Italeri 1/48 Spitfire Mk.XVIe
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History
  The
Spitfire Mk.XVI was a Mk.IX airframe fitted with the Merlin 266 engine,
a Merlin 66 manufactured under license in the US by Packard. Apart from
the engine, the Mks XVI and Mk.IX were almost identical and there was
little difference in performance. However the Packard engine was different
enough from its Roll Royce counterpart to require separate servicing tools
and spare parts. To prevent confusion between the two versions it was
decided to allocate a new mark number to the Packard engined version,
and it became the Mk.XVI.
  Most
of them had the “E” wing, equipped with two 20mm canons and
two 12,7 machine guns, but the canon and the canon stub had changed positions
when compared to the Mk.IXc, with the canon now outboard of the stub.
The stub itself contained the muzzle of the 12,7 mm machine gun, which
now replaced the two lighter 0.303in Brownings which were fitted to the
“C” wing. A comparison between the “C” and “E”
wings gives the impression that the latter was fitted with a shorter canon
than the “C” wing. In fact, both wing types were fitted with
the same 20mm Hispano canon, but the “E” wing´s canon
was situated slightly further back than the “C” wing´s
canon, making it appearing shorter.
  Later
production aircraft featured the cut-down rear fuselage with the all-around
vision sliding hood, along with a pointed rudder. All this helped contributing
to the false impression that the Mk.XVI was a different aircraft to the
Mk.IX, rather than a variation of a theme, as it were.
Mk.XVI started to come off production line in quantity in October 1944,
but by this time the Griffon engined Mk.XIV had become the primary air
superiority version of the Spitfire. As a result the Mk.XVI flew mainly
fighter-bomber missions with the 2nd Tactical Air Force.
Of 20.351 Spitfires built 1.054 were of the Mk.XVI version.
No 349 (Belgian) Squadron
  Formed
at Ikeja in Nigeria on 10 November 1942, this Belgian manned unit was
destined for operations in the Belgian Congo. Equipped with Tomahawks
from January 1943, it never actually left Nigeria, instead it was diverted
to ferrying duties, delivering fighters from West Africa to the Middle
East.
However, on 3 May it disbanded and its personnel were shipped back to
the UK and the squadron re-formed at Wittering on 5 June 1943. Equipped
with Spitfires, it was declared operational in August the squadron moved
south to Southend in October and began offensive operations over the continent.
  In
May 1944 the squadron joined No 135 Wing at Selsey taking part in operations
in preparation for the Normandy landings as well as covering the invasion
itself. Moving to France in August it carried out both fighter bomber
and bomber escort missions until February 1945, when it returned to the
UK and converted to the Tempest V. However, it was decided to cancel its
conversion in April and the squadron returned to the continent, joining
No 132 Wing in Holland for the remainder of the war. It remained in Germany
as part of the occupation forces until being transferred back to Belgian
control on 24 October 1946.
The Kit
  As
you probably already know, the Italeri kit is a reboxing of the Occidental
kit, maybe you do remember it, a kit without decals and instructions on
the back of the box? That kit was harshly criticized because it had some
nose shape problems. I read in other web pages that the kit was fixed,
we will see if Italeri finally corrected the nose of this kit, but first,
we will see what brings the box.
Well, this reboxing looks far better, with its stunning box art and
large decal sheet, than the previous Occidental release. My first impression
was really good, the panel lines are nicely engraved, no flash, and only
a couple sink areas on the upper surface of the wing (near the wing tip).
  The
cockpit does not have many details but they are enough to create a good
looking interior, I like the instrument’s panel and its raised detail
but a decal of separate instruments would be nice to complete the effect.
A decal is given for the seatbelts. The spade grip on the control stick
is square shaped, this is a mistake because they were round on all Spitfire
variants.
The aircraft provides a beautifully clear (but a bit thick) separate
canopy and windscreen, so you can display the canopy open.
  Only
clipped wings are provided and they represent the “C” wing
(canon bulge inboard) you have to remove the wing molded gun access doors
and (the plastic in the wing interior for this panel is thinned down to
aid cutting) replace them with the separate gun access doors, to make
the “E” wing (canon bulge outboard). You also need to fill
the four cartridge ejector holes because the “E” wing does
not have the .303in guns and open the ejector hole for the canon. Also,
the wing lacks the prominent bulges over the wheel wells.
The kit includes bomb racks and bombs for both the centerline (500lb)
and underwing (250lb) positions.
  The
tires are nicely represented, even with the maker name on them (Dunlop).
Wheel hubs are separate from the tires, and you have the choice between
covered or three spoke wheel hubs. Anyway I never saw a picture of a Mk.XVI
with covered wheel hubs. The undercarriage legs have a separate part for
the oleo link, but the instructions show that the oleo link should be
on the back of the undercarriage leg. This is a mistake, the information
I have tells me that the link was placed in the front of the leg.
The fuselage is nicely done but I think that the cowling´s bolts
are oversized.
  An
upper section of the Merlin engine is provided on which you have to attach
the exhausts. The disadvantage of this is that you have to attach the
exhausts before painting the kit, therefore, it involves unnecessary masking
when painting this area. By the way, the exhaust are not well represented,
it would better go for an aftermarket replacement for these, (Ultracast
from Canada made excellent exhaust for the late Merlin engines).
The propeller has separate blades, but the spinner has an extra wrong
line, this one has to be filled or sanded (look the picture).
Decals and Markings
  The
decal sheet looks really good, they are very thin and in perfect register.
Markings are supplied for four planes: two RAF aircraft, one of the 349
Sqn. (Belgian) and the other, an all black machine, of the 21 Air Group.
The last two machines are, one plane of the 340 Sqn. (Free French) and
a Belgian machine. A complete set of maintenance stencils are also included.
Accuracy
Because of the concern about the accuracy of the Occidental kit and
being the Italeri model a reboxing of that kit I decided to compare it
against the 1/48 scale Spitfire diagrams found in “The Supermarine
Spitfire Part 1” by Robert Humphreys and published by SAM Publications.
  Sadly,
as you can see, the problem was not fixed, the lower cowl is to deep near
the spinner and the fuselage is too long by 1.5 mm. The wings are also
too large (1mm) but the shape is Ok and the difference is not noticeable.
The cowling can be corrected by sanding and filling or replacing it with
the Aeroclub correction set.
Conclusion
Well, I think most of the faults of the kit can be easily corrected
with a little of work, the only one that could represent a problem is
the nose but nothing that can not be solved with more time or the Aeroclub
set. Anyway I think is a good workable kit that can result in an excellent
model with a bit of effort from the builder, I have no doubts that it
will be quite impressive when finished. Stay tuned, full build review
to follow.
I want to thank Testors and Matt Bittner for providing me the kit and
the opportunity to make this review.
References
- Robert Humpreys, The Supermarine Spitfire Part 1. SAM Publications
2000
- Alfred Price, Late Marque Spitfire Aces 1942-45. Osprey Publishing
1995
- J. P. De Cock, Spitfire Mk.IX/XVI. Éditions Atlas
1978
- T. Hooton and R. Ward, Aircam Aviation Series Spitfire Mk.I-XVI.
Osprey Publishing 1971
- Monografie Lotnicze, Supermarine Spitfire (Parts 1 to 4).
AJ Press 1996
- Jerry Scutts, Spitfire in Action. Squadron/Signal publications
1980
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