Scaleworld

Merlin-Powered Spitfires

by Kev Darling

If you love the Supermarine Spitfire, especially those  powered by that magnificent Rolls-Royce Merlin, this new publication from Specialty Press will definitely get your attention.

Carrying the title Merlin-Powered Spitfires and ably authored by Kev Darling, this single volume does a dandy job of describing the Merlin Spits. Let’s take a look and see what’s between the covers.

The book starts where it should, with a brief introduction that traces the Spitfire design development from it’s beginnings in 1929 in the form of the Supermarine S.6B racing seaplane to the first flight of the Spitfire prototype on the 6th of March 1936.

Up next is a chapter that focuses primarily on the development of the prototype and include some truly gorgeous photos of the cockpit interior that will be extremely valuable to any modeler planning on superdetailing a Spitfire cockpit. You’ll also find excellent exploded drawings of the wing spar design, as well as detail drawings of the main gear design and aft fuselage.

The introduction and first two chapters have already consumed nearly 30% of the entire book.  From this point on, Kev Darling concentrates on the combat life of the Merlin Spitfires.  You’ll find detail drawings of the bomb mounts, wing gun fairings, skin plating layout, desert filter configuration and on and on. Still another chapter deals with the Photorecon Spits, including the fascinating information that one particular PR variant was painted overall light pink!

Eight pages of color, including one close-up of an uncowled Merlin, just make this volume that much better. Once you get past the color section, you have more information on the navalized Spits that were known as Seafires. In the back of the book will be found four pages of important characteristics, another page of engine data on the marvelous Merlin and a final page providing significant dates in the aircraft’s history.

All of this information is packed into a standard 8 ½” x 11” softcover package comprised of 104 pages. In this volume, you get 160 b&w photos and 8 pages of color shots. Priced at a very reasonable $16.95 from your local hobby shop/bookstore. You can also order direct from Specialty Press.  If you prefer the phone,  their toll free number is 1-800-895-4585.  Keep in mind that a $4.95 shipping and handling fee is added to each order.