When talking on another forum about my current Spitfire Mk.XIVe project, it came up that I had this long sidelined ICM Spifire HF.VII languishing partially built on my “Shelf of Doom” (actually a cabinet). I then pulled it out for a look, dusted everything off, and realized I had it fairly close to reasonably assembled…
So I decided to resume construction, first adding the upper wing surfaces and allowing those to dry overnite
Then the next morning I added the remainder of most of the external parts such as wingtips, ailerons, horizontal stabilizers, rudders, and a few other bits here and there…
Now I’ve gotten it to the point of where I have to repair what was damaged when I last sidelined it, the motor mounts. The ICM Spitfire kits are notorious for the cowling not fitting around the included engine, and I was addressing that area when the damage occurred and I sent it off to the shelf of doom prior to my last move. Now I have some new ideas to fix that damage… Stay tuned for more updates on this one…
While I wait for things to dry on my Academy Mk.XIVe Spit, I have also been working on this Child of Doom, and gotten it to the point where I have started to get paint on. I made up a custom mix of PRU Blue using Tamiya Medium Blue and Light Blue in an approx. 80/20 ratio.
I need to get the undersides masked off and then I can airbrush on the upper surfaces in Medium Sea Grey for the High Altitude scheme worn by most mk.VIIs.
So I started this kit back in November 2011 for a Spitfire GB on FSM. Needless to say it did not get finished in a timely manner, and was resumed and sidelined multiple times over the years. A few months ago I decided to knuckle down on this, and this past week I was finally able to get it over the finish line finally yesterday. This is ICM’s 1/48 kit, and there are parts in there to make many different variants of the late Merlin Spitfires. The kit includes a nice engine on its mounts, but that is also the kit’s weakness, as the cowling cannot be built around the engine. I was able to get the bottom and side panels on, but not the top… This boxing also included a set of ground crew and standing pilot figures, along with a few accessory items. I added an Eduard PE seat harness, and replaced the kit decals with a set from Aeromaster. Paint used were Humbrol Enamel (underside) & Acrylic (topside) for the main colors.
All in all this was a nice kit, and I do look forward to doing another with the engine fully exposed, and adding some plumbing to really dress it up nicely!
Thanks for looking, comments & critiques are welcomed.
Lovely work Carlos and a great reprise from the shelf …
It’s a rare and not often seen final colour scheme and finish. The DDay stripes are very distinctive and look great. Nice little base as well and the figures are a clever touch
@magnusf, it was looking pretty rough when I pulled it out of the box this summer… dust caked on and other signs of neglect. Quite the transformation!
@Johnnych01, I don’t think that I’ve ever come across any Spits in the high altitude scheme before on any forums that I frequent. The D-Day stripes sure do change the appearance of that low viz color scheme. The figures and items (plus a few more) came in the kit and it makes the fact that you can’t close the cowling up with the engine in there look like it was intended that way.
thank you! I agree about the ICM Spitfires! I have two more in my stash and look forward to building both fate my experience with this kit! So much potential within them!
Thank you Stephen! Yes, they are quite tricky around the engine area. But the solution is simple: want to build the engine, leave it exposed, at least partially. Or leave it off and build the nose properly closed up. Unless there is some serious surgery involved, it can’t easily be built with the engine closed up. My next one will have the no engine approach. And yes, ICM decals are so prone to breakage in my experience. Replacements are highly recommended!
