1:48 Spitfire MkIX/XVI

Two marks under one cut

The Spitfire Mk.IX was the answer to the German Fw 190 and it received a two-stage supercharger, which gave the machine back its superiority at altitude. The Mk.XVI is the same airframe with an engine built under American license, so the two versions differ in details, not in the shape of the cockpit. That is exactly why a single cut of masks is enough for both.

When one set serves two builds

This is a case where the set is useful even to a modeler who has not used masks so far. Anyone planning to build both versions, or two different color schemes of the same machine, gets the basis for two cockpits from one envelope, because the set covers the shape they share. On a type that exists in several forms, that is the simplest way to a uniform standard of framing.

What the set covers

The glazing is masked from the outer and from the inner side and two sets of national insignia are included with it. British roundels have concentric circles where every radius has to be hit exactly; sprayed in paint they hold their concentricity better than a decal placed by hand on a curved surface. The aircraft itself and thinner are not included.

Difficulty

The cockpit of the Bf 109's opponent is among the calmer shapes, so it is a sensible type for a first acquaintance with double-sided masking. A magnifier and a fresh scalpel for separating the individual fields from the backing film are useful. Peel them straight up and slowly, because it is exactly at the circular cutouts of the insignia that badly guided film likes to lift the paint beneath it too.