Supermarine’s Spitfire was one of the classic fighters of World War II. Produced in different Marks (the British name for versions), the Spitfire served from the beginning of the war until the end. The Mark IX was originally developed as a stop-gap measure in response to the German introduction of the Focke-Wulf FW-190, but later grew into it’s own as a fighter aircraft.

Platz’s Mark IX kit is nice, with finely engraved panel lines and no visible flash. There are 152 parts molded on 5 grey plastic sprues and one clear sprue, of which approximately 57 are used in various Mk IX versions and possibly other Spitfire versions as well. There are 2 Mark IX versions with 4 paint schemes that can be built using this kit.

This is the first book of a potential new series from Duke Hawkins Books on aircraft carriers. The volume grew out of its earlier book on the Harrier II/AV-8B, as while working on that book, several of their photographers were given the opportunity to visit the Juan Carlos I while she was at sea conducting operations and ended up with an extensive collection of photographs not just of the Spanish Navy’s use of the EAV-8B Matador II (Harrier II Plus), but also of the ship itself and its other facets of its operations – helicopter and amphibious operations.

This set is designed for Great Wall Hobby’s recent F-14D Tomcat kit and will nicely spruce up your build. The set includes complete photo-etch replacements for the instrument panels and cockpit side consoles for both cockpits, including the circuit breaker panels behind the Radar Intercept Officer’s (RIO’s) seat. A nice touch is the inclusion of not only the rudder pedals for the pilot, but also the foot pedals for the RIO which while not connected to any flight controls are important as the location of the RIO’s radio/ICS talk buttons. In order to install the etch parts you will need to remove the molded-on details from all the panels and consoles before painting the cockpit and installing the etched parts. Unfortunately, I received the set after I had painted and assembled the cockpit, so I have set them aside for the next one.