Pavla 1/72 Photo Reconnaissance Spitfires: PR Mk. IA, PR Mk. IV, PR Mk. VII

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

With the great number of Spitfire kits out there, it is surprising that there are still marks that have not been produced. Such is the case of the photo reconnaissance Spitfires, which often have some rather distinctive camouflages. This conversion set by Pavla answers that call, with the necessary pieces to build any one of three early PR Spitfire variants. The set includes two wheels, two seats, a fuel tank, a replacement deeper chin piece, an Aboukir filter, a camera blister, and two external tanks. Also provided in this set are two vacuformed canopies.

To finish this set off, there is a small decal sheet with three aircraft options. The first is the Spitfire PR. Mk. IA that flew the first reconnaissance mission over the German fortification at Aachen on December 18, 1939. This plane is described as being painted in overall "camotint green," a color which I am not familiar with. As for markings, this plane has only fuselage and upper wing roundels, in addition to the serial number N3071.

Second on the decal sheet is a PR Mk. VII (Type G) Spitfire of 140(AC) Squadron in September and October 1941. This plane, coded ZW-C, is finished in the typical dark earth/dark green camouflage, with standard roundels in the usual six locations. The final option is a PR. Mk. IV (Type D) Spitfire of 74 OUT out of Petal Tiqva, Palestine. This plane is described as being overall dark blue (perhaps PRU blue?) and is marked with a white X. The roundels on this plane are a medium blue and red, while the serial number is in a medium blue.

This is a very simple conversion that will add some interesting Spitfires to your collection. There is not much in the way of cutting required here, so this would be an excellent first conversion for a modeler wanting to branch out into new territory. My thanks to Pavla for the review sample.