Eduard WWII Super Fabric Seatbelt Sets 1:48

[Mike]

WWII Super Fabric Seatbelt Sets
1:48 Eduard

First we had Photo-Etch (PE) seatbelts, then we had pre-painted PE belts. After that came the fabric seatbelts pioneered by HGW Models with PE furniture and a very realistic look, which I think are still the best around. Now we have SUPERFABRIC, which is a little misleading, as they are actually printed in a stretchy "ink" in multiple layers to give a 3D look, and the drape you would expect of true fabric.

The sets arrive in Eduard's familiar flat packaging, and consist of a sheet of glossy paper onto which are printed the belts, straps and fittings, with the instructions mounted behind the white backing card. There is very little construction needed, with only the occasional part needing gluing together before they can be installed, so the instructions deal mostly with the correct use and placement of the parts.

RAF WWII (49079)







RAF WWII Late (49080)







Luftwaffe WWII (49081)







USAAF WWII (49082)

Conclusion
These sets are a great way of creating a more realistic cockpit with minimal effort, with the layered printing of the colours adding visual interest. They are easier to handle than the other options, so if you don't like PE, or the intricate work of lacing up the regular fabric belts, these could well be what you're looking for.

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted the duplicate of the USAAF belts in the Luftwaffe bag at the top of the review, which is a mistake that couldn't be rectified in time to publish. I'm sure it's an isolated incident and Eduard are now aware, but do check your bag for the correct belts if you are buying 49081.

Review sample courtesy of

[stan]

Just been fighting with a set of these.

Instructions state super glue should not be used.

They seem resistant to Gator glue it has not got the grab it normally

has.

Needed another set of fingers but eventually they seem to have stuck.

They look good though.

[woody37]

Do these peel off or do you have to cut them out?

[Julien]

They peel off with tweezers.

[woody37]

Thanks Julien

[SleeperService]

Further to stan's comment. Has anybody found a glue that works well with these please? I'd like to try them but have too many unusable items in the stash already.....

[Mike]

The instructions state white glue, so I'd heed their advice - I've not yet used any of mine though, so I can't really comment. I wonder whether G-S Hypo would do the job?

[GregW]

That's a bit strange! I used Gator Glue on the set I've just added to a 1/48th Airfix Mk.1 Spitfire and it worked a treat?

The belts themselves are a bit fiddly and In my opinion a little light In colour, but I found them considerably easier to use than the colour etched ones and almost as effective. I did add a dark wash to try and tone the colour back a little.

Greg

Edited August 16, 2015 by GregW

[John Laidlaw]

Got a couple of sets of these yesterday, and have to say I wish I hadn't. They're lumpy and toy-like - if they were scaled up, they'd look like they were braided out of fairly hefty rope.

Maybe I've been spoiled by the excellent RB Productions belts (just trying to be fair, even though I don't feel like it), but these are not even close in quality, nor are they realistic.

Apologies... I feel ripped-off with these. If anyone's considering using them, look closely before you buy them.

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

I've used them with no problems. If they don't stick, a tiny drop of White glue will indeed stick them in place.

thanks

Mike