Wednesday, December 18

Eduard's 1/48th scale Spitfire Mk. IXc - late version “MJ250” built up with Brassin Accessories.


Eduard’s spitfire in 48th scale has quite a few fans out there amongst modellers – and rightly so, but with the Brassin accessories that Eduard make can it be even better? Today Jono Willis builds the Eduard kit with all of the Brassin extras he can throw at it in an unusual but eye-catching scheme…
Eduard Spitfire Mk XI build
By Jono Wills

Materials used in this build were: (links included)
Decals from Spitfire Mk. IXc - late version 1/48 “MK356”
Spitfire “Overtrees” kit (4 sprues in Grey plastic / I clear)
Eduard Brassin Spitfire MK.IX cockpit set 648 100
Eduard Brassin Spitfire wheels – 5 spoke 648 098
Eduard Brassin Spitfire exhaust stacks fishtail 648099
Eduard Photo etched set 48766 (Pilots door only)


Consumables:
Tamiya superfine glue
Super glue
Tamiya masking tape
Alclad Gloss black and Aircraft aluminium
Gunze H331, H332 and H330
Tamiya German grey
Future floor polish

For this build I was given the kit decals from the kit Spitfire Mk. IXc - late version 1/48 to add to the basic “Overtrees” version kit of Eduard’s spitfire – this came in a carded box so the only limit really was on what I could add – so I got all of the Brassin sets we had available for the kit and this is what he came up with.
The attention to detail that Eduard has gone to in the production of such a model is terrific. I was asked to use as much of the Brassin Resin as possible which I did.

The Brassin sets I used:
Decals from Spitfire Mk. IXc - late version 1/48 “MK356”
Spitfire “Overtrees” kit - (4 sprues in Grey plastic / I clear)
The first major resin part was the cockpit. A gentle and steady hand is required or the delicate parts can easily be damaged. The fit was fantastic but make sure you read the instructions and don’t forget to remove the landing light bump on the inside of the wing or fitting the cockpit will be impossible.
The only part they missed was the oxygen hose on the right-hand side cockpit wall which if you want to do the open cockpit, will need to be added.
The next resin bits were the exhaust and wheels which are very straightforward and offer no problems. Next, I did the wheel wells, wing and tailplane with again, no problems once all had been lightly sanded to clear up any joint marks and the fuselage and wings were joined and what a fit – just a few light dabs of Tamiya extra fine cement and the job was done.
Now for the interesting part; the radiator fins and elevators just clip into place with no glue. I would have damaged them if I took them out so without glue they were just put in place.

Here they are painted up and assembled before sealing them away in the fuselage
Sidewalls of the cockpit with Brassin enhancements..
And with seatbelt harnesses..
Ready to go
...and here she is all buttoned up ready for paint
Making sure everything was straight and any scratch marks removed; I decided to use the silver colour scheme with the camouflage colour still on the top two panels in front of the cockpit. 
Colours: Spitfire LFMk.IXc, MJ250, No. 601 Squadron, Italy, Summer, 1944
This aircraft was attired in an unusual colour scheme for spitfires – It was supplied by Eduard in the Profipack release of this kit – it depicts Spitfire LFMk.IXc, Squadron code UF-Q, MJ250, No. 601 Squadron, Italy, Summer, 1944 which was all over natural metal with the nose section on top left camouflaged – presumably to act as a non-glare function for the pilot. There is discussion as to whether this was a dark colour or camouflaged – This was made as if all the paint was removed apart from the camo on this panel.

Here it is in real life with another spitfire from its unit – the only known pictures of this spitfire in this configuration. Captured during take-off in November 1944, configured as fighter-bombers, of the RAF No 601 (County of London) in Fano, Italy, November 1944.

This my first all metal effect paint job I have ever done and I used the Alclad system to the letter with their gloss black base coat and then aircraft aluminium on top.

The camo colours are Gunze as with the red spinner. The rubber on the wheels is Tamiya German Grey. Future was then added to seal it all before the decals were put on.

Because the paint on the real aircraft was stripped in the field by ground crew with a bag of rags and probably a can of gasoline, I was trying to get a patchy finish, not a gleaming metal finish. Also, things like the wheel wells and inside the radiators were left the underside grey colour.
..And here she is in her glory - firstly up close and in detail...
Deckchair not included :-)
And the whole aircraft..
To sum up, this is an amazing kit with exquisite detail so a lot of care must be taken when gluing and sanding parts. The only two parts I did not like were the two part upper engine cowling which needs careful gluing and sanding so as not to damage the rivet detail. The finish on the plastic surface was a bit rough to which I used a nail sander and buffer to smooth off the surface before painting.

This is a perfectly formed and delicately detailed kit that is nail-biting to make just in "vanilla" form, as you are worried of ruining the lovely detail afforded by Eduard. This is more so even with the addition of the Brassin parts - but it is eminently worth the effort putting in the extras and taking your time to install them when you see the finished article. As this build shows the kit falls together so well that unless you are really silly you can get a great model as a result of some simple careful work.

Jono Willis.

Thanks to Eduard. for supplying this kit and all the Brassin extras.