AIRFIX 1:24 SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.VIII

Description

Powered by the latest variant of the Merlin engine, the Spitfire Mk.VIII was designed to be the next version of the fighter and a major production variant. Featuring a strengthened fuselage and retractable tail wheel, this kit has short span ailerons, revised instrument panels and the adoption of a new broad-chord rudder.

With 452 parts and 3 scheme options, this kit is perfect to sink your modelling teeth into. The Mk VIII was an adaptation of the Mk VII without the pressurised cabin and was intended to become the main production model of the Spitfire. When the “interim” Mk IX proved to be adequate against the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 it was decided to use the shadow factory at Castle Bromwich to produce that version only; the Mk VIII Spitfires were all built by Supermarine. Apart from the lack of pressurisation, the Mk VIII differed little from the Mk VII beyond the reshaped fin and pointed rudder. This variant served almost exclusively overseas in the Mediterranean, with the Desert Air Force and the USAAF, in the South West Pacific Area, with the Royal Australian Air Force and RAF and in the South-East Asian theatre with the RAF. After the Mk IX and Mk V, the Mk VIII was the third most numerous operational variant with 1,658 examples built.