In fall 2019, when I built and reviewed Eduard’s 1/48 scale P-51D, I used every cliché in the book to describe the quality of the fit and surface detail. I thought Eduard had pushed design and molding technology to the absolute limit. Oh, how wrong I was!
As good as its Mustang was, Eduard’s early Spitfire takes design and molding technology even farther. This kit is Amazing, perhaps the best I’ve ever built.
The initial kit, Tally Ho! The Spitfire Story, is a limited-edition dual-combo that includes two full kits and a resin pilot. There are more than 500 parts here — 263 for each airframe — and the stunning surface detail comprises recessed panel lines and both recessed and raised rivets as appropriate. The recessed rivets on the wing are so fine that I can see them but can’t feel them with my fingertip.
At first glance it appears the two sets of part trees are identical, but the fuselages differ. Optional parts abound: four props, three seats, three styles of canopy, two windshields; I could go on, but you get the point.
The crisply molded canopies are perfectly clear, and Eduard provides pre-cut masks.
The kit includes 10 marking options with a full set of stencils for two airframes.
The instructions include a two-page history of the Spitfire Mk.I, 11 pages of construction details, a page each for the masks and stencils, and each marking option gets a full-page color four-view diagram.
I needed to decide which planes to build before starting. I chose options A and F to highlight differences between the 1938 and 1940 versions. I was concerned that the options would not be called out until the marking diagram, but Eduard clearly labels the options for each airframe throughout the instructions. (I did finish construction of airframe A before starting on F so I wouldn’t get them confused.)
Third, photo-etched metal (PE) and I don’t get along and there are quite a few to bend in this kit. Fortunately, the metal was supple, yet strong, and I found the parts easier to manipulate than ever before. Some of the PE parts are also represented in plastic if you are more comfortable with that material.
Be aware that there appear to be two identifiers in each tree. Ignore the large circular tabs — it should become obvious pretty quickly that they don’t match the instructions. On each tree’s outer there are four flat areas — one says Eduard, another the scale, and one has the kit number as well as the actual tree letter that corresponds to the instructions. The final spot is stamped Spitfire Mk.I-V. Yes boys and girls, it looks like we’ll be getting a Mk.V in the future!
On the back cover of the instructions, Eduard advertises a resin replacement cockpit, but I can’t fathom why! I can’t believe those parts could be any more detailed than the kit cockpit.
Careful painting makes all that detail pop. The kit provides three options for the instrument panel: a flat panel with three decals for dials, a panel with molded details and bezels, and a colored PE panel that builds from three layers. I test-fitted the cockpit to both sides of the fuselage to ensure it was plumb and square.
Use caution when building the landing gear wells. A notch on Part R19 fits over a small step in the lower wing, so it is not interchangeable with the nearly identical Part R18. I also found reversing the sequence in the instructions and started with the circular portion of the wells and worked back to the center improved the fits throughout.
Add the rudder control link after painting. I knocked the one on airframe A off while applying a sludge wash, never found it, and had to scratchbuild a replacement.
Fit throughout was absolutely amazing. A swipe of Mr. Surfacer at the wing roots and chin joints was all the filler needed; I smoothed those seams with alcohol on a cotton swab. The only other issue I encountered was the tail wheel strut (Part P71) that needed to be thinned to slip into its mount.
I painted the cockpit parts with Testors Mode Master RAF interior gray green, then picked out details with Sakura Pigma Brush and Sharpie markers. For the camouflage, I airbrushed Mr. Color lacquers silver (No. C8), dark earth (No. C22), and dark green (C361), and Tamiya acrylic gloss black (X-1) and gloss white (X-2). A coat of Pledge Floor Gloss laid a foundation for the decals.
The stencils went down beautifully. Next came the early four-color roundels for pre-war option A, and, unfortunately, they proved to be thick, stiff, stubborn, and impervious to decal solutions — even Walthers Solvaset had no effect. I used a hairdryer on high to melt them into place — which worked — but I also watched as the antenna mast melted and bent to the side. Fortunately, leftover parts in this dual combo came to the rescue with a replacement. The roundels and ID letters of the second airframe went down with no such problems.
A sludge wash, flat coat, final assembly and Bob’s your uncle, I had two spitfires ready for action. Construction of airframe the pre-war airframe (Option A) took 15 hours with another 10 for paint and decals. I spent a few more hours on the Option F, a fighter flown by RAF ace Douglas Bader, with an open cockpit.
When I was 10, I had a small black-and-white TV on my desk, and a I’d watch old movies, build models and dream of the perfect kit. Building these Spitfires brought that dream to life with two small exceptions. My TV is now color — although the movies are still black-and-white — and in my dream that perfect kit was an F4U-4 Corsair. Hint, hint, Eduard.