Spitfire Mk I Spinner-Cowling Gap?

[Greg Springer]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am wrestling with the semi-misbegotten Revell of Germany/Hasegawa Spit Mk I/II. An Aires Mk V cockpit, suitably back-dated, is working out well. I modified the short, rounded spinner from the original Mk V kit by packing the front half of it with two-part epoxy and turning it on my lathe.

In Osprey's "Spitfire Mk I/II Aces 1939-41" a large number of profiles show a gap of around one inch/25 mm between the spinner and the cowling. Was this the result of the upgrade of the de Haviland two-speed props to constant-speed or was it a feature on certain production batches? I have only seen a single photo showing this feature.

 

Finally, can anyone point me to a dimensional drawing of the TR9 D radio control box found high on the port side of the cockpit just aft of the instrument panel?

(There are a number of photos of one salvaged from a crashed Hurricane at the SpitfireSpares site.)

 

Cheers!

 

Greg