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A17002 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VIII

£99.99

Item code: A17002

1:24 Scale Item Scale

452 Parts Included

4 Skill Level

3 Scheme Options

Product Info

This new super-kit features several new parts to enable the accurate creation of 

a Mk.VIII, using our 2022 release of the Spitfire Mk.IX.c as the base kit. The new 

parts include;

Upper and lower wing surface, including leading edge fuel tanks and gun camera 

position.

Short span ailerons

Retractable tailwheel section

Revised instrument panel

Repositioned fuselage light

One of the most impressive features associated with the enduring legacy of the 

Spitfire is how its basic design was able to be adapted and upgraded so effectively

 throughout the Second World War and how the final variants of this magnificent 

aircraft were far more capable that the ones which first arrived at RAF Duxford 

during the summer of 1938.

With the Spitfire undergoing almost constant development to enable it to stay 

at the forefront of fighter technology during WWII, this vital work was interrupted 

by the introduction of the Luftwaffe's fearsome new Focke Wulf Fw190 in 1941, 

an aircraft which was superior to the Spitfire Mk.V which was in widespread 

service at the time. 

A new Spitfire variant, the Mk.VIII, was at an advanced stage of development at 

the time, however, actual production was still some way off, as manufacturing jigs 

had not been installed in factories at that time. A stop-gap solution proved to 

be the introduction of the hybrid Mk.IX, an aircraft which fortunately proved to 

be something of a revelation and more than a match for the Focke Wulf.

The planned Spitfire Mk.VIII would continue into production and was essentially 

a fighter intentionally designed and engineered from the outset to be the next 

version of the fighter and a major production variant. Powered by the latest variants 

of Merlin engine, the Mk.VIII featured a strengthened fuselage, retractable tail 

wheel and the adoption of a new broad-chord rudder, with versions optimised 

for high, medium and low altitude operations.

This variant of Spitfire served primarily with units based overseas, with the RAF 

in the Mediterranean, Middle and Far East and the RAAF in the South West Pacific. 

Many pilots who flew several marks of this famous fighter regarded the Mk.VIII 

as the best flying Spitfire of them all.

Grey Nurse History

No. 457 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force became known as ‘

Grey Nurse Squadron’ after repainting their newly arrived Spitfire Mk.VIIIs 

with distinctive shark mouths. Originally tasked with the air defence of Darwin,

 the squadron was soon moved northwards to Morotai and eventually Labuan 

to primarily conduct ground attack missions against the Japanese forces. The 

aircraft portrayed is that of 457’s commanding officer, Sqn. Ldr. Bruce Watson 

DFC.