Recently I was asked to build an Airfix Spitfire as an in the box review. The airplane in question was a limited edition Spitfire XVIe that can only be obtained by joining the Airfix Club (www.airfix.com). I was intrigued with this model because I don't build a lot of Airfix kits (except for a shelf full of 737 models), and this particular Spitfire wasn't your run of the mill Mk.V. The bubble canopy and sleek fuselage give the plane a fast look even when sitting at rest. I even had visions of completing it in camouflage colours and Canadian markings, but alas it was to be a simple out-of-the-box build.

The model comes in a sturdy box with some contemporary profiles of the two versions inside on the lid. Opening the box reveals a LOT of grey plastic. All the parts feature nicely engraved panel lines and are flash free. Some of the details are a touch soft or chunky, like the trim tab actuators, and in some cases a razor saw was required to remove the parts from the sprue trees. The clear parts are very well formed and very clear. The decals offer markings for two aircraft, all well printed in register, and having a gloss finish. And to assist with the build, 3 tinlets of Humbrol acrylic paint are included.

This is not a new Mk.XVIe model. It is in fact a collection of sprues from various Spitfire kits. What I think Airfix did was to cast a new fuselage and canopy, then source the remaining parts from the other Spitfire kits it has produced. As such, you get multiples of several parts, including 3 wing tips, 2 props, 2 rudders, and even a tail hook, to name only a few. This is because in some cases only one or two parts might be used from a given sprue. The theory would be that the parts should all be interchangeable and should thus allow for several variants of Spitfire. Theory doesn’t always match up with reality. It does at the very least provide a good set of spare parts for future builds.

Construction of this model, as noted, was basically straight out of the box and started ordinarily enough with the cockpit. I wanted to show off this area so I cut open the pilot's door. RAF interior green was used in this area, with the instrument panel and various other details painted black. A wash and some dry brushing helped to bring out the molded in details. The instruments are very plain so they were detailed with Mike Grant Decals instrument faces. The one substitution I did make was the addition of an Ultracast resin seat instead of the kit seat and pilot figure as I wanted the cockpit as open as possible.

With the front office complete, the fuselage was closed up. The locator pins are rather large and proved overly snug, making closing the parts difficult in some places and as such were removed where they proved problematic. With this step completed, attention was shifted to constructing the wings. Several parts needed to be married up for the wings and their are several options for all these parts save the wing bottom. Also the kit is designed to be built with its flaps down, but this did not appeal to me since it would break up the lines of the aircraft, and also Spitfires were seldom seen parked with their flaps down.

I started assembly of the wings by first thinning down the overly thick trailing edges and removing the interior flap detail. The cannon covers should be glued in before closing the wing halves to ensure that they do not sit too low in the wing, as I discovered to my chagrin. Again, some of the locating pins were removed then the wing halves glued. Two choices of wing tip are available depending on which marking scheme you choose, in my case the standard tips were opted for. Once more the locating tabs were cut away to ensure the best fit, but still putty was needed to fair the parts together. The biggest fit issue came when mating the wings with the fuselage as two nasty gaps resulted on either side of the wing roots. I contemplated several ways to address this, including spreading the bottom of the fuselage outwards and even some minor plastic surgery. In the end I felt that these options would create more trouble than they were worth so I simply filled in the gaps with epoxy putty, being careful to preserve the surrounding details.

The rest of the build from that point on was straight forward. Not being a Spitfire expert I continually checked my references to ensure I was doing things right. I discovered that the instructions correctly show the longer cannon barrel going in the outboard position. Errors, however, include installing the horizontal stabilizers upside down, placing the flaps on the opposite wings, and using what I believe is the wrong propeller. I went with part #55 for this latter fix.

The model was cleaned and primed with Tamiya fine grey primer in preparation for the silver finish of Eddie Coventry's aircraft. I wanted to use the included Humbrol acrylic paint (really I did!) but I could not find a thinning medium that worked to my satisfaction. Defeated by this 14ml tin of paint (why the Brits refuse to use jars like the rest of the world is beyond me), I went with Alclad paint instead. To show a bit of contrast, the fabric covered control surfaces were painted were with Model Master metalizer, and Humbrol #19 bright red enamel was used on the spinner and canopy frames.

The kit decals went on with little fuss. Because of the silver finish, however, the clear carrier shows up readily so this was trimmed prior to application. The decals reacted well to Micro Set and Sol, though over the cannon blisters stronger measures were needed. These fairings are large and blunt so Solvaset was used. Where the decals still would not settle, they were cut and small sections of spare decal were added, these again getting an application of decal setting solution. As nice as the decals were, if I were to build this kit again I would paint all the stripes, their colour thus matching the spinner and canopy more closely. I also chose not to use all the stencils. First, the carrier film would be too obvious, and second, as this was a restored airshow aircraft I felt it would look better to keep it as clean as possible.

The completed kit renders a nice looking Spitfire, every part the Mk.XVIe. The model measures out precisely with plans in the Aero Details book, and the shapes look bang on. The kit's decals, clear glass, and engraved details are highlights. The faults lie in the poor wing fit and sometimes chunky details. One must also be careful to check the instructions against references, though this is sound advice for any model project. A Mk.XVIe would make a fine addition to any Spitfire collection, but this one only comes with a membership in the Airfix Club. The only other option I’m aware of would be the ICM kit.