Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA7107 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XIVe Spitfire MK XIV MV293/OI-C post WWII silver paint scheme

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 Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XIVe Crew: 1 Construction All metal stressed skin with fabric covered control surfaces.

Performance Engine: 1 X 2,050hp Rolls-Royce Griffon 65 liquid cooled V-12 with a two-stage supercharger and inter-cooler. Maximum Speed: 717 km/h 446 mph. Range: 997 km 620 miles. Service Ceiling: 13415 m 44012 ft.

Dimensions Wing Span: 9.93 m 32 ft 6" Length: 9.96 m 32 ft 8" Height: 3.86 m 12 ft 7" Weight empty: 3165 kg 6978 lb Weight loaded: 3863 kg 8516 lb

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

The Mk. XIV was a Mk. VIII airframe originally with a Griffon 61 engine and later the Griffon 65. These engines generated so much power that a 5-bladed propeller had to be used. A cut-down rear fuselage was mated with a teardrop canopy to give the pilot an all round better view. There were 957 of these aircraft produced.

Built by the Vickers Supermarine facility at Keevil around the end of 1944, this Spitfire Mk XIV had a construction number 6S/649205 and was assigned serial number MV 293 and somewhere along the way was registered as OI-C. It was stored by the RAF until early 1945. In February 1945 it was sent, from 33MU at RAF Lyneham, to India for use by Air Command Southeast Asia. Here it was loaned to the RIAF (Royal Indian Air Force) 8 Squadron October 15, 1945. May 12 1946 Officer SM Ahmed landed the aircraft with the tail wheel retracted. It became part of the IAF inventory December 12, 1947 and in 1949 went to the IAF Technical Training Centre (TTC) in Jalahalli where it was used as a ground instructional airframe with markings T-20. In 1978 the War Birds of Great Britain bought the plane and shipped it back in crates to the UK. In 1978 the registration G-BGHB was saved for the aircraft but never used. But in 1979 the registration G-SPIT was assigned and after a lengthy restoration period the aircraft made its first fully restored flight on August 14 1992 wearing an all silver post WWII paint scheme. In 2000 the aircraft was repainted and re-marked MV268/JE-J as a tribute to the famous Spitfire pilot Johnnie Johnson.

THESE ARE PRE-PRODUCTION PICTURES NOT THE FINISHED MODEL