Stokesy's Eduard 1/48 Spitfire Mk VIII

[Stokesy44]

Morning All

I have slipped the surly bonds of earth...... In preparation for the May 1st Bomber SIG I thought I had better get back into winged things ahead of the start date. Don't want to be unprepared or rusty when there's prizes to be won (and by won I mean won by others as I NEVER win ).

So here it is, Eduard's beautiful Spitfire VIII. Its the Profipack edition so it comes with multiple marking options, masks for the canopy and some beautiful coloured PE for the cockpit including IP, harness and assorted greeblies. I'm proper excited about the build, its been almost 2 years since I last built an aircraft (X-wing fighter doesn't count) so this is a welcome return to something that doesn't weigh 45 tons and is covered in mud!

Actual build should begin later today but here's the usual box shots.







First impressions are superb. Surface detail is beautiful and everything looks right. I've added a Barracuda 1 piece resin engine cowling to replace the kit's 2 piece offering but other than that, the build will be strictly OOB.

[Stokesy44]

Got started on the cockpit. Nice detail and everything fits as advertised.





Change of plan re the use of PE. The kit gives you plastic and PE options behind the seat, I had opted for the plastic as I didn't see how the metal version looked any better. Problem is the plastic version doesn't have the hole pushed through for the harness and I don't have a tool small enough to drill out the rectangular slit. All change.



Drilled out the holes on the upper seat frame.



Not a bad start but everything is so SMALL I've spent far too much time building hulking brutes of armour!

[Kevthemodeller]

I'm thinking of doing the same I've not built an aircraft for well over 30 years!

[Stokesy44]

I'm thinking of doing the same I've not built an aircraft for well over 30 years!

Do it mate. There are some fantastic kits out there. Lots of modern toolings that are a pleasure to build. Go on, you know you want to!

[Kevthemodeller]

Go on, you know you want to!

Oh bugger I do, that's my no more kits out of the window

I'm looking at putting together the main players in the Battle of Britain, MK1 Hurricane, Spitfire, Bolton Defiant, Me 109/110 Ju87/88, Do 17, He 111. I'm currently researching what kits, so far I think it's going to be Airfix, Eduard, ICM Italeri and Tamiya, they cover all the above in 1/48 all have good reviews.

If you've got any recommendations please let me know

How am I ever going to fit all this in

[Stokesy44]

Go on, you know you want to!

Oh bugger I do, that's my no more kits out of the window

I'm looking at putting together the main players in the Battle of Britain, MK1 Hurricane, Spitfire, Bolton Defiant, Me 109/110 Ju87/88, Do 17, He 111. I'm currently researching what kits, so far I think it's going to be Airfix, Eduard, ICM Italeri and Tamiya, they cover all the above in 1/48 all have good reviews.

If you've got any recommendations please let me know

How am I ever going to fit all this in

What a superb idea, a full BoB spread, including the Defiant

In terms of recommendations, I've built both the Airfix new tool Hurricane and Spirfire BoB variants. They're lovely kits. The Airfix Hurricane is definitely the one to get. Tamiya do a Mk I or II Spitfire which is meant to be nice so that might shade the Airfix offering in terms of finesse. All I know is the Airfix Spit was a dream to build - like all their new tool Spits.

Airfix's new tool Ju 87 and Defiant are meant to be really nice and people are raving about the ICM He111. Don't know about the Ju88 and Do17. As for the 109 and 110, Eduard's probably your best bet although a recurring thing with the 110 is the fit of the engine nacelles (so I'm told). I've got an Eduard 110 in the stash, never going to build it. You can have it for the cost of postage if you want it. Picked it up at my LHS in a moment of weakness. I didn't want to go away empty handed as I want to support the guy who owns the place.

Tamiya and Eduard do a couple of 109s in the E variant. I would go for an Eduard Profipack offering with the coloured PE and canopy masks, worth it for an extra £5 if you don't mind the kit being a little bit fiddly versus Tamiya.

All good fun!

[Stokesy44]

I put the side panels in. The kit says to build the whole cockpit assembly as a tub but I don't rate my chances of keeping it square so I plan to build it into one side of the fuselage and check the angles as I go. Could be a good idea or a Baldrick level cunning plan.

Rear cockpit frames. The seat support is on the frame but the kit attaches the seat and armour plate to the floor piece that includes the control column and rudder pedals.





Last bits of the main assembly were the rudder pedals then it was time to paint. Tamiya interior green.



Once the paint was down I tinted it with a yellow filter to get it more like I think it should look.



I'll give it a day to cure then do the detail painting and weathering etc. tomorrow.

[Kevthemodeller]

What a superb idea, a full BoB spread, including the Defiant

The only Defiant I can find is Airfix and the write up's are good.

In terms of recommendations, I've built both the Airfix new tool Hurricane and Spirfire BoB variants. They're lovely kits. The Airfix Hurricane is definitely the one to get. Tamiya do a Mk I or II Spitfire which is meant to be nice so that might shade the Airfix offering in terms of finesse. All I know is the Airfix Spit was a dream to build - like all their new tool Spits.

I've not made an Airfix aircraft kit since the late 70's think it was 1/72 Spitfire V is was a good kit as I remember way better than their earlier stuff, they didn't make 1/48 back then. I moved away from Airfix about then and went solely Tamiya, I'll give them another try.

The Tamiya Mk1 Hurricane and Ju87B-2 according to Scalemates are reboxed Italeri kits, the Tamiya versions don't appear to be in stock anywhere in the UK that I can find but the Italeri kits are As you say Tamiya Spits do look/are good, but I will now look at Airfix [/quote]

ICM's He111, Ju 88 and Do17 I think are the way to go there's not a lot of choice in 1/48 that has good reviews that I can find.

109 and 110, Eduard's probably your best bet Tamiya and Eduard do a couple of 109s in the E variant. I would go for an Eduard Profipack offering with the coloured PE and canopy masks, worth it for an extra £5 if you don't mind the kit being a little bit fiddly versus Tamiya. although a recurring thing with the 110 is the fit of the engine nacelles (so I'm told).

Eduard kits do have good reviews and Tamiya 109E's appear not to be in stock,

I've got an Eduard 110 in the stash, never going to build it. You can have it for the cost of postage if you want it.

That's a very kind offer mate and is of great interest, which kit is it?

[Stokesy44]

I've got an Eduard 110 in the stash, never going to build it. You can have it for the cost of postage if you want it.

That's a very kind offer mate and is of great interest, which kit is it?

Its kit number 8203 - Bf 110E Profipack Edition. Not strictly a BoB variant as the decals are from 4 aircraft in 1941-42.

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/114332- ... 03-bf-110e

[Kevthemodeller]

PM sent ref the 110 mate

[Tomcat64]

Blimey you're not hanging about are you!!

I've got a Tamiya 1/48 Spit in the stash so will be watching with interest how you take this one on

[Stokesy44]

Blimey you're not hanging about are you!!

I've got a Tamiya 1/48 Spit in the stash so will be watching with interest how you take this one on

Got to get at least one aircraft under my belt before the Bomber SIG or I'll be looking at a real train wreck come May 1st!

As for the Eduard offering, its living up to its rep, its a lovely kit so far.

[Stokesy44]

Detail painting in the cockpit.

The seat colour isn't red enough so I will repaint it using a mix of red brown and hull red. Starting to look like a Spit's office now.





Do you ever get those moments when building when you realise you've got something really cool in your hands and its nothing to do with your skill level? I got that feeling when I put the PE instrument panel together. Its stunning.

It comes in 3 layers. A rear piece with the dials marked on, a second piece with switch details and raised bezels for the instruments and a third piece for the blind flying panel in the centre. The result is beautifully clear but it also has proper depth as to texture. I had to laugh at how good it is



And to top it all off, they even give you a PE disk for the compass



Next up is weathering then the seat harness. After that it should all go in and I can put the fuselage together.

[Stokesy44]

Repainted the seat then applied a wash and dry brush.

Test fitting







It al seems to fit. Just need to apply a wash on the repainted part of the seat then I can do the harness and pop it all together

[trjcampbell]

Great looking cockpit so far man, nice job!

[Stokesy44]

Its been such a while since I did an aircraft, I forgot one of the rules. Don't dry brush the cockpit with silver, use white! Silver's only good for chipping on the armour plate.

So I applied more dark wash then re did the dry brushing with white. Feel better now.

Then it was time to sort out the PE harness. Not too fiddly at all. Once it was done I glued the cockpit parts into the fuselage and taped the 2 sides together to make sure everything dried square.





While the glue dried I got to work on the wings. The wheel bays are a bit fiddly but once they were done I put those beautiful wings together.



Really impressed with the surface texture.







Drool, dribble.....



Test fitted the wing joint - its perfect, I am loving the engineering of this kit.



Cockpit looks fine, all nice and square.



Finished off with a brown wash on the harness, just to dirty it up a bit and add texture.



Next up the fuselage goes together and the wings get attached Luvly jubly

[sheppsea]

Very nice work

I must admit the 1/48 Eduard Spitfires are really appealing to me

[Tomcat64]

That cockpit looks superb mate! Nice tip on dry-brushing the detail in white too - thanks for that!

[Stokesy44]

That cockpit looks superb mate! Nice tip on dry-brushing the detail in white too - thanks for that!

Cheers mate

By the way, if you use the white dry brush tip during the Bomber SIG I'll sue you for plagiarism or breach of copyright. #winatallcosts

[Tomcat64]

...if you use the white dry brush tip during the Bomber SIG I'll sue you for plagiarism or breach of copyright. #winatallcosts

Ooh there's a hint of Australian cricketer creeping in there!

It's ok I'm sure I've got some off-white, white-grey or similar that will work fine as well without breaching copyright!

[Stokesy44]

Ooh there's a hint of Australian cricketer creeping in there!

It's ok I'm sure I've got some off-white, white-grey or similar that will work fine as well without breaching copyright!

I'd like to say I'll learn from this. The leadership group and I will be better people for it. I am truly sorry we got caught the first time we cheated. We'll do better next time

[Stokesy44]

Now we have a Spitfire to look at!

Went together really well.





I know I've mentioned it already but I cant get over just how great the plastic is with this kit. The joins are virtually seamless and even pieces like the rudder and elevators fit so snugly they look right. No trench like panel lines on this beauty.

Its such a clever kit too. For example the front edge of the tail planes mimic the actual leading edge fillets on the real thing. The seam where the 2 plastic pieces meet is actually the rear seam of the fillet on the underside of the tail plane. See what I mean about clever?



The exhausts are a bit of a faff. There's the 1 piece strip for the 6 exhaust stubs but that gets enclosed by an upper and lower piece and a rear stopper. All very clever and detailed but virtually impossible to see once the exhausts are mounted. Still, it means you get your money's worth if you value a kit based on how long it takes to build it! Needless to say, the exhausts themselves look superb.



And another thing. If you've built one of the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfires you would be having deja-vu with this kit. The way the cockpit builds up, the wheel bays, all very familiar. I wonder who copied who

Construction wise, the radiators are next then the upper and lower engine cowlings including the air scoop. All good stuff.

[Tomcat64]

Ooh there's a hint of Australian cricketer creeping in there!

It's ok I'm sure I've got some off-white, white-grey or similar that will work fine as well without breaching copyright!

I'd like to say I'll learn from this. The leadership group and I will be better people for it. I am truly sorry we got caught the first time we cheated. We'll do better next time

given the seriousness of the issue we have no option but to fine you one stale biscuit and trust that you'll never get caught again!

Great looking Spitfire as well though

[Stokesy44]

Almost ready for priming.





Resin engine cowl on. Really pleased with it. The limitations of my camera means you cant see the rivet detail but it does look really good.





Need to paint the sight then put the windscreen on.



Radiator doors and cannons to go on. Then its out with the primer. Going to try a first for me - black basing / marbling.

Could be good, could be awful! Definitely going to practice on some plastic card first though.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Hey, how did you sneak this in ??!! Right under my nose
Well, I guess I will just have to steal your cockpit colors for my much more accurate Spit egg

[Stokesy44]

Hey, how did you sneak this in ??!! Right under my nose
Well, I guess I will just have to steal your cockpit colors for my much more accurate Spit egg

Hey hey, welcome aboard Skipper.

I thought I needed some sneaky advanced prep for a certain SIG coming up. Building another brute of iron wasn't going to cut it. I've had the Eduard Spit in the stash for a couple of years and it seemed the perfect fit.

As for the cockpit colours, I find Tamiya's interior green just a little bit flat. Adding the yellow as not much more than a filter just seems to 'pop' it a little bit. Mind you, as Tomcat has already found out, I don't take kindly to plagiarism. I am currently pursuing him through the courts for admitting he may steal my use of white for dry brushing instead of silver. #winatallcosts

As if any of these ideas were mine in the first place!! I can honestly say I don't think I have ever come up with a method or process that I hadn't seen someone else do. Standing on the shoulders of giants? You better believe it.

[Twokidsnosleep]

White instead of silver you say...hmmm interesting

[digger303]

getting in some practice...hmmm. Not really needed old chap.

[aur0ra145]

That's a sweet looking kit. I may need to acquire one...

[Stokesy44]

That's a sweet looking kit. I may need to acquire one...

Thanks mate.

Highly recommended, goes together like a dream, beautiful surface detail and the Profipack bits really make it a worthwhile acquisition

[Stokesy44]

getting in some practice...hmmm. Not really needed old chap.

You're too kind old bean.

Firm believer in the 7 P's. Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents P**s Poor Performance.

My idea of covering the first 3 P's is to stand in front of my stash, while scratching my arse, trying to figure out what to build!

[DrSprue]

Looking really nice so far Stokesy!

[Stokesy44]

Looking really nice so far Stokesy!

Thanks Doc

Got her all ready for priming this morning. Cannons on, radiator doors on, painted the gun sight, attached the windscreen then put all the masks on the clear parts. The windscreen fit beautifully and the masks were no bother.

I also put the cockpit door on for the painting phase. The kit comes with 3 versions of the door. Down, up with the hood closed and up with the hood back. Talk about belt and braces. Fit was so snug, didn't even have to use glue, a nice tight friction fit. Once the masks were on I used Tamiya tape to blank off the cockpit. I couldn't use the hood as the separate version doesn't fil properly unless the hood is in the open position.







I had planned to prime today and have my first go at black basing but for some reason I just ran out of gas at this point. Don't know why but it sometimes happens like that. Oh well, its not going anywhere.

[shortCummins]

it looks as if you've a better fit with the Barracuda cowl than I had with the Eduard cowl

looking really good

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Tomcat64]

Very tidy work make - looking forward to seeing it painted up

[Stokesy44]

it looks as if you've a better fit with the Barracuda cowl than I had with the Eduard cowl

looking really good

rgds
John(shortCummins)

Thanks John

It needed a little bit if trimming on the inside in order to fir over the exhaust assemblies but other than that it was a nice snug fit. Its just a shame I couldn't get a decent pic of all the rivet detail. Hopefully It will show up better once the primer goes down.

[Stokesy44]

Very tidy work make - looking forward to seeing it painted up

Me too Squire

[Stokesy44]

Its been a quiet few days with me preoccupied with the pending house move. I'm not a woman so I don't multitask very well, modelling has had to take a back seat.

Finally got some bench time once the mind had calmed down a little.

Ultimate priming first. Fair bit of tip dry during the session but the result is still nice and smooth. Its pretty forgiving stuff, thankfully.



Finally able to photograph the full detail on the replacement engine cowling



Some work required on the seams. Unsurprisingly, the culprits were flat to flat joins, so a little filling and sanding was called for before a primer touch up.





Better but not perfect. Good enough for me though #lowstandards





Then it was time for an education - my first go at black basing / marbling. I had primed a piece of plastic card in advance for practice. No way was I going to let rip on the Spit without having some semblance of an idea of what I was doing. I used Tamiya white, nicely thinned and sprayed with a 0.2 needle at 15psi. I worked out the way to do it was to set the positionable trigger really tight to limit the flow, that way I could just pull back and hold without worrying about it. Then I got really close and kept the airbrush moving, moving my hand as though I was writing one continuous joined up word - if that makes any sense - trying to move fast enough that the paint went down in crazy lines, not blobs.

Here's the practice



And then the real thing.











I'm not doing a standard RAF camo scheme, rather a high altitude scheme with PRU blue on the underside and light grey on top. Hopefully the marbling is appropriate for that, otherwise I could have a real dog's breakfast on my hands. Either way, first go at a new process and a very enjoyable session.

[shortCummins]

really thin your top coat and slowly build up final colour with thin layers and you'll be fine

looking good so far and your cowl fits better than the Eduard one!

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Stokesy44]

really thin your top coat and slowly build up final colour with thin layers and you'll be fine

looking good so far and your cowl fits better than the Eduard one!

rgds
John(shortCummins)

Thanks John, will do. I tend to spray Tamiya at 50/50 with Ultimate Thinner so that should be ok. I'm looking forward to the painting and seeing how the effect comes out.

I was really pleased with the Barracuda cowling. I was a bit concerned I might crack it when removing it from the casting block but I took my time and let it come away slowly. Then it was equally slow going with a sander so I didn't ruin the edge.

[shortCummins]

really thin your top coat and slowly build up final colour with thin layers and you'll be fine

looking good so far and your cowl fits better than the Eduard one!

rgds
John(shortCummins)

Thanks John, will do. I tend to spray Tamiya at 50/50 with Ultimate Thinner so that should be ok. I'm looking forward to the painting and seeing how the effect comes out.

I was really pleased with the Barracuda cowling. I was a bit concerned I might crack it when removing it from the casting block but I took my time and let it come away slowly. Then it was equally slow going with a sander so I didn't ruin the edge.

Like you I "normally" thin Tamiya 50/50 with Ultimate thinner however I'd up the thinner paint ratio, 80% thinner 20% paint, it means you'll need to spray more coats but the mottling will be more controllable.

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Tomcat64]

Beautiful work on the mottling on the Spitfire mate - that really does look impressive especially for your first go at it.

And I can see why you've been raving about the detail on that cowling too

[DrSprue]

The mottling looks great!

[Stokesy44]

Like you I "normally" thin Tamiya 50/50 with Ultimate thinner however I'd up the thinner paint ratio, 80% thinner 20% paint, it means you'll need to spray more coats but the mottling will be more controllable.

rgds
John(shortCummins)

Then thin it shall be.

[Stokesy44]

The mottling looks great!

Thanks Doc. It certainly was fun to do. Kind of like giving my airbrush to a drunk spider!

[Stokesy44]

Beautiful work on the mottling on the Spitfire mate - that really does look impressive especially for your first go at it.

And I can see why you've been raving about the detail on that cowling too

Cheers TC. Hopefully it will do the job when the paint goes down on top of it.

Definitely pleased with the cowling. The upper surfaces are going to be light grey so I'm hoping all that rivet detail will really show up with a dark wash later on

[Totalize]

nice stuff.

[Stokesy44]

After faffing around putting the undercarriage, prop and spinner together I decided it was time to lay some paint on top of the marbling effects.

With ShortCummins advice in mind I mixed Tamiya mid blue with white and thinned it nicely with Ultimate. Sprayed in thin coats with a 0.4 needle at 20psi, trying to bring out the colour without removing the effects.

Last time I painted over effects work on an aircraft must be over 2 years ago. I'd forgotten what fun it is to paint like that, watching the surface of the kit take the paint and seeing the effects come to life - great stuff.

AND - its a whole load more fun than pre-shading ever was!











For a first go at a new process I'm reasonably happy. Could I have been more restrained with the colour? Not sure. The effects are definitely visible and it will certainly pass muster as an attempt at 'proof of concept'.

Its a definite for the Bomber SIG come May though. I cannot wait to try this with my Dambuster Lancaster

[shortCummins]

marbling gives a great effect doesn't it? ...and you've nailed it!

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[Twokidsnosleep]

I like her tummy
reminds me of this