The Spitfire was the most important British fighter to guard the Channel from the beginning of WWII and continued to serve throughout the conflict.  It was constantly upgraded and modified both on the shop floor and in the field.

The Spitfire MK IX was developed as a stop gap fighter to combat the new Focke-Wulf 190A's that started apearing over the Channel skys in fall of 1941.  The new Focke-Wulf clearly displayed its superiority over the MK V. 

The Spitfire MK IX was a MK V airframe modified to accept a Merlin 60 series engine and entered into service in June 1942.  The success of the MK IX was more than hoped for, and this stop gap measure was built 5,665 times.  Approximately 1/4 of the 20,351 Spitfires ever built.

At one time equiping almost 100 squadrons, the Spitfire remained in service until the end of the war. 

Subvariants of the MK IX included the LF.MK IX with a clipped wing tip and the high alt. blower removed.  The other major subvarient was the HF .MK IX that used an extended wingtip to improve the service ceiling of the MK IX.  The versions of the MK IX with the "E" wing, replaced the 4 0.303's with 2 0.50 in (12.7mm) machine guns.

Pica 1/6 Scale Spitfire IX.  (In the beginning)

I was looking for a Spitfire project to build.  I chose the Pica 1/6 Spitfire IX for a couple of reasons.  One, I wanted something in and around the 1/6 size so I could use an existing engine (Webra .61 Speed), and two, because the price was within my budget. 

The Purchase.

This starts out with a happy story as I purchased the kit, along with the Pica 1/6 scale FW 190, over the internet from a fellow modeler in Maine (I live in Canada).  I have heard people with bad experiences over the internet, but this is proof that two people can trust each other to mutual benefit.

The Kit, First Impressions.

When the box arrived, I eagerly opened the box to find a very well laid out kit.   Wood is grouped in bundles with a code, W1 or T2, to simplify building.  It comes with an instruction manual that provides step by step construction, and plans that are in 3 pages that need to be taped together.  The kit looks like it comes with almost all of the hardware including some hardwood push rods, hinges, and bellcranks.

Overall it looks like a very well put together kit.

Modifications I plan to Make.

I plan on making a very scale model, so one of my first tasks was to check the scale outline of the plane.  For the most part, it is very true to scale.  Pica did the usual cheat on the landing gear though.  The kits landing gear is in front of the main spar and mounted level to the datum line.  If you plan on using retracts, I do, this folds the gear up in front of the main spar.  The Spitfire's gear is actually mounted behind the main spar, and rakes forward when extended and folds just behind the main spar when retracted.  This means that I will have to move the spar forward about 1/4" when I build the wing to make room for the retracts.

I checked the fuselage profiles against the 3 views and they cheated a little here too.  The fuselage sides are constructed with a solid 1/4" piece giving the fuse a straight side.  I plan on doing some heavy sanding on these pieces to give it a more rounded appearance.  I may have to laminate on another piece, but should make up the weight with all of the sanding I plan to do.  The nose appears to be a   little too long by about 2 cm.  This is because the wing saddle is too far back and makes the tail too short as well.  My guess is that they did this to move the CG forward and I intend on correcting this.

The other reports I have read of the kit suggest that finished weight may be problem.  With that in mind I plan on making the solid plank tail surfaces a built up structure using 1/16" sheeting.  They should come in weighing under the 1/4" solid slabs.  I should also be able to add a little airfoil to the surfaces and give it a little more of a scale appearance.

I was also disappointed to find out that the kit did not use flaps.  This I intend to remedy so I can get that nice scale looking landing with the boards hanging under the wing.  When I measured out the flaps and the ailerons, I will also have to enlarge the ailerons by about a 1.5 cm in length.

Overall Scale Appearance

I just finished matching the plans to a blown up print out of my 3 view.   Other than the above noted exceptions the kit looks pretty good.  Most of the out line is reasonably faithful.

Conclusions.

This is not a kit for a first time builder!  The instruction booklet acutally misses a few steps and unless you catch them, well...

I have started a construction log and my hope is I can maintain this until I have finished my spitfire.   I will add to these pages as work progresses as I wish to also us it as a log of construction.  If you have any suggestions or questions, please email me mailto:bbryenton@solstorm.com.