Manufacturer:MPM, available from Squadron Mail Order, 1115 Crowley Drive, Carrollton, TX 75011-5010, 972-242-8663
Kit: No. 72086
Scale: 1/72
Price: $12.96
Comments: Injection-molded, 50 parts (10 resin), decals
Pros: Crisp recessed surface detail, good injection-molded canopy, long-awaited subject
Cons: No locating pins, tabs, or slots, Spartan interior, minor fit and shape problems, decals out of register
The injection-molded kits coming from MPM are consistently (but slowly) improving in quality. Accompanying the plastic parts in MPM's Spitfire Mk.XI are 10 cast resin details, including the exhaust stacks, optional carburetor intakes, oleo scissors, control stick, and pitot tube. The plastic parts show fine recessed panel lines, but the edges have to be cleaned up before assembly. This is especially important as there are no alignment pins, and no slot/tab assembly aids.
The decals provide markings for one USAAF and two RAF machines. My decal sample was slightly out of register, with white peeking out from behind the dark-blue roundels. The instructions are easy to follow, but watch for the options pointed out in steps four and five concerning the rudder and carburetor intake.
Construction is not complicated once the parts are cleaned up. The cockpit is simple and required trimming to fit inside the fuselage. I joined the fuselage halves first, then added the cockpit from underneath through the wing opening. Either the area immediately aft of the cockpit is too wide, or the aft portion of the canopy too narrow - whatever, there is a mismatch there.
The bottom surface of the wing is molded as one piece which means you'll automatically achieve correct dihedral. Also, Spitfire fanatics will appreciate the correct undersurface double "gull" recesses. In step four, the instructions don't indicate that the trim-tab actuators are on the "up" side of each horizontal stabilizer.
MPM provides optional narrow- or broad-chord rudders, and large and small carburetor intakes. The radiator housings and their placement areas needed cleaning up for a good fit. You'll need to drill locating holes for the main landing gear and tail wheel. There are no clear parts or decals to indicate the under-fuselage camera ports, so I painted them gloss black after all other painting was completed. No radio mast is included in the kit, but the instructions show you how to make one from sheet styrene.
Painting was easy - Xtracolor PRU Blue overall. I found replacement roundels in my spares box, and used white decal for the wing stripes. The remaining kit decals went on fine with a little setting solution. I didn't use them all, but I'm impressed by the comprehensive stencils on the decal sheet.
The model measures to scale, but the wing leading edges look a little blunt to me. My main reference was Modellers Datafile No. 3, The Supermarine Spitfire (MAP). While not as easy to build as most typical Spitfires, MPM's kit provides you with an important unarmed alternative.