Airfix 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire PR XIX
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
While the Supermarine Spitfire is well known as a day fighter, its role as a photo reconnaissance aircraft is no less impressive. Putting cameras in a Spitfire occurred early on in the lineage of the type, with the first PR type being a modified Mk I Spitfire. The change from the Merlin engine to the Griffon greatly improved the performance of the Spitfire, even more so with the stripped down PR type. The PR XIX was the last of the photo reconnaissance Spitfires, and its performance made it a viable reconnaissance platform for many years following the Second World War.
The Kit
This is a new-tool kit for Airfix, and they have chosen an interesting Spitfire mark. While there are several kits of the Griffon-engined Spitfire to choose from in 1/72, the only other PR XIX kit I know of is the old Fujimi kit. While that kit is decent, it can be tough to track down and it definitely is much more expensive than the Airfix offering. The Airfix kit comes molded in a light gray plastic, with recessed panel lines (a bit on the heavy side) and a decent decal sheet with two options: one RAF and one Swedish. Starting with the interior, this is fairly decent, with an open structure for the floor and separate instrument panel and rear bulkhead. The seat is also separate, with an optional seated pilot figure that is not that bad, detail-wise. The sidewall detail molded into the fuselage halves is not bad, either, especially considering that the kit comes with a one-piece canopy. Through that, not much will be seen, so out of the box, this interior will do quite well. For those who like to have open cockpits, though, aftermarket updates will need to be sought out. While on the subject of fuselage interiors, while this is a PR Spitfire, there are no representations for the cameras in either the belly cameras or the port side camera. While the belly cameras are hard to see, the side one could use at least a little something behind that clear window. A bit of styrene rod, with some other bits, should busy that up enough. For the nose, the propeller and spinner looks pretty good out of the box, although the prop blades might need a bit of reshaping. Moving on to the wings, these are split into a one-piece lower and two piece upper assembly. The lower wing captures the gull wing nicely, while the wing overall looks to be pretty accurate for a PR Spitfire. The landing gear comes in two varieties, one for a wheels-up display and one for gear down. For the gear down, there are two styles of wheels: three-spoked and four-spoked. The gear legs are molded integrally with the wheel doors, which some might not like. Careful painting should make these look halfway decent, though.For the decal options, the RAF option is for a Spitfire PR XIX from 81 Squadron out of Malaysia in 1954. It is finished in mostly 230, with 165 on the upper surfaces o the wings, fuselage, and tailplanes. The spinner is split with a 230 rear and a 165 front. Yes, those are the only color callouts provided on the instructions, and they refer to Humbrol paints. So if you don't have access to Humbrol paints, you will have to do your own research as to just what those colors are. While I can understand the concept of trying to push an in-house brand of paint, it would be quite useful if model manufacturers would also include the name of the color used (for those not intimately familiar with the Humbrol line, 230 is PRU Blue and 165 is Medium Sea Gray). Aside from the camouflage, this plane is pretty plain, with nothing more than roundels in four positions, the fin flash, and the serial on the fuselage.
The second option on the decal sheet is for a S-31, as the Spitfire PR XIX was called in the Swedish Air Force. These aircraft flew with 11 Wing out of Nykoping until replaced by the Saab S-29 Tunnan. Finished in overall PRU Blue, this Spitfire has a red spinner, roundels in six positions, and the unit emblem under the windscreen. While the markings are good overall, they missed the mark on the blue of the roundel, a common mistake that many kit manufacturers make. Luckily, there are aftermarket roundels available for those who want to do a Swedish PR XIX.Conclusion
While this kit has some issues, for the price it really is a good deal. Out of the box it will make into a decent representation of the Spitfire PR XIX, and for those so inclined, the addition of aftermarket accessories could make it a contest winner.