Master Model produces finely crafted small detail parts for models which have been damaged or may be subject to rough handling. Their collection of antennas and pitot tubes are invaluable for the modeler whose friends (or former friends) handle models less than carefully. There’s a picture below, which appeared as a cartoon in an early IPMS Quarterly. This particular set is for the cannons of a Spitfire IXc.

The C wing had either one or two cannons in each wing, and possibly two more .303 machine guns outboard. The kit includes two sets of cannon and one set of stubs, so you can do either of the C wing cannon options, depending on how the aircraft you’re modeling was armed.

Assembly

I started with an Eduard Spitfire IXc which I had previously finished. This model has one cannon and two machine guns in each wing. The machine guns are only indicated by the red patches on the outer wing leading edge. The first part of the project is to remove the kit cannons and stubs. I did this with a sprue cutter. This left me with two pretty easily seen spots on both wing leading edges. I had problems with the earlier review I did on the IXe wing, so I started by flattening the spots with a sanding stick. I then used the point of a #11 blade to make a small indentation which I used as a start point. Master wants you to use a .8mm drill. I couldn’t get a .8mm to work, so I went to a finer drill (.3mm) and drilled pilot holes. I then followed up with the .8 mm drill. Although this worked fairly well, I still didn’t quite get the holes perfectly centered on the leading edge. One of the holes cut through the skin of the upper rside of the wing.

Once the holes were drilled, I had to clean up the edges, as the drill left some residue. While I did this, I used my finest round file and a #11 blade to better center the holes top to bottom.

I put the cannons in first. They went in with only a little work needed to get the holes aligned and large enough. I then followed with the stubs, after the cannons had a chance to set up.

I used gel-type CA to hold the cannon and stubs in place in the wing. I used accelerator, which caused the glue to turn white. No big problem here, though, and the CA acted as a filler for the spot where the drill was off-center.

Painting

I used a fine brush with Model Master paints to match the previously painted Spitfire wing.

Overall Evaluation

I marvel at Master Model’s ability to turn out such fine parts. I am also amazed at how well the gun muzzles fit into the tubes. Recommended.

Many thanks to Master Model for the review item, and to IPMS USA for allowing me to review it.