The latest review of the new Spitfire bits
from Eduard of their “Brassin” range is again handled very well by Gary with historical
pictures and reference for whoever likes a good read…
Eduard Brassin Spitfire Drop Tank 1/48
Kit No: 648 108
1/48 scale
Resin parts: 3
Photo Etch parts: 1 fret
Available from: Eduard directly & most model shops
The Spitfire Mk IX was an evolved version
of the Spitfire, with pylons under the wings for bombs or tanks. Whilst originally
designed to be a close support fighter with a action radius of no more than 200
miles, as the war progressed and expanded on different fronts (such as tropical
and desert theatres) the need for the fighter force to fly longer ranges became
more common.
Much experimentation seemed to have been undertaken
with different types of tanks on the Spitfire (including fitting commonly
available US drop tanks) however only a few types were ever seen on combat
Spits during WWII.
One relevant story about the Spitfire and
use of external tanks is recounted by Flight Lieutenant William “Bill” McRae in
his book “Spit Bomber”
“Some of us had already used the external
so-called "slipper tanks" of either 30 or 90 gallon capacity. While
occasional problems were encountered with these tanks, they were minor compared
with the troubles that lay ahead with the 45 gallon "cigar" tank when
401 Squadron converted to Mk IX Spitfires in October 1943. Unlike the slipper
tank, which fitted snugly against the aircraft’s belly, the cigar tank was
slung some distance below the belly, which some of us believed might be the
cause of our problems. (Only recently I have learned that the fault was
eventually traced to the carburetor.) The problem was failure of the engine to
continue running when switching from main tanks to external or from external
back to mains. The latter of course was more serious, since this would usually
take place over enemy territory. In fact, almost one quarter of the pilots lost
by 401 Squadron during my tour were lost due to this cause. None of the ORs
(Operational Records) that I have come across make any mention of tank
problems, referring to the incidents only as "engine failure" or
"engine trouble". There was a third problem with this tank;
frequently it would refuse to jettison, whether empty or full. My aircraft at
the time, MH887, for some reason was a particular offender in this regard.”
In the 648 108 Brassin set, Eduard have
provided the 45 gal “Cigar” tank in two resin pieces and the mounting bracket
and braces in resin and PE.
All three resin parts are crisply molded
with easily removable casting blocks. The single small PE fret contains the one
part for the brace for the tank to fuselage bracket.
As usual the Eduard instructions are clear
and show exactly where the tank should be mounted on the model (in this case
their own Mk. IX kit).
In one typically British story, it was
discovered that the bomb pylons could also be modified to carry beer kegs. A
variation of this was a long range fuel tank modified to carry beer instead of
fuel. The modification even received the official designation Mod. XXX.
Propaganda services were quick to pick up on this, which probably explains the
"official" designation.
So regardless of whether you want model an
aircraft with the Mod. XXX beer tank or a long range Spitfire this Eduard part
will do the job very nicely. Highly recommended.
Gary Wickham
Thanks to Eduard
for this kit to review
