1:32 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I/Mk.IIa Pt 1

Three early Spitfires in one envelope

The three options on this sheet cover the first two production versions of the Supermarine Spitfire, that is the Mk.I and the Mk.IIa. These are machines with a two-blade or an early three-blade propeller and with the short exhaust arrangement, as they looked between 1940 and 1942. The 1:32 scale allows even the small lettering to be printed, which in a smaller scale would merge into the surface.

The Battle of Britain

The first machine is a Mk.Ia with fuselage number N3290 and the code GR-U, which in 1940 flew with No. 92 Squadron from Hornchurch airfield in east London. It was from there that the fighter squadrons took off against the raids on the capital, and Hornchurch was one of the most exposed bases of the whole battle.

The aircraft a London borough paid for

The second option is a Mk.IIa, number P8088 with the code NK-K, of No. 118 Squadron, Ibsley base, in 1941. It carried the presentation inscription of the London borough of Lambeth, because it was one of the so-called presentation Spitfires bought from a public subscription, and the name Bette. Officer Lumsden flew it. The camouflage is dark green and dark brown, as on the first machine.

A training unit in 1942

The third machine carries the code TO-S and belonged to No. 61 Operational Training Unit at Rednal airfield. The finish is already dark green and Ocean Grey, that is the scheme introduced for operations over the Channel. A French fighter pilot who later became one of the best-known pilots of the Allied air forces trained on this machine.

Working the material

A large scale forgives fewer mistakes than a small one. It pays to cut each element out individually, lay it on a glossy surface and draw the excess water off with a paper tissue from the center toward the edge. The model and the shades for the finish are not supplied with the sheet.