A quintet of Eduard 1/48 Spitfires

ajrimmer42 · 05-07-22, 05:13 PM

I recently picked up a selection of Overtrees in Eduard's post Las Vegas Nats sale. I think these were all under around the £7 mark each. Overtrees are essentially just the plastic parts needed to build the kit - no instructions, decals, PE or masks, which is fine for me as I almost always pickup aftermarket decals at the very least for most of my builds.

It honestly baffles me how Eduard can knock these Spitfires out for such incredibly low prices, they're absolutely beautiful kits, in fact I'd go as far as to say I prefer them to the new Tamiya Mk.I.

So, I'll start with my favourite of the bunch, this is their slightly older Spitfire F Mk.IX. I added an Eduard spACE set to this one (instrument panel, seatbelts etc), and a majority of the markings were sprayed using Montex masks. I chickened out with the fuselage roundels and fin flash which I nabbed from an Xtradecal set. The interesting invasion stripes on this one were added for Op. Starkey in September 1943, part of a series of deception operations designed to lead the Germans into believing the allies were planning a large scale invasion of Boulogne.

All of my builds in recent times utilise the 'black basing' technique, starting with a black undercoat (I prefer Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500), the camo colours are then mottled on top of the dark background using highly thinned lacquer paints sprayed very close to the surface, slowly building up the colour and saturation. This allows easy tonal variation by leaving areas darker, or adding more paint for lighter parts. I find it gives a little more control than traditional pre-shading. I apply a coat of Flory Models Dark Dirt wash over a gloss coat applied after the decals. This is a clay based wash that can be wiped off after drying leaving it just in panel lines, rivets etc. Final weathering is done over a coat of VMS Satin Varnish with various oil paints, and some final chipping added with a Prismacolor silver pencil.

Onkel Neal · 05-07-22, 05:17 PM

Very impressive, Alex.

ajrimmer42 · 05-07-22, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

Very impressive, Alex.

Thanks Neal!

ajrimmer42 · 05-07-22, 05:26 PM

Number 3, another Mk.Vc, the second unusual scheme I just had to build! Decals on this one again came from the Xtradecal set.

ajrimmer42 · 05-07-22, 05:30 PM

Numero 4, the third and final Vc. This one had some Eduard seatbelts added, along with a Yahu instrument panel. Decals are Xtradecals.

ajrimmer42 · 05-07-22, 05:33 PM

And finally for now, a more traditional Mk.Vb. I was a bit spitfired out by this point as these were all built within about 2 months! Same as the last one, this had Eduard seatbelts, a Yahu IP, and Xtradecals.

ajrimmer42 · 05-07-22, 05:21 PM

Second up, this is Eduard's more recent Mk.Vc. I have a soft spot for aircraft in unusual schemes, so this one was right up my alley. It was also nice not to have to paint a camo pattern on this one! Decals were from Xtradecal's Mk.Vb/Vc set.

05-07-22, 05:13 PM	#1
ajrimmer42 Royal Kinotropist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 987 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	A quintet of Eduard 1/48 Spitfires I recently picked up a selection of Overtrees in Eduard's post Las Vegas Nats sale. I think these were all under around the £7 mark each. Overtrees are essentially just the plastic parts needed to build the kit - no instructions, decals, PE or masks, which is fine for me as I almost always pickup aftermarket decals at the very least for most of my builds. It honestly baffles me how Eduard can knock these Spitfires out for such incredibly low prices, they're absolutely beautiful kits, in fact I'd go as far as to say I prefer them to the new Tamiya Mk.I. So, I'll start with my favourite of the bunch, this is their slightly older Spitfire F Mk.IX. I added an Eduard spACE set to this one (instrument panel, seatbelts etc), and a majority of the markings were sprayed using Montex masks. I chickened out with the fuselage roundels and fin flash which I nabbed from an Xtradecal set. The interesting invasion stripes on this one were added for Op. Starkey in September 1943, part of a series of deception operations designed to lead the Germans into believing the allies were planning a large scale invasion of Boulogne. All of my builds in recent times utilise the 'black basing' technique, starting with a black undercoat (I prefer Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500), the camo colours are then mottled on top of the dark background using highly thinned lacquer paints sprayed very close to the surface, slowly building up the colour and saturation. This allows easy tonal variation by leaving areas darker, or adding more paint for lighter parts. I find it gives a little more control than traditional pre-shading. I apply a coat of Flory Models Dark Dirt wash over a gloss coat applied after the decals. This is a clay based wash that can be wiped off after drying leaving it just in panel lines, rivets etc. Final weathering is done over a coat of VMS Satin Varnish with various oil paints, and some final chipping added with a Prismacolor silver pencil. __________________ Alex Don't judge a ship by the number of it's guns, but by the skill of it's crew.

05-07-22, 05:17 PM	#2
Onkel Neal Born to Run Silent Join Date: Jan 1997 Location: Cougar Trap, Texas Posts: 21,284 Downloads: 534 Uploads: 224	Very impressive, Alex. __________________ SUBSIM - 26 Years on the Web

05-07-22, 05:26 PM	#4
ajrimmer42 Royal Kinotropist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 987 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	Number 3, another Mk.Vc, the second unusual scheme I just had to build! Decals on this one again came from the Xtradecal set. __________________ Alex Don't judge a ship by the number of it's guns, but by the skill of it's crew.

05-07-22, 05:30 PM	#5
ajrimmer42 Royal Kinotropist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 987 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	Numero 4, the third and final Vc. This one had some Eduard seatbelts added, along with a Yahu instrument panel. Decals are Xtradecals. __________________ Alex Don't judge a ship by the number of it's guns, but by the skill of it's crew.

05-07-22, 05:33 PM	#6
ajrimmer42 Royal Kinotropist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 987 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	And finally for now, a more traditional Mk.Vb. I was a bit spitfired out by this point as these were all built within about 2 months! Same as the last one, this had Eduard seatbelts, a Yahu IP, and Xtradecals. __________________ Alex Don't judge a ship by the number of it's guns, but by the skill of it's crew.

05-07-22, 05:21 PM	#7
ajrimmer42 Royal Kinotropist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 987 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	Second up, this is Eduard's more recent Mk.Vc. I have a soft spot for aircraft in unusual schemes, so this one was right up my alley. It was also nice not to have to paint a camo pattern on this one! Decals were from Xtradecal's Mk.Vb/Vc set. __________________ Alex Don't judge a ship by the number of it's guns, but by the skill of it's crew.