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F-14D Upgrade Sets (for AMK) 1:48 Eduard Brassin After much delay the AMK F-14D was released (reviewed here), and here we have some rather nice detail and upgrade sets to go with it from Eduard, who have a long history of first rate resin and Photo-Etch (PE) sets for those hungry for more detail in their models. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE), small resin 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 larger set arrives in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as padding. F-14D Seats (648535) The Tomcat is a two-seater, and both SJU17A NACES seats (AKA Martin-Baker Mk.14) are supplied in the set with additional resin parts for the canopy breakers; seat cushion; umbilical, and a full set of pre-printed PE seatbelts, pull-handle and leg restraints. The instructions include painting guide with Gunze Mr Color call-outs, and after main painting the stencil decals are applied for the ultimate in realism. The seats are identical, so applying the seatbelts in a slightly different pattern will assist with realism, giving the impression that the crew have just departed for the mess. F-14D Wheels (648530) 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. In this Brassin set you have two highly details main wheels with separate brake detail and a duo of smaller nose wheels to cope with the harsh carrier landings. You also get masks for the hubs/tyres to cut perfect demarcations. Upgrade Set (491053) Two frets are included, one nickel plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass. A complete set of new layered instrument panels, cockpit wall and side consoles are the primary parts on the painted set, with new rudder pedals and floor skins; boarding ladder; chaff & flare boxes; refuelling probe covers; slate end skins; canopy internal structure and rear-view mirrors; fold-down foot pegs for the pilots; slime-lights on the nose and sides; additional vents with backing fans, plus a set of delicate, detailed afterburner rings to slip inside the two exhaust trunks also supplied. Seatbelts STEEL (FE1054) The new ultra-thin and bendy steel frets are becoming common in the Eduard line, and if you aren't going for the resin seats, you can get the PE from that set separately to improve the kit parts with pre-painted belts; anti-flail leg straps, and ejection actuation hoops Tface Masks (EX673) Supplied on two sheets 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. On the second sheet there is 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. It's especially useful on kits of this level of detail, as it will simplify painting enormously. Review sample courtesy of

P-51D 110gal & 165gal Fuel Tanks (648531 & 648532) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Mustangs used a few types of drop tanks when they were accompanying the bombers or ranging far and wide during the latter stages of WWII, and although some were made of compressed paper, others were stamped metal. We’ve got two highly detailed resin sets here. 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. P-51D 110gal Fuel Tanks (648531) This set contains two tanks (one for each wing. Shocker!), plus four anti-sway panels all in resin, with a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) circular valves to replace the moulded-in resin representations that may or may not get obliterated during the removal of the casting blocks. Eduard even include a scrap diagram with distances in case you completely sand them away, allowing you to replace them easily. The tanks fit onto the kit pylons with a brace on each side that fits into a slot in the tank, plus a short piece of 0.6mm wire from your own stocks to portray the feed tube. A small sets of decals are included for stencilling, and you can see the paint and decaling instructions on the front of the booklet, using Gunze codes for the paints, as usual. P-51D 165gal Fuel Tanks (648532) Ostensibly the same in terms of construction as the set above, only larger to accommodate the increase fuel load and with different seam lines. There are no drain valves on the bottoms of these tanks though, so no PE parts are needed. The seam runs vertically around the tanks too, and has a different layout of the stencils, which is visible on the front of the instructions again. You’ll need some 0.4mm wire to play the part of the hose too, so remember to get something in stock before you begin. Review sample courtesy of

Hey everyone Since my Tamiya Spitfire is coming to an end I decided to have a look through my stash to see what I could build next and at the bottom of the pile I spied an Eduard 1/48 Spitfire with quite a lot of AM, these being the Brassin engine, gun bay and brass undercarriage legs I don’t have the Brassin cockpit for this kit as I really don’t think it adds very much to it and its more than adequate straight out of the box and because I have the Profipack version (8282) you get photoetch for the cockpit included. Since I’ve been looking at period photographs I have a hankering to build a desert camouflaged bird that’s heavily weathered. I haven’t made a start yet as I’m concentrating on getting my Mk.1 finished but I’ll post some pictures later of what I intend. cheers all Iain

Eduard 1/48 Spitfire Mk.IXc 1 Sqn SAAF, Luqa Malta June 1943 Kit: Eduard Scale: 1/48 After market: Brassin Rolls Royce Merlin, Brassin Mk.IX Spitfire cockpit, Brassin Mk.IXc gun bays, Master cannon. Paints: Tamiya and Vajello I threw a lot of after market at this kit, mostly resin and mostly Eduard (Brassin). On the whole I was very impressed with the levels detail, the quality and how they were engineered. However if I were to build another Spitfire I wouldn't bother with the Brassin cockpit. The level of detail offered by the resin replacement really doesn't add that much to the model and its construction although fairly easy, was difficult to install into the plastic fuselage halves and even though I was very careful with its placement I still had a misaligned fuselage which only showed itself when it came to add the resin Merlin. The resin Merlin really was a little model by itself and the levels of detail are astounding. The actual construction was very straight forward and as long as you take your time separating the pieces from the resin casting blocks it went together well as did the resin gun bays. My only grip with the Merlin is that Eduard don't provide any details for the ignition leads on the top of the engine, I did think about adding them but I did't have a thin enough wire and to be honest I am worried out ruining the engine. The model was painted to represent Spitfire EN286, AX*8 of 1 Sqn SAAF, Luqa, Malta June 1943. I didn't realize that the roundels should be a more orange colour not the red that I painted them, however I'm happy with how they turned out. I weathered the model using oils and I'm very happy with how easy they were to manipulate and I'm happy with how they look. My Spitfire Mk.IXc Thank you. (WIP here) Til next Iain

Hi, here is the model I've completed last year. Tamiya's F-14 with added extras, Brassin cockpit and armament, some PE from Eduard and Furball decals. Painted with MRP paints, weathered with AMMO weathering products.

P-38F/G Update Sets (BIG49239 & 648521 for Tamiya) 1:48 Eduard Tamiya’s new P-38F/G Lightning is a pretty nice kit, and along comes Eduard to make it better. The BIG ED set is an aggregation of three sets in a large card envelope with the branding all over it, while the bronze legs are in a flat resealable pack like their Photo-Etch (PE) sets. P-38F Big Ed Set (BIG49239) This set contains the upgrade set, the seatbelts and a set of masks, as follows: P-38F Upgrade Set (491041) Two frets are included, one nickel plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass. A complete set of new layered instrument panels, throttle-quadrants and side consoles are the primary parts on the painted set, with new rudder pedals; gear bay extras; double-layer circular mesh intakes under the nose and in the boom intakes; oleo-scissor links, and a perforated bracket to hold the internal windscreen armour that will require you to remove the moulded-in clear one. Seatbelts STEEL (FE1043) 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. You get a full set of four-point crew belts with separate comfort pads under the buckles and a clasp that glues in place on the buckle. Masks (EX666) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape and definitely not possessed by the devil, 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. There’s also a set for the G if you’re going to build that option. P-38F P-38G P-38F/G Undercarriage Legs BRONZE (648521) This set contains three bronze cast gear legs that are a direct replacement for the kit parts, plus a small piece of resin that replicates the detail at the front of the nose gear leg made separately for detail and casting reasons. The legs will need a little clean-up as expected, but they have brake lines moulded into the main legs that hides a lot of it. They’ll be a lot stronger than the styrene parts, especially useful if you’re loading it up with extras. Review sample courtesy of

P-47D Wheels (648484 for Tamiya) 1:48 Eduard Brassin In 1:48 we have a choice of Thunderbolts from Academy and Tamiya, both of which could do with a set of nice crisp resin wheels, which is exactly what you’ll find in this set. Arriving in the new low-profile flat-packs that Eduard are using for their small resin sets, there are two wheels with highly detailed hubs, two hub caps that have flash between the spokes, and a small white tail wheel with moulded-in strut. There are also flat hubcaps on the accompanying Photo-Etch (PE) fret, and a sheet of pre-cut kabuki-tape masks for all three wheels. Detail is exceptional, as you can see from the photos, and they are a huge improvement on the kit parts from either camp, with sensibly placed attachment points on the slight flat-spot that gives the tyre some weighting as appropriate to the weight of the machine. Review sample courtesy of

Hawker Tempest V Resin Upgrades & Decals (for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard & Eduard Brassin If you haven’t yet heard of Eduard’s new kit that has become the top kit in 1:48, where have you been? We’ve already seen a bunch of aftermarket updates from Eduard to add even more detail to an already excellent kit, but here comes another batch with a slightly different focus. Two are resin parts used around the chin intake, while the other two are national markings decals for early and late airframes. Tempest Mk.V Intake Ring (648499) This part was fitted in the chin intake to prevent warm air from the radiator being drawned into the carb intake, as warm air reduces performance of the engine, and that’s a bad thing. This single, fine piece of resin should be easily released from the fine web between it and the casting block, and can then be glued in directly to the kit panel. The lip is superbly thin and will look great in position on the kit. Tempest Mk.V Dust Filter w/eyelid (648500) Another single part set with an open pair of eyelid doors exposing the fine horizontal splitter, and showing how the eyelid works in practice. This was an alternate “tropical” filter that was useful when operating on poorly managed forward airfields as the RAF advanced through Europe in support of the front-line troops. In order to get a proper view of the piece and do it justice, I stitched three views of it together below. Tempest Roundels Early (D48031)& Late (D48032) If you’re a bit clumsy with decals, have a number of Overtrees boxings of the kit, a multi-subject decal sheet with only one set of roundels, or perhaps just have another manufacturer’s kit with no/damaged roundels, you now have a simple choice of early or late roundels? Each set includes four wing roundels - two each for top and bottom, another roundel for each side of the fuselage and two handed fin flashes for the tail fin – always red on the leading edge. The Decals are printed in the Czech Republic in good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Early (D48031) Late (D48032) Review sample courtesy of

UK Enhanced Paveway II Mk.13/18 (648518) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The Paveway II in RAF service was the fitment of a standard Paveway Laser Guidance kit to the UK 1000lb bomb to turn it into a guided bomb. This features a slightly different tail unit to the US Paveway and a collar at the front between the bomb and the guidance unit. The RAF realised during the Kosovo war that there were short comings with the Paveway in that its use was hampered by bad weather, cloud and during night time operations. This lead to the development of the "Enhanced" Paveway which added GPS guidance to the inertial navigation system. This can be seen on the bombs by the small round GPS antennas on the nose of the paveway section. In order for these to communicate with the aircraft a way had to be found to link the nose section to the aircraft plug behind the lug points on the bombs. This was done with a cable run made for the side of the bomb. To attach this in typical British style we just used two large jubilee clips, which can be seen running around the bomb body between the mounting lugs. 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 main bomb bodies, a set of forward fins for them both, some Photo-Etch (PE) parts and a choice of covered or in-flight seeker heads. At the rear is a tail plug to which a number of tiny PE parts from the little fret are added all around. The fins fit into keyed sockets on the bomb body, and after drilling a 0.9mm hole in the seeker head, it fits to a pin at the tip of the bomb. Check your references to ascertain the correct sag of the head depending on where your subject aircraft is in its mission, and use the FOD covered part for a parked aircraft. Colour call-outs are in Gunze paint codes, and as well as the painting & markings guide at the front that gives you decal placement options, there are also colours called out during the build to assist you further. Highly recommended. A picture of a Paveway II Enhanced from our walkaround section. Review sample courtesy of

B-17 Wheels (648529 for HKM) 1:48 Eduard Brassin HK Models have broken away from their own de facto scale and used the data they collected for their 1:32 B-17 kit to create a new tooling in 1:48. That’s got my vote, as that’s my scale. Eduard have this nice set of resin wheels to replace the injection moulded parts on the kit, with masks into the bargain. 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 three resin wheels plus four additional hub parts and a set of pre-cut kabuki masks for them all (not pictured). Construction is simplicity itself and will take a few moments once you have removed them from their casting blocks with a razor saw or motor tool. The wheels have diamond tread and a very slight weighting to them where they attach to the casting block, and they are joined by the two hub parts in the centre, the inner one having a keyed socket for the axle to pass into. At the rear the small tail wheel is a drop-fit replacement, and masks are included for all hubs to give a perfect paint demarcation between hub and tyre. A scrap diagram shows how the wheel should look when installed and placed on the ground. Review sample courtesy of

Resin Missiles & Pod Sets 1:48 Eduard Brassin Eduard’s excellent Brassin range of weapons gets bigger each month, and here we have a raft of different weapons and pods for you to feast your eyes on. 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 wrapped around, doubling as padding. Each set contains decals and Photo-Etch (PE) where appropriate and has a painting guide included in the instructions. PAVEWAY I Mk.83 Slow Speed LGB Thermally Protected (648480) This larger set is in a double-tall box due to the size of the parts and consists of 16 resin parts. From these you can build two of these Laser Guided Bombs which are made up from the main body with the textured thermal coating on the explodey part. The tail unit fits on a keyed lug in the back of the body, and four steering vanes are added to the intelligent part of the bomb, inserted into little holes. At the front you can either glue a covered-up seeker, or one that is ready to fly, remembering to check your references if you’re not sure about the angle of the dangle. You’ll need to drill some 3.5mm holes in the rear of the tail for accuracy, and some 0.9mm holes in the seeker heads to put them in place on the nose. AN/ALQ-71(V)-2 ECM Pod (648491) A Vietnam era pod and you can build two with different nose cones as there are two bodies included. There is also a choice of three tail cones, either flat, pointed or rounded, with one of each provided. One nose cone has a choice of two types of blades for the spinner, while the other has a smooth nose cone. There’s a choice of blade antennae fitted to the underside with suggestions given in the instructions, plus two lugs that slot into the top. AN/ALQ-71(V)-3 ECM Pod (648492) Another Vietnam era pod used against SAM missiles, this set has a common body and two choices of nosecone, two shackles and a choice of antennae that were fitted depending on the requirements of the mission. One nose has small blades on the spinner, while the other has a simple aerodynamic fairing. A few small lengths of 0.3mm wire from your own stock will be needed to link the smooth nosed cone to the body, so remember to have some handy. The blades have a few suggestions included on the instructions, plus scrap diagrams showing painting and decaling. AN/ALQ-87 ECM Pod (648493) Made by General Electrics, this is an active ECM “barrage jammer” pod that is fitted externally to the carrying aircraft, and was used in the Vietnam era. There are three variants included in the box, and you can build two of your chosen type from the set. The common tail part has a resin shackle fitted to its top, then you choose one of the front sections and apply the second shackle. The noses available have a flat tip, a small spinner with two tiny resin blades, or an aerodynamic cone, and they could be fitted out with various external antennae as the mission required, with plenty of these blade antenna included and a scrap diagram showing which could be fitted where, but check your references for complete certainty if you can get good enough pictures of the pod and antennae. AIM-132 ASRAAM (648506) The Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile is a modern replacement for the Sidewinder that is being used by a number of Allied forces due to its advanced electronics that improve its accuracy in the short-range envelope. This set includes resin and PE parts for two missiles, with four rear-mounted steering vanes, a clear seeker head, and PE exhaust ring to its streamlined body. SUU-14 Dispenser (648507) More Vietnam era weapons, this time in the shape of a submunitions dispensers often carried by Skyraiders amongst others. Inside the six tubes were lots of bomblets of various types that were rather nasty, and were pushed out backwards by a piston within the tubes, so remember to put the exposed ends at the rear. You get four sets of tubes with hollow barrels, with a nose thimble and PE attachment ring added at the front (the closed end). The yellow bands tell you it’s live. Conclusion There’s such a range of weapons available from Eduard now, and with the new packaging they’re more compact, so cheaper to transport and easier for us modellers to store, whilst being a little better for the planet if you remember to recycle the boxes. Detail is excellent throughout and casting is flawless as usual. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hello, it has been a long time since my last post on this great forum, but life is sometimes just too hectic to build models. But I've managed to finish this one off in under 7 months. Tamiya F-16C block 25/32 kit, with some extras: Aires F-16C/D wheel bays 4439, F-16C cockpit set 4364 and F-16c block 25/32 exhaust nozzle. Wheels are resin ones from wheeliant, armament and bombs are brassin items. I added Master pitot tube and angle of attack probes and HGW RBF tags. Model was painted with MRPaint colors, weathered with ammo products. Enough blabbering, here are the photos.

StG44 Assault Rifle (635013) 1:35 Eduard Brassin The StG44, which is an abbreviation of Sturmgewehr 1944, or Assault Rifle was a late war development by Nazi Germany to give their retreating soldiers a force multiplier and get more lead downrange than their enemy. It was highly successful in that task, although like most new designs it had a few hang-ups that were never completely eradicated. It was cheap due to the stamped nature of the shell and Bakelite trimmings, but the manufacturers just couldn't provide enough of them to make a significant difference to the outcome of WWII. Just three years after the war finished, the Russians debuted their AK-47 that bears more than a passing familial resemblance to the first true assault rifle. Coincidence? More than likely not. We're looking at you, Mikhail Kalashnikov. Unusually for an Eduard resin set it arrives in a flat resealable package, with a backing card protecting the contents and the instructions sandwiched between. Inside are eight resin '44s, and an additional casting block with four spare magazines, plus a pre-printed steel fret with the sling parts in reddish leather. The guns have attachment points along the lower edges of the stock, grip, mag and another at the end of the barrel that is removed by a vertical cut to expose the end of the barrel. The instructions give painting tips, as well as showing how the three-section sling should be attached to the gun with a double-layer at the front sling-point, and a pass-through at the rear, with the opposite side having the remainder of the sling depicted with a separate part with etched-in buckle. As the slings are steel, they're thinner and will drape better over whatever they are applied to, which is a big plus over traditional brass PE. Review sample courtesy of

SUU-7 Dispenser with & without Extension Tubes (648477 & 648478) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The SUU-7 munitions dispenser was used extensively in Vietnam against the Viet-min, and were often seen under the wings of F4 Phantoms. They look like a rocket pod, but are fitted with the exit tubes to the rear and the pods remain on the pylons during and after the mission, to be refilled with various types of bomblets to go out again. They're a simple type of cluster bomb, and had 19 tubes containing the bomblets, which could be phosphorus, smoke, or explosive fragmentation grenades of various styles. As is now usual with Eduard's smaller resin sets, one arrive in the new shallow Brassin cardboard box while the other retains the older plastic version, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as padding. SUU-7 (648477) The set includes four pods with almost flush munition chutes at the rear, and a single plug fitted to the front where the unit was removed from its pouring stub. A sheet of decals is included for stencils in yellow and black and yellow "live" designation bands, including some of the smallest decals I've ever seen that are applied to the tubes themselves as a guide to the crews loading the bomblets. These are shown in detail by a separate diagram with the other painting and decaling directions on the front of the instructions. SUU-7 w/extended tubes (648478) Differing from the set above only by having the uppermost tubes extended, presumably to cope with airflow from the trailing edges of the carrying aircraft's wings, you get four pods with the little end-caps, and a different decal sheet with revised scrap diagram for the exit tubes. Review sample courtesy of

Hey! I'm really sorry for not posting anything for a while.... I finished Eduard's spitfire with ton's of extras. If you are interested, here is the Build log, but I think you are more interested in seeing photos of the finished build. Some of You might have noticed that this build was published in Meng Air Modeller. Here they are, enjoy!

Hello, Thought I'd start building something a bit more relaxing after the Flanker, so at the Moson show in Hungary I've bought this beautiful eduard's kit - with all the extras. I am planning to build it as opened as possible - engine, cockpit, radio, gunbays, misc. panels and so on. So, starting with the cutting, cleaning and thinning all the resin bits and pieces and dryfitting them over and over again. So, this is my Moson show loot, most of the parts here are for Spit. Too much of them really... So, brassin radio compartment with Aires cockpit test fitted... brassin parts just slot into the position, they fit the eduard kit perfectly. And Aires gunbays (just dryfitted, not glued yet) I think I will thin the plastic a bit more...

SUU-30B/B Munitions Dispenser (648444) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Used in Vietnam before the Cluster Bomb Unit (CBU) was banned by many countries, the SUU-30B/B and variants were the first in-flight munitions dispenser used by the US and could carry hemispherical fragmentation or incendiary submunitions. 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 four bomb bodies plus a choice of FOD cover or snub nose cone. The fins are PE, and are made up from a single half-thickness etched part folded over and with the finlets folded out to 90o to the fin. They then fit into grooves in the body and you must align them carefully. There is also a rear cover that fits over the cut-off mark where the pour stub was removed. Painting and decaling is covered on the front of the instructions with Gunze codes and the various stencils numbered for your ease. Review sample courtesy of

K-13M/R-13M Missiles (648445) 1:48 Eduard Brassin This confusingly named missile shares a name (R-13) with a great big sub-launched ICBM, but there the similarity ends. It is a reverse-engineered Sidewinder missile that went home stuck in the back of a PLAAF Mig-17, and was rushed into service to counter the surprise introduction of the AIM-9 Sidewinder by the US. The K-13M was an updated variant with an infrared seeker head that was introduced in the 60s and was dubbed Advanced Atoll by NATO. It had a longer range, was more agile and had a more accurate seeker head with better proximity fuse that improved its chances of success. 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 wrapped around, providing extra protection. Inside are three bags of resin parts and a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) with a sheet of decals on the other side of the stiffener card. There are sufficient parts for four missiles, four adapter rails and a choice of clear or covered seeker head apertures. The missile bodies have the rear stabiliser fins moulded-in, and four separate steering vanes, with a PE exhaust ring, and either a clear resin seeker head, or if adding the FOD cover, the tip of the missile is cut off as per the diagram, then the cover is glued on instead. If the missile is to be in storage, a small PE tag is fitted to the top proximity "bump", which is removed before it is wheeled out to an aircraft. The adapter rails are single parts, and have lots of stencils applied after paint. The missile is painted and decaled as per the diagram on the front page, which shows the location of each stencil, and the colours called out in Gunze codes. Review sample courtesy of

Spitfire Mk.I Upgrade Sets & Masks (for Tamiya) 1:48 Eduard & Eduard Brassin Tamiya have retooled their Mk.I to modern standards in 1:48, although their old kit wasn't half bad, it just had a few shape issues. Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail 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) 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. Resin Wheels (648455) 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 includes two resin main wheels with separate front hubs, and a tail wheel on a long leg that slots into the rear of the fuselage. A sheet of wheel masks accompany the set (not pictured) in Eduard's usual yellow kabuki tape, with a pair of additional Pac-Man shaped masks for the tail wheel in case you mess the first application up. Update Set (49960) Two frets are included, one nickel plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass. A complete set of new layered instrument panels and side wall equipment are the primary parts on the painted set, with new rudder pedals; seat mounted flare pack; compass; head armour; radiator and oil cooler mesh with cooling flaps; bay door skins, tie-down brackets and hoses for the main gear; a replacement crew access door and rear view mirror inside the hood. Zoom! Set (FE960) This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above. Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements. Seatbelts STEEL (FE961) 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 depth to the buckles and other furniture by clever shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE. You get a full set of four-point crew belts, which thread through the back of the seat and attach to the next frame aft. landing flaps (48987) Eduard landing flaps use an ingenious technique to achieve excellent true-to-scale flaps using few parts, and requiring the modeller to simply remove the retracted flaps from the lower wing, plus scrape the upper wings to accommodate the thickness of the completed bays. Each half of the two flap sections (bay and flap itself) is constructed in the same manner, by twisting and folding over the attached ribs to create a 3D shape, with extra parts added along the way. The bays glue to the inside of the upper wing and the flap attaches to the rear wall of the new bay with a length of 0.3mm wire that you will need to supply. The short inner section also has a deeper bay interior giving the impression of seeing inside the fuselage. Repeat this for the other side, and you're almost done. There are also parts included for the pop-through flap indicator "stalk" that gives the pilot a visual indication he hasn't cleaned up his flying surfaces before parking, thereby saving him an alleged fine of a few of shillings. This needs a small hole cut where the panel line is engraved on the top wing half. Masks (EX643) 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 masks for the main wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Masks Tface (EX644) Supplied on a bigger 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

B-43-0 & B-43-1 Nuclear Weapons w/SC43-4/-7 Tail Assembly (648447 & 648448) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The B-43 was an early unguided air-dropped nuclear bomb used from 1961, reducing down from the mid 60s until the final withdrawal in the early 90s. Following the initial design, improvements were made in the -1 and later dash two to allow for different explosive yields to be carried and various fuses and deployment options. It was never used in anger (thankfully), but was carried by numerous US and some NATO airframes during the period. 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 wrapped around, providing extra protection. There are twenty resin parts, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass and decal sheet, with enough parts to construct two weapons. The construction steps are identical between the sets apart from the shape of the nose cone, which is more pointed for the -1 weapon, and the decal sheets. The body has a shaped depression in the front, which the nose cone slots into, then at the rear a small strip of PE is wrapped around the circumference, then the four tail fins are slotted into their depressions, while the small lugs fore and aft are fitted, taking care to align them correctly as per the scrap diagram. Painting and decaling is covered on one diagram, with the body painted either grey or white and various stencils applied along the sides. Colour codes are called out in their usual choice of Gunze Sangyo paints. B-43-0 Nuclear Weapon w/SC43-4/-7 tail assembly B-43-1 Nuclear Weapon w/SC43-4/-7 tail assembly Review sample courtesy of

Resin Small Arms – MP40, AK47 & M16 (Vietnam era) 1:35 Eduard Brassin Good quality small arms are becoming more commonly included in figure sets, but even then the injection moulding process can't achieve the fidelity of good quality pressure-cast resin such as Eduard are capable of, and their STEEL Photo-Etch (PE) facilities are second to none, so painted rifle slings and etched fittings are easy to include, improving detail yet more beyond that of lowly plastic. Their new(ish) range is widening, and this latest batch fills some gaps that should prove popular. 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. There is likely to be some wafer-thin flash around the details as a function of the moulding process, but clean-up will be short with the help of a sharp blade. MP40 Machine Gun (635008) The dreaded MP40 was an efficient killer used by the Germans in WWII, and much sought after by the Allies as a battlefield pick-up due to its effectiveness and availability of the 9mm ammo as more of Europe was liberated. Incorrectly referred to as a Schmeisser for most of my youth, this came about due to the Schmeisser company being responsible for manufacturing many of the stick magazines, with their name stamped into the metal. The set includes eight weapons, four of which have their distinctive stock folded under the receiver, while the remaining four have separate stocks that are added during construction. Four slings of each in black and red leather are supplied on the PE fret, plus short additional sections to depict the threaded ends and adjustment straps. Colour call-outs are in Gunze codes as usual, and you can paint the Bakelite portions of the grip and lower receiver in either black or a russet red, which was a raw Bakelite with a marbled finish to it. M16 Rifle Vietnam War (635009) Although the M1 Garand lasted through WWII, morphing into the M14 by the addition of a larger magazine and automatic fire capability, the US forces were looking for a brand-new solution, settling on a derivative of the Armalite AR-15, which was itself scaled down from the AR-10. Chambered at 5.56mm it fired supersonic round and had a similar wounding power as the previous .30 rounds. After a mainly political battle with the M14, the new M16 as it became known won out and has been in service with US and other NATO forces ever since in different forms as the lighter M4, although there is a movement back to a larger cartridge for more stopping power. They now use a STANAG mag that ensures better interoperability between all NATO members, allowing rounds to be shared with your allies on the field. The set contains eight of the Vietnam era M16s, which were the A1 variant with smooth forward grips and full stock of the original, with the carry-handle attached to the top of the receiver. The Vietnam era rifle was outfitted with straight 20-round mags with a sloped base, and a simple sling that runs from the front sight block to the rear of the buttstock. An additional four of these mags are included on a separate casting block, and the slings are supplied in tan or khaki PE, with separate black sling-loops to attach to the rifle and accept the sling material just like the real thing. AK47 Assault Rifle (635010) The almost ubiquitous AK47 was developed by the Russians after WWII, and as it was partly based upon the German STG/MP44, there are certain family resemblances. With its robust construction and distinctive curved mags, it went on to become a must-have accessory for every militiaman and insurgent over the years, with a myriad of variants muddying the waters. Again, there are eight full-stock "vanilla" AKs in the box, all magged-up and ready for their two-part slings in either tan or khaki, with an additional four spare mags to add to your diorama or vignette. Review sample courtesy of

AN/AVQ-26 PAVE Track Pod (648449) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The Pave track pod was developed for the US Air Force by Ford Aerospace. It is an electo optical targeting pod. It uses forward looking infra red to find the target and a laser to designate it for laser guided weapons. The sight picture from the POD is fed back into the aircraft to a cockpit display. The head with the sensor rotates to hide the sensors when not in use. While it was developed in the 1970s it only became widely available in the 1980s. It was first used in operations against Libya and the in Gulf War I. This version is of the pod is one used on the F-4 as opposed to the semi recessed one used on the F-111. Due to its size crews referred to t as PAVE DRAG. As well as the USAF the Korean Air Force also used the pod on their Phantoms. The pod comes as three resin parts with an additional mounting pylon. A sheet of decals is also included. All part are cast to Eduard's high standards. Review sample courtesy of

Fw.190D Fuselage Guns (648439 for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Brassin More goodies from Eduard's Brassin line for their Fw.190D kits in 1:48. As usual with their 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. It contains six resin parts and a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass for the small parts. This set takes the kit's blank internal gun bay floor and replaces it with a super-detailed alternative, to which the rear bulkhead, guns with full breeches, ammo cans and additional cowling fasteners are attached. There is also a fine PE part that depicts the network of windscreen clearing mechanism, which fits against the bulkhead and wraps around the lower front of the already installed windscreen. Other than cutting the resin parts from their casting blocks and removing a lug from the top of kit part X38, it is a drop-in replacement set. Review sample courtesy of

Fw.190A-5 Undercarriage Legs BRONZE (648436 for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Eduard have produced a line of Fw.190 kits that are peerless in 1:48, and as that range expands, so does the variety of aftermarket sets, tailored to their kits, and with exceptional detail that makes them a worthwhile investment if you're after the perfection. 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. There are two cast bronze legs in the box, with two gear bay doors, consisting of two captive main and two inner doors that hinge along the aircraft's centreline. The casting of the bronze is superlative, and far better than white metal, as well as being much stronger and less flexible. If you are planning on loading up your model with resin cockpit, engine, gun bay, etc., these may be just the ticket to support all that extra weight, as well as improving the detail and scale fidelity substantially. Review sample courtesy of

Liberator GR Mk.VI Update Set & Wheels 1:72 Eduard for Eduard Kit Eduard now bring us a couple of updates for the new Liberator Mk.IV kit, Update Set (73647) This package includes pre-painted details for the crew compartment and fills in some of the details on the flight deck that were not covered by the etch provided with the kit. Details are provided for radio and other electronic equipment, as well as rudder pedals, ammunition hoppers and belts for the machine guns, as well as cooling sleeves for the gun barrels. Wheels Set This contains a full set of replacement set of wheels and the mud guard on the front gear leg. Masks are included for painting (not shown). Review samples courtesy of