Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIVc

Pacific Coast Models, 1/32 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

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Although Pacific Coast Models released their Spitfire Mk.IXc in 2008, with Tamiya's benchmark kit following in 2009, fans of the Griffon-engined Spitfire have been ignored in 1/32 scale - and not especially well catered for in any other scale either.

At last, we have a high quality, multi-media 1/32 scale kit of the Spitfire Mk.XIVc.

Pacific Coast Models' Spitfire Mk.XIVc comprises just 59 parts in grey plastic, 7 parts in clear, 17 resin parts, colour photo-etched fret and markings for eight aircraft.

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Thumbnail panels:

The plastic parts have been moulded by Sword of the Czech Republic. The plastic is shiny, and surface detail is very good - crisply recessed fine panel lines and fasteners are the order of the day. The overall impact is restrained and impressive.

The 17 grey resin parts will be mainly used to fit out the cockpit. The sidewalls are suitably busy but the seat looks a bit wide to me. I will probably replace this with the Barracuda Studios seat instead.

Resin parts also include wheels, undercarriage bays and two different styles of exhaust - flared and tubular. The single set of wheels are four-spoke.

The resin parts are bristling with detail and are appropriately three-dimensional when required.

The colour photo-etch fret offers glorious eye-candy for the front office including a beautifully detailed instrument panel, harness straps with printed stitching detail and much more.

The clear parts are very nice - thinly moulded and good looking in shape.

Engineering and parts breakdown looks straightforward. Being a limited run kit there are no locating pins, so take your time with test fitting and alignment before committing to glue. The lower wing is full span, with the upper wing halves supplied separately. The rudder is moulded as part of the fuselage halves and all other control surfaces are in the neutral position. Flaps are (mercifully) moulded in the closed/up position. The trailing edges of wings and tailplanes look pretty fine, but they will probably benefit from the attention of a sanding stick to thin them to a razor's edge.

The overall profile and plan form looks good, although I will defer to those with a more finely tuned eye for the Spitfire (would Mr Roy Sutherland and Mr Bob Swaddling please report to the front office).

The separate "gull wing" insert at the trailing edge of the bottom wing is a nice touch. The limitations of the injection moulding process would be incapable of delivering this subtle yet essential Spitfire characteristic. I do like the complex contours of the nose too. Very nice. Like the Mk.IX kit, the undercarriage covers are flat. However, if you have a Tamiya kit, you can rob the spare set and use them here.

The large colourful decal sheet is printed by Cartograf. Colours look good (the elusive Dull Red and Dull Blue appear to be okay, although the Sky codes may be a bit insipid) and registration is perfect. Eight options are offered.

Check your references for Ginger Lacey's SEAC option though - I believe that all of these Mk.XIVc Spitfires were finished in Ocean Grey and Dark Green.
 

Pacific Coast Models' 1/32 scale Spitfire Mk.XIVc is well detailed, has crisp, restrained surface features, and appears to be accurate in outline. With its comprehensive resin content supplemented by colour photo-etch, the ticket price of USD$69.95 is a bit of a bargain too.

Not only is this the only Spitfire Mk.XIV in 1/32 scale, but in my opinion it is also the best injection-moulded Griffon Spitfire available today in any scale.

Due to its limited-run nature, you should certainly have had some experience with short run kits or resin accessories before tackling PCM's Spitfire Mk.XIVc.

However, if you take your time preparing parts and test fitting, and treat this kit with the respect that any limited run offering deserves, then you should be rewarded with a very attractive and well-detailed model of this Griffon-powered Spitfire variant.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Pacific Coast Models for the sample.

Review and Images Copyright © 2011 by Brett Green
Page Created 15 October, 2011
Last updated 15 October, 2011

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