Author Topic: Dave Calhoun reviews Print Scale's SPAD XII-XIII Part-2 in 1/48  (Read 2855 times)

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Dave Calhoun reviews Print Scale's SPAD XII-XIII Part-2 in 1/48
« on: February 04, 2014, 05:17:57 PM »
1/48 Spad XII - XIII Part 2 48-047
from Print Scale


First Look review by Dave Calhoun







Here is a recent sheet from Print Scale in 1/48 scale for USAS SPADs.  It offers four different schemes as follows:

1.  SPAD XII flown by Charles J Biddle, 13th Aero Squadron October 1918.  The only kit available for this aircraft is a JMGT resin kit and I am not aware if it is still available, but if you do not have one you could modify a SPAD 13 kit to represent the cannon armed fighter, although it would take a lot of work.  No serial number is given, although I am not aware of any photos showing the tail of this machine.  Also of note is that Print Scale printed the 13th Aero “Grim Reaper” in yellowish gold, I have always seen this as white so it may or may not be authentic. 

2.  SPAD XIII S 15202 of Lt Frank Luke Jr, 27th Aero Squadron, September 1918.  This is #26 as seen in the well known photo of Luke leaning against this aircraft, and looks good to me.  Unfortunately you will have to mask and paint the white and blue ying yang on the wheel covers as it is not included on the decal sheet.

3.  SPAD XIII S15137 of Lt David E Putnam, 139th Aero Squadron, September 1918.  This is my favorite marking from the sheet, and is the first time that I know of that Putnam’s “Winged Mercury” markings have been done. 

4.  SPAD XIII S7650 of Leslie Rummell, 93rd Aero Squadron.  This is another interesting marking for one of the USAS unknown aces, but it also has the biggest downfall of the sheet.  If you look at the photo of this aircraft shown on the instruction sheet, the circle behind the Indian head should be LARGER than the white 14 number.  Unfortunately, the decal on the sheet is much smaller than the number.  My guess is that they made the Indian head in 1/72 scale by mistake, but it will look way too small to allow you to use it on a 1/48 scale SPAD XIII.

Conclusion 
All in all it is a great sheet for those interested in doing American SPADS, and Print Scale should be complimented in doing these WW1 aircraft.  Despite the small size of the 93rd Aero Squadron marking, the sheet otherwise looks excellent.  A full color instruction sheet also provides two view drawings for each aircraft, and a top view drawing of the French five color camouflage.  It should be noted that this scheme varied between the various manufacturers that produced the SPAD XIII, and further research will be needed to get the correct scheme for each set of markings.

A complete listing of decals available can be seen at: www.printscale.org

Thanks Dave for this review
Happy Modelling
James Fahey

Check out my massive photo collection here: https://jamesfahey.smugmug.com/