Eduard Spitfire Mk.IXe - Eduard (4428) 1:144 scale

[bootneck]

Spitfire Mk.IXe

 

Eduard 1:144

 

 

The Supermarine Spitfire was a superb fighter aircraft which went into production shortly before the start of the Second World War. The variants of Spitfire, up to and including the Mk.V version, proved to be an effective adversary for Germany's Messerschmitt bf.109, especially during the Battle of Britain; however, in 1942, the appearance of the axis force's new Focke-Wulf FW.190 caused concern for Britain as it appeared to match the Spitfire in combat. This change in the balance of power in the air prompted an urgent need to upgrade the Spitfire's specifications in order to overcome the FW.190 in air to air combat.

A new improved design was authorised, under the designation of the Mk.VIII, but the design and production of this aircraft would take too long to get into service, especially as this new threat was current and needed an immediate fix. Supermarine's designers proposed an interim solution; utilising the same engine that would be used in the new Mk.VIII but fitted into a modified Mk.V airframe, the plan being that this would shorten the all important production time frame. The urgency which affected the build of the Mk.IX version meant that continuous enhancements and modifications where carried out and one of these was the provision of two .5 inch machine guns, in place of the standard four .303 inch guns. This version was designated the Spitfire Mk.IXe

The Mk.IXe version of the Spitfire proved to be very successful and this aircraft type went on to provide good service post war, not only for the RAF, but also to other nations air forces, some examples being: Czechoslovakia; the Netherlands; Israel and France - operating in French Indo-China. Further information can be found via the various on-line engine searches or specific sites such as here at the Spitfire Site

The Kit

 
This kit is one of Eduard's "Dual Combo" series in that two kits are provided in one box. The two aircraft are not exactly the same however as one of these is intended to be built as a standard 'C wing' type whilst the other has the clipped type of wing layout.

The contents of the box consists of thirty-six components, allocated over four sprues of medium grey, injection moulded, plastic; two clear plastic one-piece canopy pieces; one decal sheet; one set of masks; and an eight page combined instruction sheet and colour markings booklet.

Two of the sprues are identical,, each containing the fuselage halves; tailplanes; wheels, oleos & wheel covers; spinner; exhausts; and intake cowls. Externally, the panel lines are nicely detailed and even has detail representation in the wheel wells - remember, this is 1:144 and the wheel wells openings are less than 3mm across. Internally, there is no detail at all; however, Eduard has produced a photo-etch cockpit detail set as a separately sold item. I think I understand, and agree, with Eduard's strategy here; mainly in the fact that not every modeller wishes to super-detail the internals of a tiny 1:144 model, preferring just to paint the inside of the model black or a very dark grey. This allows Eduard to keep the cost of the model down to a reasonable price but still providing, separately, the ability to super detail with the photo-etched set.

 

A second sprue has the wing piece for the universal, or 'C wing' as it was known, layout. This is a one-piece wing unit, as compared to other suppliers traditional split top and bottom wing pieces which invariably require filling and sanding to remove the glued join line. Eduard is to commended for using this format in their casting process.
  

The third sprue has the clipped wing variation which, I understand, reduced the roll rate in the real aircraft. This is a nice addition, to have separate wing formats within a two-kit offering, as this allows the modeller to build two different variants of the Spitfire and not just two of the same aircraft with different markings. The sprue title demarks this wing as the LF (low flying) Mk.IXe version however not all LF Mk.IXe's had clipped wings.
 

 

The final plastic items are a pair of clear-plastic canopies; one for each model. These are nicely formed and allow a fair degree of transparency within the tiny cockpit area should you be considering installing the, separately produced, cockpit detailing set from Eduard.
 

 

Decals

 

Eduard have really done their homework when defining what decals to provide with this kit. There are markings for both WWII and post-war Spitfires, including aircraft of the British; Czechoslovak; Israeli; Dutch and French Indo-china air forces. The register looks to be accurate and the edges are sharp and do not show any evidence of colour bleed. Each component decal has an identifying reference number which is cross linked to match their placing as documented in the instructions.
 

 

Instructions and colours booklet

 

This booklet is a small, A5 format, colour printed set of instructions and combined with colour sheets for six different aircraft.

The instructions are produced in the standard exploded view; where parts go, format. The instructions detail is clear and concise with a reference box highlighting which part can be used for either variant of the kit.
 

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Conclusion

 

Considering that each model, when built, is only 6.5cm long in 1:144 scale; the detail is really good and probably the best Spitfire kit I have yet seen in this scale. Add to this the extensive range of nationality variations and markings provided with the decal sheet then Eduard must surely be at the forefront in producing kits in 1:144 scale.

Eduard are not content just to provide for the average 1:144 scale modeller, by producing nicely detailed kits like these; but they also cater for the advanced modeller by producing their own super-detailed sets as aftermarket items. As I have mentioned earlier, not everyone wants to super detail the cockpits etc., of their models so the kit on it's own should happily satisfy the majority of kit builders who purchase this and thereby keep the costs down. Should anyone wish to go a step further to enhance the model then they have that choice by purchasing Eduard's own aftermarket photo-etch sets.

I am really pleased with this kit and hope that Eduard continue to produce these well detailed 1:144 kits. Highly recommended

 

Review sample courtesy of

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[McYellowbelly]

Nice review, got a few boxes of these hoarded already, will post pics when I make a start

[bootneck]

Great, looking forward to seeing them

[Julien]

Nice review.

Not a 1.144 modeller but could be tempted by those decal options.

Julien

[bootneck]

I agree Julien. I'm not a Spitfire enthusiast/collector but I was pleasantly surprised as to the wide range of choices offered with this kit. Maybe I'll get some more, to build the whole set.

The decal sheet is much better looking than it shows in my review images.

cheers

[andersonr20]

I have this kit in my secret store ready for the 144 Group Build - have some Eduard PE for it as well. Will be doing one in the Norwegian Air force for sure not sure about the other at the moment...

 

Eduard also released this an e-day kit which is still available on their website - http://www.eduard.com/store/index.php?cur=1&cl=details&anid=18121

[Test Graham]

Looks like a nice supplement to the Sweet range of kits.  I'm tempted to pick up the Eduard Ju52 when it reappears this year, but whereas I'm happy doing airliners in 1/144 a key problem with fighters in this scale is the shortage of transfers to do the schemes I want to do rather than the choice of the manufacturer.

[Viking]

These look really nice, Its a neat idea to put 2 kits in the box in this scale. If I see it on my travels, I'll have to buy it.

(and the Ju52 Graham mentions).

 

 

John.

[Work In Progress]

Bootneck - a good review, thanks.

 

One question - it looks from your pics as if the flaps seem to be represented by a raised surface on the underside of the wing. Is that how they've done it, or is it just an illusion in the photographs? If they are raised, rather than flush, they will need filing down - but that would not be very hard.

[Test Graham]

PS The clipped wing increased the roll rate, not reduced it.  This was the main reason for adopting it on the Mk.V, against the Fw190's superior roll.  However for the later variants it was adopted to reduce the bending moment on the wingroot when pulling out after high speed dives, such as divebombing.  Too many wing failures.

[Work In Progress]

Another advantage is that it improved the field of view to a surprising degree. I thought this sounded trivial but it was commented upon at the time of service trials on (I think) the XII, and if you sit in the cockpit of a standard example you can see it makes a useful difference if you imagine the tip gone. The Spitfire's substantial dihedral is a contributory factor to this effect.