HOBBYCRAFY 1/48 SPITFIRE XIV
I got this kit recently on ebay for $0.99 USD. It cost far more to mail it than to purchase! Its also kind of a dog in the kit world, so I figured it would be a good re-entry into scale modeling, the old fashioned way.
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The kit is pretty basic, and has little of the fine detail of today’s kits. Reviews are sparse and what exists is not too favorable. That’s because it is inevitably compared to modern tooling kits, by default. Those have more parts just in the cockpit, than this one has in the whole box!
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Hobbycraft kits have never been known for exquisite fit, either,…clunky is more like it. So I expect everything will be a fit and finish job…a chance to revive and tune-up my modeling skills, more than a fall into place assembly project.
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The cockpit is to be closed, since the office is crude by any standard. I’m also not enamored of super-detailing cockpits in 1/48 scale and smaller, and this is intended as a “simple” project…not a rivet counting exercise. I’ll shoot for a sense of “busyness” under the canopy, which should serve my purpose.
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The kit decals are mostly unusable. The roundels look okay, and the squadron codes are right for what I want to do, but the code COLORS and shape are wrong. They are also old and, well,… suspect. No service stenciling is included, either, on a bird that had plenty of it.
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On the positive side, the kit has acceptable shape overall, and it should look like the XIV. It also sports 1st generation engraved surface detail and panel lines. Its not done to the nth degree, but its workable.
The things that will matter with this one, when finished, in my opinion:
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The fit and appearance of the 5 blade prop and massive spinner. They jut out in front, and cannot be overlooked, so they need to just right. The prop seems a little small, but I’ll live with it.
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The exhaust stacks of the brutish Griffon engine stand out, and the kit pieces are stuffed. So, I’ve sourced some aftermarket versions.
- The engine rocker covers also stick out on the XIV like the proverbial sore thumb, and the Hobbycraft kit needs need a little extra definition in this area.
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The landing gear are out front, like the spinner, and exhausts, but theyre soft on detail, so they will get as much detailing treatment as I can manage.
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Paint scheme is to be 1944 spec RAF grey/grey/green/sky, and the instructions call out FS numbers to get me started. The plan is to depict an ADGB fighter, based in the south of England.
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The markings I want are for a V-1 defense bird during the summer of 1944 are on my search list.
The kit decal squadron codes depict such a bird (even if theyre in error), and that started me learning about the RAF’s V-1 defense squadrons (Operation Diver).
It’s a fascinating story; I want to honor those pilots.
But I have to find some proper decals! The chase is on… -
Weathering is planned to be in-service wear, not depicting some ragged, worn out dog.
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I wish to mount the bird to a base and add a pilot or maintenance figure for scale and the “human element.”
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The guns in this kit need attention, as well…both their root fairings at the wing, and the cannon muzzles. Like everything else on this plane, from the cockpit forward, the guns catch ones attention.
This kit will take some doing, but I used to do this stuff on the regular, back a few decades. Im using it as a stepping stone to one of the more modern XIV Low Back, or bubbletop, versions. The two should make an interesting side by side display in the future.
And amid the crowded field of Mustangs, P-47’s, Zero’s, and Me-262’s, these late model Spits stand alone as the most elegant, and, “total package” combat birds of WWII.
