Price around £22.99 GBP (September 2014)
Kit ref: 03986
Review by Geoff Coughlin
Our thanks to Revell for supplying our review sample. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For details visit www.revell.de/en, @RevellGermany or facebook.com/Revell
A little bit of background
As you can imagine so much has been written about the Supermarine Spitfire that I don’t think it’s appropriate to add anything here that would in all reality be pretty superficial. So into the kit.
We’ve built it already – see Dave’s full build article of the Supermarine Spitifre in progress in Build Now and later in Finished Now in your SMN. You don’t get the standing figures in the Revell kit but as you can see the Revell model looks impressive on its display base with the pilots.
Initial assessment
The first thing to notice is that, as expected, this is a totally new-mould kit, making great advances over Revell’s original kit in this scale produced decades ago. At a glance here is what’s on offer:
- Textured surfaces with finely engraved panel joints
- Detailed Mk.IIa wings wit MG openings
- Detailed cockpit and instrument panel
- Separate cockpit ribbing
- Detailed seat suspension
- Detailed foot-pedal control runs
- Separate cockpit door
- Detailed radiator
- Rotating Propeller
- Detailed exhaust system
- Detailed undercarriage
- Separate cockpit glazing
Cockpit
As you’ll see from the attached photos the cockpit is well appointed, featuring all the Spitfire detail you’d expect. Indeed, take a look at the manufacturer’s photos in the attached gallery and you’ll see what I mean. In addition, here’s a shot from Dave C’s build… PIC 4a
The main instrument panel is moulded with raised detail that should paint up nicely. Decals are supplied that you can either use in place of or maybe cut out the dial faces (with a punch and Die set) to add individually to each dial. Alternatively, you could try Airscale (we’ve reviewed some of their sets here) who make some excellent detailing decals for cockpits.
Fuselage and wings
A nice touch is the option for dropped flaps and internal flap rib detail is supplied. You’ll need to remember to open up the small ‘flaps-down’ indicator doors on the upper rear wing edges. Spits rarely seem to have been parked with their flaps down as this was probably contrary to Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), but there’s no denying that modelling your Spit with flaps down can add interest.
Moving to the fuselage, I do think that the rivet detail is a bit on the heavy side – heavier than on the wings oddly enough but the fuselage shape is good.