A Canadian Spitfire

Hi All!

It is no secret that I like Spitfires. I am not an apologist, the Spitfire had a ridiculously short range and kept its inadequate armament of .303 caliber guns far too long. But it is a beautiful aircraft and the sound as it flies by makes my heart sing. I have built Spitfires in 1/24th, 1/32nd, 1/48th,/1/72nd, 1/100th, and 1/144th scales, and almost every kit on the market, some excellent, and some nightmarish. So when I say the Eduard series of Merlin-powered Spitfires are the top of the line, I mean it. But this accuracy comes with a price...the kits are a bit fiddly.

The subject of this posting is an Eduard Spitfire F.VIII profipak. The profipak comes with additional decals, masks, and etched metal parts. The Eduard Spitfires require the builder to follow the instructions, so you can choose the correct parts for your version of the kit, and do not forget that one part (ask me how I know!). You also need to trim ANY excess plastic from the part and remove any paint from the mating surfaces otherwise fit issues will arise. The kit went together really nicely, a little filler here and there was used but nothing major. It was however a time-consuming endeavor due to the sheer number of small parts. The etched instrument panel is absolutely gorgeous and you really should use it.

I do have a couple of issues with the kit. First are the exhausts. What the heck were they thinking? These are too over-engineered and should have been done much simpler. The second is the cowl top, Eduard has this in two parts, but with modern molds, they should be one part.

I chose a Spitfire Mk.VIII flown by Bert Houle of 417 Sqn. The aircraft is fairly plain Jane without any stripes or art, just what I was looking for (I hate stripes!). Vallejo Dark Earth, Middle Stone, and Azure Blue were used. When cured a coat of Future was applied for the decals. An Aeromaster sheet with Spitfire and Hurricane roundels was used for the national markings and the serial and codes came from a Watermark sheet. The Watermark series of decals were taken from "Spitfire-The Canadians" and though the subjects are very good, the decals are overly thick and do have some color issues. Too bad really. A second coat of Future was applied to seal the decals and when dry a flat clear was sprayed on. The final bits such as the prop, canopy, etc were attached and the kit was finished.

The model represents a Supermarine built Spitfire F.VIII serial JG184, coded AN*A of 417 Squadron, RAF based at Anzio, Italy during February of 1944 and flown by Squadron Leader Albert Ulrich "Bert" Houle (11.5 victories). S/L Houle survived the war.

The Eduard Merlin Spitfires are without a doubt the best detailed and accurate on the market. But as said before it does come with a cost, the kits are very fiddly in some areas. So I can recommend these kits to modelers with some experience. If you wish to build easier kits, the Airfix MK.I, II, and V kits are almost as good but are easier builds. But with all of the fiddly bits I still really like the Eduard kits.

Bruce