Spitfire Mk.IXc

Weekend Edition, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Graham Carter

Yet another iteration of the original Eduard 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire released in late 2016 initially as  the late version of the Mark IX. It was well-received due to its level of detail, fit and accuracy as well as the good range of schemes provided. It was followed by a large number of releases of the Marks IX, VIII and XVI family, all based on the same or similar sets of sprues as the kit contains an enormous number of alternate parts to cover these variants both in Profipack (which offered more detail in the form of masks, coloured PE and more schemes), Weekend Edition with fewer optional schemes, but with the same parts, and the ‘Overtrees’ editions with just a bag of parts so that you can use up some of these spare decal choices..

The kit has been released 27 times according to my search of Scalemates (q.v.) in several versions with some extra parts, different decal choices and varying accessories.  

This latest kit comes in the usual enormous box which does mean the parts have rattled around quite a bit in transit, although no damage appears to have been done as each sprue is packed in its own bag. These boxes could easily have been 2/3 the size, but they are both strong and top opening. I fitted six completed 1/72 Spitfires inside the bottom of the box with plenty of room for padding. This one comes with a great illustration of one of the decal choices, DU-Z of the Czech 312 Squadron having just downed an Fw190 in June 1944, and has the four  decal choices illustrated on the box side in colour.

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Those of you who have seen these splendid kits before will be familiar with mass of finely moulded parts (over 150 of them) including all relevant rudder shapes, wing-tips, cockpit details, tanks and weapons and the famous ‘pinwheel’ for the transparencies in different styles and catering for open and closed positions. The parts themselves are beautifully moulded in dark grey plastic with no sign of short-shots or flash beyond a wisp of a seam that will be doddle to remove with a blade or sanding stick. Sprue gates are minimal and are not attached to critical areas of the parts. Each sprue comes in a resealable clear sleeve. The review kit is the Weekend Edition and so does not contain the masks for the canopies or a photo-etched set for all the small parts such as radiator innards, belts and instrument panel. These are provided as perfectly good decals.

Numerous resin and photo-etched accessory sets are available for these kits, some by Eduard themselves but quite honestly, I can’t see the need as the plastic parts are so finely done. Oh, alright, maybe the undercarriage doors look better in etch.

For this kit, over 85 parts are not used so your spares box will benefit a mass of extras, or you could use them to improve any of the other kits on the market. This does raise the issue of the care you will need to take in sorting out exactly which parts are needed for the model you are building. Fortunately the instructions are very clear about the parts to be used. I would be very tempted to remove those extras from the sprues when I started to avoid future confusion.

This ‘C’ version comes with the narrow bulges on the upper wings. I thought it was a good idea to do the wheels and tyres as separate parts to both allow different hub types and to make painting easier, saving that awkward masking or hand-painting job. Undercarriage legs are also set at the correct side and forward angles to add accuracy.

Instructions and Markings

The A4 stapled instruction booklet starts with a brief history of this iconic fighter and then illustrates each step with coloured line-drawings with the schemes being shown in four views and colour.

The kit includes a stencil placement diagram, again in four views – very thorough.

Colours are indicated clearly at each step and are given in Mission Model, Gunze Aqueous and Mr. Color on a table below the parts map on page 2. The four decal choices are illustrated with four-view drawings in colour and a nice variety there are.

As usual they are beautifully printed, glossy, thin and perfectly in register.

A separate sheet contains a mass of stencilling for one aircraft.

The four choices are:

• MK144, FF-C of 132 Sqn.  flown by S/Ldr. Alan G. Page at RAF Ford, early 1944, in the standard Ocean Grey/ Dark Green over Medium Sea Grey with a sky rear fuselage band and yellow leading edges,

• MK244, DU-Z of 312 Squadron flown by W/Cdr. Jan ?ermákat at RAF Appledram, June 1944, in the same scheme but a full set of black and white ID bands on wings and rear fuselage,

• MK832 DB-T of 411 Squadron, flown by S/Ldr. Robert K. Hayward at Beny-Sur-Mer in France, August 1944, in the same scheme but a set of black and white ID bands on lower wings and lower rear fuselage only, and

• WZ-RR “Porky Pig” of 309 FS, 31 FG USAAF , flown by Lt. Robert Connor at Castel Volturno, Italy in early 1944, in the same scheme but no ID bands except for red stripes on the outer wings and a red spinner

It is great to see yet another iteration of this terrific kit in the ‘One True Scale’ and it comes thoroughly recommended to the Spitfire addict, and who isn’t?

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text & Images Copyright © 2023 by Graham Carter
Images Copyright © 2023 by Brett Green
Page Created 31 January, 2023
Last updated 31 January, 2023

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