Eduard 1/72 Spitfire Mk.IX Royal Class
By Matt Bittner
Introduction
As I mentioned in my LF Mk.IXc ProfiPACK review, whenever another Eduard 1/72 Spitfire Mk.IX is released in a different form we will provide the link to that first review to show you a detailed look at the kit. These other reviews will just provide lists of what's different between that initial boxing and the current boxing being reviewed, since the plastic parts are all the same.
The Kit
The Eduard 1/72 Spitfire Mk.IX Royal Class contains four 1/72 Mk.IX kits. In addition to the injected plastic the Royal Class boxing includes a glass coaster, a special Spitfire drinking glass, photoetch parts for all four kits (the same that's in both ProfiPACK kits) and various resin pieces: replacement wheels/tires (both five- and four-spoke wheels) including the tail wheel, and beer casks for the two aircraft that delivered beer to the front-line troops during WW2. Also included in the box are enough masks for all four kits; if you're careful with these you can use them on more than one model.
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You'll definitely want to pay very close attention to the instructions. This is because, depending on the airframe you're building (based on the decals), there are different options you'll need to accomplish. For example, for the two beer-barrel Spitfires you'll need to assemble the casks and add them accordingly. In addition there are different gun sights used again, based on the airframe you're modeling. Because there are a lot of these options throughout the instructions definitely study the instruction sheet very closely, prior to assembly, and plan accordingly.
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One thing is certain, you will have plenty of parts left over for your spare parts bin. It's this way with the standard Eduard 1/72 Spitfire Mk.IX but multiply that by four with this release. So if you have any other manufacturer's 1/72 Mk.IX you could possibly use some of these parts on that model.
This Royal Class boxing comes with fourteen separate markings on their excellent decal sheet, this time the main sheet printed by Cartograf (also included is a decal sheet by Eduard with their stencils for all four models). The aircraft you can create from this boxing are:
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- Spitfire F Mk.IXc, Royal Air Force, 65 Sqn. (S/L James E. Storrar), Kingsnorth AB, September 1943, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire F Mk.IXc, Royal Air Force, 402 Sqn. (F/O Ian Keltie), Kenley AB, March 1943, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire F Mk.IXc, Royal Air Force Northolt Wing (W/Cdr A. Gabszewicz), Northolt AB, 1943, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire LF Mk.IXc, Royal Air Force, 453 Sqn., Ford airfield, June 1944, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire LF Mk.IXc, US Army Air Forces, 309 FS, 31 FG Eleonor (Maj. Garth Jared), Pomigliano/Castel Volzumo AB IT, March 1943, Azure Blue Middle Stone Dark Earth
- Spitfire LF Mk.IXc, Royal Air Force, 72 Sqn. (Prince Emanuel Galitzine), Ramatuelle Airfield FR, 1944, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire LF Mk.IXE, Royal Air Force, 485 Sqn. Waipawa Special (F/O Max A. Collet), Maldegem airfield BE, 1944, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire LF Mk.IXc, Royal Air Force, 324 Fighter Wing (W/Cdr Daniel le Roy du Vivier), IT, 1944, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire Mk.IXe, Royal Air Force, 132 (Norwegian) Wing (W/Cdr Rolf Arne Berg), Twente AB NL, 1944, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire HF Mk.IXe, Aériennes Françaises Libres (Free French Air Force 1940-1945), 345 (French) Sqn. (Jean-Marie Accart 'Bernard'), Deanland AB UK, September 1944, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire LF Mk.IXE, Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily (Soviet Air Force 1918-1991), 26 GIAP (Maj. Vasiliy A. Matsyevich), Leningrad Area, May 1945, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire LF Mk.IXE, Heyl Ha'Avir (Israeli Air Force 1948-Now), 101 Tayeset 26, 1949, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire LF Mk.IXE, Royal Air Force, 132 Sqn., 1944, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark Green
- Spitfire LF Mk.IXE, Royal Air Force, 144 Wing (Canadian) (W/Cdr J.E. Johnson), Battle of Normandy, June 1944, Medium Sea grey Ocean grey Dark
Conclusion
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Another excellent boxing of Eduard's superlative 1/72 Spitfire Mk.IX. If you can find it at a decent price you can have four 1/72 Spitfires in one boxing with a multitude of markings. I'm looking forward to actually starting one.
Huge, huge thanks to Eduard for supplying the Royal Class review.