Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA7104 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XIVe, RN135 RAF 17 Squadron, Autumn 1945, “Ginger Lacey” LIMITED EDITION with certificate

1/48 scale pre-finished Die-cast metal with a minimum of plastic. Professionally painted. All markings pad applied for superb results. Cockpit slides open. Cockpit side door opens. Comes with a pilot that can be removed. Comes with display stand. Landing gear is fully retractable and can be displayed up or down. Removable wing ammo bay covers. Propeller is metal. Extremely sought after by collectors.

Specifications Spitfire Mk.XIVe Type: fighter Powerplant: 1x Griffon 65 or 66, 2,050 hp, Rolls Royce, 12 cylinder V, liquid cooled Max Speed (Sea Level): 309 mph (499 kph) Max speed: 448 mph (721 km/h) at 26,000 ft (7,925 m). Climbing Rate: 4,700 ft (1,432 m) / min Time to 20,000 ft: (6,100 m), 7 min.

Service ceiling: 44,500 ft (13,564 m). Max range: 850 mi. (1,368 km).

Empty weight: 6,600 lb (2,994 kg). Gross weight: 8,500 lb (3,856 kg).

Wing span: 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m) Wing area: 242 sq ft (22.48 m2) Length: 32 ft 8 in (9.96 m). Height: 12 ft 8 in (3.85 m)

Armament: 4 x .303 in (7.7 mm) BSA or 2 x 12.7 mm (.50 in) Browning machine guns and 2 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannon in each wing

The name Spitfire came from a nickname the director of Vickers-Armstrongs had for his spirited daughter. There were 24 marks of the Spitfire and many sub-variants. The Mk. XIV was only an interim variant until the Mk. XVIII could be produced. The Spitfire was the only Allied aircraft in continuous production throughout WWII with 957 Mk. XIVs being produced. The Mk. XIV received several modifications such as a bubble canopy, a modified rear fuselage. The Mk. XIVe had the universal armament wing and the FR Mk. XIVe had the clipped wings and photo-recon equipment.

James Harry “Ginger” Lacey was one of the RAF’s top scoring pilots of WWII with 28 confirmed kills, 4 probables and 9 damaged aircraft. Lacey had other notable achievements such as becoming C/O of No. 17 Squadron in November 1944, he was shot down or forced to land 9 times and he was the first Spitfire pilot to fly over Japan. He was one of a few RAF pilots that were on operational duty on the first day of WWII as well as the last.

THESE ARE PRE-PRODUCTION PICTURES NOT THE FINISHED MODEL

Motto: Excellere contende - “Strive to excel”

RAF 17 Squadron Badge