Spitfire Mk.XVI Top Cowl
for Eduard kit

Eduard BRASSIN, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

Eduard's 1/48 BRASSIN F-14A Late Wheels are available online from Squadron.com

Eduard’s 1/48 Spitfire Mk.VIII, IX, and XVI kits are beautifully moulded and engineered, with fit amongst the best of any kits I have built:  the main assemblies almost snap into place.

One area where Eduard has compromised is with the upper engine cowling, which is moulded in two halves.  These go together well, but leave a join that must be eradicated before painting. 

This is where Eduard’s single-piece Brassin cowlings come in.  Eduard has so far produced three: early Mk.IX style, late Mk.IX, and the Mk.XVI being examined here.

Casting quality is perfect and the shape looks good, capturing the subtle ‘blown’ appearance of the Mk.XVI cowling (which I understand was required to accommodate the intercooler of the type’s Packard-built Merlin 266 engine).

The cowling is a direct replacement for the two plastic kit parts, and is one of easiest-to-use resin items I have seen.  Separate the part from its casting block (made easy by Eduard through intelligent mould design), remove any rough edges and resin film by wet sanding, test fit and then attach with cyanoacrylate or epoxy glue.

There is an instruction sheet included in the blister pack, although given the subject it is scarcely required.

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Thumbnail panels:

A final point is that this cowling is different to the equivalent part in Eduard’s Brassin Mk.XVI engine. The latter is cast in close to scale thickness, and includes delicate ribbing and other detail on the undersurface of the cowling; it’s clearly designed to be used as a diorama accessory rather than glued to the model.

Eduard’s 1/48 Brassin Mk.XVI top cowl will make final assembly of your Spitfire model a little bit easier than it would otherwise have been.  It’s an inexpensive luxury that fits well and which I will definitely be using when I build my Eduard Mk.XVI.

References

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

Spitfire Mk.IX, XI and XVI – Variants Much Varied, http://spitfiresite.com/2010/04/spitfire-mk-ix-xi-and-xvi-variants-much-varied.html

Thanks to Eduard for the samples and images.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2017 by Brad Fallen
Page Created 14 July, 2017
Last updated 14 July, 2017

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