Eduard's 1/48 scale
Spitfire Story:
Southern Star

by John Trueblood

Here are some photos from my most recent completions. The Mk.V Trops are from the Eduard Dual Combo “Southern Star”.

The Mk.Vb model, IR G is the famous mount of triple ace, Ian “Widge” Gleed, DSO, DFC. It features his distinctive personal Figaro marking, (Geppetto’s cat from the story of Pinocchio).  Gleed was the Commander of 244 Wing, Bou Grara, Tunisia in April of 1943. On the 16th he was attacked by Messerschmidt’s  of JG 77 and fatally crashed near the Mediterranean Sea while trying to limp back to his base.  I painted I RG it the standard RAF desert scheme of Dark Earth, Midstone and Azure Blue with a red spinner, clipped wings and Aboukir tropical filter. 

The C Wing Spitfire is one of the weathered and well-used Malta defenders. Spitfire JK879 received an over spray of Dark Mediterranean Blue while being transported to the island on the aircraft carrier Wasp. I added a slipper tank as my photo references showed them frequently fitted to the Malta Spitfires.  This Mk.Vc Trop was flown by F/O A.F. Osborne of No. 249 Squadron. On April 28, 1953 he scored the 1000th kill of the Malta defense operations, (Ju52/3m Transport). Osborne later achieved good success against V-1 flying bombs; shooting down 6 while flying a Mustang Mk.III.   

The Eduard Spitfires are hands down the best available in 48th. The plastic parts are highly  accurate  with beautifully rendered surface details. The  instruction booklet is clear and logical.  Eduard’s Dual Combo “Southern Star” also features ten decal options along with photo etch, resin wingtips and painting masks.  I did not need any putty nor did the kits require priming to discover defects, there were none. It’s important to perfectly clean-up all the sprue gates due to the kit’s tight tolerances.  

Surprisingly,  I discovered that I could complete 2 models almost as quickly as one . Lots of time saving with references, painting, repeat assemblies  etc.  

The decals are the type with the carrier film on top rather than under the image. After the decals are thoroughly dry (48 hours) the top carrier film can be peeled away to provide a “painted on Look”.  My technique was to use  pointed tweezers to lift the edge of the carrier film and carefully peel it away from the underlying marking. Finally,  gently tapping a small loop of Tamiya masking tape over the decal will cleanup any film residue.  

Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2022 by John Trueblood
Page Created 21 June, 2022
Last Updated 21 June, 2022

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