Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA7112 Spitfire XIV MV293 as MV268 Duxford Flying Legends Air Show 2006

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 gun covers. Propeller is metal. Extremely sought after by collectors.

Spitfire XIV specifications Basic information: Country of origin: Britain Classification: single-engine fighter Crew: 1 Production: first produced in 1943 Number produced: 957 of all XIV variants Dimensions: Wingspan: 36ft 10in (11.23m) Length: 32ft 8in (9.96m)

Performance: Powerplant: 1 X Rolls-Royce Griffon 65 12 cylinder liquid-cooled engine 2,035hp (1,517kW) Speed max: 447mph (720km/h) Range: 460 miles (740 km) on internal tanks Ceiling max: 42,978ft (13,100m)

Weight: Empty: 6,603lb (2,995kg) Maximum: 10,285lb (4,665kg)

Armament: 2 X 20mm (.078in) Hispano cannons 4 X Browning 7.7mm (0.303in) machine guns Up to a 1,000lb (454kg) payload with other options possible

Probably one of the best-known fighters of WWII the Spitfire had a big psychological effect at home and in Germany. With its great performance the British were given hope of surviving the Battle of Britain and the German pilots learned to respect its fighting capabilities. 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 and a modified rear fuselage.

Built by Vickers-Armstrong and delivered on February 27, 1945. In August 1945 the aircraft was shipped to the Indian Air Force as No. 48 and later it went to the IAF Technical College as T20. Later it was returned to the UK, restored and registered as G-GBHB and then G-SPIT in 1979. The first flight after restoration took place on August 14, 1992. In May 1998 it was painted as MV293, in June 2000 it was painted MV268 JE-J. The aircraft made numerous appearances over the years including the “Flying Legends” Airshow at Duxford on July 9, 2006. On May 5, 2007 Duxford was the first site to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight but unfortunately MV268 didn’t participate because it was in the hangar undergoing maintenance.