Eduard Spitfire Mk.I Updates (for Airfix) 1:48

[Mike]

Spitfire Mk.I Updates (for Airfix)
1:48 Eduard & Eduard Brassin

The Airfix Mk.I Spitfire shares a number of parts with their V, but is overall a new tool for this year, which Eduard have jumped on, using their vast store of Spitfire knowledge, to produce a number of sets to improve the detail of this new kit. The Photo-Etch (PE) sets arrive in the usual flat-pack with card inserts and instructions within, while the Brassin sets are enclosed in a clear plastic clamshell box, protected by foam, and with the instructions held between the two halves.

Interior (49720)
This set contains two frets of PE, one nickel plated, pre-painted and self-adhesive, the other in bare brass. It concentrates on the cockpit area, replacing the instrument panel with a pre-painted lamination that is far better than most of us could manage with a paint brush. It also includes seatbelts, additional structural parts such as the flare-rack under the front of the seat, head armour, additional detail for the structural frames visible in the cockpit, and a host of small parts attached to the sidewalls. It even includes a replacement cockpit door and gun-sight, which has a small piece of printed acetate to form the glazed reflective portion.

Zoom! set (FE720)
If your finances, skill or desire means you just want to update the instrument panel and seatbelts, then this set is for you, as it is cheaper, contains only the pre-painted fret above, and omits the structural elements of the missing brass sheet. Perfect if you're closing up the canopy too!

Fabric Seatbelts (49078)
You might wonder why a separate set of seatbelts is needed when they're included in the interior sets above? The simple answer is that the detail provided in these fabric sets far outstrips pre-painted PE, as the fabric portions are laced together with realistic nickel plated PE buckles, giving a realistic look and drape to the belts once completed. Yes, they're fiddly, but worth every moment and curse you emit!

Landing Flaps (48847)
You'll hear stories about fines issued to pilots that parked their Spitfires with the flaps down, but regardless, they look great with them deployed (IMHO), and they add a lot of visual impact to your model if done right. This set is a single fret of bare PE that contains a surprisingly small number of parts to make up the flaps. The first task is to thin the underside of the upper wing, and cut away the lower portions marked on the instructions. You'll also need to remove a bit of styrene from the upper wing for the "flaps down" indicator, but a template is provided for this, which makes it much easier. The flaps and bays are made in a similar manner, requiring you to grip each rib with tweezers, twist it upright and fold it over. That sounds horribly fiddly, but it takes surprisingly little time, and a groove in the flap/bay helps you get the alignment right. The flaps are split at the wing-root, and a short length of 0.3mm wire will be needed to link them, plus a couple of lengths of 0.7mm rod to act as the flap hinges. The indicator pops up through a small door, and both this and the indicator itself are included, with a scrap diagram showing the correct orientation of the parts in place.

Exterior (48846)
This set contains all the upgrades you would expect for this type, including a re-skin of the landing gear roof, new radiator meshes, oil cooler grilles, landing gear doors, brake hoses, and doors for the gun bays if you are posing them open. The tail is detailed with an antenna post and rudder actuator, while the other end of the antenna gets a new base and a more detailed attachment point for the wire, plus the pilot gets a rear-view mirror for the top of the windscreen.

Wheels (648210)
A straight drop-in replacement for the kit parts, the wheels are each provided as two parts. Tyre and back hub are on the larger part, with a kit specific slot for the gear axle, and a separate 5-spoked front hub with cut-outs skinned over with resin flash that simply needs cutting out, or sanding away at the rear. This will give your wheels a sense of depth, with the added maker's mark and tyre specifications adding plenty of visual interest. As a bonus, a set of wheel masks are included, consisting of four doughnut shaped masks in kabuki tape allowing you to paint the hub cleanly after spraying the tyres with your favourite base shade of rubber.

Exhaust Stacks (648211)
Another drop-in replacement for the kit parts, with an increase in surface detail that includes the weld-lines between the various sections, and hollow exhaust tips. Not massively deep, but if you're minded, this can be increased by a suitably sized bit in a pin-vice.

Masks (EX464)
A full set of masks for the canopy are included, with the usual hole where the blown canopy makes masking in one piece difficult. You should fill this with scrap tape from the backing, or liquid masking, being careful of fluids containing ammonia. As a bonus, you also get a set of wheel masks, so you can paint your hubs, then mask them off to paint the tyres.

Conclusion
Between these sets there is pretty much everything you need, providing you're not wanting to display the engine. Pick the sets you need to do the job, and get building!

Review sample courtesy of

[Navy Bird]

Nice review. How about the two Brassin sets shown in the first photo?

Cheers,

Bill

[Julien]

[Mike]

My mistake - got side-tracked during the review & came back later

[Julien]

Cant get the staff!

[Mike]

Nope... Some of them are far too cheeky by far! Review updated