Spitfire references

Joe, A Brit magazine, Scale Aircraft Modeller International started to produce books relating to aircraft types a while ago which are said to be excellent.
They are called modellers datafiles and are available from the publishers.
Put sampublications.com into your search engine. I think there is one on the spitfire & I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Pete

Hi Willy
Welcome to the world of Spitfire refernce material. I have 85 Spitfire books, some excellent and others not worth the paper that they are written on.
Be careful with your SAM Publications book. The drawings at the back (1/48th) are OK but have some inaccuracies as do the colour profiles. The drawings that are used to describe all the different Marks are misleading and some just a guess (a wrong guess at that). Albert, this is the book that you are referring too and there are much better out there.
Recommended Spitfire books?
"Spitfire The History" (the "bible" for Spitfire Boffins)
"The Spitfire Story"
"Spitfires and Polished Metal"
"Spitfire LF Mk IX in Detail"
"Supermarine Spitfire IX - XVI"
"Spitfire - The Canadians"
"Spitfire - Classic Aircraft #1" (old Airfix book)
"The Spitfire V Manual" (and any of the shop manuals for that matter, I have the Mk IX and the XVI but they refer you to the Mk V manual for certain things)
"Spitfire - The Story of a Famous Fighter" old Harleyford book I got in the 60's
Many other books are good for photos, but be careful as the captions are sometimes very misleading "guesses" when an author doesn't know what he is talking about and the editor takes what he says at face value and prints what he says.
The best reference is to ask here or on HS or e-mail me direct. I get anywhere from 5 to 25 Spitfire inquiries a day and enjoy being of some help.
I have worked on real Spitfires since I was 26. I am now 53. They are fascinating and I still am learning more about them. See my article in FSM in the Feb 2001 issue. I tried to set things right for modellers with that. It was fun.
Cheers
Bob S.

not so much a reference book but - R.J. Mitchell, Schooldays to SPITFIRE by his son Gordon Mitchell is proving a decent read, covers all Mr Mitchells flying boat and racer sea planes as well as the early Spitfire . Good insight into the man himself and his life also .......ISBN 0 7524 2322 3 - hopefully bob can recommend also.

Hi Migs
Well, as a Spitfire reference book , it doesn't fit in as well as the others, but it's a great read and undestanding of where that great aircraft came from.
Believe it or not, Alex Henshaw sent me my copy and signed it along with Gordon Mitchell. That book is one of my most guarded treasures.
Cheers
Bob S.

Thanks to all for the input.
I will try to find as many of those books as I can. That is one of my favorite parts of the hobby. I just want to avoid any that are known to be wrong. I am about to start a Hasagawa mark Vb (1/48) so now I can get some decent references. I would also like to read that one on Mr Mitchell - thanks for the tip. By the way, I dug out my back issue of FSM and enjoyed Mr Swaddling's article very much. Thanks again, -Joe G

Hi Willy
"Wrong" books is sort of a touchy subject. The worst would definitely be "Osprey's Modelling Manual - No. 18 Supermarine Spitfire". The Osprey "Aces" books are not bad but be careful of the colour profiles. Another real bad book is the Squadron Signal "Spitfire In Action". It is full of real great photos but the captions are off and the drawings are poor. Too many "guesses" by the author.Both Warbird Tech Spitfire books are good for photos but bad for information.
I get any Spitfire book that comes out and I read them all, good or bad. The best lately have been from Poland and the Czech Republic. Great info, great photos.