Search the Community

Hello, I have been musing with starting a Mk.XVI Spitfire, namely "Rongotea" - s/n TB675 used by No. 485 Sqn RNZAF at Lind (Germany) in 1945. I have some questions regarding this particular bird: What were the colors of the spinner? I have seen all possible combinations of red (or black) with white (or yellow) so far. Was this bird used operationally with this colorful spinner and all the emblems? Please take a look at photos I have managed to find (below), and give me any opinion on these matters? source: Key Publishing Ltd Aviation Forums

Hi all, I finally worked out posting my photos. All that's left is the trauma of transferring them from tablet to flickr as I can't get the app to work for me. Anyway, this is my first Eduard, first airbrushed paint job, first photoetch and first pre-cut masking project. Its the lowback from the Mk.XVI dual combo. Next time I may try some of the more advanced weathering techniques, I just wanted to build it straight first. I put the decal on the spinner first, as if it didn't work I could resort to one of the other schemes! The photo shows silvering on the nightmare to apply straight walkways, the silvering doesn't show in real life, but then again you'd poke your eye out with the prop or cannons looking this close. No prizes for spotting any stencil errors. Hmm, may need to get the duster out there. Well, I'm very pleased with it. Its also one of my fastest recent builds as i finished it a couple of weeks ago having only bought the kit at Bovington in February. If you would like to see a sort of WIP there's a write up in our group newsletter which you may get as a free pdf download: http://www.romseymodellers.co.uk/magazine/the-romsey-modeller-2017/april-2017 When I resolve uploading to flickr there's more to come. Cheers Will

Back in March of this year I was in the middle of some practice builds to get my limited skills ready to build a 1/48 Eduard Mk.IXc, Spitfire. One of the practice kits I purchased was this 1/48 Mk.XVI from Revell - the first 1/48 kit I'd ever attempted. Before I'd started it Dreamcatcher began to build the very same kit and luckily he posted his build in the WIP section. This turned out to be brilliant because, once I'd started mine, it became like our own mini-group build with expert advice from numerous other Britmodellers. Miggers was especially helpful - he provided both Dreamcatcher and me with loads of information plus tips and tricks to help make this kit the best it could be. Thank you Miggers. I'd planned from the start that I'd build it with the engine on show so I purchased some Revell ground crew figures and made up a small base to display it on. The WIP for my Mk.XVI can be found here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234959827-another-revell-icm-148-mkxvi-spitfire-base-and-ground-crew-finished/ Dreamcatcher's excellent WIP can be found here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234959134-spitfire-mkxvi-revell-icm-molds-148/#entry1602360 Dreamcatcher's RFI for his brilliant Mk.XVI can be found here:http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234969551-revell-spitfire-mkxvi-icm-molds-148/ And here is my Mk.XVI: All comments and suggestions welcome. How my Eduard Mk.IXc turned out can be seen here:http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234967960-eduard-spitfire-lfmkixc-ml135-yod-no401-squadron-as-flown-by-jerry-billing-on-7th-june-1944-b-w-photos-added/ Kind regards, Stix

Spitfire Mk.XVI Bubbletop Weekend Edition 1:48 Eduard The Spitfire XVI was a variation on the IX that were built using Packard Merlins (licence built engines from the USA). They were optimised for low level operations and some had clipped wings, with a slightly bulged cowling to accommodate the changes. They were armed with two 20mm cannon with an additional pair of .303 machine guns inboard, and a great many of them had the reduced fuselage spine or bubble-canopy. Just over a thousand were built overall. The Kit We have reviewed both the ProfiPACK and Limited edition versions of the is kit from Eduard. Now Eduard have released this excellent kit as a Weekend Edition. The modeller gets 4 sprues of grey plastic, the canopy sprue and decals for two aircraft. Construction starts with the cockpit (where else!) detail parts are added to both sidewalls, then the rear cockpit bulkhead is added. The cockpit floor is built up along with the seat, the seat is then attached to its armour plate, and then to the floor. For this kit the seatbelts are supplied as a decal. This completed part is then added into the cockpit side and the control column is added. The front cockpit bulkhead along with the instrument panel is then added. Here the instrument panel is provided as a decal. The HUD is installed into the panel before it is attached to the cockpit side panel. Once all of this is finished the other cockpit side is installed. Once all of the cockpit is finished it can be inserted into the main fuselage along with the engine firewall, tail wheel housing, and front engine plate. The main fuselage can then be closed up. Construction then moves onto the wings. They are of conventional mode type with a one part lower wing, with left & right uppers. Concentrating on the lower wing the first job is to install the wheel wells. There are 15 parts for these which while a little complicated make up this complicated area very well. Once the wheel wells are dont the upper wing panels cane be added. The completed wing can then be attached to the main fuselage. The tailplanes are also added at this stage as are the engine exhausts, and the top engine cover. The separate tailplane control surfaces and rudder are added next. Construction then moves back to the main wing. The ailerons are added, then on the underside the (5 parts each side) radiators are added, then the separate radiator flaps are attached as well. The main wheels are added to their landing gear legs and the doors are attached. The tail wheel is added to its housing. The propeller is added to its spinner, then added to the aircraft, the pilots door is added, the cannon barrels are added to the wings; and then lastly the canopy is added. Bombs and pylons are provided in the kit, though they are not used for this boxing so they will make a handy addition to the spares box. Decals As seems to be the case with the Weekend editions you get two decal options with the kit. Both are for aircraft which took part in the 1949 Cooper Air Race. RW393, No.601 Sqn RAuxAF (Overall silver) SL718, No.612 Sqn RAuxAF (Camo) Conclusion It is good to see this excellent kit released on a Weekend Boxing. Highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of

Spitfire Mk.XVI Revell 1:48 The Spitfire Mk.IX was a major step forwards in the spitfire story, yet was initially conceived as a stop gap to the Mk.VIII that was being developed to counteract the threat imposed by the FW190A. The aim of the Mk.IX was to fit the more powerful Merlin 61 to the Mk.V airframe with as few modifications as possible and history shows that this concept was a damn fine idea. Compared to the Mk.V, it was 40mph faster at 28,000ft and service ceiling was increased by over 5000ft. The improved performance came from the engines two stage supercharger which necessitated a longer nose to fit it all in. In the end, the Mk.IX was one of the most numerous marks, seconded only by the Mk.V. Due to the demand for Merlin engines, Packard started to supply US built engines to maintain the demand for the war in Europe. The Mk.XVI was essentially a Mk.IX, but all being produced with the Packard two stage supercharged powerplant. Such was the constant evolution in aircraft design during this period, many modifications and variations on the Mk.IX/XVI flew. Initially, the 'C' wing was used housing 20mm cannon and .303 machine guns, but later variants used the 'E' wing with the noticeable difference of using the larger calibre 0.5in gun. All 1053 of this variant produced were built at the Castle Bromwich plant where the mating took place. Whilst the engine was based on the Merlin, one key noticeable difference was that the Packard was built to metric specs unlike the imperial spec Merlin. Further variations included clipped wing tips to improve roll rate at low level and some aircraft having low blown superchargers to give their best performance in the low level window of combat. As is represented here by Revell, the biggest visual difference on most later variants was the bubble canopy significantly improving all round visibility. The kit So here we have the kit formerly produced by ICM. In its new form, it comes packed in the familiar Revell format; end opening blue framed box with all the parts wrapped in a single bag except for the clear parts. The instructions are quite a busy affair due to the amount of detail that's provided in the kit. Having read previous reviews on the ICM kit, the summary I was expecting was a kit with quite accurate shape but suffers from sink marks and flash in areas. The plastic is moulded in a medium grey colour with a matt finish to the surface. I'm pleased to say that in this kit, the flash is very minimal, certainly better than I was expecting so quality control at Revell is clearly having a positive effect. There are indeed some sink marks worth noting. Key places where I can see them are the top wings around the ailerons and wing tips, lower wings where the interior gun bays are moulded, the cockpit sides on the fuselage and strangely on the tail planes near the roots. Are these going to be a problem ? Well I'd rather they weren't there obviously, but with a few dabs of filler and some experience of handling sink marks, they shouldn't be beyond most people to remove. Surface detailing in the kit is very nice. Recessed panel lines are controlled, deep enough to get a good panel wash into, but shallow enough not to look out of place. One of the things that hits you about the kit when you open it is the shear amount of detail that is crammed onto the sprues. Clipped wing tips, normal tips, HF wing tips, different chins, bombs, rockets, different cannon arrangements, two types of tailplane and a huge slipper tank are included, so the possibilities are quite spectacular. And then there's the engine. I've counted 33 parts that make the engine assembly up excluding the engine mounts ! If you do decide to fit the engine, I recommend plenty of dry fitting to ensure that alignment between the engine, engine mounts and fuselage works out well as there is some intricate parts here. If having the engine on show isn't your thing, then you probably won't be surprised that you can choose to have the covers assembled. Looking at built images of the kit, it appears to capture the quite complex shape of the Mk.IX/XVI nose well. Just as with the open option, I suspect care will be needed to align the covers if you have them closed. Moving into the office, the detail in there has received the same attention as the engine and is probably one of the best detailed Spitfire cockpits on the market that aren't made of resin or etch. All the key parts are nicely produced with sharp detail. The only thing missing is some seatbelts. The prop has individually moulded blades that sandwich between a hub and cone with a bush to secure it in place whilst allowing it to turn. Another option is the choice of having the cannon bays open or closed. The guns and ammo feeds are finely reproduced, although if you choose to have the bays open, only one configuration with four cannons appears to be available. If you close them, two cannon fairing options are up for grabs for either the two or four cannon variants. The bomb racks in the kit are a miniature work of art. Very fine parts will need some careful handling, but the results should be quite gratifying. The bombs themselves get this same treatment too. There are lots of extra parts in the kit that aren't included in the instructions, some being obvious such as the slipper tank, other small parts not so obvious, however I'm still impressed with the detailing on them ! You'll end up with plenty of parts for the spares box whatever variant you make, that's for sure. The clear parts can often make or break a kit as the cockpit usually gets a lot of extra detailing attention. To then lose it all under a distorted over thick canopy can be frustrating. Fortunately, the canopy in the kit is quite good. There is a slight distortion on the canopy due to the curved profile, but certainly nothing to dissappoint and the windscreen is very well produced. Two decal options are included: No.421 Royal Canadian Airforce Germany 1945 - using the yellow ringed roundels No. 612 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Airforce, Dyce, 1949 - using the later style roundels As per Revell's recent offerings, the decals look excellent, vivid colours and well registered. There is enough stencils to add interest, but not enough to bore you to death applying them ! If painting the cockpit panel isn't your preferred choice, you can sand the detail off and apply the decal. With so many options available in the kit plastic, you may want to investigate the after market decal options too. Conclusion Revell have taken a kit that whilst isn't without flaws, is quite a versatile option in the Spitfire range and probably the best Mk.XVI in 1/48. Yes, it suffers from some sink marks that will need attention, but the options and detail combined with revell pricing make this a great choice for anyone who likes spitfires (that probably covers 80% of modellers !!). I've always had a soft spot for the bubble top spits since my father made one when I was a wee nipper using what ever blue paint we had at the time, so I'm really looking forwards to building this one. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

Seen this weekend at the E-Days 2013 concerning the new 1/48th Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVIe by Eduard. Source: http://www.master194.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=78075 V.P.