1:48 SPITFIRE IX

An emergency answer to a German surprise

In the autumn of 1941 a new German fighter with a radial engine appeared over the Channel and British squadrons found that their equipment of the time was no match for it in climb or in speed. The completely new design under preparation was still far off, and so an improvisation came about: an engine with a two-stage two-speed supercharger was fitted into the existing airframe. The recognition marks became a longer nose, a four-blade propeller and two rows of six exhaust stubs.

From a stopgap to the most numerous variant

The first squadrons got the machine in the summer of 1942 and the difference was immediate: above seven kilometers the balance of power was reversed. A temporary solution finally became the most widespread version of the whole family, built in thousands of examples, and it flew from the Mediterranean through Normandy to deliveries to the Allies in the east. Its service continued for a number of years after the war in the armed forces of several European and Middle Eastern states.

Box contents and procedure

The films cover the windscreen, the sliding section and the rear glazing alike. The inner parts serve to give the frame color on the cockpit side as well, which matters on a build with the canopy open. The masks for the round markings allow the British roundels to be sprayed in exact concentric steps.

• Spray the smaller circle only after the larger one has dried completely.
• Press the film onto the rounded canopy in stages, not all at once.
• Before lifting the mask, run a blunt point along the edge so the paint does not tear.