Spitfire Mk IXc - "Johnnie" Johnson JE-J

Jim J
Started the highly regarded Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire Mk IXc kit. Johnnie Johnson's JE-J EN-398 is the subject. It deserves the popularity it enjoys -- great scheme, great pilot.

Slavo Hazucha
Nice start, watching big scale birds treated well is always a pleasure!

Christian Borchmann-Backhaus
Nice one, i will take a seat...

Munkyslut
Those instruments are glorious 👍
Great start, I'm watching

Diego DH
wow

Stefan Schacht
nice start, count me in

Paul Juliano
Oh wow! This looks fantastic. I'm building the little brother right now (the Mk. I in 1:48) so I'm definitely taking a seat for this one.

Tim Heimer
Nice work! I'll be watching!

Jim J
Thanks all for the comments. The engineering on this kit is very impressive. I'm humbled by many of the builds I've seen online. I'm slowly making progress. Thanks.

Jim J
Completed the fuselage and wings. The fit at the wing root is absolutely sublime. Working now on the engine. Surprised that Tamiya has the sprue gates on the outside surface of the exhaust stacks. I also ordered a Quickboost cockpit door but it was warped -- another surprise. I'll get a replacement. Overall, progressing well so far.

Munkyslut
Excellent work Jim, it looks fantastic!
I hope the engine compartment will be as comprehensive as the cockpit assembly

Jim J
Thanks Munkyslut - The engine compartment is coming along well. I'm very impressed with the amount of detail Tamiya put into it. Update soon. Thanks.

Jim J
The engine compartment is now complete. Originally I was not planning to even paint the engine since I recently completed the Tamiya 1/32 Mustang, which has an engine that's almost the same. On the Mustang, I added some wiring to spruce it up a bit.

However, this Spitfire engine was so detailed and wonderfully molded that it deserved a reasonable paint and weathering job at a minimum. On to the next phase.

Gerald
Nice 👍

Tim Heimer
Well done!

Slavo Hazucha
Superb looking exhausts 👍

Jim J
Thank you Gerald, Tim, John and Slavo. Much appreciated. I'm glad you like the exhausts. I tried to replicate the heat, staining and exhaust gas pattern based on the photos of the actual aircraft. Thanks again.

Jim J
Main build is complete. No issues -- as expected. Primed with Mr. Surfacer 1200 and buffed it up a bit. Painting starts next. I continue to be amazed at the surface detail on this kit.

Jim J
Main build is complete. Primed with Mr. Surfacer 1200, buffed and polished a bit. Painting starts next. I continue to be amazed at the surface detail on this kit.

Munkyslut
Looking good! It's a very impressive kit, I like the separated engine compartment.
Wing to fuselage is seamless 👍

Matthew Stec
Amazing detail. Incredible job

Jim J
Thanks Munkyslut and Matthew! I'm making slow progress and am enjoying this build.

Jim J
RAF medium sea grey on the underside and ocean grey on the top. Both with a judicious amount of fading and marbling. Masking and RAF dark green next. AK Real Colors paints are really nice to work with.

Jim J
RAF Dark Green camo pattern applied, along with some fading and shading on various panels and panel lines. Also added the yellow leading edges.

Munkyslut
Perfecto! That camo & colour combo just look so slick!

Tim Heimer
Coming along nice!

Slavo Hazucha
This is really a seriously nice surface treatment! You keep hitting the top-realism mark with every step 👍

Jim J
Thanks for the encouraging comments Munkyslut, Tim and Slavo. Very much appreciated. I just completed the main markings using Montex masks. Although it took much longer than I thought, the result is very good. I used MRP paints for the roundels and fin flash and AK Sky for the letters and fuselage band.

After some minor chips and scratches, gloss was applied. Getting ready for stencils.

Jim J
My rendition of Wing Cdr. J.E. "Johnnie" Johnson's Spitfire Mk IXc EN398 is now complete. All in all, the build was a tremendously satisfying experience. It's going on the top shelf. Enjoy the photos.

Munkyslut
Really impressive build, thoroughly enjoyed following this one 👍

Slavo Hazucha
Enjoying I did, super-clean result, and every opportunity to show 32-scale details used! 👍 I really like the almost unweathered, yet service-realistic look!

Tim Heimer
A very nice piece for your collection!

Jim J
Thanks for the nice comments Munkyslut, Slavo and Tim. Much appreciated.

Neuling
Clean work in realistic presentation!

Daniel Klink
Beautiful Picture and great result Jim...Wow👍

Antoine Meylan
Très beau model! j'ai reçu le même kit aujourd'hui. je suis impatient de le commencer et de suivre ton exemple!

Treehugger
Lovely model. 🙂 And a lovely aircraft. I think maybe I am feeling good for trying that kit in 1:32 scale (normally, too large for me). I've already modeled the Spitfire IX in 3d on a computer, so it would be fun having a large model of this.

Jim J
Neuling, Daniel, Antoine and Treehugger - Thank you kindly for your encouraging remarks!