Zotz Decals

1/32 Late Mark Spitfires

Sheet Number: 32-033

Reviewed by  Rod Lees, IPMS# 10821

MSRP: $25.00 Website: www.zotzdecals.com Cast of Supporting Characters: · PCM Spitfire Mk IX, www.pacmodels.com, MSRP: $69.95 · RB Models Spitfire Mk XIV conversion set, www.radubstore.com, MSRP: 32.00 Euro ($43.00 US) · Tamiya Spitfire Mk IX, www.tamiyausa.com, MSRP: $130.00. OK, some days you win the lottery but end up paying for it (In a good way). Why? It's not every day that I go out and spend more "hard earned" on conversion sets to work a review in. In this case, however, when I learned what was on the ZOTZ decal sheet that magically appeared in my mailbox, I had to do the Mk XIV in ADDITION to the Mk IX (with the obvious "purty lady" on the cowl). I had a PCM Spitfire in the stash; that part was simple. BUT, no conversion kit for the Mk XIVe. Pooh, said Winnie, what to do? I noticed on Rafel's instruction sheet that he recommended RB production's conversion… So, I went hat in hand (or should it be credit card?) to Radu Brizian on the internet (Mr. RB himself), and asked him "Your website shows you are out of stock on this item BUT I'm working on it for IPMS/USA, can you get one set up for me?"… and less than a week later the modification kit was in hand from the Emerald Isle. YES, I paid for it. It's worth it, trust me. As a note from the instructions, some of the parts (like the cowlings) have brand markings inside from Vasco Barbic of Warbirds Models; Radu uses these parts in his conversion with Vasco's express permission.

I started the build with the usual "cut here" instructions. Yep, take a serious not-a-dollar-store kit, and use a razor saw on it. No problem. Cut off the nose, fin, and tail gear assembly where it says to do so. Instant shorter model! THEN, assemble the interior, paint it up (Sword's resin and Eduard photoetch instrument panels and details, good stuff), and then get it all assembled. Now comes the fun part. As to the conversion, ALL details on the RB items stand out; The cowling has proper rocker cover bulges, and is an upper/lower affair with keyed construction, i.e. if you cut off the nibs on the upper cowl because you think you need to, come and see me and I'll send you to someone who likes to slam hands in a closing car door… The nibs and sockets actually FIT and make the cowling come together, even if they are slightly off. AGAIN, they make the cowl fit very nicely together. Don't cut them off! (No, I didn't, but some out there have this thing about removing everything off the mating surface of a part and then whine because they have to use tons of filler to fix THEIR error.) In this case, as in all modeling, any parts that play nice are good parts.

The conversion set also has semi-soft black resin tires to fit over the resin "four-cooling holes for the brakes" Spitfire wheels for this mark. (Not available in the PCM kit… it has one set of five-holers, and one set with wheel caps) Engine exhausts are spectacular one-piece affairs; they fit in their slots without trouble. (Don't forget to back the attachment points with card stock, like the instructions state!). I am basically ham-fisted on my builds; so when I noted the nose conversion was a simple affair, I performed the "Hold it together and superglue" party, then offered it up to the PCM fuselage. It fit almost like the proverbial glove; a bit of filler here and there, and done. Was a bit off on my kit around the PCM fuselage, but that's because I didn't do a good job of installing the interior, which made it spread out a fraction. Same for the fin and tailwheel mount with integral doors; I was off a bit, but it all worked out. Hardest part was carefully filling in the gaps from my using a chain saw to cut the old parts out.

Rest of the assembly went well; as you can see, fit was better than average for a limited run kit. I used future on the clear parts, one of my more "brilliant" efforts (laugh, come on), and they all snuggled into their respective places using (carefully with a small brush) liquid cement … they submitted without much effort. You can, I'm sure, read about the PCM kit's standard build on various internet sites; it's an excellent kit. The spinner, a prominent feature of the Griffon-engine spits, is perfect. I painted it the same color as the sky band toward the tail. I like to have removable prop assemblies for travel and damage avoidance, so I use evergreen tubes to make a prop shaft and bearing (which was installed with superglue after CAREFULLY drilling out the nose for it). My technique: I mark the spinner center using the existing shaft, cut it off, and drill far enough in to hold the smaller tube/rod (in this case ½") . Superglue a section of tube/rod about 2" behind the spinner in place, and carefully twirl between your fingers to make sure it's centered, adjusting slightly before the glue cures totally. Then, take an entire section of tubing that the prop shaft will fit around, hold it in place through the drilled out cowl, and superglue IT in place (with about an inch inside the cowling), using the Bpb Stevens' "TLAR" method. ("That looks about right"). If you want to use a jig, do so… To this date I've been pretty close on the eyeball method. When the superglue cures, cut the tube ALMOST flush, (leave about 1/64 sticking out) and the prop shaft will (1) fit loose enough to spin but not flop around and (2) provide a relatively secure spinner attachment. It should also allow the spinner to fit almost flush with the front of the cowl. The prop blades were painted and glued into place, and the whole thing was ready for installation.

The Zotz instructions state the following: "Brumhilde: Spitfire XIVe, RB 188, DL-K, flown by Flt Lt "Johnny" Johnson, No 91 Sqn, West Malling, July 1944, 13 and one shared V1 destroyed. Four of his 14 V1 claims were made whilst flying RB 188. "

The drawings show the aircraft with invasion stripes on the fuselage, but nothing on the overhead wing plan. The Mk XIV has a bit of different camo layout than a Mk IX, and it is obvious the drawing was used to show the camo scheme before the invasion stripes were painted on. I sent a note to Eli as to confirming the stripes on the wing, and he responded by referring me to the Osprey Nigeria Squadron Book. Well, I have seen very few aircraft pictures taken in July 1944 that had just fuselage invasion stripes, and I don't have the book, so I erred on the side of "probably had them" and used the Spitfire Mk IX part of the instructions for where to put the wing stripes. Paint went as follows: Primer overall, white for stripes, mask stripes and leading edge (an undercoat on yellow ID markings), Mask all white areas, spray black stripes, mask all invasion stripes, remove the ID mask for the leading edge yellow area, spray Tamiya Camel yellow, mask, spray the aft Sky band and spinner (I used Tamiya IJN Gray Green instead of Sky, looks OK to me), mask it, then spray the underside Tamiya Medium Sea Gray. Mask the underside, Spray overall Tamiya Ocean Gray on top, and freehand airbrush the British dark green using Testors Modelmaster enamel. Wait for it all to dry, remove all the masking, touch up where required. I did not like how the invasion stripes looked on the underwing radiators, so I painted them Medium Sea Gray as well. Gloss Tamiya overcoat… and THEN!... On to the actual ZOTZ decals, AKA "The reason for the review". The research is top notch; and presentation is fantastic. The decals performed perfectly on this kit; not a lot to do, and I opted to leave stenciling because I could not confirm the existence of same. Besides, a lot of it is under the invasion stripes! It only took me 15 minutes to decal the model; a bit of pressure and Micro-sol on the bumps (YES, I know, I forgot to carve off the bumps and shell ejection ports for the outboard guns… they are on the bottom of the wing, and if you didn't know about it you'd never notice). Final finish, Tamiya flat, remove cockpit masks, touch up paint (including wheel wells), install exhausts, tires, sliding canopy, a bit of light weathering, insert the Spinner and prop assembly, stand back and say, "cool"…

Now, that was build one. But wait, there's more! The Zotz decals provide not only the nekkid ladies, but include Greek and Italian markings for those who are so inclined. On the Mk IX, I just HAD to use the nose art… so out came the other stash bird, the Tamiya Spitfire. In case you have been living in modeling Hades without plastic, this kit has received accolades from just about everyone. I also agree with them; Tamiya has delivered one really outstanding model for our stables. Before I leave this part, Thanks to Eli for the decal sheet, to Radu for getting the conversion to me so expeditiously, and PCM for having taken the high financial risk of fielding a new kit of the Spitfire…. Every one of you makes our hobby the best out there! OK, so for the next part, to use up more decals, I built one of the holy grail Tamiya Spitfires… It's worth the cash, trust me! It's also been reviewed by several sources, including IPMS…. Please see their reviews. I opted to install the pilot figure, and put the flaps down. Confession time (It is Lent, after all)… I had a hard time with the cowling; probably because I was in a hurry. No matter; I used some liquid cement, glued the things in place, and proceeded to paint the model in accordance with all the requisite references. The magnets did not want to hold them in place. I say: So what if I can't pull the cowl off to show off the beoootivul Merlin engine. I know it's under there.

Let us return to "the purpose" of this review… Using the "Hello Tolly" decal from Eli Raphael's ZOTZ sheet. Can't let that one go to waste. It's been done in 1/48 several times, (I first saw it in 1997 as a Hasegawa offering on my pilgrimage to Hannants in Lowestoft, UK, during a temporary duty assignment to RAF Mildenhall when I was still in the AF… I didn't buy it, but that's because I was busy buying everything else I could afford). Like the previous build on the PCM kit with RB productions upgrades, everything on the decal sheet worked as advertised. The nose art is perfect, as you can see in the photos. I can't say more about Eli's work!

I wholeheartedly recommend this sheet; being a reviewer cost me over $200 U.S. to use it, (…and I had a PCM spitfire in the stash to start with) but now I have a full Spitfire shelf. You know you want it…. Thanks again to Eli Raphael at ZOTZ for providing this sheet for review!