I had a rare opportunity to review the Spitfire Kit from BrickMania which was graciously loaned to me to build. For those unknown, I am a fan of the Spitfire and simply enjoy watching the dog fights between Spitfire and Messerschmitt as both planes are almost evenly matched in terms of the specs, what makes the difference is the human pilot.
Here’s is the Kit’s write up and brief history taken from BrickMania’s website.
The Spitfire was Britain’s premier fighter aircraft during World War II. More than 20,000 of this aircraft were built for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and those of the Commonwealth and Allies. The Spitfire appeared just in time to take part in the Battle of Britain, where its reputation as a war-winning thoroughbred greatly eclipsed the RAF’s more numerous Hurricanes. By 1941 the Spitfire became the main fighter aircraft used for air-to-air combat, with the Hurricane being mainly relegated to the ground attack role.
The Spitfire was designed by RJ Mitchell, an engineer for the Supermarine Aviation, to be a high speed interceptor fighter. Its characteristically thin, elliptical shaped wings, mated to the incredibly powerful Rolls-Royce V-12 Merlin engine, gave it an air-speed advantage over most of its contemporaries.
Deficiencies, such as weak armament and performance of the Merlin engine during negative G turns, led to rapid development of improved Spitfire designs. By 1942 the negative G performance was resolved in the Spitfire Mk V. The “C” wing configuration housed four 20mm Hispano cannons, which greatly improved the Spitfire’s offensive punch. Brickmania’s Mk Vc Trop is based on this configuration, “Tropicalised” with desert camouflage and a larger air filter used in high-dust environments.
Kit Details
BrickMania’s Spitfire MK VC Trop (2074)
Year: 2015
Minifigs: 1
Pieces: 473
RRP: USD $275
The contents of the kit. Being the “atas” black box, this kit comes with a certificate and a ring bound instruction booklet.
Something new I learnt, using the jumper tile to offset the pilot seat with a 3 studs wide cockpit.
The body of the Spitfire taking shape.
The completed Spitfire. I did not apply the stickers since I do not own this kit and even if I did own the kit, I wouldn’t apply the stickers as well due to the humidity in SG.
After thoughts:
The Spitfire was a fairly straightforward build. I would say the build of the wings employing SNOT techniques is what impresses me the most. However, as with most plane kits from BrickMania, the filmsy build of the wings until it is attached to the body remains a challenge even for me.
I must thank the owner of this Kit for the opportunity to build this Spitfire as BrickMania’s Kits are not something that is normally on my shopping list unless they start producing medieval buildings again.
Hope you have enjoyed this. Thank you for reading!