Eduard 1/72 HF Mk VIII Spitfire
Just finished the Eduard 1/72 HF Mk VIII Spitfire. It won't escape your notice that this one doesn't have any HF wingtips, but I just couldn't bring myself to do away with the elliptical wings, so strictly speaking I don't think this one is legal ! It's (almost) the one from 92 Squadron, from Triolo in Sicily, c November 1943. Another beautiful kit from Eduard - brilliantly engineered and the fit of every part was flawless. Painted using nearly all MRP, with some weathering in Michael Harding oil paints.
Amazing result out of the good Eduard kit, Robert!
Fantastic weathering!
Efharisto poly, Spiros !
To be fair, I've done the same thing (making choices for aesthetic reasons instead of historical accuracy) on my models. A Spitfire looks odd/out of place with those HF wingtips.
Very nice build.
Thanks Dan
Thumbs up with the wing tips Robert.
Excellent work, hard to believe it's 1/72 scale.
Thank you George - much appreciated
Excellent build and ditto paintwork, Robert @rob-cookson
Very nice work on this 1/72 scaler.
Cheers John. It was a really great kit to build. I think if it goes together without needing any surgery - and it didn't need anything altering at all - it always makes the painting and weathering much more enjoyable.
Sweet build Robert! Beautiful paint and weathering.
Thanks Jim
Ditto on the positive adjectives. The kit looks to be a lot bigger, more like 1/48 which is impressive. The extended wing tips of the VIII . . . the majority of Mk VIII had clipped wings. Robert, you have captured the spirit or character of the Spitfire. Sometimes the engineering aspect of doing a model can be a dry characterization of the type. When a artistic approach makes things come alive.
Two thumbs up.
Thanks for your kind words Stephen
Actually, you just did to this model what was done to nearly all the real ones: the tips were soon removed and replaced by the standard tips. "HF" didn't mean the wings, it meant the high-altitude rated Merlin 70 under the cowling.
Very nice result with this. Good work with the airbrush.
Ah I see ! Thanks Tom - always good to learn a little more about the subject of a model !
I like it. Very well done
Thank you Paolo !
1/72, you could have fooled me. Nicely done Robert.
Thanks Tom. It's a shame that I couldn't get a better photo of the cockpit, because it's as good in detail as the rest of the kit. Not sure why I've suddenly become drawn to 72nd, as I've only really worked in 1/32, with the odd quarter scale subject. I've even got about 50 Wingnuts kits which now might never see the light of day !?
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Well done, Robert (@rob-cookson). I think the wings look fine. :o)
Thank you George
That is a real beauty. I love desert schemes, and your weathering really sets it off nicely. Well done.
Thanks Greg - that's the first time I've ever painted a tropical scheme, but yes I think it makes a nice change. I suppose you could paint a Spitfire in anything and it would still look good !