Supermarine F Mk. 21 Contraprop - 1:72 Special Hobby

[Paul A H]

Supermarine F Mk. 21 Contraprop

1:72 Special Hobby

The Supermarine Spitfire Mk. 21 was developed in response to a need to harness the huge power available from the twin-stage supercharged Griffon Engine. Stronger and stiffer than the airframes that preceded it, the most obvious change that separated the Mk.21 from earlier marks was the redesigned wing. It was larger, stronger and, most noticeably of all, lacked the elliptical shape that characterised the earlier marks. The rest of the airframe was based on that of the Mk. XIV and armament comprised four 20mm Hispano cannons, each with 150 rounds of ammunition. Initial examples proved disappointing and difficult to fly, but modifications to the control surfaces and the system of trim tabs finally yielded a satisfactory fighter aircraft. With the end of the war in sight, however, relatively few were produced and many were scrapped having recorded only a handful of hours flying time. A few aircraft were completed with the 2,375hp Griffon 85 linked to a contra-rotating propeller in order to reduce asymmetrical torque.

Although the Spitfire/Seafire series has always been a popular choice for model kit manufacturers, there were so many unique variants that some have inevitably been kitted more often than others. Late model Spitfires have fared relatively well in recent years, particularly since Airfix released their 1:72 scale Mk. 22/24 a couple of years ago. Special Hobby of the Czech Republic has been filling in some of gaps in the meantime, with a range of late mark Spitfires and Seafires. The latest addition to that range is a re-release of their Mk.21 kit which makes use of a handful of extra parts for the contra-rotating prop. version. The kit looks excellent on the sprue, with plenty of detail and surface structures made up of fine, recessed lines and fasteners. It certainly doesn't look much like the older MPM/Special Hobby kits in my collection, being far closer to a modern, high pressure injection moulded kit than a low pressure limited run kit.

Construction starts with a reasonably well detailed cockpit, made up of a floor, control column, individual rudder pedals, seat, seat armour and rear bulkhead. The instrument panel features raised detail and a separate gunsight, while the insides of the fuselage feature some nice sidewall detail. The overall impression is of a well detailed and suitably busy cockpit. The only improvement I could suggest would be the addition of a set of photo etched harnesses, if you happen to have some squirreled away. The lower wing is moulded in a single span, with separate upper wing surfaces. The ailerons and flaps are all moulded in place, but surface details are very nicely represented. Each of the main landing gear bays is made up of four separate lengths of plastic which form the boxes that make up the bays themselves. Engineering the landing gear bays in this way makes construction more complex, but yields a fairly well-detailed result. The horizontal tails are moulded as solid pieces, but the rudder is a separate part. The prominent underwing radiators feature separate exhaust vents and radiator faces and the distinctive bulges for the Griffon rocker covers are moulded as separate parts. The landing gear is quite nice and each wheel is split vertically..

The distinctive contra-rotating airscrew is moulded in ten parts, which each of the six blades moulded as a separate part. You will need to assemble these part carefully in order to make sure everything lines up nicely, but a diagram if provided to help you get the rotation of each set of blades right. The canopy is moulded in three parts and you can choose from two different central parts depending on whether you wish to finish it in the open or closed position. The cockpit door is also moulded as a separate part. The barrels for the 20mm cannon are provided on the plastic sprues, but resin parts are included for an unarmed version too.

Three decal options are provided, which is pretty generous for a kit of this size.
Spitfire F Mk. 21 LA283 EB-?, No. 41 Squadron, RAF, 1946. This is the aircraft depicted on the box artwork, finished in natural metal with a red stripe running the length of the fuselage ;
Spitfire F Mk. 21 LA232 TT, as flown by Air Vice Marshal Thomas Cathcart Traill, CO of 12 Group RAF. This aircraft is finished in Ocean Grey and Dark Green over Medium Sea Grey; and
Spitfire F Mk. 21 LA232 in a later scheme of overall Aluminium with postward Type D roundels ;
The decals themselves look great on the sheet and a full set of stencils is provided too.

Conclusion

This looks like a really good quality kit. Provided there are no surprises in terms of fit and finish, it should build up into a pleasing model. I've always preferred the lines of the high-back Spitfire, particularly when mated to a socking great Griffon engine, so I'm looking forward to building this kit at some point in the future. Recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[Procopius]

I was very unimpressed with this kit, I'm sorry to say. The canopy, for those of you who might care, cannot be assembled in the closed position, and the wings are the wrong shape, especially galling since the wings are what make this mark so distinctive.