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Spitfire IX: wing root bulges


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I believe that galfa is referring to the bulges over the wheel wells that are molded on the upper wing of the Hasegawa Spitfire Mk IX. If I remember correctly, these bulges were added to Spitfire Mk XVI's and (possibly) late build Mk IX's. The geometry of the landing gear was changed on these aircraft and the bulges were added to provide additional wheel clearance.

So, both are accurate depending on the aircraft you are building. But, the majority of Spitfire Mk IX's did not have the bulges.

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ICM may be totally wrong.

Wing root buldges were present and ... those vary from early IX to late IX.

In fact the wheel buldges and cannon buldges also varied from early to late.

Some early IX used Vb engine cawlings so there is a difference in paneling and buldges on the cawlings as well.

I am building Mk IXc from Skalski's Circus (1943 North Africa) and I had to make some modifications to the wing as well as the fuselage (air inlet !!!)

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I am still searching for a correct paneling on the engine cawlings but buldges are already set.

some ICM modification are clearly visible here (wrong cannon buldges on this one though - as Wojtek said, however I found Wojtek's build very educational)

http://hsfeatures.com/spitfireixcwp_1.htm

A Hoffmann and Matusiak book "Supermarine Spitfire Ix-XVI" published by AJ Press is a very helpful source of information.

On page 48 they show wing root buldges - larger on the port side and smaller on the starboard side - not the same size as made by Hasegawa.

This book also provides detailed picutres (drawings) of wing-fuselage variations used on Mk IX including early Mk Vb modified cawlings.

Edited by gzt
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If I can recall the bulges are a post/late war modification. When the spitfires started operating from concrete runways bigger tires were added. Which required additional space in the wing. However this change also concurrent with the change in role from fighter to fighter bomber. Which also meant heavier take off weights on concrete runways, requiring bigger tires, although I think fatter tires would be the better description. As I would have thought that the diameter of the tires would have remained unchanged.

Ron

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Those wingroot bulges are perfectly correct; they covered pipe fittings, which stuck out from the side of the fuselage. There's also the run of pipes, carrying coolant to the radiators, on both sides, with an extra, on the port side, for oil.

Evidence is also growing that the wheel well bulges were present on early IXs, then deleted, then reintroduced when the tracking changed for concrete, instead of grass, runways. Sorry I can't be more forthcoming, but I'm still researching this, plus other Spitfire bits, at the RAF Museum, and work keeps getting in the way.

Edgar

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