Eduard 1/48 SPAD XIII American Eagle Dual Combo
By Vic Mattes
Eduard presents one of the classic aeroplanes of World War I. The SPAD was the warhorse of such famous American aviators as Eddie Rickenbacker (26 victories – most by an American until World War II) and Frank Luke (second to Rickenbacker with 18 victories before he was killed in action). The French-built SPAD was one of the most capable and most produced fighters of the war.
The Eduard kit contains two complete SPADs with the decals to emulate the aircraft of not only Rickenbacker and Luke but also Gorman de Freest Larner (an ace with 7 kills) and Jacques Swaab (a double ace with 10 victories). To honor Rickenbacker and Luke further, Eduard included two 5” x 7” post cards of the men with color images of their aircraft. There are also resin statues of the two aviators. Finally, the kit has a ‘Hat in the Ring’ squadron pin.
After all that, yes, the kit does contain the parts and pieces for two aircraft. Each kit comes independently wrapped with three sprues of tan parts, one of clear parts and a separately wrapped set of photoetch. There are 85 tan pieces, 3 clear pieces and 27 pieces of photoetch.
The tan pieces are very well detailed with no obvious pour points or mars that would be visible and very minimal flash. The wings and fuselage pieces have raised ribs, simulating the ribs below the linen. One nice feature of the kit is how Eduard has taken great strides to hide the seam lines of the fuselage. The fuselage is actually in three parts with the lower half split along its length. The upper seam is covered by the upper fuselage, giving a seamless appearance. The same touch is done with the engine cover.
The instructions are contained in 8 pages along with the map of the plastic parts as well as the four highly detailed color plates.
The assembly begins, as would be expected with the fuselage interior. Eduard builds up the interior in an interesting manner. First the interior pieces to include the fire wall are attached to the lower fuselage walls and then halves are joined. The seat floor with the piping and control stick is assembled then inserted into the bottom of the fuselage assembly followed by the lower wing. The upper portion of the cockpit box is completed with an upper surface upon which the controls and gauges are mounted. The cockpit is completed with installation of the seat and its seat belt. With the cockpit complete, the upper fuselage is attached along with the tail surfaces.
After attaching the strengthening rods to the tail, the attention is turned to the front of the plane. The engine is not detailed at all, relying on the cowl and grill to cover the lack of detail. The guns and the exhaust pipes are installed to complete the fuselage.
The model is completed with the upper wing, the wheels and all the rigging. There is a significant amount of rigging to be installed that will be a challenge. The wings are not only rigged laterally but longitudinally. It is not for the faint of heart.
I really like this kit. It is simple and clean. Eduard, as would be expected, has done a magnificent job on it (but there is still all that rigging). The two kits allow one to enjoy building each over separate weekends and still having time for other activities. The kit does include many small pieces and, when combined with all the rigging, leads me to recommend it for the modeler with a moderate degree of experience. As always, I would like to thank Eduard and Internet Modeler for the opportunity to review this kit.