Spitfire Mk.XVI Engine
for Eduard kit

Eduard BRASSIN, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

Eduard's 1/48 BRASSIN Spitfire Vb Gun Bays are available online from Squadron.com

In 2015 I reviewed Eduard’s Brassin engine set for its own 1/48 Spitfire Mk.IX kits and concluded that it provides everything you need to add a beautiful miniature Merlin 60-series engine to your model.

Eduard has now released a similarly impressive Packard-built Merlin 266 for its 1/48 Spitfire Mk.XVI kit.  The Merlin 266 was essentially a Merlin 66 adapted for mass production in the United States.  As Mark Davies noted in his recent review of Eduard’s 1/72 Brassin Mk.IX engine, the Merlin 266 sported a number of differences from its British cousin:

The most notable of these is the different style and arrangement of the inter-cooler radiator header tank on the top-rear of the engine, whilst some less noticeable differences include different throttle linkage runs, and some minor plumbing.

The Brassin Mk.XVI set captures these differences.  It’s a complex mini-model that is aimed at modellers familiar with resin and photo-etch, and who aren’t afraid to do surgery on the base kit to fit the finished engine.

The key points I made about the Mk.IX engine are also applicable here, as follows.

The set’s five bags of resin parts are not the daunting jumble they appear at first glance. Each part is clearly numbered, and the instructions set out a logical step-by-step process that progressively builds up layers of detail.  Gunze paint numbers are used for colour call outs, and while Eduard’s choices here seem reasonable I’d recommend having some references handy to provide confirmation.

It’s clear as construction begins that the engine is a highly detailed mini-kit with parts engineered for a tight and positive fit.  The star is a beautiful one-piece engine block with integrally cast rocker covers, spark plug leads and other components.  My only quibble is with the plug leads, which feature fine detail but are connected to the cylinders with a thick film of resin that will be tricky to remove without damaging the leads themselves.  I’ll probably remove the leads on my engine and replace them with lead wire towards the end of the build.

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Thumbnail panels:

Parts that are then added to the base engine include the airscrew reduction gear, coolant header tank, supercharger, carburetor, generator, magnetos, intercooler, intake filter, oil tank, and a choice of exhausts (fishtail or tubular) with associated framework.

The engine is then attached to a one-piece firewall that includes an integrally cast hydraulic reservoir tank and ancillary equipment, and wrapped in a five-part engine frame. 

Before the engine can be attached to your model, surgery is required on each fuselage half to remove the side cowls, and on the centre front of on the lower wing to remove a small ‘v’ of plastic.  If you take care these should be fairly straightforward tasks that leave you with solid mounting points for the Brassin engine.

One of the last jobs is to attach the large but delicate photo-etched panel mounting frames on each side of the engine.  Judging by the instructions and reference photos it looks like these frames will require a little manipulation and bending to sit perfectly; in order to achieve this without damage it might help to gently anneal the parts over a candle flame.

Eduard also supplies well cast top, side and lower cowl panels; the former has the subtle but distinctive bulge that characterised Packard Merlin-powered Spitfires.  I might be wrong but I’d be surprised if these panels were engineered to fit tightly over the engine (a la Tamiya’s 1/32 Spitfires).  However, with their finely rendered external and internal details the panels will look most convincing if used in a diorama or vignette.

If you choose to install this engine in your 1/48 Eduard Mk.XVI then you will be up for considerably more work than if you built the kit as supplied.  However this Brassin set is nothing like one of those resin engines from the 1990s and early 2000s that many of us have struggled with:  it’s beautifully cast, and engineered for easy cleanup and construction.  Carefully installed and painted, it will look stunning.  On this basis I have no hesitation in highly recommending the Brassin Spitfire Mk.XVI engine to anyone with a little experience in working with resin and photo-etched parts. 

Thanks to Eduard for the samples and images.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2017 by Brad Fallen
Except Blue Background CAD Images by Eduard
Page Created 29 May, 2017
Last updated 29 May, 2017

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