Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk. XVIe

The Supermarine Spitfire is probably one of the most recognizable and iconic aircraft in history, with a total production number of 20 351. As I have always been fond of it, I decided to give it a try, even though it is my very first propeller aircraft model.

 

About the aircraft

The history of the Spitfire started in 1934, with the first flight of the famous K5054 prototype taking place on 5th March 1936. After the initial delays, the first Spitfire Mk. Is started to reach the operational units in 1938, and since then the type became a stronghold of RAF fighter forces, with a number of substantial improvements being introduced over the whole duration of WWII. Most of these improvements were directly correlated with the development of another icon, the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Consequently, 3 generations of Spitfires are commonly recognized: early Merlins (Merlins with a single-stage supercharger, Spitfires Mk. I, II, III, V, VI, and PR XIII), late Merlins (60 and 70 series Merlins with a two-stage supercharger, Spitfires Mk. VII – IX, PR X, PR XI, and Mk. XVI), and the last generation utilizing more powerful and heavier Rolls-Royce Griffon (Mk. IV, XII, XIV, XVIII, PR XIX, XX, 21-24). Among all those Marks, the Mk. IX and XVI were by far the most numerous, and their introduction was a major step in RAF’s capabilities. The idea for Mk. IX came out of necessity, as after the introduction of Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in late 1941 it became obvious that the then-standard Spitfire Mk. V was no match for the newest Luftwaffe addition. As the two-stage Merlin 61 became available, the Supermarine proposed to address this issue with an interim Mk. IX variant, which was basically Mk. V airframe fitted with the new engine. At the beginning, it was planned as just a short-term fix, with the revised Mk. VIII being the “ultimate” late-Merlin variant. However, the Mk. IX proved to be so successful that there was no point in disturbing its production lines, and it remained in production until the end of the war with constant upgrades being added (e.g. Merlin 66 engine). An interesting twist in the history of the Mk. IX is the Mk. XVI variant, which even though gained a new Mark number, differed only by the fact that instead of the British-built Merlin 66, its US licensed-built Packard Merlin 266 variant was utilized.

 

About the building process

The Spitfire is my very first propeller-driven aircraft, and it was basically an accident that I even started it. I was playing with some trans-clear canopy solutions and after one of the attempts I thought “Well, this looks like a Spitfire canopy”. As it turned out, it was perfectly scaled to my favorite 1:33 scale, so I had no choice but to continue. Still, the idea to make a WWII fighter was not new to me, as for years I’ve been a great fan of a number of different designs by other builders, so I’ve always wanted to have one for myself. As the Spitfire is an extremely common topic, it is impossible to mention all my inspirations. Still, by far the most prominent one was the Spitfire Mk. IX by Ed Diment, which even utilizes the same scale as mine. Another big inspiration was a much bigger Spitfire Mk. I by Lennart Cort. In fact, I had a very hard time deciding on the scale, as his 1:18 Spitfire looks so amazing it gave me second thoughts. Other, smaller designs, which were extremely useful for me, were the Spits by Dierett89, Sydag, BuildArmy, and picardbricks. As I mentioned before, the first part I got together was the canopy, followed by the engine section. Then, I got stuck a bit with the wings, as I really wanted to include the dihedral on them. Finally, I was able to slightly minimize the solution proposed by Nick Goodwin, which fitted nicely with the rest of the plane. The shape of the wings was also a bit painful to get right, but as I decided to go for the “clipped” wings, I didn’t have to make them fully elliptical, which made it much easier. The rest of the fuselage was quite easy. A big challenge overall was the very disappointing variety of dark green pieces, which I had to compensate for with the extensive amount of stickers. Here, the solution proposed by Maks in his Su-24

turned out to be very handy – I just had to use an awful lot of stickers from 76907 Lotus Evija set. I must say that the results look surprisingly good, as the colors match perfectly.

 

About the model

The model represents a Supermarine Spitfire LF. Mk.XVIe in a 1/33 scale. The camouflage is based on the aircraft currently stored in the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków. It was produced in 1944 and served in the 421 Squadron of the Canadian Air Force (RCAF). In 1956 it was moved to the RAF museum in Hendon, having a short episode in the 1967 Battle of Britain film. Since 1977 it has been in the possession of the Polish Aviation Museum, where currently it is presented in the camouflage of the Polish 308 Squadron as TB995 ZF-O. The original aircraft of this designation was delivered to 308 Sqn. on 15th March of 1945, and the Squadron was mainly involved in the anti-V1 and V2 operations. As the Mk. XVI was introduced in 1944, there are so misconceptions about its configuration. Similarly to what happened to P-51 Mustang, the late Spitfire variants were fitted with the teardrop “bubble” canopy. Even though it was used in a number of different Marks, including Mk. IX, it is most commonly associated with Mk. XVI, as due to the shorter production, a much higher percentage of them received this upgrade. Still, the “razorback” Mk. XVIs were also quite common, being virtually indistinguishable from the standard Mk. IXs, which is the case for the TB995 ZF-O. As the model is significantly smaller than my usual jets, I wasn’t able to include as many working features as usual. Still, it has movable flaps, a working tail, and working landing gear.

 

 

Done