1:72 Spitfire Tr.IX ZK-WDQ

[ZacYates]

Hi guys

Thanks to Paul aka "naki" having a stash clearout, I've found myself the new owner of a Matchbox 1:72 Spitfire Mk.IX kit. Very nice, and waaaaaaaaaaay better than the Airfix IX which has been around for donkey's years (but is soon to be replaced). It also comes with the later-style pointed fin (as seen on the AFC XVI TB863/FU-P)......fantastic for modelling one of NZ's two airworthy Spits.

Except that Doug Brooker's lovely machine has TWO COCKPITS.

This will be a challenge, but already I've been comparing the kit to Gavin C's shots in Classic Wings 66 in preparation. Thankfully Paul was kind enough to include two canopies - thanks mate! - and I have a spares box full of surplus bits to kit out the cockpit a little.

First things first, filling of some panels/door areas....

Photos as things progress. Stay tuned!

[ZacYates]

Besides the filling of the entry door lines, another prominent change I had to make was the cannon. As boxed, the kit has a C wing (cannon inboard), whereas MH367/ZK-WDQ looks to have an E wing (cannon outboard). This was done by very, very careful removal and relocation of the two outboard stubs, and carving new mounting holes for the cannon.

As you can see, I'm well into cutting away the cockpit area and allowing for the two canopy setup. I'm very pleased with work thus far. The clear parts are very thick, so I can get away with not doing a detailed interior. Instead I'm just going to paint some sidewall detail and that's it.

The above is a dry-fit for illustration purposes only. Went into town to get some browns for the camo, all very exciting . Got a ton of stencils from Italeri and Airfix Spits so the model will be a bit more detailed on the outside.

[Naki]

Looking good - I noticed that it had two canopies - whether that was a production mistake or a spare on purpose I am not sure but it makes it ideal for what you are doing with it.

[ZacYates]

I wondered too! Thanks for leaving the extra one in there

Latest pic:

Canopies are on and gapfilling continues. On hold while I try and source a big intake, due to the curves involved I'm loath to sand filler to shape or bash a droptank into something resembling it. Still, it is in a state where play is possible Meantime distracting myself with the Ceres (moving ever slowly to completion) and a Curtiss P-36 bought at Omaka.

[Craig Sargent]

Also don't forget you need to move the upper wing cannon bulges outboard to the new location of the barrels to for an E wing.

[ZacYates]

Yeah I realised that......just going to leave them though would've been best to do that before cementing everything together, I think!

[ZacYates]

All done, apart from an appropriate sized "3" for the serial. Added a few stencils, scrounged around in the spares box for the necessary codes etc, and decided to just stick with the original intake. Can be changed if I ever get my hands on another one from the Matchbox IX/XVI kit. Fun build regardless, and I'm quite proud of how I handled the Grace-Melton conversion. May not be perfect, but I'm more than satisfied with the result









Now onto the other three 1:72 Spits on my bench....as well as the 1:32 IXc....

[Naki]

Zac, its great to see one of my kits finshed!..even if it wasnt me!

The PCM Spitfire Mk IX kit looks very nice (..and I'm very tempted but a bit pricey and wrong scale) - will you post pics of the build progress??

[ZacYates]

Maybe

[Fletcher400]

Nice work Zac, be cool to see them all lined up together when they're done

[Dave Homewood]

Well done Zac!

[ZacYates]

Thanks guys Increased the number of Spitfires under my roof by 100% this past fortnight......four new 1:72 kits and one 1:32. And ANOTHER 1:72 on its way next week.....money's earned to be spent

As I say, quite pleased with the end result. I don't know if anyone has done a Grace-Melton trainer Spit model before.

[Dave Homewood]

I began to make a two-seater from the Tamiya (or was it Hasegawa?) Mk V kit back in the early to mid 1990's. I had a Mk IX nose which was a resin after market thing as there wee no decent Mk IX kits at all in those days, only the Revell kit from memory which was poo.

I did all the modifications to shift the cockpit and create the second one, and then realised it was the ugliest Spitfire version ever (even uglier than the cutback XVIe's) and so threw it back in its box where its remained in storage to this day. I then went on to build a Tamiya 1/48th Mk V as Johnny Houlton's 485 Sqn personal machine, and then a Mk PRXI in 1/72 which was a Ventura kit from memory, and it was at that point I swore never to mess round with 1/72 any more. The kit was ok, I just find the scale too small and undetaield, and fiddly.

[mstokes]

Nice work Zac, it looks like the real thing. Choice conversion!