Eduard 1/48 Spitfire Mk Vc Trop

[VegasAWACER13]

So I didn't intend to do another Spitfire yet. I had planned to build the Tamiya P-47D Razorback. Unfortunately, I needed a bunch of stuff for the P-47 and I had everything I needed for a Spit (and Christmas was expensive). Okay, and I have been wanting to finally build one of the 1/48 Eduards in my stash.

Got this dual combo for my birthday last year. Just building one of the two kits right now. Going to finish it as the RAAF kite pictured on the box.

First one for 2026. Beautiful PE cockpit from Eduard. And my first time using more than just PE seatbelts.

 

[BarleyBop]

Trop? say no more! Short for: 'on Brian's bucket list.'

in French, Trop='too much'... never too much Spit!

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Trop? say no more! Short for: 'on Brian's bucket list.'

in French, Trop='too much'... never too much Spit!

Yes, you can never have too many Spits.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Overall, a really nice cockpit. I don't think Eduard's PE two-piece shoulder harness design works very well. I ended up trashing the second piece. I will probably also add some wiring when I build the second kit in this set. But calling this one done and joining up the fuselage halves.

 

[BarleyBop]

really nice cockpit

Compared to the detail come with my 1:48 Skua kit by Special Hobby, a whole different league!

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Fuselage halves went together beautifully, as did the wing halves. Unfortunately, the right wing was subtly warped. Not readily noticeable until joining the wings and fuselage. The upper seam on the right wing/fuselage join needed some help. Will need a bit of filler too.

Oh well. Taking my time on this one. It takes as long as it takes.

 

[BarleyBop]

It takes as long as it takes.

Amen.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Just about ready for primer. I don't think anyone would call that ungainly chin scoop pretty, but a Spit always looks awesome!

 

[user 22148]

Very nice work thus far - the cockpit looks excellent.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Very nice work thus far - the cockpit looks excellent.

Thank you!

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Tried my hand at pre-shading. This was just accenting panel lines with the top color over a black base and then dusting over it lightly enough for the panel accents to show through. Not sure if this technique has a more particular name, but I figured it was the easiest way to start developing the technique and the easiest to correct if I screwed it up. One of my favorite YouTube modelers does his builds this way (though he does some epic post-shading as well).

I think it came out okay for my first attempt. In retrospect the paint could've used a little thinning, but that's not remotely noticeable with the end result. The two-tone dorsal surfaces will be a little harder. But so far so good.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Trying to learn this pre-shading thing! Definitely a subtle technique. And time consuming! I got the paint mix and airflow right, I just need to get better at it. Definitely don't want it too in your face. But so far so good.

I had to run down a green paint for this one. Far East Spits used the standard RAF dark earth, but replaced the dark green with foliage green. Ended up settling on Vallejo gunship green, which is a very close analog.

 

[BarleyBop]

Nice, preshade subtly coming through!

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Got the dark earth finished. It went faster than the wing I started with. After I complete the green I'll need to paint the tail surfaces and wing leading edges white.

The left wing is fully painted because I wanted to make sure I could pull off the technique before doing the whole thing. It's kind of fun to do. I tried marking some of the camo pattern with pencil but I don't think I'll do that again. It shows too easily through such a light coat of paint.

 

[user 22148]

All looking very nice indeed.

 

[VegasAWACER13]

All looking very nice indeed.

Thank you!

 

[VegasAWACER13]

I had some issues with my airbrush to work through, but I finally got the paint finished today. I think it came out all right for my first attempt a pre-shading. A few minor errors and lots of good lessons learned for next time. It just needs a couple of minor touch ups and it'll be ready for clear coat and decals. I love this color scheme! Very cool and different look for a Spit.

 

[BarleyBop]

That is different.
Were all the Vc trops painted this way?

 

[VegasAWACER13]

That is different.
Were all the Vc trops painted this way?

No. The dark earth/foliage green/azure blue combo was standard for the CBI/Pacific theater, and the white stripes on the wing leading edges were widely used by the RAF/RAAF in the Pacific, but not universally. I believe the all-white tail was unique to the Royal Australian AF No 79 Squadron. RAF Spits in Burma also used white stripes, but parallel to the fuselage on the wings and just a small section of the upper tail.

 

[BarleyBop]

CBI/Pacific theater,

...right! My one track mind is stuck in the Mediterranean!

Without becoming informed about the China/Burma/India and Pacific theaters, I forget about the British and Commonwealth efforts in that area, usually overshadowed by the American sweep to Tokyo.

As a kid growing up in Canada, it wasn't talked about, given our losses and subsequent treatment in POW camps after Hong Kong and Singapore...
All I knew then was 'The Bridge over the river Kwai' and that we all could whistle 'Colonel Bogey'...

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Yeah, a lot of brutal fighting in the CBI. And the Japanese made a lot of bombing attacks on Darwin in northern Australia.

Speaking of the Mediterranean, I'm going to build the second kit in this set as a USAAF aircraft from that theater.

 

[Wig41]

Overall, a really nice cockpit. I don't think Eduard's PE two-piece shoulder harness design works very well. I ended up trashing the second piece. I will probably also add some wiring when I build the second kit in this set. But calling this one done and joining up the fuselage halves.

Gorgeous cockpit !

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Life's been busy lately but I finally got this build done. I had fun with it, and I'm really pleased with the results. There were a couple of minor errors, but nothing most people would notice. The main thing I don't like was my attempt to put gun smoke around the ejector ports on the lower wings. My original intent was to airbrush it but I haven't yet been able to produce consistent enough results so I decided to use oils instead. It just didn't work out and I ended up with overly large greasy smears. I thought I'd blend them in by dirtying up the underside of the wings more. So it ended up being a slightly dirtier bird than originally intended but I've seen from experience that aircraft operating in desert and tropical environments get absolutely filthy. So not unrealistic. Plus these Mk Vs had already seen heavy use when they were sent to the Pacific.

A really beautiful kit from Eduard and I think my best effort since returning to the hobby a year ago. Love the paint scheme on this one. Really unique. Plus pinup girl nose art.

Royal Australian Air Force No 79 Squadron Spitfire flown by Flt Lt Llewellyn Wettenhall. On December 31, 1943, while on patrol in this aircraft, Wettenhall crossed the coast of New Britain island with his flight and entered heavy clouds. He became separated from his formation and disappeared. Wettenhall was posted missing in action and never recovered.

 

[user 22148]

Can't fault that build - that's a stunner!

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Can't fault that build - that's a stunner!

Thanks so much! It was a fun one, even if it did take me over two months.