Spitfire experience formation
Welcome to our latest edition of CORGI Die-cast Diaries, your fortnightly blog review bringing collectors all the news, updates and topical stories from the captivating world of CORGI die-cast model collecting.
We have to begin this latest edition of DCD with an apology for not posting our scheduled edition last Friday. Although we have a heavy schedule of development updates gathering ominously on the horizon, the flow of new model information we’re in a position to share with our followers is still a little slow at present, so with no new information and some members of the team having booked time off, we were unfortunately not in a position to post a blog last week.
Things are actually not all that different this week, however, we do have things to talk about, and will also be posting the scheduled blog next week as usual, just to get us back on track from a blog perspective.
With the 2026 Airshow season now just a few days away, CORGI Aviation Archive collectors will no doubt be hoping to get up close and personal with the full scale aircraft which fascinate us so, including the latest airworthy complement of an aircraft type which has become available in squadron strength over the past few years. As one of the country’s fleet of airworthy Spitfire T.9s has been making the news recently with its own colourful tribute to this year’s 90th anniversary of the first flight of the Spitfire, we wanted to re-visit the subject of Spitfire’s for two in this latest update, or more specifically, our 1/72nd scale die-cast tribute to them.
We will also be including news about our next range launch and a potential future model project which may, or may not be happening, something we won’t be confirming, or denying at any point.
Right then, who fancies a flight in a Spitfire?
Spitfire – ‘You have control’
With last month marking the 90th anniversary of the first flight of the Supermarine Spitfire, the commemorations which took place across media channels and the internet reminded us just how much this magnificent aircraft still means to the British populous. Championed as the saviour of the nation during our darkest hours of need, the Spitfire was patrolling Britain’s skies when the first aerial duels took place over our island at the beginning of WWII, and was still helping to secure a hard earned victory right at the end, so it’s no wonder it became something of an aviation icon.
It’s probably fair to say that the name Spitfire is now ingrained in British culture, not only representing one of the finest achievements of the country’s aviation industry, but also the nation’s defiance in the face of great adversity, a beacon of hope to steel the population to its duty. It’s therefore interesting to note that the aircraft that inspires so much passion may have gone by a very different name, had its famous designer had his way.
Although the Spitfire would go on to become arguably the most famous aircraft to ever take to the skies, there was just a possibility that it may have been known by a very different name, one which may have proved a little less iconic historically. When board members discussed the subject at the Supermarine works, they were all invited to think of suitable names beginning with ‘S’, as it was considered that such words would create a hissing sound to the name, and give the new fighter something of a fiery reputation.
The Spitfire T.9 allows the Spitfire’s greatest civilian admirers to experience the thrill of taking to the sky in the world’s most famous aeroplane.
The front-runner, and the name favoured by Mitchell himself was Shrew, however, other suggestions such as Scarab, Serpent and Shrike were also under consideration. Thankfully, Vickers-Armstrong Chairman Sir Robert MacLean would have the deciding vote, and he wanted to go with the affectionate nickname he used with his eldest daughter, who, being described as a spirited girl, was known as his ‘little spitfire’.
Despite initial official misgivings, the name stuck and the Supermarine Type 300 was duly named ‘Spitfire’ on 28th July 1936, although it does have to be placed on record that the aircraft’s designer R.J. Mitchell thought it was a damned silly name for his new fighter.
Nevertheless, the Spitfire would go on to earn a legendary reputation, loved by millions and still a part of the nation’s heritage to this day. Indeed, when representing CORGI and Airfix on company business around the country, if you were to ask youngsters to name their favourite aircraft, invariably, they would say Spitfire, which just goes to highlight the enduring affection in which this incredible aircraft continues to be held.
Despite being held in such high regard by so many, most of us know that only a relatively small number of talented people would ever experience the thrill of knowing what it was like to fly a Spitfire, soaring amongst the clouds in an aircraft you strap on, as opposed to getting in to, or so we thought. A relatively recent phenomenon in Spitfire history has seen large numbers of two seat Spitfires joining the ranks of airworthy examples in Britain and around the world, offering the very real opportunity for those in a position to do so, to take to the skies in a Spitfire. They may even hear the thrilling words. ‘You have control’, as the pilot allows you to fly a Spitfire for a few unforgettable seconds.
It’s interesting to note that just a few years ago, almost ever Spitfire restoration project underway across the world was to two seat T.9 configuration, meaning that many more people would be able to access the thrill of a lifetime and have Spitfire time in their personal logbooks.
We can all collect and dream
A flight of fantasy. The Spitfire T.9 is now a popular feature of an Aviation Archive range which has been in existence for approaching 30 years.
With the Spitfire T.9 variant now being a regular sight in Britain’s skies, and a much loved participant at Airshows the length and breadth of the country, Mitchell’s masterpiece has raised its stock even further, as more people than ever have the opportunity to get close to one of these magnificent machines, be that as the lucky person taking the experience flight, or their family members enjoying an equally unforgettable day cheering them on, and there are now a number of professional operators dedicated to ensuring they provide you with a truly unforgettable experience.
For those of us who are still dreaming, or saving up for our own day in the cockpit, we can find inspiration by looking in our model display cabinets, and admiring our collection of the only high quality die-cast representation of this Spitfire made for two available, a beautiful model which marks the growing prominence of this post war, but increasingly important development in the history of the Spitfire.
With four models currently vying for display space in our cabinets, let’s take a look at each of the models now in release order.
With its reputation as the most famous fighting aeroplane in the history of flight, the Supermarine Spitfire is arguably as famous today as it was when it entered Royal Air Force service back in 1938 and as such, the opportunity to fly in one remains an ambition for thousands of people. In the skies above Kent, one rather distinctive Spitfire is currently hard at work trying to make those Spitfire dreams come true, operating from the former Battle of Britain airfield at Biggin Hill, helping to provide an unrivalled Spitfire experience.
Looking very different to any other airworthy Spitfire currently flying in the UK, Supermarine Spitfire T9 TE308 was given a smart new scheme following an extensive period of renovation after her relatively recent arrival in the UK and in honour of the fighters flown by the men of No.457 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War. This unit decorated their fighters with sinister looking shark mouths under their engine cowlings and as a result, were known as the 'Grey Nurse' Squadron. This Biggin Hill based two-seater now carries the registration A58-606 and the codes ZP-W to represent the aircraft which was flown by Squadron Leader Bruce Watson of the No.457 Squadron, as she flies in tribute to all RAAF and RAF pilots. She is without doubt one of the best looking airworthy Spitfires in the world.
Although the Supermarine Spitfire arguably occupies the position as the world’s most famous aircraft and certainly the most famous fighting aeroplane, a more recent incarnation of this incredible aircraft is helping to preserve its legacy as a none fighting variant of the aircraft, a Spitfire which was made for two. Although there were unofficial modifications made to a handful of Spitfires during WWII which allowed two pilots to fly in the same aircraft, it wasn’t until after the war had ended that Supermarine began marketing their famous fighter as an officially produced two-seat training aircraft.
Every single aircraft produced started life as a single seat fighter variant, mainly the Mk.IX, so it could be said that these rather placid Spitfires all had a darker side, something those fortunate enough to fly in one should remember – they may well be in a Spitfire made for two, but this is the RAF’s famous fighter at heart. This Spitfire was originally constructed as an LF Mk.IXc in 1943, entering RAF service with No.441 (RCAF) Squadron in 1944. She actually has a combat victory to her name, having claimed a Messerschmitt Bf 109 over Arnhem just two days after making her combat debut, but would spend much of her service life performing ground attack missions, or escorting bombers. Currently part of the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar fleet, how would you like a flight in this incredible Warbird?
Even though the heroes of Fighter Command prevented the Luftwaffe from claiming air superiority over Britain 85 years ago this year, the sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine flying in the skies above us still has us all immediately gazing skyward to this day, just to catch a glimpse of the iconic aircraft which might be flying above us. Earning an unrivalled reputation during those dark days of war which endures to this day, the Spitfire continues to inspire our nation and preserve the memory of the brave airmen who fought so valiantly to maintain our freedom against overwhelming odds, the ‘Few’ to who we owe so much.
That being the case, anyone who has a Spitfire story to tell is guaranteed an audience, and if you’ve actually flown in one, you can claim to have done something most of us would give our eye teeth to do. Thankfully, there are companies around the country who have gone to great expense in owning and operating a growing fleet of two-seat Spitfires, magnificent machines which allow members of the public to realise their dream of flying in a Spitfire. Of all the Spitfire T.9s currently flying, surely G-ILDA will be one of the busiest in this Battle of Britain anniversary year, as she is presented in the colours of a Mk.I Spitfire flown by Pilot Officer Nigel Rose during the summer of 1940 – she really is a stunner!
For millions of British people, the Supermarine Spitfire is much more than just an aeroplane. A fighter aircraft which was as deadly as it was beautiful to look at, the Spitfire stands as a symbol of the nation’s defiance in the face of tyranny, one which prevailed against seemingly insurmountable odds during the Battle of Britain, effectively removing the threat of invasion. Even though the prototype Spitfire flew 89 years ago this March, the aircraft could probably claim to be even more famous now than it was back then, with airworthy examples of this magnificent aircraft gathering ever more admirers with each passing year.
For those wishing to fly in a Spitfire, this dream held by so many people is now an achievable reality for those able to afford it, and for those who can, they have the very real possibility of being able to say, “I’ve flown a Spitfire!’ In order to do so, you need to speak to specialists like Duxford based Aerial Collective, and if you’re going to fly in a Spitfire, why not do so from the airfield which took delivery of the first service Spitfire back in the summer of 1938. This beautiful Spitfire is one of their aircraft and is currently presented in the colours of Spitfire Mk.IX ML365, the personal aircraft of ace pilot Group Captain Peter Russell ‘Johnnie’ Walker CBE, DFC and DSO. Anyone fancy the flight of a lifetime?
We mentioned earlier that the recent 90th anniversary of the first flight of prototype Spitfire K5054 presented the nation with an opportunity to reaffirm its affection for the aircraft, particularly as a high profile tribute project made a unique presentation modification to one of their aircraft, one which attracted significant media interest.
Our friends at Spitfires.com were already the custodians of an incredibly famous Spitfire, one which had spent more than 60 years buried in a French marsh, only to be recovered and restored to flying condition, but in this anniversary year, they had plans to raise the profile of Spitfire BS410 still further. Giving the aircraft a smart new coat of paint and temporary new serial number, the aircraft was presented as Supermarine Type 300, just to remind the nation what we were actually commemorating this year.
Wouldn’t a model of this stunning Spitfire make for a great addition to our growing T.9 collections. We’re extremely grateful to our friends at Spitfires.com for sending us and allowing us to use this magnificent picture.
In addition to instantly becoming one of the most attractive historic aircraft in the world, the aircraft was to take part in an ambitious circumnavigation of the country to mark the anniversary, initially taking off from Eastleigh airfield just like the prototype did in 1936, and embarking on a series of nine flights, one for each decade of the Spitfire’s existence. During the flights, the Spitfire would be joined by other aircraft, such as those from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and current front line aircraft such as a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and Eurofighter Typhoon, something which clearly captured the imagination of the nation’s media.
This unique commemoration proved to be a resounding success and resulted in a great many stunning photographs being taken of this aircraft, and those it flew in formation with, a fitting tribute in this anniversary year.
Clearly, with our own model serving as a fitting tribute to the two seat variant of the Spitfire, we immediately thought how good that tooling would look wearing this scheme, and whilst we can neither confirm nor deny that such plans might already be in place, it really would look good, wouldn’t it.
We’re incredibly grateful to our friends at Spitfires.com for allowing us to include the stunning picture above of their beautiful aeroplane, and we will leave you all guessing on the subject of whether we’ll have the opportunity to add a scale representation of it to our collections in the near future.
Summer range launch countdown
We end this latest edition of Die-cast Diaries by placing CORGI collectors everywhere on impending new model alert. We’re pleased to confirm that our summer range announcement will be taking place at 10am BST on Friday 15th May, and we can promise you some stunning models will be revealed.
As usual, we will be bringing you all the development details from the most anticipated new model releases here on DCD following their announcement, however, we know that there’s no substitute for grabbing a cuppa and setting aside a quiet half an hour or so to inspect all the new models for yourself. As already mentioned, we will have another edition of the blog available next weekend to get us back on scheduling track, but this notification places us on a long countdown to new CORGI models in just two weeks’ time – we can’t wait!
I’m afraid that’s all we have for you this time around, but we’ll be back next weekend with another selection of the latest CORGI die-cast model updates and exclusive previews for your delectation, but as always, if you would like to drop us a line to comment on anything CORGI model related, or to suggest a future blog topic, we’re always happy to hear from you.
As ever, our diecastdiaries@corgi.co.uk address is always the one to use.
If you can’t wait for the next blog, you will find plenty of CORGI model collecting discussions taking place on our official social media channels, access to which can be obtained by clicking on the respective links at the foot of the CORGI website homepage.
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Thank you for continuing to support your CORGI Die-cast Diaries blog, as we head into our eleventh year of production. Our next edition is scheduled for publication on Friday 8th May.
Until next time, once again, thank you for your continued support.
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