Eduard 1:48 - Spitfire Mk. XVI

[shortCummins]

Last November I was lucky enough to visit Telford and one of the bargains I managed to find was this Eduard ProfiPACK of a Mk.XVI Spitfire



Being a ProfiPACK the kit contains some nice extra’s including a paint mask and some PE for the cockpit.

It also gives you 5 schemes






At the moment I’m undecided on which scheme, either

…or…


I really like the idea of the French scheme however, you don’t often see a nice shiny NMF Spitfire and as that was used in an air race it would have been nice and clean, a bit of a change for my Zero build

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Twokidsnosleep]

Wow they are all gorgeous, nice to have so many choices for schemes
Shiny metal would be an interesting change form the norm

[Avgas]

Ooer, I have this in the stash. I'm not sure the bare metal is bare metal though, I have a feeling it's silver paint.

[Skullfish]

nice kit John, looking forward to se how you tackle it. I have a few of these spits in the stash also.

Jase

[shortCummins]

Ooer, I have this in the stash. I'm not sure the bare metal is bare metal though, I have a feeling it's silver paint.

my one won't be

[Joesdad]

The racer for me John

[shortCummins]

As usual I’m starting with the cockpit, being a ProfiPACK kit there’s PE to be fitted, I’ll leave the pre-painted bits until after I’ve painted the cockpit colour.
I’ve put together as many sub-assemblies as practicable.
The side-walls have several wheels, gauges and levers which will be detail painted in-place.


Being a Mk.XVI the seatbelt harness fitting is different from non-bubbletop Spitfires. Eduard provide both PE and moulded options, I decided to try the PE, four very small pieces, and then use the moulded part if I screw up the PE. The PE came out OK so I’m quite pleased with it.


The upper side-walls also have PE


Bulk-heads and seat


The seat will have PE harness' to be added later.

Now that I’ve completed the various sub-assemblies next up I’ll give them a coat of Ultimate black primer and then some interior green

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

Carrying on with the cockpit I first gave everything a coat of Ultimate black primer





I let the primer dry overnight and then applied some Alkan aircraft grey/green BS:283





After a short while, around half an hour, I added some of the detail painting, black and red, I used white as a base for the red and yellow. (I’ve used some artistic license to paint the levers red and yellow as I think they show up better)
I dry-brushed using Mr Metal color stainless steel to give a slightly worn appearance





The seat was painted my home-made version of “russet”, 4 parts vallejo 70.84 burt red + 2 parts Tamiya XF-64 red brown + 1 part Alkan RLM:04 yellow. Think next time I’ll swap the yellow for orange

The back of the seat was dry-brushed with Tamiya XF-69 NATO black



Next will be a coat of gloss varnish and I’ll use an oil wash to bring out the details

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

I used Tamiya panel line accent color (dark brown) to really bring out the details and to slightly dirty-up the interior…






Then I added the remaining PE and assembled the interior





I’ve still got the seat harness’ to fit, add the IP and complete building the cockpit before I can nail the two fuselage halves together

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

To finish the cockpit I first set about adding the PE harness
First the main harness is fixed to the rear support

Then the lap belts are attached to the seat, the PE rear armour plate has also been fitted

and then the seat is fitted to the sub-assembly


The IP is attached to the front bulkhead

This is then fitted to the sub-assembly



The opposite side panel is then attached to the sub-assembly and then the sub-assembly fitted to the fuselage


I’m going to leave the gun sight until after the fuselage has been bolted together as it might get in the way of masking?



Next I’ll be nailing the two fuselage halves together and adding the wings

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Twokidsnosleep]

Great cockpit, have not seen a red seat like that...looks really cool!!!

[LM951]

Very nice detail panting and weathering!

[shortCummins]

Great cockpit, have not seen a red seat like that...looks really cool!!!

Very nice detail panting and weathering!

Thanks guys, these Eduard Spitfires are really nice kits, the level of detail is first class and the fit is more than acceptable any fit issues are more my fault than Eduards

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

Just a tiny gap that needed some sprue glue

easily cleaned up with Ultimate skinny sticks, my sander(s) of choice, and polished with a Ultimate sanding stick


Before I attach the wings I must decide on the scheme I’m going to attempt as there are different “styles” of wing depending on which scheme you choose. I’ve decided to go for the scheme of RW393 which took part in the Cooper Air Race of 1949


Glueing the top and bottom halves of the wings


With the wings fitted she’s starting to show the beautiful familiar lines of a Spitfire



The brace located behind the pilot’s head


Air scoops fitted



There are a couple of places that’ll need a smidgen of filler, notably where the engine cowling meets the front of the cockpit, the air intake and the front join of the starboard wing to the fuselage, so I’ll deal with them and then give it a coat of Ultimate black primer.

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Smiffy]

Very good looking Spitfire indeed, from the choice of decals I think I would also have gone for RW393

[RossiM1]

Another fabulous build John only built 1 Eduard 48th kit and it was a dream to build must get another.

[Bissyboat]

Great progress and nice choice on the colour scheme. It would make the spit look very smart. My preference too.

[shortCummins]

Very good looking Spitfire indeed, from the choice of decals I think I would also have gone for RW393

Another fabulous build John only built 1 Eduard 48th kit and it was a dream to build must get another.

Great progress and nice choice on the colour scheme. It would make the spit look very smart. My preference too.

thanks guys

[shortCummins]

Little bits of filler, looks a lot worse than it is…



Last of the PE?


Windshield masked with Eduard masks and Maskol, I’ve stuck them on bluetack and then cocktail sticks.

First I sprayed Alkan grey/green…

…and then Ultimate black primer


The rest of the airframe was also given a coat of Ultimate black primer.






When the primer has had a while to cure I’ll check if the seams need any further work and what needs re-scribing, then I’ll start preparing for the top coat

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[MrGav]

John you build all the aircraft I love, and I just sit back and enjoy

[Bissyboat]

Fantastic progress!

[shortCummins]

John you build all the aircraft I love, and I just sit back and enjoy

thanks MrGav, there's just something about wings and propellors

Fantastic progress!

thanks Bissyboat, I jut wish there was some way to speed up the cure time for paint, I get very impatient waiting

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

So on with the top coat.
As Avgas rightly pointed out for the scheme I’ve chosen she would have been painted silver rather than a NMF(natural metal finish), I found this photo…

Whilst its not the same aircraft, it has “normal” wingtips, its clearly painted silver.
However, when I was looking I came across this…

That persuaded me, I’m not going to attempt a fully polished chrome Spit, but I am going to attempt a NMF, just a little bit shiny.

As I don’t have a spray booth, my work-bench is the dinning table, I’m limited to using acrylic paints, so no Alclad or enamels I’m afraid, however, the new(ish) Vallejo metal colours range work really well for me

After sorting out the seam lines I lightly wet sanded the Ultimate primer and applied a coat of aqua gloss in an attempt to give the aluminium a bit of a reflective boost, well thats the idea anyway






So on with the vallejo acrylic metal color Aluminium 77.701…







The tail and “insides” of the landing gear covers I’ve not sprayed with the gloss, I assume that the tail would still be fabric covered? This photo shows the difference between gloss coated primer and not?




I’m going to pick out one or two panels in a different variant of aluminium, just to give a little interest, so once the “main” colour has fully cured I’ll mask off some panels and spray the alternative aluminium shades.

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Fridgy]

oooohhhh shiny!

looking good so far, cant wait to see the next installment!

[shortCummins]

oooohhhh shiny!

looking good so far, cant wait to see the next installment!

cheers Fridgy, the Spit looks a bit odd in aluminium but so far I'm enjoying the build

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

So I decided to pick out some of the panels in different shades, dark aluminium 77.703, white aluminium 77.706 and dull aluminium 77.717.





the dark aluminium really stands out, the "white" and "dull" variants are far more subtile, the camera doesn't show them as much as 'real life'

I’ve painted the landing gear and inner wheel hubs dull aluminium 77.717


Next I need to add the red stripe and propellor spinner, and then get to work on the undercarriage.

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Bissyboat]

Stunning as a silver fox.

[Avgas]

Looking great. I use those Vall Metals as well and am quite pleased with them.

[Fridgy]

I wonder if they keep her armed for the air race??

Would you be game enough to get in front of her??

It would be death race (a really crappy movie that wasted 1.5hrs of my life) on wings

[shortCummins]

Stunning as a silver fox.

Looking great. I use those Vall Metals as well and am quite pleased with them.

I wonder if they keep her armed for the air race??

Would you be game enough to get in front of her??

It would be death race (a really crappy movie that wasted 1.5hrs of my life) on wings

thanks chaps
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

Even more masking for the red stripe, Mr Hobby Color H3 red…


…and the propellor spinner



I’ve also added the undercarriage



Theres a few bits and pieces that need to be added, and then I’ll start on the decals

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Bissyboat]

Factory fresh and beautiful. Can´t fault you on the finish.

[shortCummins]

Factory fresh and beautiful. Can´t fault you on the finish.

if you've not tried the vallejo metal colours give 'em a go, make sure you shake the bottle (I've added a couple of ball bearings to the jar) to thoroughly mix the pigments, apply in light 'misty' coats and you really can't go wrong

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

I can’t believe how quickly this has come together, I’ve added the ‘main’ cartograph decals for the scheme…






Now I need to add the stencil decals, apply a panel-line wash to bring it all together and add the remaining bits’n’pieces and she’ll be done

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Bissyboat]

Factory fresh and beautiful. Can´t fault you on the finish.

if you've not tried the vallejo metal colours give 'em a go, make sure you shake the bottle (I've added a couple of ball bearings to the jar) to thoroughly mix the pigments, apply in light 'misty' coats and you really can't go wrong

rgds
John(shortCummins)

Thanks for the advice John. I will put it on my shopping list, next time I nip out to my local hobby shop.

[AdamLuscombe]

Great work

[Mylightweight]

This is looking really nice, I've just started an Eduard MkIXc late version and have also found the fit to be superb.

I love your nmf, looks great

[shortCummins]

Great work

much appreciated Adam

This is looking really nice, I've just started an Eduard MkIXc late version and have also found the fit to be superb.

I love your nmf, looks great

I started that kit a while ago, my puppy ate it before I got to finish! I'll get it again before too long

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[shortCummins]

I said that the decals were cartograph, well I was mistaken their Eduard, still very good, settled down nicely with a little server set and sol.

The aircraft I’ve depicted is RW393, No. 601 Squadron RAuxAF, 1949
This aircraft took park in the Cooper Air Race of 1949. The competition for RAuxAF squadrons was named after W/C Geoffrey Cooper, M.P. The winged sword painted in front of the windscreen is the No. 601 Squadron crest.

This scheme should really be silver, however I decided to go for a natural metal finish and as it was a ‘race plane’ I’ve kept the weathering to minimal so a very clean machine…




You can see all of the reveal photos here
http://intscalemodeller.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=21503

until next time
as always, any suggestions or comments will be gratefully received.
rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Bissyboat]

Stunning Spit mate!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Gorgeous work John