Wm Blecky Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 You know, try as I might, I have been unable to locate any pictures of a Spitfire Mk.XVI with the "high back" and late wing with wheel well bulge. I picked up a couple of these kits from Eduard in 1/72 and have been looking for some pictures of one. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Fogey Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Is this any good to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 i'm guessing the OP is after a period shot, FU-P being a restored aircraft, there is no guarantee that it hasn't had later mods applied in the interests of operational convenience. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 The bulge was added postwar: this may affect the OP's interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I'm wondering how many, if any, high-back LF.XVIs with the late bulges existed. I'm assuming the bubble canopy eventually completely superseded the highback on the production lines and also that there would be a degree of inertia in running down said production lines as the war drew to its close. So, with a surfeit of bubble-canopied Spitfires to the latest mod standard still coming off the production lines, it would surely be easier for the RAF to discard highbacks and replace with zero-hour bubble-canopy aircraft rather than go to the trouble of modifying them. All just the purest speculation on my part. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tango98 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Graham, Shortly before his passing, Edgar found documents, which he fortunately copied, that show that this teardrop bulge began to appear on (albeit in small numbers) low back XVIs in squadron service in mid March 1945. While high back XVIs with these bulges are certainly (in my experience) a rarity, if memory serves, the Mk XVI TB752 at the Manston museum which is a high back XVI with the wheel well bulge, had the extant wings fitted prior to being re-issued to 403 Sqn in April 1945 following an earlier single undercarriage leg failure. Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 That makes sense, it was about then they began moving onto the hard-surfaced airfields that the Luftwaffe had vacated. Hence the need for the change in axle angles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wm Blecky Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 Thanks everyone. Yes, I am shot! I have found nothing showing high back Spitfires with the late wing (other than now in the link Old Fogey provided - thank you!). I have a few decal sheets from LifeLike to do the bubble top version (of which there are numerous pictures). I had hoped to find something that grabbed my interest for a high back one. At the end of the day, not all is lost I suppose as I could swap wings and fuselages with one of my Mk.XVI bubbletops. I'll end up with another late version bubbletop and a Spitfire Mk.IXe or Mk.XVI (problem is, I already have enough of those! LOL) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Problem? How? You can NEVER have enough Spitfires! Room to store them? Well, that's a different problem entirely... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck1945 Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 18 hours ago, Wm Blecky said: ...(problem is, I already have enough of those! LOL) As The Wooksta says, the correct number of Spitfire kits is n+1 where n=number of kits currently on hand 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wm Blecky Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 Too funny fellas and yes, storage space is always the problem, never mind where will they go once built Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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