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Frank Steffens
13 articles

Eduard 1/48th Spitfire Mk VIII

October 4, 2016 · in Aviation · · 13 · 2.2K

This is 's 1/48th Profipack boxing of the Mk VIII finished as JF470, a squadron "hack" plane belonging to the 31st Fighter Group, 308th Fighter Squadron based at Fano, Italy in 1944. It is box stock with the exception of Eduard Brassin wheels. The photoetch details came with the kit. Paint is Testor's Model Master enamel FS36492 Light Gray over a custom mix of Ocean Grey (RAF) and Cobalt Blue to get as close as I could to PRU Blue for the underside. Decals are from the kit, and went down beautifully with some Walther's Solvaset. The clear gloss used was Alclad Aqua Gloss and a final coat of Alclad Klear Flat. The panels were "post highlighted' with lighter shades of the base colors. The wash was done with Grumbacher Odorless Thinner and Windsor and Newton Payne's Grey for the bottom and Windsor and Newtown Burnt Umber for the top. Cheap pastel chalks were used for the stains, watercolor pencils handled some of the chipping/ fading, and a couple of India Ink brush pens in black and sepia handled the fuel and fluid stains.

The fit of this kit was phenomenal and it was really a joy to build.

Reader reactions:
7  Awesome

12 additional images. Click to enlarge.


13 responses

  1. Beautifully finished and photographed, Frank...really nice work.

  2. Very neat, and an unusual livery, nice to see.

  3. Thank you for the clear description of the workflow & materials. I really like this smooth special colored US Spit model. Everything is there like they should be.

  4. 🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
    Now there is a color scheme on a SPITFIRE not seen too often. Very nice work Frank. The weathering adds a good touch to this model, thanks for sharing the images.

  5. Lovely work Frank. Very nice indeed.

  6. A Spitfire in stars and bars shouldn't work but somehow ...it does, nice work.
    N.

  7. An excellent job.

  8. Great looking Spit! I love the desert sand type schemes - the stripes on the wings really make this one stand out. Excellent weathering, etc.

  9. Thanks all for the kind words! The lighting in my dungeon made the model look more tan than gray. But it is gray.

  10. Nice build

  11. Beautiful Spitfire, great job on the detail work.

  12. Terrific model Frank! And a nice choice of colour scheme too! You don't see too many model Spitfires with US markings.

  13. Looks fantastic Frank. A fine example of reverse lend lease too. A welcome change from green & grey as well.

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