Hi all,

my greenhorns have found the construction plans. Though young and inexperienced, my engineers, construction crew and mechanics are full of confidence that they will complete their job succesfully. My pilot is in training.

The mission: Build a Spitfire Mk. IX to take down Heinz Bär, who will pilot Emroglan's plane.

The plane I hope to build:


The equipment: The construction crew and engineers thought they had acquired the right materials from their Japanese friends. Unfortunately, an anonymous source (thank you Steffen) in Germany told them the Japanese engineers had made some basic mistakes. So my fellow countrymen went shopping again, and found most of what they needed in the Ukraine. At this Ukrainian factory the sales-department might have been enjoying their drinks a bit too much, as the crate they gave to my crew was adressed to some pilotin Israel. So there they might be short a few parts. Anyhow, I do not care, my upcoming battle against Emroglan is way more important.
Some of the Japanese supplied parts might still come in handy for my plane, and the rest will be perfect for testing new production methods. I would rather have their product fall to pieces then having my pilot in the air and having the plane fall apart around him.

The kit(s):


The ICM sprues:


Tomorrow morning, after a good night's sleep my young and inexperienced constrction crew will go to work. Relying on numerous allies to provide help when needed!

Cheers,

Harm

Hello Harm

I'm sorry that you had to buy a 2nd kit just because of me.

How is the ICM? Are there still sinkmarks in the wheels, Propeller and some on fuselage and wings? At least you can use Hasegawas cockpit :-) :-) :-)

have fun building it !!

cheers

Steffen

Hi Steffen,

well, no apologies necessary, it was my choice to go for the second kit. Big difference BTW (over 5 mm in fuselage length).

No marks in the wheels, small ones on the propellorblades (bottom), one on the wing (bottom port side), two on the inside of eache fuelage half (though in places where, witha little luck, you do not even see them).

THe plastic itself looks good, though feels softer then the Hasegawa stuff. And detail of the instrument panel is slightly softer as well.

I'll enjoy the build for sure!

harm

I know! and not on one place but 3 in front of the cockpit and ~2,5 at the tail which will require some more surgery to the fuselage. I am really mad about Revell having reissued this kit ... I know there was a chance getting the ICM kit ...

Glad the plastic material is good. I had some sink marks below the pit and below the elevators ... but all easily fixed with some Tamiya putty and a sanding stick.

I hope you can get the Norseman Decals, although I believe this is post war...

best wishes

Steffen

Hi Harm

It's nice to see ICM's kit get an outing instead of the easy option! I've got a couple on the shelf ready for a Spitfire-Fest one day!

Keep us up to date on your progress

Rowan

Thanks for the comments Merlin,

I'll see what I can do with this kit. All I can promise is my best effort....

I will probably be around to ask a lot of questions. Especially when the painting stages will arrive... I found a build on Hyperscale (though of a different version, IIRC the British version) as well to help me keep an eye on things. I found a few walk-around pictures as well...

And I'll certainly try to keep you up to date! I will try to keep some kind of diary, in which I'll write down what I do, and write down differences between the kits.

First thing I noticed is how the difference in crispness at first glance does not even seem to be that big between kits, to be honest (at least in my inexperienced eyes). There is a bit more flash on the ICM sprues, though I have seen worse.

Cheers,

Harm

Hi Harm!

I want to thank you for the first post on this thread! It's very well written and really makes me want to see/read more about your Duel with Emroglan!

Jean-Luc

--REPORT--

June 16, 22:00 hrs

Scouts have reported enemy activation. Looks like there's a beehive of activity going on at the enemy encampment.

June 17, 15:00 hrs

Enemy pilots oberved throughout the day. There's constant flight training observable. Heinz Bär is informed. He instructed to get his plane assembled.

June 18, 10:00 hrs

Reports from spies indicate that enemy is getting aid from the Japanese and purchasing parts from Ukraine. Their aim is to down Herr Bär and gain air superiority. This challenge alone can be considered as a personel duel between myself and the enemy commander.

June 18, 16:00 hrs

News have reached headquarters that the enemy has started constructing new planes for their attempt. Our engineers are bogged down with "overtime" work. Our assembly lines are crowded with armor that is to be shipped for "Operation Club Med". Amidst this confusion, Herr Bär is insisting we proceed immeadiately. We are trying to proceed.

June 18, 21:00 hrs

Since our enemy is relying on the Japanese and Ukranians, it is decided that Korean aid should be taken. After negotiations the Korean manifacturers supplied us with the following:


Now we need to free our engineers from their "overtime" work and clear the assembly lines. We can not let the enemy thrive and fly their planes without our fear.

End of Weekly Report
--- LOG OUT----

Hi Emroglan,

good to see your progress. I am looking forward to your first build report!. Looks like a really nice kit... and a very tough opponent.

Cheers,

Harm

Hi all,

my greenhorn engineers are getting frustrated. Emergency orders for tranquilizers and drinks with high alcohol content have been dispatched. Some of the original plans have been scrapped, ripped apart, burnt, and ashes dispersed into the wind.

Uttering of Japanese words and terminology at the work-floor is very very dangerous, if you do chances of survival are close to zero. The first postal packages with explosive content addressed to Japan have already been intercepted at the border. Somehow there seem to be links with some of my workers. As long as the SWAT teams stay away, I am happy.

The Ukrainian workmanship seems to be much better in basics, but that is it. At least, it seems, they have their priorities straight, which is good. With a hammer, subtle brute force and some good guesswork eyeball-style, my faithful engineers have gone to work.

Most of the wings has been constructed, fit is pretty good, as long as you expect none or the minimum of placement aides. The same goes for the other parts, by the way.

The wings (plus engine parts):


My metalworkers have cast the engine parts, and my mechanics have put it together. Some fine-tuning and polishing needs to be done, and then they can be sent to the paint-shop.

The engine-block:


Soon the engine-mount will be built as well. and most of the wings will be finished. Then my crew will go full tilt at the the cockpit interior. They will make an effort to rebuild some of the parts, and strengthen them. I have told them they need to work cleaner though...

Combining Hasegawa instrument-panel and ICM elements:


Unfortunately some parts seem to have disappeared in the Ukraine. So they have to be ordered no from across the Atlantic. So here is to hoping they will not be sunk by U-boats, or intercepted by the customs-office. Orders for that will go out later though, as they are not crucial for the build, they can be added at the end. More important is that my bank for the moment refuses to release additional funding.

The painter has hit a snag though. He has put out an add for a miner, as some crucial equipment is buried in his storage-closet, and he does not dare go in there himself. Sniffer dogs are also being considered. Delays, delays, delays....

Also, we received this today...

------ Emergency Telegram -----

Some radio chatter intercepted -STOP- Source seems to be eastern Mediterranean -STOP- Seems code -STOP- Sent to code-breaking department -STOP- Threat level increased by one -STOP-

So yes, this has us worried. For the next period steady though slow progress is expected. For stress relief, a 75mm gun will be built to take out armored targets.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Hours in: 3
Sub-assemblies completed: -
Painting subassemblies done: -


And now in regular English:

I have started construction. Fit is decent to good. Locator pins are reduced to an absolute minimum, so one has to be careful when lining things up and gluing them together. This is the first time for me, as I so far have been used to Tamigawa and new DML. But it is fun so far.
Most frustrating is to see that the Hasegawa kit has far better detail, but that for most parts it is impossible to swap parts. I honestly have no clue what happened in the engineering department in Japan, but dimension-wise they are far far of (in almost any direction for almost every part), assuming the ICM kit is indeed correct.
Compared to that some of the ICM detail is basic (gun, cockpit, landing-gear doors). Also, they only have the parts for the clipped wings in this kit. It seems that my original goal (a kit without AM) is unattainable. But as these are elements to be added last, there is no immediate need to get them now, so I do have the time to arrange the needed $$$.
To give you two prime examples of what I mean:

The Hasegawa seat piloting the ICM cockpit:


Parts breakdown (Hasegawa vs ICM) of the same assembly:


I apologize for the quality of some of the pictures. In MACRO-setting I do have some trouble with focusing the camera.

But this is where I am. I will probably fill a few gaps and sand the engine today/tomorrow, and then I have to paint it first. I will probably see if I can scratch a bit in the cockpit (if I mess up bad, I can simply close it). I will use the ICM parts as size templates, and the Hasegawa a bit as the model). I will build the sub-assemblies as far as possible (engine, wheels, wings) and then I have to finish the cockpit first.

Cheers

Harm

Hello Harm

looking good so far.

Do you want to leave the engine covers off? If not do not put your energy into the engine, better try to get a good fit of the cowling parts (wich IIRC interfere with the engine ... at least the top cover) .

As for the wing tips: select your drawings, glue some roughly shaped plastic sheet to the wing tip .... sand to shape ... not much of an problem (I used my standard wing tips so I cant help you out here .... maybe someone who did the Mk.VII (?) has spares ...)

cheers

Steffen

Thanks for the compliments.

I want to do the painting as I need the practice. And if I mess it up, there is nothing ruined. And if it looks really good, then I might actually leave the top of.




Well, if you have drawings (I do not have any others, I am working of pictures) or know a place where to find them, I might give that a try first..

Cheers,

Harm

Hi Harm

my instrctions had some drawings in it .... just copy it to the right scale (you just need the proper outline)

Before I forget it. As you want to use some AM stuff. How about this one:

Griffon Correction set for ICM

great stuff

Also Ultracast is nice http://www.ultracast.ca/

cheers

Steffen

Of course,

as luck would have it, there are none in my instructions (apart from the faulty Hasegawa ones). However, I might be lucky enough and have found a Russian one. I'll print this one out tomorrow, and see how close it is...

thanks for the links,

Harm

Reports from spies indicate enemy is arming its airforce but ran into trouble. This might be the break we are looking for. Armored vehicles construction is somewhat complete and the engineers started work hurriedly.

This is what our Korean suppliers have given:


3 sprues and 1 clear parts sprue. To our suprise, our Korean friends have been so kind to include einer Kübelwagen in the bundle that comes with 2 sprues and a clear parts sprue of its own. Nothing to fancy but enough to send ze Englisches Flugzeug zur Hölle!

First, construction painting began for Herr Bär's cockpit. As he himself is a simple, pragmatic man, the cockpit is nothing too fanciful, we emitted everything unnecessary...


When the fuselage assembly began, we started doubting the sincerety of our Korean friends and wondered whether that kubelwagen was a "Keep your mouth shut" sort of gift...

Aaah, the Koreans might have tricked us! Or is it the sneaky British sabotaging our plans???

So far, I have always received positive feedback about Academy's 1/72 WW2 planes (that came after 2001 or 2000). I've personally built a P-40, a P-51 and a Ju-87 Stuka from those and they were simply jewels, fit together like Lego bricks, no glitches, nothing with problems. However, this Fw-190 turned out to be another story...

The two halves of the fuselage do no fit together. If you align them according to the panel lines, then one part sticks out in front while the other sticks out at the back. If you symetrically align the left side-right side pieces, then the panel lines in no way on Earth match. I chose the second way and had redo the panel lines where they connected, but they still look a little of. Tough luck. This is all the trouble (I'm trying to forget the extra sanding as the same sticking out problem occured on the top and bottom) I encountered, I was complaining to Harm all about it. (Psychological Warfare! :-) )

I proceeded to build the engine cowlings (or I believe those parts are called cowlings, forgive me, they are the parts that cover up the engine+ the machine gun bulges on the planes nose). Yihhaaa... More trouble. The part is an entire mismatch. I had to perform a delicate operation, as there were details on the part and sanding them away was something I didn't wish for:



I let that cure for a night. A few hours ago, I decided to go for the wings, afraid more trouble was on the horizon. It turned out better than I thought, just little cracks to fill at the connection points between the fuselage and wing butts.


And here's an overall look of the plane:


Get ready Herr Harm, Heinz Bär is getting ready to get you with his butcherbird! A pity if you become a sitting ground target and get blown by a simple ground strafing! Har!

Emroglan,

your plane looks pretty good so far. I look forward to the next pictures

Unfortunately. progress has been slow this week.... far slower then I hoped... It almost seems that my enemy has bought some people to sabotage my efforts by all means possible.

Work has been delayed by the following factors:

1. Some family member of one of my engineers decided to come back from the Far East after a 4 month discorvy trip in Africa and Asia. For some unknown though suspicious reason she felt a need to arrive at 05:00 in the morning. After my engineers dropped her of, they went back to bed, however, they looked in such a bad shape that I will not let them even near the aircraft.

2. The hauling company, responsible for removing some excess paper informed me only yesterday that they wanted to stop by today. So yesterday, my engineers had to spend unpacking the shed, sort out the paperwork, and make sure that only what should be disposed of would go. Needless to say that my workspace is now chockerblock full with junk from the shed... which needs to be sorted out.

3. Some friends have found it necessary to read my supplies of food (ie they come over for dinner). That means my crew is of to the supermarket, and following a cooking-class.

4. Other friends have decided that the should graduate this week. Of course this means that my engineers will be gone, and possibly useless the next day. That is not so bad, as it seems that this weekend can be thrown away as far as production goes. Another festivity and an American Football national championship game to be attended will take care of that....

Plans for next week:

Figure one or two days when books need to be collected for studies. Rest of the week: Clean up the workplace and recommence production...

Harm

Hi guys,

it has been a while...

Well, progress has been extremely slow, for various reasons. One of them being that my room has been upgraded to a sauna, with the current temperatures....

Also, I have been building some quick and easier (more "shake-and-bake") builds to use as practice for the paint-job. This will be the first "for real" airbrush-job I do so...

What is done so far:

1. The engine is largely assembled. Even though it will be covered up, I will give it a paintjob. Assembly was fine.

2. The fuselage halves have had the ejector-pin marks filled and mostly sanded.

3. The engine-mount has been constructed. Though fitting the parts together a bit tedious, the result looks great, IMHO.

4. The lower and upper halves of the wing have been glued together. Fit was fairly good (just a few slight gaps in the rear). Also, the airintakes for the gun-cooling has been dryfitted. Fit was good, as long as you do not mind quite a bit of sanding. Flaps have been fitted as well.
The guncovers do need some additional supports though, it seems, in order to fit "right" They are the next job (maybe tonight). I have found drawings of the full wing, so now I will be scaling them up to fit, and try and make the wing-tips myself from scratch. That will possibly be done next week, probably later.

Overall, I have dryfitted the engine-mount into one fuselage half. It looked good there. I have also dryfitted the enginecover (seemed fine as well).

Next up will be work on the cockpit. Which should make for some fun. Either tomorrow or Sunday I will try to post some picture pf progress so far.

All I can say is that to build a kit like this is actually more rewarding then a shake-and-bake-kit. It has given me so far a bit more sense of accomplishment.

Cheers,

Harm