Double Trouble - Eduard 1/72 Spitfire Mk.IX Build - Nearly there

[SaminCam]

Hi All, 

I think I've been well behaved this year and I've asked Father Christmas for the rather lovely looking Eduard 1/72 Spitfire Mk.IXc Profipack.

 

In looking through the various schemes and ideas for this build I've become a bit overwhelmed with choice but I'm starting to hatch a slightly mad plan to build two of these. The idea is to do one in flight, with a scavenged Airfix pilot, wheels up, etc. To make it a bit special I'm thinking of putting a small motor in to spin the prop and perhaps some LED lights, a battery for these would be in the base of a stand which would then have a suitable plug to connect up to the electrics in the aircraft - sounds fun! A question on this: does the Eduard kit build up ok with the wheels up, it doesn't look like an option in the instructions but must be doable, right? 

For the second one, I'm very tempted by the resin engine, gun bay details and flap sets and I'm thinking to model it with all of these open having seen a great example on the Eduard website. I enjoy making and painting fiddly little things but has anyone on Britmodeller done this conversion, I can't find an example at the moment? The closest I've found is Fozzy's insanely good cutaway Mk1a: 

 

 

If you've made it this far, final question is a request really! I'd like one of these two builds to be UF-Q, a beautiful looking No 601 squadron machine in NMF. Unfortunately the 1/72 Eduard kit with the decals for this doesn't seem to be available at the moment and I wondered if anyone might be willing to do a swap if they have the decals gathering dust in a box somewhere? Message me if you can help and we can see what I have that you need in return! Thanks!

[SaminCam]

Evening all and Merry Christmas! Not much to add to the intro and couple of questions above, except to say "he came!"

 

 

 

The kit itself looks lovely but the resin Merlin, though pretty small, looks incredible!

 

I want to get the Tempest progressed a bit further before really starting with this project but the cockpit and engine is definitely going to be tempting me...

[bigbadbadge]

Wow that engine set looks fantastic. Good luck with your builds.

Merry Christmas 

Chris

[blanco77]

Merry Holidays! Sleep patterns are all over the place, never mind. That resin kit looks impressive, I’ve heard great things about the Ed. Would suggest planning the Ed, cleaning it, prime etc. Get in the zone with current project, then fresh for the Ed? Good luck anyway, exciting. Got my 1.72 Airfix Spit and 109E4 double, a fun project really. Washed it, and cheap rattle can of black primer has come out surprisingly well. I was worried I’d sprayed it too much, but left to air dry, looks good and no details obscured at all. First time I’ve tried a surface coat this way so should be interesting. Now the airbrush, still new at that, and bit daunting! Take care all.

[SaminCam]

9 hours ago, blanco77 said:

Merry Holidays! Sleep patterns are all over the place, never mind. That resin kit looks impressive, I’ve heard great things about the Ed. Would suggest planning the Ed, cleaning it, prime etc. Get in the zone with current project, then fresh for the Ed? Good luck anyway, exciting. Got my 1.72 Airfix Spit and 109E4 double, a fun project really. Washed it, and cheap rattle can of black primer has come out surprisingly well. I was worried I’d sprayed it too much, but left to air dry, looks good and no details obscured at all. First time I’ve tried a surface coat this way so should be interesting. Now the airbrush, still new at that, and bit daunting! Take care all.

 

Thanks mate! Yep, getting in the zone with one project at a time is definitely how I work best, I don't get huge amounts of time at the bench so I find plugging away bit by bit works best for me - at the moment I'm covering the Tempest in rivets, have been at it for a few weeks but will get there soon then progress will jump forwards as wings go on, paint gets sprayed, etc. The Eduard Spit (or Spits) will be a nice change as the surface detail ootb is amazing and doesn't need anything adding.

 

Are you doing a WiP for the Spit and 109? I did something similar a few years ago (posted on here somewhere!) and really enjoyed making both kits. I've not tried rattle cans for primer but don't see why they can't work, I guess you just need to be careful to shoot from a decent distance away and try to not let the paint pool? Airbrushing takes a bit of getting used to but is definitely worth it, a few tips I've picked up along the way:

- It's worth investing in two nozzles, one for fine work, pre and post shading, Luftwaffe mottling, etc, and one for covering bigger areas

- I also have two moisture traps, one at exit of compressor and one at inlet to airbrush, this was probably the biggest "aha" moment as previously I kept getting spattering

- Always clean up at the end of a session. I use acetone - much cheaper than airbrush cleaner

- Wear latex gloves whenever handling model to prevent finger prints

- Ventilate well!

[SaminCam]

Afternoon all, finally began to make a start on the two Eduard Spitfires over the weekend and took a few snaps of the initial steps. First up I carefully removed the cockpit bits and pieces and glued PE and plastic together before spraying cockpit green and aluminium block coats. The PE instrument panels are lovely and I added the lenses with unthinned clear paint applied to the back of the metal sheet and letting surface tension fill the holes. I'll now hand paint the detailed parts and add a little weathering - I'm not going too crazy with detail on these parts as not much will be seen once they are closed up. 

 

 

 

I've also made a start on the resin engine: 

 

 

It's pretty fiddly but the detail is stunning. So far I've painted the base colours and carefully dry brushed and then highlighted with panel line wash the black parts. Next I'm going to weather with some black and brown oils and pastel dust and then start adding the frame around the engine - I'll see if I can work out how to take better pictures as well!

 

 

 

[SaminCam]

Evening all! Progress has continued with the engine: the frames and pipes were removed from their resin blocks as carefully as possible and sprayed green and brass. Assembly is fiddly but not impossible, all held together with super glue and I've ended up here:

 

 

I've started a little weathering on the green frame using a brown panel line wash and I'll add some more shading with oil paints. Looking forward now to seeing it mated with a fuselage!

[Johnson]

Beautiful!

[SaminCam]

Thanks everyone! I've made a bit more progress on the two spitfires - I've painted up both cockpits pretty much the same and not doing anything fancy as not much will be visible. The black parts on the sidewalls were gently dry brushed and a brown panel wash applied to the cockpit green - it will do! The engine is also nearly done with some shading and oils to make the struts "pop" and some extra cables added as suggested in the instructions. Not too much left to do on the interior, main thing is to get the seats painted, then attention turns to the surgery on the fuselage needed to get the engine fitted. Cheers, Sam

 

 

[SaminCam]

Evening all, cockpits are nearly done so I did a first dry fit with the engine on the front - there's a little bit of fettling to do but seems like it should work out OK:

 

 

I'm throwing the kitchen sink at this model and still have the flap set and open gun bays to add. The second set will be built wheels up, mounted on a stand and with an airfix pilot in the cockpit. Might also try and add a little motor for the prop and LED lights so lots of thinking to do before it gets closed up!

[Johnson]

Bloomin' amazing!

[SaminCam]

Evening all,  steady progress with the Spits this week - both cockpits are pretty much done with the in-flight model now waiting a spare airfix pilot. The model with the exposed engine has cockpit and fuselage glued together and I'm currently working on the (minimal) seam lines with sprue goo and elbow polish...

 

This afternoon some plastic butchery began with big holes hacked off the wing parts to make space for the aftermarket engine, flaps and gun bays - no turning back now! 

 

 

I'm a bit short of the right tools but I've done the work here with a combination of drilling, sawing, slicing, scraping and sanding and I'm starting to get the knack. More to do on the upper wings and then I'll get everything glued together before adding the PE parts.  Anyone who's tried this and has any tips, please let me know!!!

[SaminCam]

Afternoon all! The spitfire with the exposed engine is starting to take shape. This week the fuselage and cockpit were sealed up and once the seams were tidied up I joined the lower half of the wings. The fit around the flaps where I've been hacking away plastic isn't perfect but I'll get that sorted as the PE flap kit gets added.

 

With all this together I proceeded to fix the engine assembly to the nose. This wasn't the easiest operation: the spar that runs between the two wings seems to be ~1mm too far forward so the engine wouldn't sit horizontal without leaving a big gap to the fuselage at the top - the solution to this was to cut out the spar - I don't think there are any downsides to this and the engine immediately sat better. The resin bulkhead is also a tight squeeze into the fuselage and I ended up scraping away a bit material from its sides to improve the fit. Finally, the leading edge at the wing root is a separate part and quite fiddly to fit around the engine piping so it sits flush with the wing and fuselage. I got there in the end, though you can see a little bit of fettling will be needed to tidy up the join on the leading edge.

 

All of this was reasonably hard work (at least for me) but in the end it looks as though the result will be worth it, here are snaps from above and below:

 

 

 

Next steps are to get the final bit of frame on around the engine and seal in the paint with a flat coat before carefully masking it all away. Then I'll move on to the wing modifications - I've got the Brassin flap and gun bay sets to add so lots more to do! Thanks for dropping by, Sam 

 

[Johnson]

Really taking shape Sam, it’s going to look stunning!

[bigbadbadge]

That does look rather nice and is progressing well.

Great work

Chris

[The Shearwater]

Only just found this thread… and fascinating to compare builds (I can see yours is to a higher standard than mine!). Interested to see you’ve gone for the Brassin gun bays… I briefly considered them but thought they’d be beyond my skills at that scale! Looking forward to the finished thing 👍

[mick]

great work

[SaminCam]

15 hours ago, The Shearwater said:

Only just found this thread… and fascinating to compare builds (I can see yours is to a higher standard than mine!). Interested to see you’ve gone for the Brassin gun bays… I briefly considered them but thought they’d be beyond my skills at that scale! Looking forward to the finished thing 👍

 

Thank you! I'm not sure about the "higher standard" as yours is looking fantastic, has been really helpful following you along.

 

Gun bays are next on my to do list. The resin parts are very thin (almost paper thin in places) but managed to remove them both from the block without too much drama. They then glue onto a PE floor which makes them much more solid. This assembly slots nicely into the hole cut in the wing once it is the right size (one down, one to go in this pic) and the upper wing fits ok with lower once the wheel bay has a bit hacked off! There's a fair bit more to go here including outer gun bays and I'm also waiting for a fresh pot of cockpit green to arrive for painting - stay tuned for more! Cheers, Sam

 

 

 

[SaminCam]

Afternoon all, here's the latest snap of #1 with wing tips and tail plane dry fitted, it finally looks like a spitfire:

 

 

Most of the work has involved mangling plastic to make the resin and PE gun bays fit to my satisfaction. These are quite fiddly and it's difficult to get everything square and crisp. In the end I'm happy enough with it; viewing from the top the fit is ok but you can see from beneath the joins between PE and kit aren't the neatest and once I've given it a first spray of paint I'll probably do a bit more filling to see if I can tidy up a bit more.

 

 

The underside shot also shows the PE flaps starting to go in. This part fit quite well after scraping a load of plastic off the face it glues to - it should look quite smart with the flaps lowered. My plan is to get the rest of the PE in place and then get the internal bits, guns, ammo, etc, etc, painted and weathered. 

 

For Spitfire #2 a few extra bits and pieces have arrived:

 

 

The little motor will be used to spin the prop and various coloured LEDs will light fibre optic strands to the wing tip and tail lights. A bit more thinking needed on how to power everything but I've got a plan forming! More to come soon, cheers, Sam

 

[The Shearwater]

On 03/06/2023 at 17:27, SaminCam said:

Afternoon all, here's the latest snap of #1 with wing tips and tail plane dry fitted, it finally looks like a spitfire:

 

 

Most of the work has involved mangling plastic to make the resin and PE gun bays fit to my satisfaction. These are quite fiddly and it's difficult to get everything square and crisp. In the end I'm happy enough with it; viewing from the top the fit is ok but you can see from beneath the joins between PE and kit aren't the neatest and once I've given it a first spray of paint I'll probably do a bit more filling to see if I can tidy up a bit more.

 

 

The underside shot also shows the PE flaps starting to go in. This part fit quite well after scraping a load of plastic off the face it glues to - it should look quite smart with the flaps lowered. My plan is to get the rest of the PE in place and then get the internal bits, guns, ammo, etc, etc, painted and weathered. 

 

For Spitfire #2 a few extra bits and pieces have arrived:

 

 

The little motor will be used to spin the prop and various coloured LEDs will light fibre optic strands to the wing tip and tail lights. A bit more thinking needed on how to power everything but I've got a plan forming! More to come soon, cheers, Sam

 

Wow! Can’t believe the detail you’re getting into these. Amazing work. 👏

[SaminCam]

Evening all! Gradual progress this week on the first spitfire. I've finally nearly finished fiddling around with the PE, the flap parts are assembled and the inserts for the wings added as best I can. I find working with PE parts this small pretty frustrating - they're hard to clear up (I'm using a metal file) without bending and the super glue I'm using is a bit glupey so gluing tiny little parts together is never as clean as I'd like.

 

My "review" on the extra Eduard bits and pieces is that the engine looks amazing, hacking the wings about for the flaps and guns bays is hard work and in the end the open gun bays are probably more worthwhile an addition than the dropped flaps. Anyway, we'll see once she gets some paint on!

 

Wing tips and ailerons also glued in place - nothing much to report here except that the aileron fit doesn't seem that great, they look ok from the top but there's a bit of a step underneath which you can see in the photo, I don't think I stuffed anything up here - are they supposed to look like this or is it one of this kits (few) foibles? Thanks for dropping in, cheers, Sam

 

 

 

 

[Johnson]

Hi Sam,

 

24 minutes ago, SaminCam said:

I find working with PE parts this small pretty frustrating

 

Having spent the afternoon assembling a 1/72 Eduard pilot's seat for my Lancaster, I can completely sympathise.

 

The flaps look great and it's going to look amazing when finished!

 

Cheers,

 

 

[SaminCam]

Evening all! It's been a little while (gosh - almost a month!) since I last posted as life has been busy and progress slow on the spitfires. I've been over to the US for a conference and had a very relaxing week of holiday in Wales. I also managed to fit in some spectating of bat and ball sports at two iconic venues:

 

Fenway Park, Boston

 

Lords, London

 

Very different experiences but both absolutely fantastic!

 

Back to the model, basecoat was sprayed and cockpit grey/green added to the internal bits before starting to add the gun bay details:

 

 

 

The gunsight is bugging me - it's really thick and has a seam running across it. I'll see how visible it is with the canopy placed on top but might snip it off and replace with a thin piece of transparent plastic from the Eduard packaging. Still a few details to add in the gun bays but getting there slowly and should be able to start preshading the outer surfaces fairly soon. Thanks for dropping in! Sam

[Johnson]

On 7/10/2023 at 9:20 PM, SaminCam said:

The gunsight is bugging me - it's really thick and has a seam running across it. I'll see how visible it is with the canopy placed on top but might snip it off and replace with a thin piece of transparent plastic from the Eduard packaging.

 

Definitely a good idea Sam.

[ModelingEdmontonian]

On 7/10/2023 at 2:20 PM, SaminCam said:

I also managed to fit in some spectating of bat and ball sports at two iconic venues:

 

Fenway Park, Boston

 

Lords, London

Cool!

 

Good work on the model, too!