ICM 1/48 Spitfire Mk.IXe by Kursad Albayraktar (petaflops@yahoo.com) This is my 1/48 ICM Spitfire Mk.IXe in Turkish Air Force delivery colors circa 1947. Spitfire Mk.IX was numerically the most significant Spitfire version to fly in Turkish service; and its story in Turkey can be traced back to as early as 1943, when the British government was desperately trying to pull Turkey into the war on the side of the Allies. As part of the clandestine bargaining between Churchill and Turkish Prime Minister Sukru Saracoglu, the Turkish government asked for literally hundreds of Mk.IXs (as part of more than 1,100 aircraft of all types it wanted-free of charge, of course!) to bolster the Turkish Air Force if Turkey was to go to war. However, all Mk.IX production output was sorely needed in the front, and Britain agreed to give a number of surplus Spitfire Mk.Vb/Vc to Turkey instead. The Turkish Air Force would have had to wait until after the war to get the Spitfire Mk.IX. Around 170 surplus Spitfire Mk.IX were purchased during 1947, all refurbished by Vickers and painted in Turkish colors before delivery. They were to serve in the Turkish Air Force until 1953/1954, when Turkey's entry into NATO brought along an influx of jet aircraft. The Model: Even though the kit seat was basically OK (The kit cockpit is strikingly similar to the Tamiya Spitfire cockpits); I replaced it with a resin seat from Ultracast, painted in the almost brick red color characteristic of Bakelite Spitfire seats. I removed the headrest per the reference photographs of this particular Spitfire and other Turkish Spitfire Mk.IX's. These headrests were never installed on the Mk.IX, and they were removed from most RAF Spitfires of other marks during the war. Since Spitfire elevators droop when the aircraft is on the ground, I cut the kit elevators and replaced them with resin parts from a Cutting Edge Spitfire flying surfaces set. It wasn't possible to build a proper Mk.IXe using the parts in the original ICM release since the "e" wing cannon cover was not included. I don't know if this has been changed in later boxings, but a fellow modeler I contacted on Hyperscale(whose name unfortunately escapes me now) kindly sent me vacuform cannon covers from his spares box. The model depicts Spitfire Mk.IXe "PT565" as photographed during delivery to Turkey in 1947. This particular aircraft is on the list of "suspect" airframes that are listed by RAF as "delivered to Turkey", but not listed in the Turkish inventory. In any case, I wanted to use the delivery scheme and a clear photo of the airplane in these markings exist. I have since obtained many rare photos of operational Turkish Spitfire Mk.IX's, and I will use them for my future Mk.IX projects. I used Polly Scale acrylics to paint my Spitfire Mk.IX. The decals came from different sources: the RAF serials were printed on a laser printer, the Turkish flag is from my spares box, and the square Turkish insignia were cut from Tauro's solid red and white decal sheets. The Kit: I used the original release of the 1/48 ICM Spitfire Mk.IX kit. As I stated earlier, the Mk.IX was the most significant version of the Spitfire to see service in the Turkish Air Force, and I've been waiting for a reasonable kit of the type for a long time-so I bought the kit as soon as it was in the market in late 2000. This kit has been the subject of much controversy around the "quality control problems" with the first batch of kits. I got one of the first batch, and honestly I don't see what the big deal was about. Aside from several sink marks and copious use of greasy mold release (an ICM trademark); the kit looked absolutely great in the box. The assembly was another matter, though. The ICM kit is a little bit "overengineered" especially considering the large number of optional parts and the great-looking Merlin engine supplied. Just like pretty much anybody who tackled the ICM kit, I also learned the hard way that the engine has to be omitted to get the cowling to fit. ICM definitely went to great lengths to provide a very detailed and accurate kit, and they had to compromise ease of assembly in return. I have also seen and purchased the later Hasegawa Spitfire Mk.IX in the same scale, and even though the Hasegawa kit is a lot easier to build, I personally would prefer the ICM kit anytime. In fact, I have two more ICM kits on my shelf waiting to be built, in operational Turkish schemes. Admittedly, those of us who value ease of assembly over accuracy will probably opt for the Hasegawa kit. If you are used to "Tamigawa" quality and ease of assembly, the ICM kit is probably not for you. I recommend the ICM Spitfire Mk.IX to all modelers who are interested in this very successful and significant version of the Spitfire.