Bilek's 1/72
Spitfire Mk. IX & IXe

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

History

The Spitfire is one of the best known planes from the Second World War, and the Spitfire Mk. IX was one of the more notable variants. Equipped with the Merlin 60 engine, the Mk. IX Spitfire was initially just an interim design to hold over until the Griffon-engined Spits took to the air. Even so, over 5,500 Mk. IX Spitfires were built, making it a rather prolific interim design. Based on the Mk. V airframe, the Mk. IX incorporated a new nose to house the Merlin 60 engine, and used the C, B, and E wings. The Mk. IX saw service in England as well as many other countries, including Russia, Israel, Czechoslovakia, and the United States.

As many German fighters found out, the Mk IX Spitfire was a potent fighter. The similarities in appearance to the Spitfire Mk. V and IIb gave many Bf109 and Fw190 pilots the thought of an easy kill, but soon the German pilots were considering all Spitfires as dangerous, making the Spitfire pilots earn their kills once again. After the Second World War, the Spitfire Mk. IX continued on fighting in Israel, where Israeli pilots flew several against Egyptian counterparts in their War of Independence.

The Kits

The Bilek kit of the Spitfire Mk. IX (sold in Mk. IX/IXc and Mk. IXe boxings) is actually the Italeri kit (or the Italeri kit is the Bilek kit. Who can keep it straight these days?) and is pretty decent. Both boxings are identical except for decals and boxtop, so this review will cover both of them. The parts are molded in a light gray plastic, with recessed panel lines throughout. The fuselage has a separate nose section, indicating different variants in the future. This does create some problems, though, namely in the fit. A quick dry fit shows that there will likely be some fiddling needed here and probably a spot of putty or two.

The cockpit is fairly decent out of the box, but could probably stand to be replaced with a resin set, or at least added to with a PE set. The wing is a nice sight, as they got the gull wing right on this kit. After seeing the beautifully-detailed Pro-Modeler Spitfire Mk. V kit miss this detail, it has been an area that is generally looked at first on a kit. The wingtips are separate, allowing you to make either the regular Mk. IX/IXc version or the clipped wing IXe version. The only thing on the wings that looks odd is the rather heavy plates covering the gun ports on the leading edge of the wing. If scale thickness is taken into account, it would appear that a piece of 4" thick iron was bent over the wing. These will definitely have to be thinned down. Two rudders are provided, one rounded and the other pointed. The propeller is made up of individual blades and a two-piece hub.

The decals are different for the two kits, and each sheet provides two choices. The Mk. IX/IXc boxing has an RAF and an Israeli option. The RAF choice is an invasion striped one from Bradwell Bay, 1944. No other information is given in the instructions on this one, but the decals include a small Czech roundel for under the canopy, as well as a rank pennant and a badge for the nose. The Israeli one is gray overall, with a red striped rudder. Numbered 2001, it is White 10 from Ramat David, 1949.

The Mk. IXe decals also have an Israeli option, this one also having the red striped rudder and being white 14. But rather than being in light gray camouflage, this one is finished in the standard RAF camouflage of green and gray. The other choice in the IXe boxing is one from the Czechoslovakian Air Force. This one is also camouflaged in the standard RAF colors of gray and green, with a white JT-5 on the fuselage sides. All the decals feel thin and have a matte finish to them.

Conclusion

While Hasegawa has a Spitfire Mk. IX out there, this kit is just as good and costs less. While it might not go together as quickly as the Hasegawa kit, the fact that you could build several of these without breaking the bank more than makes up for it. If you're itching to do some Mk. IX Spits, definitely pick one of these up.