1:32 Spitfire 5 spoke wheels set (3 types of tires)

A five-spoke hub for the heavy versions of the fighter

Over nine years of production the Spitfire grew by almost half in takeoff weight. From a light machine with an engine of a little over a thousand horsepower there grew a beast with a two-row Griffon, a longer nose, heavier armament and a fuel load for escort flights. All of it finally came down onto two wheels, and so the designers reached for firmer hubs and more robust tires. The five-spoke rendition belongs to this later stage.

What you get

The package holds a pair of main wheels cast from resin and with them three tires with a different tread drawing. The casting has no parting seam across the rim, so the most unpleasant part of the cleanup falls away, and the fine lettering on the sidewall stays legible even after spraying.

Where it belongs in the sequence of the build

The decisive item is always the kit itself, because that determines the version, the armament and the color scheme. It makes sense to deal with improving the landing gear only at the moment the fuselage is glued up and the builder can see how the model stands. Only then can one tell whether the factory wheels match in shape the photographs gathered for the project.

• Cut the gate off so that a level mating surface of the hub is left
• Rinse the parts before painting and let them dry thoroughly
• Separate the hub and the tire with masking tape or a thin brush
• A dry pigment on the rim will imitate dust from a grass surface

A small detail that decides how the whole model comes across at the moment one looks at it from the side and at eye level.