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R-2800-10 Engine for Eduard F6F-3/5 1:48 Eduard Brassin (648056) This impressively busy set is to replace engine and upper cowling of the Hellcat kits 8221 and 8433, plus any future -3 or -5 kits that they release, which I'm sure will turn up from time to time. The box is Eduard's familiar Brassin cardboard box, and it's not especially easy to tell what kits it is intended for, as the sticker on the top just says "for Eduard kit". The type is on the sticker to the side, which might get ignored if you were in a rush. Inside the box, nestling between a stack of foam slabs are a quartet of ziplok bags of varying sizes, three of which contain resin parts, while the fourth contains a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) metal measuring 10cm x 6cm. There are 13 resin casting blocks, containg 28 separate parts, while there are 34 PE parts on the fret mentioned above. Casting is first rate, highly detailed and very crisp, as you'd expect from Brassin, and the instructions guide you through the construction of the radial engine, which has individual pistons for the two rows, which have exhaust stubs coming from each cylinder head that link up with the main exhaust ring later in the build. There are three types of piston, so take care when fitting them together, although as they're all keyed, you'll not be putting any in the wrong way round. The gearbox and reduction gear fit in the centre of the front row of cylinders, and the ignition wiring loom is made from a spider's web of wires emanating from a central ring, with each wire being tailored to its intended location. A scrap diagram gives additional positioning information for each row of cylinders, which is rather helpful. Behind the exhaust collector ring are the exhaust outlets, which are a quartet of parts which contain either four or five pipes that converge to two exhausts dotted around the lower part of the cowling. The engine slots directly onto the front of the fuselage using a large keyed pin and slot arrangement, ensuring the correct orientation of the cylinders and exhausts. A little material will need to be removed from the slots in the fuselage that allow the exhausts to exit the cowling, but that is a simple job in itself. The kit cowling is made up of two halves split vertically and a single piece front ring, which makes for easy clean-up. The cowling halves have their top halves removed, along with the fixed cowling flaps at the very top, and are replaced by PE parts that replicate the fastener strip that is visible when the panels are removed. The panels themselves are supplied as slim resin parts with a single rib on the interior, which can be placed anywhere on the model or surrounding diorama to simulate a maintenance situation. There are no colour call-outs given in the instructions, but there are plenty of colour photos out there on the 'net for you to use as reference if you're unsure. Conclusion This should build up into a stunningly detailed engine for your Eduard Hellcat, and is to be recommended to anyone that wants to go the extra mile to improve their kit's detail and is comfortable with handling resin and PE. In truth there isn't much to frighten anyone, as long as they have a razor saw to cut the resin parts off their mould blocks. The exhausts have some resin supports moulded into them, but although the look a little intimidating, those can be shaved off with a sharp #11 scalpel blade and any residue sanded away. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of