1/48 Eduard Spitfire Mk.XVI Dual Combo

[Brewer]

Eduard 1/48 Spitfire Mk.XVI Dual Combo

Cat. No.: 1198

Price = $59.99 from Sprue Bothers

 

 

 

Eduard's Spitfire family is well established by now as one of the most state of the art kits on the market with outstanding detail, high level of accracy, excellent fit,  and clever engineering. Add to that the large number of optional parts included in one box along with color photo etch and canopy/wheels masks all for a very reasonable price and you really can't go wrong. Eduard has extended their Spitfire family with this new Dual Combo kit, adding a low-back variant to the mix. Let's have a look!

 

The Spitfire XVI is essentially the same as the IXe except powered by a Packard-built Merlin engine (266) instead of the standard 66. The low-back, obviously, has a cut down fuselage and bubble canopy but is otherwise the same as the high-back.

As with all of Eduard's Dual Combo kits, enough parts are provided to build two complete models. There's a lot in this box, but we'll start with something familiar: the standard Eduard Profipack A4-sized instruction booklet this time with 33 pages thanks to separate assembly guides for the low-back and high-back variants. Also included are 8 beautiful color profiles, 5 for the low-back and 3 for the high-back.

 

 

Moving on to the plastic, there's a ton of it! Two fuselage sprues, three wing sprues, and two each of the common sprues from the IX/VIII kits all in grey plastic. Look at all of this!

 

 

Between the two kits there are over 400 parts. For this review we'll focus mainly on the new parts , as the rest of the kit is essentially the IXe kit.

 

First up we have the all new sprue for the cut back fuselage. Detail is as we have come to expect from Eduard and the new fuselage looks great. Also new to this sprue are 3-spoke wheels and other small parts exclusive to the new fuselage. Eduard has also added a new cockpit rear bulkhead option with the headrest armor molded in place. 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up we have the new wing sprue for post-war planes with a bulged upper wing. Detail inside the wheel well is up to snuff, too, including fine rivets surrounding the bulge.

 

 

 

 

The last of the new plastic for this kit is the new clear sprue for the low-back variant. Aside from the beautiful new bubble top canopy, there are other small new parts for the late version gun sight, etc.

 

 

 

Looking through the remainder of the plastic sprues, we find the standard fuselage and wing sprues from the IXe kit. Two of the non-bulged wing sprues are provided.

 

 

 

Two of each of the sprues common to the IX/VIII/XVI are provided containing all of the remaining parts.

 

 

A new piece with the headrest armor molded in place is also provided for the high-back variant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again the familiar IX/VIII clear sprue for the high-back variant:

 

 

A large sheet of paint masks is provided encompassing both versions. We also get a new fret of PE for the bubbletop, the main difference being the late style seat harness.

 

 

The large decal sheet is quite impressive and printed by Cartograf so you know the quality is top notch. All decals are in perfect register and wonderfully thin.

 

 

 

Two sheets of stencils are provided: the familar IX stencil sheet from previous kits and a new sheet for the bubble top. These aren't Cartograf-printed, but Eduard's own decals are excellent.

 

 

Markings are provided for EIGHT different subjects, complete with the beautiful color profiles we've come to expect:

 

 

Conclusion:

In this Dual Combo we get the first bubbletop Spitfire in Eduard's growning family of variants. This new release equals the high standards of the previous Mk.IX/VIII kits and should be just as much of a joy to build. Personally I've just recently completed the Mk.VIII and will be starting my bubbletop Mk.XVI as soon as I finish writing this review!

 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

 

Jason Brewer

 

Thanks to Eduard for the review sample