SPAD XIII – short history
The SPAD S.XIII aircraft was developed by the French manufacturer SPAD – Societe Pour L’Aviation et ses Derives, in 1917. It was equipped with a Hispano-Suiza 8Ba, Bb or Bd V type 8 cylinder water-cooled engine. It ensured a speed of 211 km / h , a service ceiling of 6800 m and 2 hours endurance. It was armed with two 7.7 mm Vickers 303 machine guns and two 11 kilos bombs. During the First World War and after the SPAD S.XIII plane was in use in 18 countries, including Romania.
SPAD XIII – the kit
The scale model produced by Revell is in 1:28. For unknown reasons to me, at the time Revell was producing 1:28 scale models. In fact, almost all their models of World War I airplanes were made in that scale and not in 1:32 scale. These are still available on the market and are really good for making great models.You can find aftermarket parts for the 1:28 SPAD S.XIII scale model, so if you want you can add more details to your model, or you could manufacture them yourself with the means and materials you have at hand. Although the molds are quite old, it looks very good and render the SPAD S.XIII plane quite faithfully. It is cast from gray plastic and seems easy to work with. The manufacturer also offers parts to build the Hispano-Suiza engine. It is quite detailed so even without improvements the result will be impressive. The problem is that the engine is no longer visible once the fuselage halves are glued together. It could be assembled separately and exhibited outside the aircraft on a separate stand.The cockpit does not offer too many details. I don’t think this matters much as the interior is hardly visible once the fuselage is put together. Another drawback is the windshield. It has only the plastic frame without the transparent parts; those you will have to build from scratch or use other parts from your spare box.
Kit: 07430; scale: 1:28; manufacturer: Revell; total parts number: 63; resin parts: 0; photo-etched parts: 0; transparent parts: 0; paint mask: 0; lenght: ~ 23.5 cm; wingspan: ~ 30 cm.
Decals and instruction sheet
The decal sheet offers two marking options, both for the US Air Service that was operating in France in 1918. The first option renders the SPAD S.XIII aircraft S.7714, piloted by Captain R. Soubiran in November 1918. This aircraft was part of the 103rd Squadron, 3rd Pursuit Group. The second option is for the S.7799 aircraft, piloted by Lieutenant Long in October 1918. It was part of the 93rd Squadron, 3rd Pursuit Group. The black & white instruction sheet is 9 pages long. The instructions are clear, so I don’t see any problems that could occur during any of the assembly stages, painting or marking the SPAD S.XIII scale model.
Conclusions
Although it is an old mold, I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box containing the model of the SPAD S.XIII plane. It looks very good and has almost everything it needs for you to build an impressive 1:28 SPAD S.XIII scale model. Obviously, improvements can be made, if you wish to. What is certain is that it is a great scale model that I recommend and that can also be built by modelers with less experience.