HASEGAWA 1:72 SPITFIRE MK.VIII

 

Reviewer: Richard Stracey  (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted:  10 February 2002 (#36)

Aircraft:
 The Mk.VIII was developed from the pressurized Mk.VII (which could be identified by the blower intake below the starboard exhaust) and was to counter the Fw190 and Me109G that flew too high for the Mk.V. As it took longer than expected to develop, Supermarine fitted a RR Merlin  61 to a Mk.V and called it a Mk.IX. The Mk.IX was a success and was produced in greater numbers than any other Spitfire mark. As a result, most Mk.VIII’s were sent to Italy and the middle and far east as they were tropicalised with a Vokes filter as standard. There they were used as a fighter bomber, having two 20mm cannon, four .303 Browning machine guns and 1000 lb. Of bombs.

The Kit:
 HASEGAWA  AP41  1/72
This kit is all that one would expect from a 1996 Hasegawa release, good box art, canopy and decals protected in their own bag, forty three crisp parts with recessed panel lines. 

Construction:
 The fit of the parts is good. The interior detail is more than adequate for a closed canopy with a decal for the dashboard, bulkheads, joystick and seat. I added seatbelts after painting the interior Humbrol 78 Cockpit Green (Testors 2062). Hasegawa recommend FS34227, Humbrol 120 Light Green (Testors 1716) which is similar. 

This kit is also the basis for Hasegawa’s Mk.IX so a fixed tailwheel is also supplied but marked “not for use”. The position for  the small bulge (A9) is marked on the inside of the port fuselage half (A2) and requires drilling out. I was a little suspicious of the parts breakdown of the lower engine cowling but it all fitted very well. 

There was a small 1/2mm gap where the rear of the wing met the fuselage which required filler. The horizontal tail fits very well, just remember that the “D”shaped inspection hatches are underneath. I decided to use the slipper tank. In a review of the Mk.IX they said that the tank fitted too far forward but Hasegawa have rectified the problem as you can see where the original fitting holes were. An early Mk.VIII could be made by substituting a rounded Mk.IX rudder for the pointed broad chord on supplied. 

The variations of Spitfire wings is nearly as confusing as Sabre ones. The kit has a “C”wing with slim cannon bulges and bulges above the wheel wells. The cannon bulges are correct but I am not sure about the others. I am also not sure about the formation light (?) just behind the ariel, I don’t think it should be there on the Mk.VIII .  

Hasegawa supply a rear view mirror which most kits don’t. The method for fitting the propeller means that it can be added after all painting is complete. It is no real improvement on other methods, just different.

Versions & Decals:
The decals are fine and supply some stencil markings, dashboard and ID markings. There are two options, one for a 92 Sqn. RAF machine in Italy between July 1943 and December 1946, not 1941 as Hasegawa claim. The colours being the standard temperate scheme and the codes, “QJ” in red with a white outline. I have seen them described as black or blue but haven’t investigated further, The other option is a 155 Sqn. Machine in 1945 in India/Burma. The colours being dark earth and dark green over light grey. 


From the box-side of Hasegawa's kit

I thought that the under wing trestle markings were a bit over scale so used some from Ventura sheet V7252, otherwise all the rest looked good. I actually used Carpena decals 72.78 for a 607 Sqn. Aircraft at Imphal, India in May 1944, AF.N, JG559. The decal sheet contains seven Mk.IX and VIII Spitfires including Bob Gibbes RG.V RAAF, Jonnie Johnson’s JEJ with D Day stripes. No. Airfix do EN398, this is MK392! I actually bought the sheet for John Plagis’s 5J.K Mk.IX. 

The white ID stripes for the wings, tail and fin were supplied by Hasegawa but I prefer to paint them. ON AF.N the wing strips are slightly further inboard than on Hasegawa’s RD.G. This was probably correct as they would have been painted on ‘in the field’ so , naturally,  some variation would occur. The colours used were Humbrol 30 Dark Green, Humbrol 29 Dark Earth over Humbrol 64 Medium Sea Grey. A point to watch was that some aircraft had yellow leading edges to the wings and some didn’t. It would appear that RD.G didn’t but AF.N did.

References:
Scale Models International of Nov.1996 reviewed this kit and the Mk.IX was reviewed in both Scale Models International and Scale Aircraft Modelling of July 1997. Squadron Signal “Spitfire in Action”No.39 has useful information as does Aeroplane Monthly of Sep.1991. For weathering detail you can’t better the illustrations on page 194/5 of Bill Gunston’s Aircraft of WWII.  

PS:  After I wrote this review, I just received the latest Aeroplane (Monthly) of Jan.'02 which has great pics of restored Mk.VIII in Gibbes colours.

Overall:
In conclusion, having made nearly twenty different marks of Spitfire, I can say that this is one of the best, if not the best. So it should be, being one of the latest….and most expensive! If it wasn’t for the price, it would be ideal for beginners.

 

Note: the following related reviews links have not been updated since early 2000's - more kit reviews of this aircraft may now be on SMAKR, not reflected below.  Refer to the Index for other kits of this type.

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