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RP-3 60lb Rockets for Tempest Mk.II (648641 for Eduard/Special Hobby) 1:48 Eduard Brassin This set arrives in a familiar shallow Brassin cardboard box, and contains eight resin rocket bodies with moulded-in fins, eight launch rails, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass and a small decal sheet, which anyone with the set for Mk.V Tempest will recognise immediately, as it is a rebox with a new name. The rockets need their exhausts drilling out with a 1mm bit, and are then decked out with numerous PE fittings that facilitate their attachment to the rails later on. The rails are handed, so take care when installing them, then glue the rockets in place and attach the launch command wire to the back of the rocket and the rear of the pylon. Strangely, Eduard still shows the tails hanging down from the wing in their CGI rendering, which is only the case on the ground when they have been fitted to the rails but aren't yet plugged into a socket. Remember this though, and you'll be fine. As usual the paint codes are in Gunze shades, and the decals are also shown in place on the same diagram. Review sample courtesy of

Tempest Mk.II Cockpit (648639 for Eduard/Special Hobby) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Eduard’s new Hawker Tempest Mk.II in 1:48 has been received with great excitement and more than a little bit of drool by many modellers, as it represents the pinnacle of injection moulded kit design at the moment, and a well-loved aircraft to boot. You can always improve on perfection though, and using resin to produce parts of excellent fidelity by creating masters using 3D CAD software and 3D printing is the perfect medium to create even more detailed parts for your model. A great many modellers will be perfectly happy with the detail in the base kit, but if you’re a stickler for detail, fancy the challenge of increasing the fidelity of your cockpit, or just felt like getting one, this set is just what you’re looking for. Arriving in the deep rectangular cardboard box that larger Brassin sets use, inside are three Ziploc bags containing fifty-five resin parts, a fret of nickel-plated pre-painted Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a small decal sheet with instrument dials, and a slip of clear acetate with shapes printed in black ready for cutting out. It is cushioned by a thick sheet of grey foam, and a thick instruction booklet printed in colour on both sides of A4 sheet, folded in half. It’s easy to get confused with these individual leaves fluttering about the desk, but Eduard have numbered the steps, and if you put a couple of staples in the left margin (landscape format), you’ll be able to keep them in sequence. The detail is orders of magnitude better than the already excellent kit cockpit, and the sensible breakdown of parts and their attachment to casting blocks will make the task much easier than it otherwise may have been. Finally, the method of casting that Eduard have developed means that bubbles are almost unheard of in their sets, which is another area of concern removed. If you’re familiar with the cockpit of the Tempest, you will know that it is a framework with the floor suspended in the lower fuselage, so construction begins with the side frames, which have many detail parts added to the frames, plus the side console on the left and right, both of which are substantially different in terms of form and function from each other. The colour call-outs are made in Gunze codes throughout, which makes the task much more pleasant too. The side frames are then linked by the addition of a section of the wing spar and a number of cross-braces, including a scrap diagram to assist with placement of the parts. Two instrument boxes are placed low down on the side frames, then the floor is begun, starting on the central section with control linkages and brackets for the floor “foot trays”, and a slot for the control column, which has two choices of grip. The rudder pedals glue atop the cross-beam and have an adjustment wheel added to the centre, and is then glued in the front of the floor arrangement, which is itself inserted into the framework and integrated with more scrap diagrams holding your hand. The seat is next, with adjustment lever and lower mounts added first, then the PE lap belts in full colour. It gets inserted into the rear of the framework, then is boxed-in by a cross-brace that has the top seat mounts, another cross-brace with fabric cover, then a fuselage structural frame at the rear. The fuel tank is placed straddling the frame in front of the pilot, with the instrument panel sitting right up against it, and festooned with decals and some PE controls, adding a compass with another decal in the bottom centre. The pilot’s back armour panel is glued to the cockpit sill insert along with a Y-shaped section of the shoulder belts that sits behind a rail that the straps drape over later on. The gunsight has two clear acetate parts attached, one of which can be fitted flat down or angled, with a PE cover over the top, and a piece of 0.3mm wire from your own stores leading away from the unit. It is inserted above and in front of the instrument panel on a two-legged bracket that slots into slots in the top of the panel. Before the fuselage can be closed up, the sidewalls, which already have moulded-in ribbing from the box, are detailed with more resin and PE, including an additional decal. Finally, the fuselage can be closed up around the new highly detailed cockpit, with the addition of the kit’s styrene front bulkhead, then the cockpit sill insert and the two shoulder belts are added into the top of the newly minted fuselage. Conclusion When you break it down, it seems a much easier process, and the improvement in detail is excellent. It’s probably not suitable for novices, but anyone with some experience of resin construction should manage perfectly well, and the results will be well worth the effort. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Tempest Mk.II Upgrade Sets & Masks (for Eduard/Special Hobby) 1:48 Eduard & Eduard Brassin We’re so lucky to get so many brand new Tempest kits in 1:32 and now 1:48, with this latest Tempest Mk.II ProfiPACK a superb exercise in the current state of the art of styrene injection moulding. Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail even further in the usual modular manner. Get what you want for the areas you want to be more of a focal point. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE), small Brassin sets and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. SPACE (3DL48030) The Eduard SPACE sets use new 3D printing techniques that lay down successive layers of different colour resin, creating highly realistic almost full complete panels that are supplied on a decal sheet. They can depict metallic shades, plus glossy, satin and matt colours too, which really ups the detail on everything they print. In addition, a small sheet of nickel-plated and pre-painted PE is included for the aspects of the set that lend themselves better to this medium, such as seatbelts and rudder pedals. This set includes rudder pedals with adjustment wheels; a new set of four-point seatbelts for the pilot; levers for the instrument panels, while the 3D decals cover the instruments on the main panels; the side consoles; compass and adjustment wheel on the throttle quadrant. Exhaust Stacks(648654) This set contains just two parts on a single casting block, which replace the kit parts as drop-in replacements, offering a squared-off hollow lip to each of the eight exhaust stubs, and including detail around the stacks, and the curious angling outwards of the top pipe on each side. Seatbelts STEEL (FE1208) These belts are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting. Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE. It includes a set of crew belts that consist of a pair of lap belts and the shoulder belts with the section that passes down the rear of the seat to its anchor point on the bulkhead. Masks Tface (EX796) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with everything needed to mask the exterior of the canopy, but also give you another set of masks tailored to fit the interior of the glazing so that you can paint the interior and give your model that extra bit of realism. The highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition you get a set of masks for the tiny tail-wheel hubs, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Review sample courtesy of

ADM-160 MALD (648623) 1:48 Eduard Brassin After a false-start at the turn of the millennium, the second iteration of the Miniature Air-Launched Decoy piqued the interest of the US military again, with a longer range, more powerful turbojet engine, and a different shaped profile to the fuselage, but otherwise very similar to the unsuccessful first version. It is designed to be air-launched and carry out a pre-programmed course that can be adapted if necessary by the launching pilot. It can fool the enemy into thinking it is a range of Allied aircraft from a single-seat fighter to a heavy bomber, helping carry out the Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) without risking any crewed aircraft. Recently, a jamming capability has been added to the missile’s repertoire, and Raytheon have been working on a lighter composite fuselage and a data-link back to base to improve general situational awareness. Other options include adding Electronic Counter-measures (ECM) to the mix. As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as padding. This set includes resin parts for three missiles with wings that can be posed open for flight, or swept back into the closed position for storage or carriage on an aircraft. A Photo-Etch (PE) panel covers the wing join, a resin FOD cover fits over the intake (if it's not in flight), and at the rear of the Missile/Aircraft/Drone are two PE meshes panels that are used to steer the airframe and also hide the casting block at the rear of the fuselage. A small sheet of decals are included in a separate bag with the PE sheet for the stencils, and as usual with Eduard kits, there is a diagram showing the colours in Gunze codes and locations of the stencils. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

GBU-53B w/BRU-61 (648620) 1:48 Eduard Brassin During the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rules of engagement between the Allied forces and those of the enemy led to numerous issues where the employment of even small Laser-Guided Bombs (LGBs) resulted in serious collateral damage due to the fact that the enemy weren’t in isolation, and sometimes used the civilian population as a human shield. In order to address this, a requirement for a Small Diameter Bomb was issued, resulting in the SDB, which was capable of hitting stationary targets. After some unrelated political scandals, an improvement was made to the type, called the SDB II or GBU-53B, which was capable of chasing down moving targets and uses sensor fusion to optimise the search and targeting, landing a 250lb bomb on an objective without the surrounding devastation that accompanies larger warheads. Their small size gives the added bonus of the ability to carry a substantial number of these useful weapons on the BRU-61 quad-launch rail, permitting 8 or 16 bombs to be carried by one aircraft. As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around, acting as padding. Inside are two bomb racks and eight bombs that have separate clear seeker heads, and moulded into the body are the air-deployed wings that give the weapon the stand-off capability that was missing from the original variant. In service the bomb is called Stormbreaker, and it will doubtless be in service for the foreseeable future in its present or upgraded form with the existing F-18, F-15 and F-22 fleets, plus the F-35 in US and Allied service. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

American Mk.44 Torpedo (648625) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The Mk.44 was a US-designed light weight air-launched weapon developed in the 1950s and used until the late 1960s and beyond by a number of NATO air forces. In RAF service the torpedo was carried by the Nimrod and Shackleton, amongst others. As usual with Eduard's smaller Brassin sets, it arrives in a flat resealable package similar to their PE sets but with different branding, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. This set includes parts for two torpedoes, with the main body the largest part. The casting block is attached to the blunt nose of the torpedo, which should make for an easy clean-up, while the propeller is moulded onto a cylindrical peg that inserts into the aft of the body, and is surrounded by a ring that slips over the prop and lodges onto four support fins. The decal sheet contains stencils for the weapon, plus a pair of grey stripes that are applied to the body, and an access panel that is also grey. Each of these decals has one spare in case you make a mistake. The painting diagram shows the colours using Gunze colour codes and colour names, which should be sufficient to convert if you don’t have that brand to hand. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Lockheed C-130 Wheels (672263 for Zvezda) 1:72 Eduard Brassin ` Kit wheels are generally in two halves, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, possible mould-slip issues on single part wheels, and sometimes less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the tread department. That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument. They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement. This set arrives in Eduard’s standard flat packaging with a card insert and instructions behind the four resin wheels within. The wheels are attached to their blocks by the contact patch, with narrow out-riggers to each side that improve casting reliability and mould release. The detail is pretty good, deep circumferential tread is engraved and the wheels have the right amount of sag you seem to see on a full loaded Herc In addition, you get a sheet of yellow kabuki tape (not pictured – it doesn’t photograph well) with six pre-cut donut masks ready to assist you in cutting the demarcation between tyre and hub with as little effort as possible. Conclusion It’s a drop-in replacement for the kit parts, and the detail is excellent, adding some welcome realism to your model, while simplifying construction and making painting easier. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Spitfire Mk.II Cockpit (648621 for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Brassin If you have one of Eduard’s new Spiotfire Mk.IIs in 1:48, this new resin set to upgrade the detail in the cockpit from excellent to exceptional. The set arrives in the familiar shallow black Brassin cardboard box, and inside, protected by the folded instructions are three bags of resin and Photo-Etch (PE) that make up the set, as well as the aforementioned instruction sheets. Within the bags are thirty-two resin parts, a sheet of nickel plated and pre-painted PE, a small decal sheet with instrument dials and placards, plus a small slip of acetate sheet with the shapes for the gun-sight glazing printed upon it in duplicate in case you lose one. Clean-up of the resin should be done carefully with a scalpel or razor saw, and the casting blocks have been sensibly placed to help with this. Give the parts a bath in warm soapy water (not hot, which might deform them), and they should go together like any other kit. The instrument panel is made up from a lamination of three layers of PE and one of resin, one early, one late, with an optional resin only panel with decal if you don't like the printed PE. This fixes to the frame through which the pilot's feet reach for the rudder pedals. The frame behind his head is backed with a PE armour panel and head cushion, while the cockpit floor is made up by the addition of the rudder pedals and their linkages, the wing spar and other equipment. The instrument panel frame slots into a groove in the floor, and the control column slots into the linkage assembly. The pilot's seat is made up from a resin body, PE armour and connectors, with a resin frame, after which yet more PE is added to firm up the connections, adding adjustment handle and the prominent flare rack that sits under the pilot on the front lip of the seat. The previously built-up frame is added to the floor along with the frame behind it, and the seat is installed on the small mating points along with its belts that slip through the framework. Attention then turns to the sidewalls, which are based on thin resin skins that have much of the interior detail moulded in, with extra resin and PE parts added to complete each one, including the twin cylinders that typify early Spits. Before they are added to the sides of the cockpit assembly, a little bottle on a rib is added between the seat and next frame back, after which you have a proper cockpit tub. The upper sidewalls are detailed inside the fuselage with PE and resin parts, and once complete and painted, the assembly is placed within the fuselage halves. The roll-over protection frame is outfitted with a resin bracing piece and added behind the pilot's head. The resin and acetate gun sight fits to the top of the instrument panel, and you have a choice of two types, with circular or rectangular glazing. A number of additional PE wires are inserted later from outside, and the placard decals that are provided are applied to the sidewalls during construction, with colour call-outs using Gunze codes throughout. Conclusion With careful painting you will have the ultimate cockpit for your Spit Mk.II, adding a fantastic focal point to your model. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

AGM-62 Walleye II (648616) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The Walleye was an early guided bomb that was surprisingly successful given the analogue nature of the electronics and the relatively short gestation of the type. It was initially called a missile, but as it was unpowered that was somewhat disingenuous. It used television for guidance, requiring the pilot to designate a picture of the target on a screen in the cockpit, then after launch the aircraft could turn for home leaving the weapon to home in on the target unaided. It was first used with great success in Vietnam in 1967, and was found to be an accurate weapon that reduced the likelihood of collateral damage, although it suffered a little from having a relatively light payload. The Mk.I Mod.3 had extended fins, and was also known as the ER/ERDL. The Mk.II went a long way to increase the destructive power, almost doubling the payload for a little more punch (and paunch), remaining in service thanks to upgrades until just after the first Gulf War, which also marked the last hurrah of the A-7 Corsair II that carried it. As is now usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, they arrive in the new Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, the main bodies going as far as having bubble-wrap bags to protect the wings, and the instructions folded around acting as padding in addition to the foam sheets. The set includes parts for two surprisingly large and chubby Walleye IIs, which are much chunkier than the predecessors, to give them the greater explosive capability of these later variants. The main bodies have the four large wings moulded-in, with either a clear television camera in the nose, or with a 2.3mm of the tip removed, the protective FOD cover can be installed instead. At the rear is a resin spinner with two PE blades from the tiny Photo-Etch (PE) sheet. The decal sheet includes stencils for each bomb, which are painted overall white with a red FOD cover, and the spinner at the rear is painted steel. Conclusion Detail is excellent, even extending to a representation of the camera inside the nose, although no painting instructions are included for that area, although it’s usually a light to medium metallic colour. Again, check your references if you are unsure. The casting blocks should be easy to remove and clean up neatly, thanks to the tapered flow gates and sensible location of the casting blocks. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

SC50 German WWII Bombs (632170) 1:32 Eduard Brassin Bombs. They’re thrown or dropped from the bomb bays or pylons of aircraft, and unless they’re dud or on a timer, they go bang when they hit the ground, generally making a mess of anything nearby. During WWII the Germans did a lot of bombing of the British Isles and other countries they didn’t like using their standard iron bombs with the nomenclature SC followed by the weight in Kilograms. The SC50 was one of the smaller bombs, sometimes carried by fighters or other aircraft that weren’t capable of lugging anything larger over long distances, or when they wanted to make lots of small holes instead of a few big ones. As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as padding. Inside are parts for eight bombs, which have the four fins cast into the body, with the casting block joined at the tips of the fins. Four “whistler” tubes are included for each bomb, and these are fitted to the sides of the fins, and give the bombs that typical whistle as it drops, presumably to instil even more terror into their intended victims, in a similar manner to the Jericho Trumpets on the gear legs of Stukas. There are also separate suspension lugs on a cylindrical plug that fits into a corresponding hole just behind the moulded-in fuse depression on the “top” of the bomb if it was carried horizontally on a pylon. A set of stencil decals are included with yellow or red stripes that differentiates between otherwise identical HE and fragmentation fill variants, with additional stencils on the topside around the lug and fuse showing type, fuse & other check marks. The colour callouts are Gunze as usual, but there were some variations in in the body colour later in the war, so consult your references if you are unsure. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

AGM-84D Harpoon Missile (648619) 1:48 Eduard Brassin In the mid-60s, America watched in horror as a Soviet-made missile was used to sink an Israeli Destroyer in the Middle East, causing them to accelerate their Harpoon programme that would give them their own effective anti-ship missile. By 1977 the first Harpoon missiles were being delivered, and various different blocks saw the type develop its capabilities, with several thousand delivered to US and many allies over the years. The AGM-84D is a capable weapon that can be carried by ships, aircraft and even submarines, travelling at low level to targets over the horizon. A later block was able to re-attack in the event of an initial miss, thanks to improved avionics. As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as padding. Inside is a bag of resin parts and another bag with stencil decals and a small Photo-Etch (PE) sheet protected by a piece of white card. There are parts for two missiles, which have eight separate fins and a choice of either a seeker head moulded into the forward fuselage part, or an alternative FOD cover moulded in. The PE parts are folded up into a pair of small grab-handles that attach on either side of the FOD cover to aid clean removal by the ground/deck crew. Colour call-outs throughout are in Gunze codes, and are repeated in a separate diagram that also shows the location of the many stencils on the weapon. Another superbly detailed weapon set from the masters at Eduard. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

AGM-62 Walleye I Mk.I (648614) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The Walleye was an early guided bomb that was surprisingly successful given the analogue nature of the electronics and the relatively short gestation of the type. It was initially called a missile, but as it was unpowered that was somewhat disingenuous. It used television for guidance, requiring the pilot to designate a picture of the target on a screen in the cockpit, then after launch the aircraft could turn for home leaving the weapon to home in on the target unaided. It was first used with great success in Vietnam in 1967, and was found to be an accurate weapon that reduced the likelihood of collateral damage, although it suffered a little from having a relatively light payload. The Mk.II went a long way to rectify this, almost doubling the payload for a little more punch, remaining in service thanks to upgrades until just after the first Gulf War, which also marked the last hurrah of the A-7 Corsair II that carried it. As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as padding. The set includes parts for two Walleyes, which are surprisingly large, given their relatively light explosive capability. The main bodies have the four large wings moulded-in, with either a clear television camera in the nose, or with a 2.3mm of the tip removed, the protective FOD cover can be installed instead. At the rear is a resin spinner with PE blades from the tiny Photo-Etch (PE) sheet. The decal sheet includes stencils for each bomb, which are painted overall white with a red cover, and the spinner at the rear is painted steel or silver, depending on which part of the instructions you read. A quick check of your references should soon clear that up though. Conclusion Detail is excellent, even extending to a representation of the camera inside the nose, although no painting instructions are included for that area. Again, check your references. The casting blocks should be easy to remove and clean up neatly, thanks to the tapered gates and sensible location of the blocks. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

SUU-23 Gun Pod (648612) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The SUU-23 was a further development of the SUU-16 gun pod, and has a GAU-4/A Vulcan gatling gun at its heart. It was a development in the 1960s to give the F-4 Phantom back its gun, having been left out of the design thanks to the power of the “missile mafia”, who convinced everyone that guns and dogfights were a thing of the past. Inside the aerodynamic fairing is the self-powered gun and an ammo tank to feed the gun up to 1,200 rounds, which sounds a lot, but given the rate of fire doesn’t last long. It wasn’t all that accurate due to the aerodynamic buffeting and vibration caused by use, but it was still a lot better than nothing. This set contains resin and Photo-Etch (PE) parts for two pods, which are made up from two body parts, with a choice of blunt of taper rear, with a fairing at the front that protects the skin of the aircraft against damage from any stray rounds, cartridge fragments and combustion residue. The gun barrels have a PE end-cap with 6 perforations depicting the muzzles. There is a choice of three types of pylon, with a helpful list of kits that each pylon is intended for, either Academy, Hasegawa or Zoukei-Mura kits, and the moulded-in anti-sway braces need 1mm lengths of 0.6mm wire or rod for their tensioners. Painting instructions are given using Gunze codes, with Olive Drab being the main colour. The decals are included for the stencils, of which there are many, so ensure there’s a nice glossy surface to apply them onto. Conclusion Detail is excellent, and you have enough for two projects as they usually fit on the centreline of whatever's carrying it. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Lysander Twin Browning Machine Gun (648584) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Eduard have reboxed the 1:48 Lysander kit from Gavia a few times over the years, and one of those times has been a pretty recent affair. They usually include some goodies in the ProfiPACK box, but there’s always a little more in the way of detail the modeller can add. This set contains a twin Browning mount for the rear gunner, and as usual with Eduard's smallest Brassin sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. This set contains eight resin parts on four casting blocks, plus a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) for the finer details. The guns are moulded with a full-length cooling jacket, and mount on either side of a cruciform bracket, with ammo feeds curving up from below. Each barrel is fitted with two tiny PE parts near the muzzle, a central sight and an auxiliary sight on brackets mounted to the right barrel. A larger bracket is attached to the rear of the breeches and forms the top half of the twin grip mount, which are small resin spindles that slot into the depression in the lower arms of the mount and glue to the PE bracket at the top. The completed assembly is then a drop-in replacement for the kit gun, and you are given colour call-outs in Gunze codes throughout the build. Detail is up to Eduard’s usual exemplary standards, and preparation is simplified by the slim attachment points on each resin part, and you must remove the “bubble-catcher” prong moulded into the tip of each barrel before you finish. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Spitfire Mk.II Gun Bays & Mk.IIb SPACE Cockpit (648611 & 3DL48007) 1:48 Eduard Brassin We reviewed Eduard’s new state-of-the-art new Mk.IIb kit recently here, and now we have a few interesting aftermarket sets in the shape of a resin set of gun bays for the wings, and a new style of cockpit set from Eduard called SPACE that comprises a mixture of new 3D printed decals and regular Photo-Etch (PE). I think we’re seeing the start of a trend here folks. Spitfire Mk.II Detail Set SPACE (3DL48007 for Eduard) This arrive in a flat resealable package, with a new branding and a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Inside is a sheet of pre-painted PE for various aspects of the cockpit details, plus a new 3D Printed instrument panel, with dials and their glazing depicted by a final clear layer, giving it a realistic sheen, and looking very convincing. Eduard’s new system lends itself very nicely to the Spitfire’s panel, so the end result is excellent. The PE parts on the nickel-plated sheet include head-armour; seatbelt retraction reel; back armour; painted four-point seatbelts; flare-rack for the front of the seat; a new compass face in 3D printed material; ring & bead gunsight; small details for the sidewalls; rudder pedals and their straps; pull-handle for the canopy; rear-view mirror and entrance door mechanisms. The final parts are the gear-position indicator that requires a 0.3mm hole to be drilled in the top surface of the wing. Spitfire Mk.IIb Gun bays (648611 for Eduard) As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as additional padding. There are 28 resin parts in the box, plus a fret of bare brass PE, and three small sheets of instructions. The first section of the instructions shows which parts of the wings that should be removed before construction begins, including sections of the upper and lower wing skins, and a small section of one outer part of the wheel well to provide clearance for the new parts. Furthermore, the bays reach back as far as the ailerons, with two small sections removed from the rearmost lip. The set provides enough parts for both wings, so the same process is applied to both wings. With the preparation completed, the gun bays are begun, making each one up with a letter to distinguish which bay goes where. The bay walls are made up from folded PE walls with perforated floor parts, then the resin gun breeches are inserted. The inner station carries a cannon with a large bucket-shaped drum magazine, which necessitated the familiar wing bulge to accommodate it. This is the simple one, as it only has one piece of additional PE fitted over the mag. The two outer guns are .303 Browning and have PE front faces and actuator cams fitted, with a resin barrel stub at the front. There are two cannon bays and four machine gun bays, so a fair amount of repetition that should ensure you get faster at making them up. The bays are then inserted into the wings, the cannons into the upper skin, the Brownings into the lower skin along with a bay for the ammo cans, which are fitted later. The machine guns themselves are also installed after their bays, and have a mount added to the front from below afterwards, with a scrap diagram showing the correct orientation of this multi-legged part. A full set of scale-thin resin bay doors are included in the set, with 12 in total in both sides of the wing. Careful painting should give your Spit potential for a great re-arming diorama. Colour call-outs are given in Gunze codes throughout, which should help immensely with getting your model looking good. Review sample courtesy of

Messerschmitt Bf.110G Wheels & G-4 Exhaust Stacks (648603 & 648606 for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Eduard’s 1:48 Bf.110 kits have been with us for a few years now, and they have re-released them over the years with many variants of this well-known heavy fighter released in their boxes, the later G series being amongst them. These two new sets are just what the detail doctor ordered if you are in possession of any of the G kits for the wheels, or a G-4 for the exhaust stacks. As is now usual with Eduard's smallest resin sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Bf.110G Wheels (648603) This set includes the three wheels with a slight weighted sag, each on their own casting blocks, plus the tail wheel yoke in stronger white resin to resist bending under load over time. Also included is a sheet of yellow Kabuki tape (not pictured) that has masks for each of the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation neatly and with very little effort. A scrap diagram shows the correct orientation of the wheels on the gear leg, with an arrow showing the direction of travel. Detail is excellent as you can see, with fine raised radial tread and sidewall detail crisp and visible. Bf.110G-4 Exhaust Stacks (648606) The G-4 was a nightfighter with a crew of three. The tell-tale glow of the exhaust stacks in the dark was a huge danger to the crews, offering a perfect target for gunners in the bomber stream. Various methods were used to damp the light down, with a tubular system used for the G-4 that had a frontal intake and a further intake inserting cold air into the flow at a bend to enhance cooling of the exhaust gases and eliminating any remaining visible glow by the time it exits the system. This set includes four large castings, one set of tubing for each side of the two engines, and they’re a drop-in replacement for the kit parts. In addition, there is a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) that provides the triple-pointed intake meshes for the intake fronts. The stacks attach to their casting blocks at the rear, and if you are planning on depicting them accurately, you will need to drill out the cut-off point to create a realistic-looking hollow exhaust lip. As always, take care with the drilling, after marking out the centre of each one with a punch or sharp pointed tool. Review sample courtesy of

Dornier Do.17Z Bomber Guns & Wheels (648608 & 648609 for ICM) 1:48 Eduard Brassin ICM have been busily flooding the market with variants of the Flying Pencil for a while now, and it’s a good thing as there is plenty of demand. They’re also detailed, modern kits and fill a void in my favourite scale. Eduard have even released their own special edition that uses ICM plastic, and have created these sets to upgrade the detail, regardless of whose box it is in. If you have a Do.17Z of any other brand, these two sets would probably fit too, although that’s for you to decide. Don’t blame me! As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around, acting as padding. The smallest Brassin sets arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Do.17Z Wheels (648608) This set is bagged, and includes the three wheels with a slight weighted sag, each on their own casting blocks, plus the tail wheel yoke and the fairing that is trapped between the fuselage halves during main construction of the model. Also included is a sheet of yellow Kabuki tape (not pictured) that has masks for each of the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation neatly with very little effort. A scrap diagram shows the correct orientation of the wheels on the gear leg, with an arrow showing the direction of travel. Detail is excellent as you can see with radial tread and sidewall detail crisp and visible. Do.17Z Bomber Guns (648609) This delicate set is boxed for protection, and contains three bags of parts. One bag has six insanely fine MG15s, which are chambered for 7.92mm rounds. The other casting blocks contain fourteen twin drum mags for the guns and as spares for the racks that surround the gunner’s seat, with a choice of egg-shaped bags for the spent brass, or a larger concertina bag for the same use. The third bag has a small piece of white card that protects the Photo-Etch (PE) that contains the fronts of the drum mags, a strap for each one, plus a pair of ring and bead sights for each gun. The very aft of the gun’s breech and the bubble-catcher on the barrel should be removed with a sharp knife, and the cocking handle is replicated by a piece of 0.5mm wire or rod that you supply from your own stock. Painting instructions are included throughout using Gunze codes and colour names as usual. Handily, the pencil carried a complement of 6 of this type of gun. Review sample courtesy of

P-38H Gun Barrels (648596 for Tamiya) 1:48 Eduard Brassin After the launch of Tamiya’s new P-38F Lightning in 1:48, a limited edition of the P-38H in a special box has arrived, drawing in more modellers to their excellent kit. Here comes the aftermarket! As usual with Eduard's smaller Brassin sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package similar to their PE sets but with different branding, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. This set contains barrels for the nose of your kit that are drop-in replacements once you have removed a couple of moulded-in pips inside the kit’s nose cone part. There are four barrels on a spacer part that ensures correct arrangement, which slides in through the top four holes in the nose, with a further short barrel that has a moulded-in collar to obtain the correct projection for the lower gun. Each barrel has a tiny “bubble-catcher” tube added to the tip, so ensure you cut thos off before installation, and you should note that the barrels aren’t hollow, but in this scale it is hardly visible, and you can always drill them out if you feel the need. The cooling jackets are perforated and there is the correct step-in where the jacket ends and the very tip of the muzzle is exposed. Casting is excellent as usual, and this quick upgrade to the detail should improve your model incrementally at low cost, which is exactly the intent. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

BDU-33 & Mk.76 Bombs (648567) 1:48 Eduard Brassin BDU-33s and Mk.76s are practice bombs that can be dropped from a carrying aircraft’s ejector racks, and upon impact they emit a puff of smoke to aid spotting. One variant emits a flame in addition to the smoke, so that it can be spotted in the dark, while the other is a simple smoke charge for daylight only. They’re just over 2 feet long, so an aircraft can carry quite a few for practice bombing. The Mk.76 Practice Bombs are subtly different around the fins, and both types can be fitted with cylindrical outer fins in addition to the normal cruciform type. As usual with Eduard's small Brassin resin sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, much the same as their PE sets but with different branding, and a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Inside are seven casting blocks of resin parts, a small Photo-Etch (PE) fret, a small sheet of decals and the instruction sheet. There are six each of the two types of bomb, and each type has a separate fin-set for the ringless version, and another six for the optional ringed fins, which are smaller to fit within the brass cylinder. The brass cylinder will need to be rolled from the parts on the PE sheet, and annealing the parts will assist with this. The remaining parts on the fret are flat circular caps that glue to the tip pf the BDU-33 body. The bombs are painted a bright sky blue, and small diagrams show this using Gunze codes, as well as the stencil positioning for each one. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

F-6D Cockpit (648600 for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Eduard’s new Reconnaissance Mustang, the F-6D went under the microscope here, and now we have a finely detailed resin cockpit to augment the already impressive detail you’ll find in the kit. As is now usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, they arrive in the new deep Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, a foam sheet in the bottom and the instructions folded around acting as padding. Inside the box are forty-three resin parts of various sizes, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) that has been nickel-plated and pre-printed, a sheet of decals and a slip of clear acetate with the gunsight glazing shape printed on. The instruction booklet tells you in large red letters to check the table of alternative parts before proceeding, as there are five variations possible with the parts provided, depending on which block P-51D airframe your decal choice was based upon. Get that set in your mind before you continue, perhaps adding notes to the instructions yourself. It’s also worthy of note that there isn’t a pre-printed PE instrument panel in this set, but there are a host of decals for the instruments and placards, which you apply along the way toward a complete cockpit. Construction begins with the necessary removal of kit parts, which is surprisingly simple, although there will be a lot of plastic consigned to the parts bin in their entirety once you are finished. The cockpit floor gets cut almost in half at the step, and has two raised sections removed from the remaining part, while the fuel tank under the radio needs two small segments removing from the forward part to accommodate the details on the sidewalls later on. Two tiny pieces are removed from the port sidewall too. Now the seat is made up using the pre-printed PE 4-point seatbelts, PE support braces, and a choice of three headrests that attach to the seat armour/mount part. The instrument panel has three main configurations, with five further options for the centre panel, which is where many of the alternate parts come into play. Once complete and painted, the decals are applied, followed by the various PE “sticky-out” bits that are present. The new forward floor is highly detailed and is attached to the front of the remaining plastic floor after being fitted out with the control stick, the kit fuel tank, some black-boxes behind the pilot’s seat, and the seat itself. The radio gear is also installed on a support frame, then fitted to the top of the fuel tank, which has filler and level indicators glued in, with a tiny decal for the dial on the level gauge. You’ll need to find a short length of 0.2mm wire to link up with the floor-mounted repeated gauge, which also has its own decal. More wire is routed through the radio pallet, with a concertina tube up each side behind the seat, then it’s on to the sidewalls. The resin sidewall parts are well detailed to begin with, but they are both augmented with resin and PE parts, as well as having their own painting and decaling diagrams to complete the task. The result will be an exceptionally well-detailed pair of sidewalls, with a choice of variant specific instruments, providing you follow the instructions properly. The new resin gunsight has its glass replicated by a piece of acetate sheet, with a tiny pre-painted PE instrumentation cluster on the left, and a back-up ring-and-bead sight on the right of the unit. It fits into the underside of the kit coaming, and is joined by the other kit instruments that are stashed there, then has the new resin rudder pedals inserted into the back of the instrument panel on pegs, with the coaming fitting from above, and the result cross-checked with the side profile diagram supplied. The cockpit and sidewalls are brought together to create a tub, then the fuselage is closed around them and the coaming, kit deck and a new resin lightened canopy stiffener are added to finish the set off. Conclusion A super-detailed set for a super model of a legend of the skies. Excellent use of resin to improve a focal point to your model, with a wide choice of options from the various originator types. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

GBU-54 Non-Thermally Protected (648564) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Based upon the 500lb Mk.82 iron bomb, the GBU-54 is one of the smaller Joint Direct Attack Munitions, JDAM for short. It comprises a kit including steering fins at the rear, and a seeker head at the front, with a conduit linking them together along with a series of straps that fit around the bomb’s circumference. They are available in bare and thermally protected variants to protect them against heat, with the latter type usually used on carriers. This set includes resin parts for four bombs with smooth-surfaces. As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as padding. Inside the box are eight main parts and twelve smaller inserts in grey resin, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE), and a decal sheet containing stencils for four bombs. The bombs are built around the central bomb body, to which the rear guiding fins are added along with a choice of three types of insert just forward of the fins. Each body is attached to a pour block at the rear, which is then covered by a small PE circle. Just forward of the tail is a cut-out into which a choice of three inserts is applied, moving the sensor slightly forward or back, depending on which one you choose. A scrap diagram shows the correct orientation of the fins with regard to the carriage lugs that are moulded into the top of each bomb. Detailed painting of the various aspects of the bombs are called out on the instructions, while the stencils are shown on a colour diagram overleaf, with the colour codes also in a table on the opposite page. Conclusion You can’t beat Eduard weapons sets for detail, with crisp moulding throughout. My only qualm is a wish for more information about the optional aspects of their sets and kits. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

AN/ALE-41 Chaff Dispenser (648601) 1:48 Eduard Brassin This pod is the Naval version of the AN/ALE-38, and is a High-Capacity Bulk Chaff Dispenser, originally manufactured by Marconi and latterly by BAe Systems. It dumps chaff into the slipstream of the carrying aircraft in an attempt to confuse and distract any chasing missile that relies on radar to home in on their target. They’re usually used in conjunction with flare dispensers to cover both spectrums likely to be used by an incoming threat. As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as padding. Inside the box is a bag of six larger resin parts, plus ten smaller parts, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE), and a sheet of decals containing stencils for the two pods you can make. Once the pod is cut from its casting block, four lugs of two types are inserted into the holes in the top of the body, with a pair of brass strips alongside. One of two resin covers fill the depression in the nose, and you have a choice of exposed chaff tubes or covered in the rear section, which fits onto a keyed lug at the back of the body. The painting and decaling drawing on the front shows the location of all the stencils, plus the various colours called out in Gunze codes as is usual for Eduard. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

SUU-25 Flare Dispenser (648561) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The SUU-25 is a modern flare dispenser pod made by Arnold Defence that holds eight flares, double-stacked in four tubes for either target marking, or for illuminating areas/targets. Eduard's smaller Brassin sets share the same packaging as the PE sets, arriving in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. It’s a simple set with only three resin parts on two casting blocks. The pod is cast with the pour block on the rear, onto which a choice of open firing mechanism or cone-shaped cover is grafted once you have smoothed out the cuts, and hollowing out one side of the join should help with alignment here. That’s construction out of the way, making up one pod, which you can paint and decal by following the diagrams, using Gunze paint codes as usual. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

RS-2U Missile (648593) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The Kaliningrad K-5 or AA-1 Alkali if you follow the NATO codes, was an early Soviet guided missile that began development in the early 1950s and reached service as the RS-2U with Soviet fighters and interceptors in '57. It wasn’t particularly effective due to its guidance method, but still lingered in service well into the '70s, mainly due to the aircraft it was designed for having the same fate. It was supplanted by the more capable R-55 that eschewed the beam-riding targeting for semi-active radar, then by the AA-2 Atoll that was reversed engineered from a Sidewinder brought home buried in a Mig after combat near Taiwan. As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as padding. The box contains twelve main resin parts and 32 smaller parts in the same colour, plus the instructions and a small sheet of stencil decals. The missile body has the wafer-thin main fins moulded in, and is attached to the pouring block at the rear. The block is cut off, and covered by the domed rear-end, which is removed from its block at the front, both of which would benefit from dishing with a motor tool a little to improve the fit. The four steering vanes attach near the forward taper, and at the trailing edge of the main fins four tiny tubes are glued into small recesses in the tips. Some of these were loose in the bag on my example, so make sure you check for escapees before you toss the bag in the bin. An adapter rail runs along the top of the missile, glued on two lugs that fit into recesses in the missile body. The painting guide is on the front of the instruction sheet, using Gunze codes as usual and showing the location of the stencils on the small sheet. Review sample courtesy of

US 1000lb Bombs (648565) 1:48 Eduard Brassin During WWII, American bombers used a variety of sizes of free-fall bombs, depending on the task in hand and the capabilities of the carrying aircraft. On the larger side was the M65 General Purpose bomb, which was suitable for larger targets, and had a large spinner at the rear that armed the fuse as it fell away from the aircraft, in order to reduce the chances of accidental detonation beforehand. The impeller is protected within a boxed-in fin unit on a long shaft that enters the bomb casing from the rear, passing through more than 500lbs of explosives on the way to the fuse in the nose. It is held onto the aircraft by two lugs on the top and is held stable by the anti-sway braces on the pylon, with another solitary lug on the underside that allows the weapon to be mounted on a British aircraft. As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, they arrive in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as padding. This set includes resin parts for two bombs, each made up of body and tail-fin parts, plus a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) parts that make up the spinner at the rear and a tab on the fuse at the nose. The body is cut from its casting block at the rear and the cut is covered by a slotted circular PE cover, from which the three-part spinner projects. The tag at the nose is slipped over the fuse, and then the fin unit is mated to the body in four grooves that match up with the tail’s forward section. A diagram on the front of the instruction booklet shows how to paint and stencil the bombs, using the usual Gunze codes there and for the detail painting that is pointed out as the parts are brought together. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of