Eduard 1/72nd SPAD XIII
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History
The Société anonyme pour l'Aviation et ses derives (SPAD)
XIII was a direct descendant of the SPAD VII. The XIII was up-engined
(initially with the 200hp 8B Hispano-Suiza) and up-gunned (by including
a second Vickers mounted up front) and was considered faster and more
maneuverable. However, inital problems with the engine kept them grounded
during the early parts of their induction. The first SPAD XIIIs were delivered
with rounded wing tips, the center-section struts had a forward stagger
and there were additional sloping drag bracing stays from the upper ends
of the front center-section struts to the upper longerons. The next series
of XIIIs had square wings, but they were made square by the additon of
plywood "pockets" attached to the outer wing tips which were
said to improve lateral control. These tips were  sewn
on to the existing wings and ailerons with twine. Finally, the last series
of XIIIs were delivered with square wing tips which were re-designed at
the factory to include the square tips - instead of relying on a poor
method of "after the fact" execution. It is this last version
that the Eduard kit represents. I don't know if Eduard plans on releasing
an earlier, round-tip wing or not, but I do hope they do. If not, maybe
someone like Rosemont can be convinced to come out with aftermarket replacement
wings.
There were also multiple contractors who built the SPAD XIII. This is
important to remember, because not only did the layout of the five-color
camouflage differ between contractors, but so did nationa markings. It's
very important to know which contractor built the model you're building
because it will affect the final appearance.
A number of countries flew the XIII during the war, noteably France,
USA and Britian, and a number of countries adopted them post-war so they
flew long after hostilities ceased.
The Kit
The Eduard 1/72nd SPAD XIII consists of 56 injected pieces in tan plastic
and two different windscreens in clear. Also included in the box is a
set of Eduard's Express Mask which will be used to mask the windscreens,
wheels and hubs, rudder stripes, and propeller hubs. There are decals
included for four separate machines: Rober Soubiran of the 103rd Aero
Squadron, USAS; Augustin Charvát, a Czech volunteer with France's
SPA 315 that flew in Belgium, 1918; Jacques M. Swaab of the 22nd Aero
Squadron, USAS; and Charles Nungesser with France's GC13/SPAD 65. Decals
 are
extremely well done and in register, and also include dials for all of
the instruments. Eduard has done their homework in regards to the different
roundel sizes based on the contractor, as there are two sizes included.
In addition, Eduard supplies rudder strips and markings in three different
fashions: serials and stripes contained on one decal; separate serials
for those of us who like to paint our rudder stripes; plus, they also
include rudder stripes with no serial numbers on them. Hats off to Eduard
for catering to a diverse crowd.
There are options within the plastic that Eduard provides as well. You
can leave the lower, engine covers off or you can add the separate covers
prior to painting. Eduard provides two different types of props. They
also include two different types of radiators, two different types of
center-section "struts", and two different types of windscreens.
Again this shows that Eduard has done their homework and tried to accomodate
most of the changes inherent in the XIII design.
Construction starts in the cockpit. This is the most complete biplane
cockpit I have seen out of the box, that consists of plastic pieces. The
only things missing are seat belts and side-wall rigging. Some might argue
that bezels are missing from the instruments, but not only are they difficult
to see, but you can get both the bezels and the seat belts in the profi-pack
release of this same model. As I mentioned, it's a very complete cockpit
out of the box and with the proper washes and drybrushes the detail will
stand out very well. Eduard provides the side engine mounts as part of
the cockpit assembly, which are very noticeable if the separate engine
covers are left off. The shelf surrounding the pilot is provided in three
pieces as well as the decal instruments that are added to two of those
pieces. Once the main cockpit floor is complete and installed into the
fuselage, both fuselage halves can be glued together. After the fuselage
halves are glued is when the pilot's shelf is attached to the fuselage.
 Now
that the fuselage halves are together, the one piece, separate upper fuselage
piece can be added. Extreme gratitude to Eduard for thinking ahead on
this one. Since the turtledeck is one piece there is no chance that stringer
detail will be lost gluing together "typical" fuselage halves
where the entire fuselage is two vertically glued together halves. A pet
peeve of mine - my last SPAD, the Amodel A.2 I had to scratch the entire
turtledeck because what stringer detail was there was lost with all the
sanding needed for seam removal. Thank you Eduard!! Now if only other
model companies would take heed. Some might argue that the side seam (where
the upper fuselage piece, #A3, joins the fuselage halves) would be difficult
to remove because of its nature, but I think with careful sanding and
attention it won't be any worse than trying to scratch an entirely new
turtledeck.
Once the upper fuselage is in place then construction moves to adding
the rudder and lower wing, followed by other small details prior to painting.
Once the five-color is painted then construction finishes with the upper
wing addition as well as the landing gear assembly. Thankfully Eduard
includes a rigging diagram.
Conclusion
 If
you can't tell, I really, really like this model. I have build the Eduard
Dr.I and have a D.V in progress, but I feel the SPAD XIII is Eduard's
best 1/72nd WW1 model to date. Sure, I may be biased because it's French,
but as an example look at the cockpit. The XIII cockpit is as complete
as one can get using plastic pieces. The best D.V cockpit is the profipack
one, and most of its cockpit is photoetched. (Now don't get me wrong,
the D.V is still an awesome model - I just feel the SPAD is even better.)
This is a first-rate model and is not to be missed.
I have seen the contents of the profipack release on Eduard's site,
and it improves upon an already excellent product. The photoetch contains
such items as instrument bezels, seat belts and mesh grating for the lower
engine fuselage covers. In addition it comes with markings for five aircraft.
Even so, don't pass on the non-profi SPAD XIII kit. It's just as awesome
as the profi kit, but doesn't come with the profipack's "bells and
whistles".
Thanks to Eduard for the review
sample.
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