity of the surface. After this operation, you need to clean the entire surface of the model by ethyl alcohol. Once dry and very clean, we paint with a primer, I use YELLOW GREEN XF-4 TAMIYA, among other things it simulates the chromed zinc of aircraft, this color allows you to see all the possible defects that appear on the surface, after 24 hours take a large flat brush and pass it over the entire surface, this will allow you to eliminate the thin dusty layer that this paint produces, at this point you have the model with a well-sanded surface ready for the final painting. Before carrying out the metal painting, it is best to darken all the engraved parts and the cracks in the panels with TAMIYA X-1 black paint. Well now we are ready to use the metallic colors, I use the AK aluminum metal (to simulate the silver color it is in my opinion the best color due to its ability to be uniform and very fine, later I will explain how to make it similar to the silver color ), with the various shades. The base color is an AK 479, and then use the lighter and darker ones in the various panels to give volume and three-dimensionality to the mass of the aircraft .

Here is the summary of the sequence:

A. Clean the whole with alcohol

B. Paint with a Yellow Green Tamiya color acrylic XF-4

C. Paint with with TAMIYA X-1 black all the engraved parts

D. All the final surface with AK aluminum metal

E. Final semi-gloss with Johnson's Pledge Revive it - floor glass

8. Landing Gears and Wheels

The undercarriage looks good, but still needs some detailing work like adding some wire to simulate the brake cables on each oleo. The wheels are too are good too. I replaced the wheels with the Eduard brassin resin.

9. Spinner and Propeller

The shape of the propeller is beautiful. The prop blades had their tips painted yellow, which, when dry, were masked prior to spraying the blades Flat black Mr. Hobby H12. After this can paint the model and stick the propeller into the propeller-hub.

10. Decals

The decals of the kit are excellent, but To create the Italian version I used decals TAURO MODEL TM48/588 SPITFIRE Mk.IX ITALIAN VERSION . Before applying the decals it is necessary to spray with an airbrush a layer of transparent acrylic paint of gloss with Johnson's Pledge Revive it. When everything is dry, wait 24 hours. Spray one drop of clear flat and two drops of Mr. Hobby clear gloss, diluted in isopropyl alcohol.

11. Final painting and washing

The wear of the model can certainly not be carried out randomly, especially in the case of the Spitfire MK IX Italian version, which must respond to a precise logic. Let's see how: In this case I went over all the lines and rivets with FABER CASTELL acrylic brushes, using black and dark grey, removing the excess with soft cotton cloths, it's a slow and meticulous job. While the wheel rims were made with traditional oil paints diluted with turpentine. To complete the work it is necessary to pass a coat of semi-gloss with Johnson's Pledge Revive it - floor glass transparent on the whole model.