Spitfire Mk.IX Exterior Detail Set for Airfix kit

Brengun, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

Eduard's 1/48 scale MiG-23 Wheels are available online from Squadron.com

Background

Until the release of Eduard’s Spitfire Mk.IXc in April this year, one of the enduring mysteries of scale modelling was the inability of kit manufacturers to create an accurate 1/48 kit of this iconic Spitfire variant.  The most accurate pre-Eduard 1/48 kit is arguably Airfix’s M.IXc/XVIe, which was released in early 2006 and reviewed by Brett Green on Hyperscale here:

http://kits.kitreview.com/airfix05113reviewbg_1.htm

Brett’s subsequent build of the kit may be found here:

http://hyperscale.com/2007/features/spitfireixcairfixbg_1.htm

Brett concluded that the kit was very much a mixed bag – while dimensionally accurate and with nice surface detail, it also had a number of shortcomings.  These included an overly thick rudder and horizontal tailplanes, and poorly shaped propeller blades and exhausts.

Brengun’s 1/48 Spitfire Mk.IX exterior set has been designed specifically for the Airfix kit, and goes a long way to addressing these deficiencies.

Contents

Brengun’s set contains the following replacement parts for the Airfix kit:

• Early and late style horizontal tailplanes and elevators

• Early and late style rudders

• Flared and tubular exhausts

• Gear bay doors

• Propeller blades

• Cannon barrels

The parts have been produced in a medium grey resin and have no pinholes or other casting flaws that I can see.  Some of the larger parts – particularly the rudders and elevators – are slightly warped, but a combination of warm water and careful bending should address this.  Some residual mould release agent appears to be present on most parts, so I would recommend giving them a good wash in soap and warm water before applying glue or paint.

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Brengun’s casting technique of using a thin resin wafer to connect the larger parts to their pour stubs should make the parts easier to remove and clean up than is usually the case with resin sets like this.  However, always wear a mask and use water to dampen down the parts while you are sawing and sanding, to minimise the risk of inhaling any of the resin dust.

I don’t have a 1/48 Airfix Spitfire Mk.IX kit to use as a direct point of comparison, but looking at the photographs in Brett’s original review of the Airfix kit it is clear that Brengun’s parts offer a definite improvement.  They also compare well to the photographs and plans in the SAM Datafile on Merlin Powered Spitfires.  The control surfaces have petite detail and thin trailing edges, while the exhausts are nicely hollowed.  Finally, the propeller blades have a more accurate profile than their Airfix equivalents.

Instructions are not provided, but arguably they are not necessary because the identity and correct location of the replacement parts is quite obvious.

This set offers a painless way to dramatically improve the look of your 1/48 Airfix Spitfire Mk.IX model.  And given that Brengun includes different varieties of control surfaces and exhausts, when you’ve finished your model you will have some spare parts left over for a future project.

Highly Recommended.

Reference:

Robert Humphreys, The Supermarine Spitfire:  A Comprehensive Guide for the Modeller – Part 1:  Merlin Powered (SAM Publications, 2000).

Thanks to Brengun for the review sample.

Review Text Copyright © 2013 by Brad Fallen
Page Created 3 June, 2013
Last updated 4 June, 2013

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