JBr Decals 1/144 Spitfire American Pilots
By Matt Bittner
JBr Decals has released numerous sets of decals for the exquisite Eduard 1/144 Spitfire Mk.IXc. Czech Spitfires, Israeli Spitfires, German Spitfires, etc., there have been plenty of decals released by JBr to satisfy most people building the Eduard kit.
This latest release is for Spitfire Mk.IXcs flown by American pilots. The decals are for the following aircraft:
- Spitfire Mk.IXc QP-N, Lt. Fred Ohr - 2nd FS, 52nd FG - Palermo, Sicily, 1943: finished in Medium Sea Grey on top and PRU Blue on the undersides
- Spitfire Mk.IXc MK210 "Tolly Hello" - modification to long range fighter, Lt.Col Gustav Lundquist - Wright Field, 1944: finished in the typical three tone Spitfire scheme
- Spitfire Mk.IXc EN447 "Kay III", Lt. Victor Cabas - 4th FS, 52nd FG - spring 1943: finished in the desert scheme
- Spitfire Mk.IXc MH894 "Lady Ellen III", 1Lt. John Fawcett - 309th FS, 51st FG - 1943-44: finished in the typical "day" scheme with a lot of red
Decals are extremely well done and appear to be in register. Given how the Rosarius decals went down, I have no problems with recommending these highly. If you're looking for yet more schemes for your Eduard kits, pick these up.
Be aware, though, three of these schemes are for the "early" Mk.IXc, while the Eduard kit portrays the "late" version. The biggest difference is the size of the air scoop under the fuselage/forward wing, and the size of the cannon bulges were larger. It's not too difficult to convert, but it still would be nice if there was an aftermarket wing so one could just "slap" the aftermarket one in place. Ah well, that's what modeling is all about!
Huge, huge thanks to JBr Decals for allowing us to review these excellent decals.