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FAB-500 M54 Bombs (648424) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Russian iron bombs, dumb bombs of free-fall bombs. They have a lot of names, and come in a variety of sizes from 100kg all the way up to 9000kg. This one is a 500kg M54 unit (designed in 1954), which is surprisingly still in service alongside the M62, but can be differentiated by the more complex fin arrangement with four larger and four narrower fins at the rear, the larger ones overlapping the stabilising ring. As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. Inside the clamshell are two bomb bodies, two fin units and a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, with stencils on a sheet of decal paper. Once cut from their casting blocks, the two parts are lined up and glued together with super-glue (CA), with the fins connecting to corresponding grooves in the rear of the body. The cut rear end of the bomb body is finished off with one of the small circles of PE, with a raised section and a hole in the centre. Painting is shown on the guide diagram, and it's a dull grey (H/C308 in Gunze shades), with just the one stencil on the side (with a spare, in case you can't see on the pic). There's plenty of options for weathering, as bombs are often moved more times than they are dropped, so scratches, rust and missing paint, as well as fading is often seen. These types have been seen many times on multiple ejection rack pylons on Tu-22s, forcing them to remain subsonic unless they are carrying the newer M62 units that have no ballistic ring on the nose and are designed to cope with the forces associated with externally carried munitions on a modern fighter. Review sample courtesy of

Bf.109G-6/U4 Essentials (SIN64845 for Tamiya) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Tamiya's new 109G in 1:48 is a bit late to the party, but I'm sure it's a good one. Eduard have already done the research for their own G series and their various updates, and it would be a shame to waste it, so they've adapted it to the new kit, improving the main focal areas in a modular fashion. If you wanted to throw the kitchen sink at the kit (and why not?), this Essentials Brassin set brings almost everything you'll need, which when you add the engine I reviewed earlier here, will make your 109 stand out from the crowd. As usual with Eduard's SIN resin sets, they arrive in a rectangular Brassin tray box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam sheets, and the instructions on top, providing just a tad of extra protection. All in, you make a healthy saving on buying the individual sets. Bf.109G-6 Wheels (648400) The narrow track of the 109 was well known as a danger during ground handling, and later on a set of wider diameter wheels were fitted with smaller hubs to help with this unwelcome characteristic. The tyres are fitted with large diameter shallow hubs and thin radially recessed treaded tyres, with the raised manufacturer's data faithfully reproduced, and the hub detail is superb. Bf.109G-6 Exhaust Stacks (648402) If you don't want to go all the way and open up the engine, but want those nice hollow exhaust stacks and the feint glimpse of the engine within the cowlings, then this set is for you. It contains two backing plates for the exhaust slots with engine detail visible, and 12 individual exhaust stacks that fit into slots in the manifold. A pair of PE flame damping strips are added above and below the exhaust stacks, which require a slight widening of the slot, as shown on the accompanying instructions. Bf.109G Gun Pods (648403) Containing one MG 151/20 cannon in each pod under the wing, these bolt-on weapons upped the 109's offensive armaments significantly, and gave it a more aggressive look into the bargain. This set contains parts for both cannons, and each one can be posed open or closed at your whim. To build them closed is simple – just add the barrel to the fairing and scribe a small circular access hatch in the lower wing using the template provided. Bf.109G-4/U4 cockpit (648411) A complete resin cockpit to replace the kit parts with more highly detailed resin and PE parts, with eighteen parts in grey resin, four in clear resin, two sheets of PE, one pre-painted and nickel-plated, the other bare brass, a small sheet of acetate, and the instructions. The new cockpit replaces the old, and necessitates the removal of all the interior detail before it can be installed, with a choice of resin instrument panel with decals, or a resin and PE sandwich that has realistic detail on the individual dials. Crew seatbelts are included, as are delicate rudder pedals and details far beyond what styrene alone can achieve, such as the combined resin/PE and acetate Revi 16b gunsight, or the alternative Revi 12c. The inside of the canopy is detailed with head armour, padded headrest and grab-handles on the inside corners of the windscreen, while the sloping rear of the cockpit can be depicted as early or late designs, with a different stowage panel inserted after making space for it by removing the early version that is moulded into part B25 of the kit. In both cases the two sill sections are removed beforehand, as these are included in the resin parts of the cockpit. Masks (EX583) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition you get a set of hub/tyre masks for the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Review sample courtesy of

Bf.109-G Engine (648406 for Tamiya) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Tamiya's new Bf.109G-6 gets the Eduard treatment in stages (we reviewed some of the earlier sets here), and this time it's the engine compartment. As usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, they arrive in the oblong Brassin box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched wrapped around, providing extra protection. Inside are four bags of resin in two shades of grey, a single sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass in a separate bag with backing card, and the instruction booklet, which in this instance is fairly substantial consisting of nine sides of folded A4. The set includes the gun bays in the nose, and begins with the construction of the main engine block, which has an amazing number of PE and resin parts added, even before you have left the first page of the instruction. The oil tank, engine mounts and turbocharger are installed too, with the gun bay next, linked with various hoses and bracketry. Looked on as a whole it seems quite daunting, but if it is like any other Eduard engine set, it will fall together once you have gone through making up sub-assemblies and painted them. The level of detail present and the care taken to explain it all thoroughly in pictorial format is stunning, with additional wiring needed from your stocks to do the whole thing justice and mimic the layout of the real thing. The installation requires the removal of the front part of the fuselage, which is where the magnets are housed that allow the stock kit to have removable panels. I find that a bit of a gimmick myself, as I can barely handle any of my kits without breaking the small parts off, so wouldn't want to be fiddling with the model after completion anyway. With the new resin engine showing off so much detail, I wouldn't want to hide it away anyhow! The rear of the gun bay latches neatly onto a couple of depressions on the kit, and then it is a case of wiring it in, and replacing the kit cowling parts with new resin ones that depict the parts in-scale, and with greater detail. The lower cowl is depicted unlatched on one side and swung down, which is held in place by PE tongues, while the upper cowling is opened on both sides gull-wing style, with a 19mm wire prop (from your own stock) holding them in place. An optional resin tropical filter is included if it is required, which has some detailed PE mounts to affix it to the cowling in front of the intake. Conclusion This will not be a "quick slap it together" upgrade, but if you take the time to paint and assemble it correctly, it will provide your model with mind-blowing detail that simply isn't possible in styrene. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Bf.109G & G-10 Update Sets (for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard & Eduard Brassin Following on from our review of the new Bf.109G-10 Mtt Regensburg kit from Eduard (read that here), here are the additional detail sets that have been patterned on the kit parts, and are available to those that can't get enough detail. As usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, they arrive in their black rectangular box, while the Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Bf.109G-10 Cockpit (648422) This Brassin set gives you all the parts for a complete replacement to the kit cockpit in one handy box, including seventeen grey resin parts, four clear resin parts, two sheets of PE, one painted and nickel-plated, a small decal sheet and a slip of clear acetate for the gunsight. Everything is of a higher level of detail due to the flexibility of resin moulding, although there is a small amount of duplication in the seatbelt and instrument panel department, but these are slightly improved from the kit parts. The rest of the cockpit is generously appointed with moulded and PE detail that will look stunning under a few coats of paint if you're careful not to make it too dark in there. The set just needs you to remove the moulded-in detail that's present in the fuselage halves, and while in the mood to replace things, it provides a more detailed set of head armour with a clear resin block taking the place of the clear styrene part. The rear "parcel shelf" of the cockpit is also replaced with a more detailed part that fits in place just as easily as the kit part. Upgrade Set (48961) This large bare brass set contains some important upgrades that go beyond the kit's already excellent detail levels, such as a detailed radio compartment bezel and replacement door with internal mechanism; wheel bay "spats"; in-scale radiator cooling flaps; scale-accurate flap sections with ribbing and hinge mechanism, which are shown assembled in scrap diagrams; a new set of main gear bay covers, which are laminated and joined by new oleo-scissor links, tie-down loops and brake hoses on each leg, and finally a trim flap actuator for the rudder. Masks (EX608) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition you get a set of hub/tyre masks for the tail wheel, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. This will be useful for those getting Overtrees or Weekend kits down the line. Masks Tface (EX609) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with everything above, but also give you another set of canopy 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. Review sample courtesy of

BL755 Cluster Bombs (648415) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The BL755 was the main RAF & RN Cluster bomb between the early 1970s until 2008 when it was removed due to the UK signing the Ottawa Treaty on Landmines. Each bomb contained 147 sub munitions and externally was shaped like a standard 1000Lb bomb. Each sub munition contained a shaped anti armour charge surrounded by wound tessellated square wire which produced upto 1400 anti personnel fragments. The unit was used by some NATO allies and some UK partner nations. They continue to be used recently by Saudi aircraft in the Yemen. Typically the units were kept in canisters prior to use so dont normally show the weathering which can be seen on bombs. This set contains four resin bombs, the arming vanes and a set of decals. Review sample courtesy of

MiG-21MF Brassin Weapons 1:72 Eduard Eduard's new MiG-21MF comes with a fairly comprehensive suite of weaponry for both the interceptor and fighter bomber variants. As you might expect, however, Eduard have released a suite of resin alternatives through their Brassin label. The range includes some items that have been released before in different guises, but these are all labelled for the MiG-21MF and include the relevent launch rails and/or pylons. The range covers the R-13M (NATO AA-2C Atoll), R-3S (NATO AA-2A Atoll), RS-2US (NATO AA-1 Alkali) and UB-16-57UMP Launchers for the S-5 55mm unguided rocket. Of course these items are not strictly exclusive to the MiG-21 and could also be used with other Soviet/Russian aircraft such as the MiG-23, Su-9, Su-17 etc. Each item is well made and beautifully cast, with decals and, in some cases, photo etched details. R-13M Missiles for MiG-21 With pylons (672188) Without Pylons (672187) R-3S Missiles for MiG-21 With pylons (672186) Without Pylons (672185) MiG-21MF Pylons RS-2US Missiles for MiG-21 With pylons (672192) Without pylons (672191) UB-16 Rocket Launchers for MiG-21 With pylons (672190) Without pylons (672189) Conclusion While these items are not essential (the kit equivalents are perfectly useable), they do represent an upgrade for quality and detail-conscious modellers. They are also useful for any other kits you may have in the stash. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Luftwaffe FuG16 Antennae (648331) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Many German WWII fighters carried a FuG 16 VHF radio, which necessitated carrying an aerial under the wing. You often see them depicted as single plastic parts in kits, but if you were to look closer you would see a rectangular base with a clear isolator between the airframe and the antenna. Eduard As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. Inside are three antennae on a single casting block, plus a small fret of brass for the bases, each of which have a hole in the (nearly) centre to accept a small piece of the included acetate sheet. A 0.8mm hole is drilled in the centre of the clear part, and the antenna is inserted, gluing with a non-fogging adhesive, and ensuring that the curved tip faces backwards. Review sample courtesy of

Spitfire Mk.VIII/IX Cockpit Doors (648380 for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Cutting out the cockpit door on a Spitfire usually involves taking a saw or knife to the kit fuselage, taking care not to damage the part you cut out. No longer! Now you can cut out the opening and discard the piece, using this highly detailed resin alternative in its place. As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. Inside the box are two resin doors on one casting block, one with the controversial crowbar installed, and one without, showing the clips that it normally affixes to. If you're building a post-war bird by all means paint it red, but for a WWII vintage build leave it interior green, otherwise the sticklers will get ya! There are also decals that are placed in vertically between the two internal stiffeners, with a choice of black or red text and the helpful folks at Eduard have split one set of stencils diagonally, to ease putting them in around the crowbar. Review sample courtesy of

Ammo Belts 20mm Hispano (648409) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Hispano Suiza developed a 20mm cannon in the 1930s that saw extensive use during WWII in Allied service both in aircraft as well as light anti-aircraft weapons, with a belt-feeding mechanism developed by Martin-Baker to facilitate their use in the wings of aircraft instead of the inferior .303 machine guns previously fielded, replacing 4 .303s with two 20mm cannon in each wing. As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. All that's in the box is four lengths of 20mm belt, each one 70mm long and attached to a long casting block, which needs to be removed before it can be prepared for paint. The instructions are basically a painting guide, showing a large drawing of a section of link and the colours that they should be painted. Clearly, you'll be using metallic, as the parts of the belt were all unpainted metal, so ensure you have some copper, brass and dark iron in stock before you begin. Review sample courtesy of

Fw.190A-5 Advanced BigSin (SIN64843 for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Brassin In case you're unaware, Eduard's BigSin sets are a great way to purchase all the sets you want for your model whilst availing yourself of a bulk purchase discount that can be quite tempting. The set arrives in a large cardboard box with the BigSin branding and a sticker in the top left that details what's inside. Within the box the sets are all cocooned between two layers of grey foam with the resin in bags, while the Photo-Etch fret is still bagged in its flat resealable retail packaging. The set is designed to detail and open up much of the airframe, and includes a complete engine set, nose gun bay, wing root gun bay and propeller set, plus the general PE update set to detail the rest of the airframe. Fw.190A-5 Engine & Fuselage Guns Set (648408) Inside are a raft of engine parts in superb detail. I recently built one for the A-4 and reported the fit is astonishingly good. You can build the parts into sub-assemblies for painting, and if you approach it in a modular format the initial hesitancy of all that detail painting soon goes away. There are 22 resin parts, and sheet of Photo-Etch (PE), and only a small amount of trimming of the kit fuselage and lower wing panels is required, all of which is covered in the instructions. Placement of parts is important due to the accuracy of fit, so test-fit carefully and remove any paint from the mating surfaces to obtain the best, strongest join. The two guns mounted in the cowling behind the engine are also included, with a highly detailed bay part between the engine and cockpit. With sympathetic painting and weathering the final result is unmatched by styrene moulding. Fw.190A Wingroot Gun Bays (648356) This set permits the modeller to depict the wing root gun bays open, which first requires the removal of a portion of the upper wing from the kit parts, as indicated in red on the instructions. The lower wing is then fitted with blanking plates for the cartridge chutes and new resin barrels before attention turns to the new bay inserts. These have the gun breeches added along with a short length of 0.2mm wire from your own stock, arranged as per the scrap drawings, which helpfully have an arrow indicating the direction of flight. The bays are then inserted into the prepared aperture in the upper wing, and a PE bay lip is attached to the plastic to finish it off neatly. A small section of the lip that locates the wing spar will need removing, after which the wing halves can be mated and later in the build/painting the bay doors can be added to the lip that is moulded into the bays for a good strong joint. Fw.190A Propeller (648366) In order to fit this prop, you'll just need to shave the front off the housing at the front of the kit engine, before creating the prop on its jig, with separate central boss and blades, which fit snugly into the jig and should just lift out once the CA is dry unless you've overdone it. A PE template fits to the back of the boss to mark the centre-point for you to mark and drill a 2mm hole, after which the PE is discarded. The adapted kit part has a small resin pin added, and the prop with a choice of two types of cooling fan (large blades & small) is fitted to the tip of the pin protruding from the engine. If you wanted to portray a maintenance diorama there is a resin prop-shaft included with a detailed spindle that fits into the resin engine. A new spinner finishes off the set. Fw.190A-5 Upgrade Set (48949) This PE sheet is bare brass, and builds upon the detail of the kit and included PE that comes with the ProfiPACK boxing. It contains a canopy latch for the cockpit; ammo chute details; additional gear bay sidewall skins; new dual-layer gear leg covers with brake hoses and tie-down loops; bomb shackle details; gear bay retraction jack parts (including additional hosing); gun port surrounds; cockpit armour support, raised strip on the canopy and a frame that attaches to the outside of the windscreen. Conclusion After applying all this extra detail to your model, you will have an Fw.190 that not only weighs a ton, but is pretty much at the leading edge of detail and looks like you could hop in and taxi away. Review sample courtesy of

Bf.109G Update Sets (for Eduard/Tamiya) 1:48 Eduard & Eduard Brassin This is a catch-up of some sets for the excellent new Eduard kits of various marques that haven't been incorporated in other reviews for whatever reason. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) 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. The resin sets arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell or card box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card in the clear boxes. Bf.109G Tropical Filter (648410 for Tamiya) This is a simple replacement with additional detail, which requires only two small bases to be removed from the side of the fuselage in front of the intake. There are two resin filters (enough for two kits) with extreme detail, and two sets of brackets that brace the filter against the fuselage, replacing the lumps removed earlier. The original styrene intake from the kit is retained, while the resin part just plugs into the aperture. Bf.109G-4/U4 cockpit (648411 for Tamiya) A complete resin cockpit to replace the kit parts with more highly detailed resin and PE parts, with eighteen parts in grey resin, four in clear resin, two sheets of PE, one pre-painted and nickel-plated, the other bare brass, a small sheet of acetate, and the instructions. The new cockpit replaces the old, and necessitates the removal of all the interior detail before it can be installed, with a choice of resin instrument panel with decals, or a resin and PE sandwich that has realistic detail on the individual dials. Crew seatbelts are included, as are delicate rudder pedals and details far beyond what styrene alone can achieve, such as the combined resin/PE and acetate Revi 16b gunsight, or the alternative Revi 12c. The inside of the canopy is detailed with head armour, padded headrest and grab-handles on the inside corners of the windscreen, while the sloping rear of the cockpit can be depicted as early or late designs, with a different stowage panel inserted after making space for it by removing the early version that is moulded into part B25 of the kit. In both cases the two sill sections are removed beforehand, as these are included in the resin parts of the cockpit. Bf.109G Seatbelts STEEL (FE910) In case you don't already know, 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. A complete set of shoulder and lap belts are included, with the buckle-padding parts additional items that are glued under the buckles for the pilot's comfort (in the real version). Bf.109G-14 Update Set (48942 for Eduard) This single sheet of PE adds more detail to the already well-detailed kit, in the shape of the radio-compartment door and surround, with realistic locking mechanism; the linings for the main gear wells where the legs reside; a retaining strap for the drop-tank; scale-thin flaps on the rear of the radiator housings; the two-layer flap sections behind the radiator baths, which have additional diagrams showing the correct layout of parts; a set of in-scale gear legs in multiple layers, with oleo-scissors, tie-down lugs and brake hoses; rudder trim actuator, and a stiffening base to the underwing aerial. Review sample courtesy of

Resin Detail Sets for Eduard MiG-21 MF Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber 1:72 Eduard Eduard's all-new MiG-21MF was one of the most hotly anticipated kits in 1:72 scale for some time. Now it is finally here, we can see that the kit doesn't disappoint. It is both accurate and well detailed and has made a lot of modellers of Warsaw Pact subjects very happy. That's not to say it can't be improved, however, thanks to the possibilities offered by resin replacements for some key components and sub-assemblies. MiG-21MF Interceptor Cockpit (672180) This set provides a complete replacement cockpit for the interceptor variant of the kit. The set comprises a complete cockpit tub (which replaces a multi-part version supplied with the kit), an instrument panel, coaming, control column, HUD unit and ejector seat. A small fret of photo etched parts is provided and this contains smaller details including harnesses for the seat, details for the instrument panel (which is otherwise devoid of cast detail). A small sheet of plastic film is provided for the HUD screen itself. While the plastic cockpit provided with the kit is no slouch when it comes to detail, there is only so much that can be achieved with injection moulded polystyrene. This resin version is a considerable upgrade over the plastic version and is well worth consideration. MiG-21MF Fighter-Bomber Cockpit (672179) This set provides a replacement resin cockpit for the fighter bomber version of the kit. It is identical to the set reviewed above for the interceptor, but includes a different tub and coaming complete with equipment used for bomb aiming and delivery. MiG-21MF Exhaust Nozzle (672181) This set manages to achieve the feat of improving on the parts provided with the kit while simplifying construction. The replacement resin jet pipe comprises just three resin parts and a small fret of photo etched components which represent a more detailed version of the afterburner flame holder. The replacement assembly simply slots into the kit fuselage with no cutting or surgery required. MiG-21MF Wheels (672182) This set is intended as a like-for-like swap for the kit wheels. A choice of two different main wheels are provided, although the instructions note that one type was rarely used on the MF, along with two identical nose wheels. This means you actually get enough wheels for two complete kits. As is the norm for a set of this type from Eduard, pre-cut masks are also provided to aid painting. These wheels, with their realistic tyre treads, offer a significant upgrade over the kit parts. MiG-21MF Airbrakes (672193) This set provides both fore and aft airbrakes. The former will require the equivalent kit parts to be cut away, while the latter parts are a straight swap for the kit versions. This is an all-resin set, with no photo etch parts required. MiG-21MF Big Sin Set (SIN 67215) This set brings together a number of resin sets in one money saving package. inside the box, you get the following resin replacements: cockpit exhaust nozzle undercarriage wheels fuselage / wing pylons The overall package is around 25% cheaper than buying al of the sets on their own. MiG-21MF Masks (CX511) In a departure from the normal pre-cut masks offered by Eduard, this set omits masks for the wheels (as they have separately moulded hubs) and instead provides masks for the various dielectric panels dotted around the jet. The canopy is, of course, also covered. Conclusion Eduard can hardly be accused of shyness when it comes to providing aftermarket for one of their marquee releases of the past 12 months. It's great that Eduard's approach caters for both the casual hobbyist (through the weekend range of kits) and the committed enthusiast through this extensive range of detail upgrades. The quality of the items on offer is excellent, with each offering considerable enhancement over the plastic equivalents. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

P-51D Gun Bays (Early & Late) (648397) 1:48 Eduard for Airfix Kit This set contains resin & PE to fit gun bays the new Airfix kit. The set contains parts for early and late gun bays. As well as the bays there are the guns and ammo belts. Decals are provided for the loading instructions inside the doors. Some surgery to the kits wings is needed, through note a lot, mainly just removing the panels. This set should get good results and would suit some kind of loading diorama. Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Typhoon Wheels & Exhaust Stacks (648412, 648413 & 648414 for Eduard/Hasegawa) 1:48 Eduard Brassin It's no secret that Hasegawa plastic is found in the latest Limited Edition from Eduard, which you can read about here, and Eduard can always improve on what's in the kit, which they already have done. For the truly detail hungry modeller though, they often release additional sets, which we have here. As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. Wheels Early & Late (648412 & 648413) Both these sets contain the same components, with the main difference being seen in the inner and outer hub shape, which although subtle is there. You get two resin main wheels with a high level of detail in the tyre and hub, plus a tail wheel in white resin, and masks for all three wheels (not pictured), so you can paint those demarcations easily. They're a big improvement on the kit parts, which are bland and a little over-weighted. Early Wheels Late Wheels Exhaust Stacks (648414) These are a simple drop-in replacement for the kit parts with just two pieces in the box, and nice hollow stacks as you can see from the photo. Simply cut them off their blocks and install them with a dab of super glue. Review sample courtesy of

AN/ALQ-131 (Deep) ECM Pod (648382) 1:48 Eduard Flown on a number of Cold War and modern jets such as the F-4, F-15 and F-16, as well as the doughty A-10 since the 1980s, this box is designated by Eduard a "Deep" variant with more internal space available to pack additional equipment into. The set contains just three resin parts on two casting blocks, with the largest being the body, which resembles an aerodynamic tube with an angular box-like extension along most of its length. The two smaller parts are the pair of shackles to which the pylon grabs on to hold it in place on the aircraft, and these are attached on the top surface of the pod. A decal sheet is included for the myriad of little stencils that cover the slab-sides (with some printed silver included), and colour call-outs are in the usual Gunze codes, with a choice of all-over Olive Drab with grey dielectric panels, or plain white with dark decals for the white option and white decals for the dark option. Review sample courtesy of

BLU-27 Fire Bomb (648389) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The BLU-27 was used extensively in Vietnam as a method of delivery for Napalm – a mixture of highly volatile chemicals that gave it the name, and a gelling agent to improve adhesion to any target. It gained a horrific reputation for its use there, and could be deployed either with a finned tail for a more directed detonation, or without fins, which usually resulted in the canister tumbling, making for a larger spread of the fiery content on impact. Although it isn't banned, it is actively discouraged in use by modern conventions and the fear of the public backlash if it was used in our modern world. As usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, they arrive in the oblong Brassin box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched wrapped around, providing extra protection. Inside are three zipolok bags of grey resin parts, plus another bag containing enough parts to create four canisters with or without fins, or any mixture in between. The four bodies terminate aft of the rear weld seam, and have four of each type of tail, which fits into a cut-out in the body, ensuring correct alignment with the shackles. The finless tail is a mirror image of the nose, while the finned part has a fin base where the tail cone should be, which the separate fin part slides into. The resin fins are so thin as to be transparent, so will need careful handling, but will look realistic once painting as a result. The decal sheet included the red designation rings at nose and tail, with a small stencil that is applied aft of the nose cone to the side of the bomb. The instructions use Gunze codes and show the weapon painted olive drab, although they could be left bare aluminium, so check your references if you are modelling a specific mission. Detail is fabulous as expected, and although this is an awful weapon, they were carried by aircraft that we like to model and there's no point in airbrushing them out of history. Review sample courtesy of

AGM-154C Block II (672176) 1:72 Eduard Brassin The AGM-154 is a medium-range cruise missile, or Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) that is air-launched from a distance that saves the launching aircraft from having to engage with the target position's defences. It glides to its target from up to 17 miles at low-level launch, and 68 miles at high altitude launch, with a 1,000lb payload in a compact form factor. The wings fold back for storage and carriage, and deploy once launched to improve the weapon's glide-slope to the aforementioned levels. The C variant adds infrared for terminal guidance after using GPS to find the target, and carries a single two-stage warhead that improves penetration by a fraction of a second so that the 2nd charge blows through the initial damage. There are two missiles in the pack, with resin parts for the body and wings, plus PE for the fins. A small sheet of decals for the stencils is also included. The wings are separate, so can be posed open or closed, and they are then covered by a top-section, which has one of the two suspension lugs on the top. The horizontal stabilisers are added to each side into depressions in the missile body, and the four diagonal vanes fit into similar depressions for a good snug fit. The colours are called out in Gunze codes as usual, and decal placement is detailed on the painting diagram for your ease. These are highly detailed units and recommened if you want to add them to your chosen kit. Review sample courtesy of

Completely missed the STGB, oops, but seems reasonable to post it here. Started this over the last couple of days, and finally got to the point where there's something to show I also have the full Brassin set - consisting of Seat, Nozzle and wheels Work unsurprisingly starts in the cockpit, the first stage with the Brassin is replacing the seat rails with the resin replacement, complete with a couple of PE spacers Then primed with Black Styrenex primer, followed by Mr Hobby Aircraft Grey as a base Then started painting and weathering the seat and cockpit floor - not started on the actual cockpit yet, and the seat is simply slotted in the rails for the moment Peter Today's work on the Missile with a Man in it - Added the final PE parts to the Seat Then finished off the cockpit - the moulding on the parts is a little soft in places but still effective Peter

Fw 190A-5 Cockpit, Fuselage Guns, and Engine Sets 1:48 Eduard Brassin The newly improved Fw.190A kits from Eduard have been coming thick and fast, with additional detail added from the box. For those that want more, there are a range of PE and resin update parts from Eduard's own ranges that are pretty much guaranteed a good fit and have been engineered to replace parts that just can't be moulded to scale in injection plastic. These three sets cover the cockpit, fuselage guns, an the engine area, which isn't in the kit, but can either be simulated by adding a complete new engine with all the ancillary equipment that goes with it. Fw.190A-5 Cockpit (648390) As usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, this one arrives in the oblong Brassin box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched wrapped around, providing extra protection. Inside is a complete new cockpit for the A-5. A large complete cockpit casting dominates into which are fitted the seat, instrument panel, rudder pedals, control column, seat belts and a whole host of parts. As well as the resin there are PE parts and decals. Some of the detail here has to be seen to be believed. There is even a large resin part to fit inside the canopy for the pilots head rest and associated structure. Fw.190A-5 Fuselage Guns(648392) As usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, this one arrives in the oblong Brassin box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched wrapped around, providing extra protection. This one contains the complete structure and guns located above the engine in front of the canopy. If not fitting an engine set it also contains the rear of the engine which is seen in this area. Compete resin cowlings are included which can be displayed on or off the model as needed. Fw.190A-5 Engine (648391) As usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, this one arrives in the oblong Brassin box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched wrapped around, providing extra protection. Inside are a raft of engine parts in superb detail. Mike recently built one for the A-4 and reported the fit is astonishingly good. You can build the parts into sub-assemblies for painting, and if you approach it in a modular format the initial hesitancy of all that detail painting soon goes away. There are 22 resin parts, and sheet of Photo-Etch (PE), and only a small amount of trimming of the kit fuselage and lower wing panels is required, all of which is covered in the instructions. Placement of parts is important due to the accuracy of fit, so test-fit carefully and remove any paint from the mating surfaces to obtain the best, strongest join. With sympathetic painting and weathering the final result is unmatched by styrene moulding. Review samples courtesy of

FG.1 Phantom Update sets, wheels & masks 1:72 Eduard for Airfix Kit The new Airfix Phantom kit is a great kit, however that has not stopped Eduard from wanting to add their own brand of magic to the kit. Update Set (73628) Inside there are two frets, one coloured and one not. The coloured parts are mainly for the cockpit including new instrument panels, sides panels, and various levers. Also supplied are seatbelts and ejection seat handles for both seats , as well as the seat tops and pads. For the rest of the airframe new exhaust rings are provided, along with the main airbrake interiors and the prominent aux intake doors. For the canopies mirrors are provided. If the modeller only wants the the cockpit parts then they are available as a Zoom set. Full Set ZOOM Undercarriage Set (72668) This set really does what it says on the packet it contains a parts for the kits undercarriage. For the nose bay a new interior and door are provided along with parts for the nose leg. For the mains new internals are provided along with new skins for the main gear doors and complete doors for the smaller ones. New links are provided for the legs. In addition to the landing gear parts new vents are provided for the tops & undersides of the main intakes something which is missing on the airfix kit. Wheel Set (672174) As it says on the box this is a complete set of both main and both front wheels for the kit. These are more detailed drop ins for the kit wheels. A set of painting masks is also included. Masks (CX506) Eduard provide masks for both canopies and the wheels. Review samples courtesy of

Spitfire Mk V.III / IX / XVI Radiator Fairings (672173) 1:72 Eduard Brassin The wing radiators are distinctive on all Spitfire models, here the resin from Brassin gives more finesse to this part than the kit plastic (which TBH is pretty good). The pack contains two radiator housings, the flap (which can be added open or closed) and a small sheet of PE for the internal parts (be warned these are very fine). As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in a plastic box , with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts. Recommend if you want to add a little something extra to your 1/72 Spitfire. Review sample courtesy of

AGM-154A/C Block I (672175) 1:72 Eduard Brassin The AGM-154 is a medium-range cruise missile, or Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) that is air-launched from a distance that saves the launching aircraft from having to engage with the target position's defences. It glides to its target from up to 17 miles at low-level launch, and 68 miles at high altitude launch, with a 1,000lb payload in a compact form factor. The wings fold back for storage and carriage, and deploy once launched to improve the weapon's glide-slope to the aforementioned levels. The A variant uses GPS and inertial navigation throughout its flight, and carries a cluster of smaller submunitions that are armour piercing incendiaries that are designed to penetrate and destroy armoured targets. The C variant adds infrared for terminal guidance and carries a single two-stage warhead that improves penetration by a fraction of a second so that the 2nd charge blows through the initial damage. There are two missiles in the pack, with resin parts for the body and wings, plus PE for the fins. A small sheet of decals for the stencils is also included. The wings are separate, so can be posed open or closed, and they are then covered by a top-section, which has one of the two suspension lugs on the top. The horizontal stabilisers are added to each side into depressions in the missile body, and the four diagonal vanes fit into similar depressions for a good snug fit. The colours are called out in Gunze codes as usual, and decal placement is detailed on the painting diagram for your ease. These are highly detailed units and recommened if you want to add them to your chosen kit. Review sample courtesy of

AN/ALQ-184 ECM Pod (Short) (672169) 1:72 Eduard Brassin The 184 pod is an Electronic Countermeasures & Electronic warfare Pod designed to provide an aircraft with a dgree of self protection against radar threats. Its modualr design allows for multiple frequency band capabilities, the pod is available in two & three band configurations. As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the plastic box , with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts. The set includes a one piece pod with a small sheet of marking decals. This is a highly detailed unit and recommended if you want to add some protection to your chosen kit. Review sample courtesy of

Typhoon Mk.Ib Fuel Tanks (648370 for Hasegawa/Eduard Kit) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Most fighters since WWII have always needed more fuel to either extend their range or loiter time, so it was common for additional tankage to be suspended under the fuselage or wings. The Typhoon had two hard-points under the wings, and often carried a pair of fuel tanks that could carry 45 gallons of extra fuel, and increase the aircraft's range by 400 miles, which was particularly useful once the beachhead was established after D-Day. Eduard As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. The contents consist of two resin tanks on one casting block, with a small sheet of decals. The tanks are attached on their trailing end cap, and the short pylons are moulded-in, requiring just a little careful sanding of the stubs once detached, after which they can be glued to the wings. The painting guide shows you where to position the small stencils on the sides, and the colour call-outs are in Gunze codes as usual. Review sample courtesy of

Fw.190A-3 Exhausts and Engine Sets (648381 & 648364) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The newly improved Fw.190A kits from Eduard have been coming thick and fast, with additional detail added from the box. For those that want more, there are a range of PE and resin update parts from Eduard's own ranges that are pretty much guaranteed a good fit and have been engineered to replace parts that just can't be moulded to scale in injection plastic. These two sets cover the engine area, which isn't in the kit, but can either be simulated by adding a pair of well-detailed exhaust components around the cowling, or by adding a complete new engine with all the ancillary equipment that goes with it. Fw.190A-3 Exhausts (648381) This set arrives in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. Inside is a single casting block that contains the three sets of exhaust stacks on their retaining blocks, which are a direct replacement for the kit parts, adding better detail to the finished article. As they are attached to their moulding blocks at the rear, you don't even have to make a brilliant job of removing them, because all but the exhausts are invisible within the fuselage once installed. Fw.190A-3 Engine (648364) As usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, this one arrives in the oblong Brassin box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched wrapped around, providing extra protection. Inside are a raft of engine parts in superb detail, and from my experience of building one for the A-4 recently, the fit is astonishingly good. You can build the parts into sub-assemblies for painting, and if you approach it in a modular format the initial hesitancy of all that detail painting soon goes away. There are 22 resin parts, and sheet of Photo-Etch (PE), and only a small amount of trimming of the kit fuselage and lower wing panels is required, all of which is covered in the instructions. Placement of parts is important due to the accuracy of fit, so test-fit carefully and remove any paint from the mating surfaces to obtain the best, strongest join. With sympathetic painting and weathering the final result is unmatched by styrene moulding. Review sample courtesy of