The Last Spitfire:

Modeling the Airfix 1/48 Spitfire 24With The Cooper Details Resin Update Sets

By Tom Cleaver

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The Airplane

Early on in the development of the Spitfire, the possibility of using the Griffon engine as a potential powerplant was explored in the development of the Spitfire IV. Rolls-Royce modified the engine, reducing frontal area to 7.9 square feet, close to the 7.5 square feet of the Merlin. The obvious virtue of the Griffon was it offered an increase of power to 1,735 h.p., and a prototype Mk. IV (DP485)was ordered. The type did not progress beyond the prototype stage, but it exhibited enough promise that an order for 750 was placed in August 1941. At a later stage in its life, DP485 was adapted for an armament of 6 20mm cannon as the Mk.XX, but again did not progress past the experimental stage.

The first Griffon-powered Spitfire was the Mk.XII, ordered in 1942 to combat low-level cross-Channel raids by Fw-190 fighter-bombers. This type was adapted from the Mk.V with a strengthened airframe, as well as some Mk.VIII airframes. Both Supermarine and Rolls-Royce kept looking for an opportunity to create a Spitfire designed from the outset to make maximum use of the power of the Griffon. In the interim, the Mk.XIV - which was based on a strengthened Mk.VIII airframe - became the Griffon- powered Spitfire which saw the most operational use.

In 1943, DP485 was again modified as the prototype F.21, an airplane different enough from the Spitfire that the name "Victor" was initially proposed. DP485 and DP851, a second "Mk.IV", were the prototypes. This time the wing was modified, losing the classic elliptical shape of the Spitfire; it was stronger, equipped for 4 20mm cannon, with enclosed landing gear. The airplane weighted 7,160 lbs, unprecedented for a Spitfire, and had little in common with the Spitfire I other than that airplane figured in the later aircraft's development history. The first "true" F.21 prototype was PP139, which was the first fitted with the Griffon 65. Thousands of Spitfire 21s were contracted for in 1944, but in the end only 120 were produced owing to the war coming to an end.

SX549, which appeared in April 1944, had a cut-down rear fuselage, though it was still equipped with the Spitfire 21 tail. The airplane had a tendency to "snake" under full power, and while the Spitfire 22 eventually saw production in this form, the airplanes were later modified with the much larger Spiteful rudder and elevators. 260 Mk.22s were eventually built in 1945-46 and equipped units of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF). The airplane had really outstanding performance, with a top speed at 19,000 feet of 450 mph, and 390 mph at sea level, a maximum dive speed of 520 mph, and a climb rate of 4,900 fpm.

The primary difference between the Spitfire 22 and Spitfire 24 was a minor modification in tankage to increase range, a change in the electrical system to 24 volts, and an adaptation to allow it to carry rocket projectiles. Visually the primary difference was that the Spitfire 24 had short-barreled cannons, rather than the long-barreled weapons of the F.21 and F.22. The last 27 airframes of the Spitfire 22 production were modified to Spitfire 24 standards before the Castle Bromwich factory closed down; 54 incomplete airframes were transferred to the Supermarine South Marston works for final assembly, and became the last Spitfires produced. They truly trickled out the factory door: the first was finished April 13, 1946, and the last on February 20, 1948. The F.24 entered service in 1946, intended for home service only, but the fall of China to the Communists and the subsequent threat to Hong Kong meant that 80 Squadron was re- equipped from Tempest Mk.VIs to Spitfire 24s and sent to Hong Kong in early 1950, serving there until 1952. By 1956 the Spitfire 24 had been condemned as scrap and only one still exists in the RAF Museum at Hendon.

The Model

When Airfix announced in 1996 that they would release the Spitfire 22/24 and the Seafire 47, I was really happy. At risk of raising a mob with torches among my fellow Spitfire enthusiasts, I will say I think this last version of the Spitfire was the most graceful and elegant of the entire line - truly the ultimate development of the piston-powered fighter type which dominated the first half of the century's air wars.

What appeared that fall was light years ahead of anything Airfix had done before, and firmly established them back in the state-of-the-art: thin trailing edges, engraved panel lines, etc. My only complaint about the kit out of the box was that the cockpit was a bit sparse, and the canopy was incorrectly shaped. However, this latter item could be solved using a vacuform made from the Academy Spitfire XIVe canopy, which is the only correctly-shaped Spitfire teardrop canopy. The decals were thick, but useable if a modeler was willing to use Solvaset, which melted them right into the paint job. I built three - one of each of the markings variations.

In November 1998, Roy Sutherland released his Cooper Details cast resin cockpit for the Spitfire 24, with an additional resin set to provide a corrected rudder, better cannons, properly-shaped underwing radiators, and a correctly-shaped spinner and accurate propeller blades. I got the set for a review, and knew I would put it to use as soon as I could lay hands on a kit.

Construction

Anyone who has ever done a Cooper Details cockpit knows they are just about a model in and of themselves. Unlike the standard aftermarket resin cockpit, which has perhaps 5-6 separate parts, there are about 30 parts in this set, ranging from large pieces like the cockpit interior walls and seat to itsy-bitsy pieces that are hard to see once everything is assembled. The set includes a photo-etch brass instrument panel and seatbelts. Unlike many aftermarket sets, these are to the highest standards of production, with instructions that tell the modeler everything one needs to know to create the cockpit with a minimum of hassle. Following these clear instructions, I did just that. I was really glad to discover that the cockpit was painted British Interior Green rather than Flat Black, which meant a viewer would be able to see all the detail Roy had gone to such trouble to create.

Once the interior of the plastic kit was sanded smooth, the cockpit fitted perfectly, and the fuselage halves were glued together.

The rest of the model was assembled per kit instructions, with the replacement of the separate rudder with the Cooper Details piece, and the replacement of the cannon barrels. The kit radiators are incorrectly shaped, with the sides being perpendicular to the ground, rather than meeting the wing at a 90 degree angle. Cooper Details provides a resin radiator that fits inside the fairing, which needs only to be scored inside so it will bend to the correct shape.

I also mounted a 100-gallon "slipper" tank from an Otaki Spitfire XIII/IX kit in place of the small 50-gallon tank supplied in the kit, since this larger tank is shown being used in photographs of 80 Squadron airplanes.

Markings and Decals

I decided to re-do the 80 Squadron Spitfire, VN489, with the black and white ID stripes. These are provided in the kit decals, but are the least-good of all the decals on the sheet; I painted the stripes, then overlaid the serial number on the fuselage, which was closely trimmed. As before, the decals worked fine if I got them down using Micro-Sol and finished using Solvaset, a process that is time-consuming but produces the desired result. I do wish some aftermarket manufacturer would bring out the 80 Squadron decals, but I'm not holding my breath for that.

Once everything was dry, I covered the model with another coat of Future, then finished it off with Dullcote. I did a minimum of weathering, mostly around the left wing and the cockpit access door, since these were peacetime aircraft and well-maintained at the time.

As stated above, I replaced the kit canopy with one vacuformed on my Mattel, off the Academy Spitfire XIVe canopy I have turned into a vacuform mold.

Overall

This is one of those models you can invite the Penlight Brigade to turn their lights on in order to see the cockpit, which is one of the most-detailed of any model in my collection. I think you can look at these photos of the model and see why I like the Spit 24 as much as I do.

You can obtain the Spitfire 22/24 upgrade set from Cooper Details by e-mailing Roy Sutherland