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I wasn't sure I had anything already in the stash that qualified for this GB and Mrs K is keeping a close eye on purchases...but I pulled out a Weekend Edition of the Eduard IIIC with a rather nice NMF Armee de L'Air from April 1976 based at Cazaux. The actual plane is No.92, EC 02/010 Seine, Armee de l'Air, BA120 Cazaux. I have found a couple of reference pictures but am still doing my research. I should mention that I have never attempted NMF before and so this is going to be a bit of a learning curve. I am planning to use Vallejo Metal Colours. Finally I should like to dedicate (my attempt at) this build to my good friend Tim, the only modelling friend I had to share builds with in person (as opposed to you lot) who died in a tragic motorbike accident last month and whose funeral was yesterday. Although not a member I know he had enjoyed browsing the forum for inspiration. Love to his wife Charlotte, son Hugo and daughter Petrie. On with the build. Some photos of the kit: As always all comments very welcome. Dave

Su-27 Updates (for Hobby Boss) 1:48 Eduard Hobby Boss's new tooling SU-27 is a pretty decent kit with a few issues that might bug the purists, but is an improvement on the old Academy offering. As always with injection moulding though, you can do some aspects better with Photo-Etch. Along comes Eduard in their inimitable style with a small collection of PE sets and a set of kabuki tape masks to make your life easier, and the detail better. 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. Interior (49813) Consisting of two frets of PE, one of which is nickel-plated and pre-painted, the other bare brass, this set adds extra detail to the cockpit that would be incredibly difficult to duplicate via scratch-building. After scraping the detail from the sidewall, consoles and instrument panel, new panels are installed with detail picked out in relief and colour, plus a set of new sidewall skins with panelling details added. The main panel is split into several parts, laminated together to create a more realistic whole, replete with instrument dials behind the bezels. The seat is upgraded with a more accurate pull handle, leg straps, and controls on the sides, whilst behind it the rear deck is given a skin of riveted metal instead of the raised detail that was provided in the kit. After replacing the rudder pedals with more detailed parts, the rest of the set is used to improve the detail on the canopy, including sill details, internal structure, canopy and windscreen hoops with rear-view mirrors, and the seals around the moving section. Speaking personally, detailing the canopy can provide a boost to cockpit detail, and the addition of the parts can make a great deal of difference. The final space on the fret is given over to a number of static-wicks for the exterior, which is unusual in an interior set. Zoom! Set (FE813) 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 (49814) Eduard's new STEEL seatbelt range combines the simplicity of pre-painted Photo-Etch (PE) belts with the thin, flexible steel that they now use, resulting in seatbelts that look more in-scale, and are easier to bend to drape more naturally over the ejection seat or crew seat as the case may be. The paint used also seems more flexible, and better able to cope with the rigors of fitting the belts into position without cracking and peeling off, which was sometimes a danger with the previous nickel-plated brass types. As well as coming pre-painted, they are also shaded to imply further depth to the buckles and overlaps, with the clasps, slides and attachment points showing bright in conjunction with the painted portions. Exterior (48917) This set is supplied on one larger brass fret, and contains plenty of parts to improve the detail further. The afterburner ring is first to be constructed, with subtle twists resulting in a cone-shaped part that is more delicately depicted by the fine PE, both of which are fitted over the rear bullet as drop-in replacements for the kit parts. The spine-mounted air-brake is skinned inside, and the drop-down integrated FOD guards are added to the intake ramps to both add detail, and save you from having any need to seam-fill the rest of the intake. The main bays are skinned after removal of the bay roof, adding small triangular rib-ends and other structural aspects of the bay, while the nose bay is left alone, save for the extra details added to the leg, and a partial replacement of the louvered mudguard, which has the support stays and the louvered parts replaced by more detailed and in-scale PE. Masks (EX546] 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 small masks for the HUD glazing and the landing lights. Review sample courtesy of

Mig-25RBT Updates (for ICM) 1:48 Eduard ICM's new Foxbat kit is gorgeous, and goes together really well, but as always with injection moulding you can do some aspects better with Photo-Etch. Along comes Eduard with a small collection of PE sets and a set of kabuki tape masks to make your life easier, and the detail better. 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. Interior (49815) Consisting of two frets of PE, one of which is nickel-plated and pre-painted, the other bare brass, this set adds extra detail to the cockpit that would be difficult, if not impossible to add via scratch-building. After scraping the detail from the sidewall, consoles and instrument panel, new panels are installed with detail picked out in relief and colour, plus a set of new sidewall skins with panelling details added. The main panel is split into several parts, laminated together to create a more realistic whole, replete with instrument dials behind the bezels. The seat is upgraded with a seat cover, more accurate pull handle, leg straps, and a new detail insert for the top of the headbox, whilst behind it the rear bulkhead is given a skin of riveted metal instead of the raised detail that was provided in the kit. After replacing the rudder pedals with more detailed parts, the rest of the set is used to improve the detail on the canopy, including sill details, internal structure, canopy and windscreen hoops with rear-view mirrors, and the seals around the moving section. Speaking personally, detailing the canopy give a big boost to cockpit detail, and the addition of the parts can make a great deal of difference. Zoom! Set (FE815) 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 (49816) Eduard's new STEEL seatbelt range combines the simplicity of pre-painted Photo-Etch (PE) belts with the thin, flexible steel that they now use, resulting in seatbelts that look more in-scale, and are easier to bend to drape more naturally over the ejection seat or crew seat as the case may be. The paint used also seems more flexible, and better able to cope with the rigors of fitting the belts into position without cracking and peeling off, which was sometimes a danger with the previous nickel-plated brass types. As well as coming pre-painted, they are also shaded to imply further depth to the buckles and overlaps, with the clasps, slides and attachment points showing bright in conjunction with the painted portions. Exterior (48918) This set is supplied on one larger brass fret, and contains plenty of parts to improve the detail further. The nose gear bay is skinned almost completely with a number of highly detailed parts, layered to give a better indication of depth, while the bay doors are given hinges and interior skins to complement. The main bays are skinned along the less detailed edges at the bottom of the bay, which is also the area most seen, with the bay doors also receiving some attention in the shape of panels, hinge-lines and brackets. The main legs are improved by the replacement of one of the arms by a detailed assembly that better represents the original, plus a set of hoses, and a hub detail part for the wheels. The intakes have new skin sections to better replicate the detail of the perforated area in the roof, and a skin for the dropped intake "scoops" at the bottom of the intake that sucks in more air at low speeds. Detail panels are added to the guide vanes that hold the intakes away from the fuselage, although little will be seen of these at the end of construction. Careful test-fitting will be needed here also, just in case it affects fit of the parts. At the front of the engine a fan enhancement is added, with the afterburner ring being more delicately depicted by fine PE parts, which are fitted with a centre section so that they are drop-in replacements for the kit parts. A side profile shows the correct shape for the rings after installation, which is conical. Between the exhausts, small parts are added to the wedge-shaped fairing, the separator between the closely spaced exhausts, as well as a small ring under the para-brake pen-nib fairing between the tails. Masks (EX545) 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. Conclusion As I'm half-way through building this kit, which was initially going to be out of the box, I'm hoping to restart operations shortly using as much of these sets as is practicable. The extra detail it adds will be worth the effort, although sadly it's too late for most of the cockpit set due to the fact that it is all glued in place now. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Evening folk's after a good few week's sitting alone in the box needing only a few tweak's number four in a quartet of Hellcat's.the other three were HB easy kit's posted week's ago this one was a very different animal with the usual touches you would expect from Eduard I have to especially praise the fit of part's and superb decal's background can be found in the link,after I toned down the gloss to part satin then dry brushed the wheels and fuselage highlight's.Many thank's for looking in. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235019325-hellcat-quartet/

M40 US Self Propelled 155mm Gun - For Tamiya Kit 1:35 Eduard The new Tamiya kit is a good one, however Eduard are along as always offering an update set for the kit to replace those plastic parts with PE where PE wins out. Update Set (36354) This large brass fret provides brackets and mountings for the front of the vehicle, new light protecting brackets, replacement mounting brackets for the tools, new mesh grills, brackets to hold the hatches open, front mug guards, tool box mountings, rear mu guards & mountings, and a couple of ther hull mounting brackets. Conclusion These sets will enhance an already impressive model. Recommended. Review samples courtesy of

AIM-9G/H Sidewinders (648303) 1:48 Eduard Brassin 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 enough parts to create four super-detailed Sidewinders, which are also available as part of the recently reviewed F-14A BigSin set here if you have a Tomcat in mind for them. The Sidewinders have separate steering vanes and a clear resin seeker head at the front, and a PE exhaust ring at the rear, the latter adding an extra touch of detail to proceedings. There are also optional Remove Before Flight covers for the clear head, and adapter rails to facilitate attachment to the aircraft's pylons. Stencil placement and colour codes are on the instruction booklet with the paints in Gunze codes as per usual. Review sample courtesy of

USS Iwo Jima LHD 7 1:350 Etch Parts 2 and 3 The latest etched brass set from Eduard, their updates for the re-issue of Revells USS Iwo Jima LHD-7. Whilst the model is superb it is still lacking in certain areas. Eduard have chosen to address some of these shortcomings with these, the second and third parts in a series of five sets for the kit. Part 2 is for the aircraft and deck vehicles, while Part 3 is for the ships superstructure. Part 2 (53183) – This single sheet set contains a host of parts to super detail the kits aircraft and ground equipment. Each of the kits part receiving a greater or lesser amount of detailing as required. AV-8B – is given new undercarriage, pylons, fuselage lift fences, chaff/flare panels, airbrake, undercarriage doors, and refuelling probe fairing. CH-46 – gets new rotor head details, wheels, windscreen wipers, fuselage panels, additional armour, vents and grilles. SH-60F – gets new rotors, both folded and spread, new tail rotor, wheels, and tail skid. MW-22 – gets new wheels, aerials, wipers, and strakes. AH-1W – gets new gun barrels, fuselage panels, main and tail rotors and IR scatter system. CH-53E – gets new wipers, rear view mirrors, wheels, rotor details, aerials and fuselage panels. Nitrogen rig trolley is completely replaced with brass parts. Small fork lift – gets new forks, riser, seat, steering wheel, and roll cage. Large fork lift – gets new steering wheel, forks, riser, rear end, and roll cage. Deck crash crane, (Jumbo) – gets new ladders, driver cab, pullies, platforms, cable guide wheels, hook and cross beams. Each of the towing and crash trucks receive new steering wheels, front and rear end panels, with some getting coiled hoses and generator sets. Part 3 (53184) – Superstructure. Apart from all the vertical, and inclined ladders, watertight doors and railings, which are all replaced with PE, this single sheet set also contains new observer positions at flight deck level, new platforms, FLYCO, windows, cable reels, netting, funnel vents and grilles. There are also a load of new sensors, replacement radars, such as the AN/SPN-43 air search radar, AN/SPS-48E E/F band 3D air search radar, and AN/SPN-43 air search radar. The Sea Sparrow launcher receives extra details, while there are also additional deck houses, platform supports, and crane details Conclusion These another great pair of sets for this superb kit. As with the previous set reviewed HERE, you will definitely need a good set of optivisors and very good set of tweezers, not to mention patience and a steady hand. What you will get at the end of it are some amazingly detailed aircraft and ground equipment, not to mention a super detailed superstructure. Review sample courtesy of

Built this as I couldn't sell it. Nice kit but not quite as nice as the Spitfires IMHO . This aircraft was flown by Uffz. Hans Döbrich, 6./JG 5, Petsamo, Finland, September 2, 1942. More details/photos at my blog

F-14A Weapons Set (SIN64828 for Tamiya) Eduard Brassin Tamiya's new F-14A is a supersonic interceptor in the true Cold War style, so needs to be bristling with weapons. Injection moulded weapons are all well and good, but even the new slide-moulded one-piece weapons come with mould lines which can drift out of alignment, all of which takes time to deal with, as generally you are looking at four seams per item. Resin weapons can be moulded without seams if expertly done, and Eduard are the masters of resin moulding. As this is a BigSin set, it arrives in a flat top-opening figure sized box, and although the box is perhaps a little over-sized for the parts, there is adequate bubble-wrap inside to prevent the contents moving in transit. Inside the box are three sets that have been available separately in the past, as follows: 648062 AIM-7E Sparrow Missiles (4 in the pack) 648097 AIM-54A Phoenix Missiles (4 in the pack) 648303 AIM-9G/H Sidewinder Air-To-Air Missiles (4 in the pack) Each set is in a separate ziplok bag, with the combined Photo-Etch (PE) and decal sheets in another ziplok back with two sheets of white card providing extra protection. The Sparrow missiles are each built from the main body that has the rear fins moulded in, and separate steering vanes. At the rear is a circular exhaust in PE, and all the stencils are provided on the sheet, with the painting and markings on the instruction booklet using Gunze paint codes for the colours. The Phoenix missiles are each made of the main body with a separate tail part with the rear fins moulded in. The two parts join together with a butt-joint, so ensure that you cut the mould plugs cleanly, and it may help to Dremel the join so that it is concave to improve the fit if the two parts rock at all. The exhaust is moulded into the rear of the tail with a deep undercut adding realism, so no PE is required. There is a short pin moulded into the nose cone to ensure that no bubbles form in the very point of each missile, so remember to remove those and knock back the stub to the correct shape with a fine sanding stick. Again, stencils are included on the sheet with the colour codes given in Gunze shades. The Sidewinders have separate steering vanes and a clear resin seeker head at the front, and a PE exhaust ring at the rear. There are also optional Remove Before Flight covers for the clear head, and adapter rails to facilitate attachment to the aircraft's pylons. Stencil placement and colour codes are on the instruction booklet with the paints in Gunze codes as per the rest of the set. Review sample courtesy of

Photo Etch detail sets for ICM Fw 189A-1 1:72 Eduard With the ink (pixels?) barely dry on our review of ICM's all-new Focke Wulf Fw 189A-1, it's both surprising and encouraging to see Eduard have been so quick off the mark with some upgrade parts for what looks to be an already very good kit. Eduard have released two sets of photo etched parts – one general set and one for the landing flaps – as well as a set of pre-cut masks. I imagine the latter will sell very well indeed, given the intimidating nature of the Uhu's glazing. Fw 189A-1 1:72 Eduard This first set comprises two frets of parts. In the usual Eduard style, one fret is pre-painted while the other is plain. Included on the pre-painted fret are harnesses for the crew seats, a new multi-layered instrument panel, console and parts for the control column. Also on the fret is a whole host of parts for the cockpit sidewalls. Turning to second fret, Eduard have provided replacement magazines for the defensive machine guns, as well as ring and bead gun sights. A fairly modest number of extra details are provided for the rest of the airframe, but the landing gear legs and bays benefit from a handful of extra parts, and the elevator control linkage is replicated in brass too. Fw 189A-1 Landing Flaps 1:72 Eduard In typical Eduard style, these flaps make extensive use of folds rather than lots of parts, which helps make construction relatively painless. You'll need to pay close attention to the instructions though, particularly when it comes to cutting away the corresponding parts of the kit's wings as Eduard's instructions are less than precise. You'll also need to provide a plentiful supply of plastic rod in order to finish these off. Fw 189A-1 Pre-Cut Masks 1:72 Eduard In keeping with their other pre-cut mask sets, this set contains masks for all of the transparent parts, as well as the main and tail landing gear wheels. For a model with a huge amount of complex glazing like this one, they are a great time (and stress) saver. Conclusion ICM's Uhu looks great in the box and I can imagine a fair number will appear in the Ready for Inspection forum over the coming year. It's handy therefore that Eduard have been so quick to market with these upgrade sets. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Spitfire Mk.IX Cowlings (Early 648305 Late 648306) 1:48 Eduard Brassin These new sets are resin replacement cowlings for the new(ish) Spitfire IX from Eduard in 1:48. 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. Each one consists of just the one part, which is a drop-in replacement for the two kit parts. Due to the limitations of injection moulding, the subtle bulges of the cowling had to be moulded as two parts for the kit, which is a limitation that resin doesn't share due to its flexible moulds. The differences between early and late revolve around placement and number of fasteners, which you can just about see in the accompanying photo, and it is all incredibly delicate and sharply rendered. With the two part kit cowling you risk damaging the detail during clean-up, and the dreaded "reappearing seam" that has plagued at least one of my own Spitfire builds, and some others that I have seen online over the years. The relatively low price of this part makes it well worth the effort and expense to improve your kit's detail. Highly recommended. Early (648305) Late (648306) Review sample courtesy of

Hi folk's as far as aircraft go I,ve got bogged down with a couple of large project's(1/32 Heinkel,and a couple of 1/48 GB entries) and the old enthusiasm has gone so I thought let's get back to 1/72 scale with a four ship build with the Eduard 1/72 Hellcat at one end of the spectrum and three Hobbyboss easy kit's at the other.I have the choice of boxed decals plus three from an old Italeri kit with a FAA and French Navy machine included so I can have four different finishes in the build so to kick off until the Hobbyboss kit's arrive I'll start the more complex Eduard kit.Boxart to begin with. This beauty has the parts not only for the N model but the F5F-3 and 5 so I'll choose as the build start's with model and finish.

Hey guys, after few centuries the miracle happened and i have finaly managed to finish a model.. Well, sort of.. The kit is the "new tooling" Eduard 1/48 Bf 109G-6. It was in shelf of doom´n´shame for some time already and as i have moved the box here and there, i have lost some of the little parts (antene column, aileron counterwights and more) and managed to damage the back part of the canopy. So i have decided to finish the kit in what-if scheme - in the end it is an Australian shark I wont bother you with some background storry, so making long storry short - plane was captured in Tunnisia and then delivered to Australia as a birthday gift to one of the top officiers. The plane had part of the canopy cover broken, so it was covered by aluminium sheet. Part of the gift was special marking, based on markings used on the unit´s spitfires at the time. To make it even more special, sgt. A.J.Cangaroo painted blue shark head on nose of the plane. So well,here it is, i have tried to make some dusty weathered surface. I m sorry for the photos, i have problems with backlight and the white is not well balanced Thanks for looking and have a nice day guys

Messerschmitt Bf 110G4 Profipack 1:72 Eduard The Messerschmitt Bf110 was designed to fulfil a German Air Ministry requirement for a long-range, twin-engined heavy fighter aircraft, or zerstörer. The prototype took to the air for the first time in 1936. Having beat off competing designs from Arado, Focke-Wulf and Henschel, it was in service by the time war broke out three years later. Fitted with the same engines as the Bf 109E, the Bf 110 was a powerful and very well armed aircraft. Despite early successes in Poland, however, the inadequacy of the Bf 110 as an out-and-out fighter was exposed by the RAF during the Battle of Britain. Heavy losses resulted, mainly as a result of the aircraft’s lack of manoeuvrability. This aspect of the design was not improved to any degree in later versions, and for this reason the Bf 110 found itself increasingly utilised in other roles such as fighter bomber and night fighter. The aircraft was particularly successful in this last role, mainly due to its stability and heavy armament. The Bf 110G-4 was one of the last variants and was equipped with powerful DB605B engines and the Liechtenstein radar set. Inside the sturdy box are seven sprues moulded in a blue-grey coloured plastic. There is also a single circular sprue moulded in clear plastic. As this is a ‘profipack’ edition, the plastic parts are accompanied by a small fret of pre-painted photo etched parts, a set of die-cut paint masks and a photo-etched tool for the radar antennas. The instruction book is a glossy, stapled A4 document and it includes full-colour painting diagrams. All together, the impression is of a quality package. There is a bit of spare room in the box though, so if you are planning on buying some of Eduard’s Brassin accessories for the kit, you’ll have some space for them! The quality of the plastic parts is second to none. The mouldings are clean and crisp and there are no traces of flash and no sink marks. Eduard have packed in plenty of detail and parts such as the cockpit sidewalls and radio sets are comparable to resin items. The surface detail on the outside of the airframe is just as good. It is comprised of recessed panel lines and delicately engraved rivet and fastener detail and it looks absolutely superb. The cockpit is made up of what seems like dozens of plastic and photo etched parts. The cockpit floor serves as the platform for construction, and to this are added the seats, radio set, instrument panel, rudder pedals, control column and throttles. As this is a profipack edition, photo etch parts are provided to help things along, and as well as seat harnesses, there are replacement details for the instrument panel, rudders, radio and throttles. To save you filing the raised detail off of the plastic instrument panel, a blank version is provided for use with the photo etched parts. A nicely moulded twin-barrelled MG 81Z is provided, complete with a photo etched ring and bead gun sight, as well as the 20mm Schräge Musik cannon. The wings are moulded with a single lower span and separate port and starboard upper spans. The ailerons are provided as separate parts, although the landing flaps are not. The engine cowlings are each moulded in two vertical halves with additional parts for the chin intakes. Once the wings have been assembled, the fuselage should just drop into place. The nose is moulded separately, whiclst the tail planes are nicely moulded but, unlike the wings, the control surfaces are moulded in place. Once the basic airframe is together, it’s time to fit the canopy. This is a complex assembly, moulded in no fewer than eight parts. It can be posed in either open or closed positions, and quite frankly it would have been a travesty if this hadn’t been the case, given all the detail in the cockpit. Care will need to be taken adding the armoured windscreen though, as any smears of glue will be obvious. As mentioned above, this is a ‘profipack’ edition, so a handy set of canopy masks has been included. Turning the model over, the underwing radiators are each made up of three parts and, as with the rest of the kit, they are beautifully detailed. The main undercarriage legs are each made up of no fewer than five parts, with optional photo etched scissor links. The main gear wheels are moulded in vertical halves. The airscrews and hubs look very good too, as do the engine exhausts which benefit from some photo etched details. There are a number of small parts included to cover the final details, including the aileron balance weights and various aerials and antennae. An optional photo etched part is provided for the DF loop. An extra sprue is provided which holds the parts for the Liechtenstein radar set. A photo etched jig is provided in order to aid with the assembly of the complex antennas. Eduard are usually pretty generous with the decal options in their profipacks, and this is no exception. Choices are provided for the following four aircraft: • Bf110G-4 W Nr. 720260, Oblt. Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, Stab IV./ NJG 1, St Trond, Belgium, April 1944; • Bf 110G-4, Maj. Helmut Lent, Commanding Officer of Stab NJG 3, Stade, Germany, September 1944; • Bf 110G-4, Wilhelm Johnen, 7. NJG6, Neubiberg, Germany, 1945; • Bf110G-4, Stab II./NJG1, Bad Langensalza, Germany, 1945. Each option is illustrated with a four-view profile as well as detailed illustrations of the radar arrays. A diagram showing the placement of stencil decals is also included. The decals look crisp, thin and glossy and the colours used are nice and bold. Conclusion Eduard’s Messerschmitt Bf110 series is the definitive family of kits of the type by a country mile. The level of detail they have packed in is superb and the engineering is excellent. Add the photo etch parts and masks into the mix, and you have the complete package. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

USS Iwo Jima LHD 7 (53181) 1:350 Etch Part 1 The latest etched brass set from Eduard, this time for the re-issue of Revells USS Iwo Jima LHD-7. Whilst the model is superb it is still lacking in certain areas. Eduard have chosen to address some of these shortcomings with this, the first part in a series of five sets for the kit. This quite large single sheet contains parts for the assault craft, both the LCAC’s (Landing Craft Air Cushion), and the LCU’s, (Landing Craft Utility). The LCAC’s each receive a whole raft of replacement parts for the superstructures on each side. Before the etched parts can be attached though, a lot of the plastic detail needs to be removed. The PE parts include a new control cabin, air intakes, exhausts, navigation radar and support, exhaust openings, watertight doors, railings, vertical ladders, superstructure brace supports, masts, and liferings. The cushion section and transport deck also receive new railings, along with stowage boxes, cleats, ramp winch boxes, filter boxes and air conditioning units and the fans intake grills. The LCU’s are even more extensively modified with the whole superstructure replaced with a PE part which will require some very careful folding. Onto this there are new fixtures and fittings, such as watertight doors, which can be posed open or closed, upper steering position, complete with ships wheel, 50cal heavy machine gun and splinter shield, storage boxes, air intakes, vertical ladders and railings. The port side of the LCU is also replaced with PE and fitted with vents, liferings, intakes, which can also be posed open or shut, drainage ports, cleats, and railings. There are also, new anchors, anchor supports, a new bow ramp tread plate and two chains. Conclusion Whilst this is a great set, boy will you need a good set of optivisors and very good set of tweezers, not to mention patience and a steady hand. What you will get at the end of it are some amazingly detailed landing craft, which could be used on their own or with the ship. Review sample courtesy of

Hi everybody! I am back with a new kit on my workbench since last summer. This model is wonderful, lot of details, very good engineering and beautiful surfaces. Some people don't like the high number of pieces but it allows a greater level of detail in my opinion. I added the Brassin wheel wells (impressive pieces), a Master pitot probe and obviously some scratchbuilt details. My title is quite ambigus :-) because I'gonna do the Croatian scheme. A picture of the box ( most of you know it I think) The scheme I am interested in: And a nice picture of the real aircraft (thanks airliners!) <Sorry, but Airliners.net copyright photo has to go. Next time put a link in to their site where the photo is held> I will post only the main steps, or what I feel as main steps :-) because I don't really follow the steps of the notice. I have already done the airbrake wells, the wheel wells, the landing gear and the engine, so I'm gonna post more pictures very soon! PZR

Hello! I started building this kit on March, 2015 and just finished it last January. It is a really good model (lot of details, wonderful surfaces) and the little problems are now solved with the new edition. Swiss colours add a flashy touch on the classic scheme... and my wife is from this nice country , so I decided to paint this Bf 109 this way. Some pictures: If you want more pics of the finished model, follow this link: http://fighters.forumactif.com/t81668-chocolat-fromage-etc-etc-enfin-l-oiseau-en-photos The work in progress thread is here (I'm struggling with the pictures links): I am really happy to share with you my first finished 1/48 kit after a loooong pause with this hobby. Comments and critics are welcome of course! Cheers PZR

Not only a Spitfire with nose art, but a Spitfire with drop tanks too! I posted pictures of this build previously on the KG144 forum, but this Spitfire has a pretty interesting and unusual backstory which I thought might interest someone here. The scheme came on my Kitsworld decal sheet (available in all different scales and it is also on this Jbr sheet, which I suspect is equally nice and have high on my shopping list). Having just bought Hannants out of discounted Eduard Quattro Spitfires (and a very good deal they were too - under £20 for 8 Spitfires), I had to do it for the sheer novelty value. MK210 was a Mk.IXc loaned to the USAF in early-1944, who wanted to see if they could fit long-range fuel tanks to give the Spit the 'legs' of the P-51. At Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, the Americans stripped out unnecessary weight, including the outer wing .303s, installed a large 43 gallon fuel tank behind the pilot (where the yellow filler cap is), and an enlarged oil tank. It was also modified to carry 16.5 gallon underwing P-51 drop tanks (which look vast on the Spit whereas somehow they look normal on a P-51, oddly enough). In partnership with another similarly-modified Spit, the aircraft was flown across the Atlantic in July 1944 by USAF test pilot Lt Col Gus Lundquist, seen below looking impossibly dashing (and bearing a resemblance to a young Marlon Brando). It had a hydraulics failure when it reached the Greenland staging base and was forced to make a wheels-up landing. Fortunately, the drop tanks took the hit, meaning that MK210 was deemed repairable and not written off. While Lundquist flew to the UK in a B-25 to collect the required spares, the crew chief repairing her decided to paint a pin-up on the cowling, supposedly of his wife, Tolly. Either she's idealised or he was a lucky guy. Anyway, I guess life in Greenland was pretty slow after the day's work was done. The Spit was flown on to the UK, where RAE Boscombe Down tested it. It was found to handle like a steel pig, with all the additional fuel tanks ruining the weight distribution of the aircraft, making its handling very unpredictable. Also, when the drop tanks were released at speeds above 300 mph, they had a nasty habit of damaging the underside of the wing. The British also found the nose art a bit uncouth so Tolly's offending panel was removed (although rumour has it the pilots nabbed it for the local pub). There's a question mark over whether this ever flew with the combination of both nose art and drop tanks. I have chosen to neatly ignore that question mark - while this Spit could almost certainly have made the 800-odd mile hop from Greenland to Iceland and then on to Scotland on internal fuel alone, there is no conclusive evidence that it did… so there! This is the Eduard IXc that comes in the Quattro set with Kitsworld's superb decals (comes with all the stencilling you could ever require). I stole some drop tanks and hard points from a Sweet P-51, and added the Rotol Hydulignum stencils to the prop from a Liliput Air Force sheet I have (I think these are right for a IXc). Scratch built the pitot and rear view mirror. Otherwise this is out of the box. I didn't know whether they actually replaced the panels underwing after removing the .303s, so I let sleeping dogs lie and left the cartridge ejector holes alone. At the time I also didn't know whether the full IFF MkII aerials were fitted (those are the ones going in diagonally from the horizontal tailplane to about the roundel on the fuselage) but I figured that at some point this would have been tested at Max All Up Weight, so those sorts of things probably would have been on there…I have subsequently been reliably informed that given the aircraft's date of manufacture and the note against the serial number that it had all military equipment stripped out of it, it most likely did not have this fitted (and if it did have IFF, it would have had the more discreet MkIII). Ah well, it's on there now and I am too happy about it to lose much sleep. Painted with Humbrol (topside) and Tamiya (underside), weathered with W&N oils (a new technique for me - I quite like the effect). Especially using the Kitsworld decals, this was a great fun build - I've forgotten how superb Eduard's little Spitfire is (I last built one three years ago). Needless to say I now have another seven planned! I think this has to be my favourite of all the Spitfire marks. So elegant... Thanks for looking - hope that was of some interest!

Spitfire Mk.IXc Early Version Profipak (8282) 1:48 Eduard A fairly well-known aircraft of WWII, the Supermarine Spitfire was the mainstay of British Fighter Command for the majority of WWII, with the Mk.IX being the most popular (with many) throughout the war, seeing extended periods of production with only minor alterations for the role that it was intended for differentiating between the sub-variants. Originally requested to counter the superiority of the then-new Fw.190, a two-stage supercharged Merlin designated type 61 provided the performance in spades, and the fitting of twin wing-mounted cannons in wing blisters gave it enough punch to take down its diminutive Butcher-Bird prey. The Kit Eduard's range of Spitfire kits expanded almost as quickly as their Bf.109 range did, and is of comparable quality in terms of detail and buildability (probably not a real word, but you know what I mean). This reboxing is the early IXc, some of which were converted Mk.Vcs that were taken from the production line and fitted with the more powerful engine and little else in addition. As usual with the Profipak editions, you get the kit, some extras and a generous decal sheet for your shekels. Inside the standard Profipak boxing are five sprues in a medium grey stryrene, a circular clear sprue in its own ziplok bag, a sheet of yellow kabuki tape masking material pre-cut to shape, and a nickel plated sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass with some parts pre-printed for the instrument panel. The instruction booklet is glossy and printed in colour, with the rear pages showing the decal options that are included in the box. There are two decal sheets included in the box, again supplied in their own re-sealable bag to keep them fresh and safe from damage. There are a number of parts that will stay in the box after construction is completed, such as a set of lower wings, tail fins, landing gear and clipped wingtips. Anyone that's an inveterate Spitfire fiddler will welcome the spares. Construction begins with the cockpit – no surprises there then. The sidewalls with their equipment are built up, and the rear frames are fitted into grooves , with the lower 'pit floor and control lines under the pilot's feet. His seat is nicely detailed with a PE or styrene armour panel behind it, and a flare rack under the front lip, plus a pair of pre-painted harnesses to keep the pilot from headbutting the gunsight in the event of a sudden stop. The control column is made of three parts and includes a linkage, with the other controls built up from PE and styrene parts, plus of course the lamination of the main instrument panel, into which the gunsight and compass fit. The completed assembly fits into the slot at the front of the sidewall, and the rudder pedals slot in from below just forward of the instrument panel frame. The opposite sidewall secures the assembly and gives it strength until it is fitted in between the two fuselage halves along with a firewall spacer part and the spinner backplate. At the rear a socket for the tailwheel is trapped between the halves, and the wingroot leading edges are added from separate parts that fit very well, from memory. The Eduard Spit includes a short spar in the lower wing for strength, which also includes a short portion of the gear bay walls, the rest being added from short sections that are installed around the opening. A choice of two upper wing halves are offered, with either a single narrow blister or a wide one, depending on which markings options you are going for. The wingtips and ailerons are separate, and are added later in the build for whatever reason, as are the radiator housings on the underside of the wing, the chin intake, and the lower nose cowling. The radiator baths have movable rear sections to allow The fuselage and wings can be mated now, and the cowling added around the top of the engine compartment, after you have built up the fishtail exhausts, which by the way have hollow tips due to some clever slide-moulding. The tail has a separate rudder and elevators that fit to the fins, and you are advised to affix a pair of antennae from the tips of the elevators to tiny circular panels just behind the radio compartment hatch, but this is best done at the end so take it as a reminder to drill some tiny holes to thread some EZ-line or invisible mending thread later. The landing gear are next, and they can be built raised or lowered, the latter achieved by cutting off the tab at the end of the leg. Very little is said about how to achieve raised gear, but a little trial and error will soon result in a solution if you're not lucky enough to find out via a quick search. The tail wheel is supplied on a long rod that slots inside the fuselage and connects with the socket that was glued in place at time of the fuselage closure. The prop is provided as a single part, and is sandwiched by the front and rear spinner parts for attachment to the nose during the final stages, which also includes the single cannon barrels with the outer ports glazed over with a clear dome on most of the markings options. Speaking of clear parts, the canopy is supplied with separate windscreen part with a choice of rear-view mirrors, and either a complete canopy and rear section in one part, or separate parts if you want to display the cockpit open. Markings There are two decal sheets in the box, one containing the individual markings and nation insignia, the other the stencils. The main sheet is by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The stencils are printed in-house by Eduard on their vibrant blue paper, and are of good quality. From the box you can build one of the following: Spitfire Mk.IXc early version 1/48 - EN315, Flown by S/Ldr. Stanislav Skalski, Polish Combat Team, Northern Africa, Spring 1943 Spitfire Mk.IXc early version 1/48 - EN133, No. 611 Squadron, Biggin Hill, Early 1943 Spitfire Mk.IXc early version 1/48 - BS392, Flown by S/Ldr. Bernard Dupérier, CO of No. 340 Squadron, Biggin Hill Airbase, Autumn 1942 Spitfire Mk.IXc early version 1/48 - EN354, flown by 1st Lt. Leonard V. Helton, 52nd FG, 4th FS, La Sebala Airfield, Tunisia, June, 1943 Spitfire Mk.IXc early version 1/48 - EN568, Flown by W/Cdr. Alan C. Deere, CO of Biggin Hill Wing, Biggin Hill Air Base, June, 1943 Conclusion A welcome re-release of a cracking kit from those nice folks at Eduard. If you missed out on it the first time round, then now is your chance to pick up the new boxing in its Profipak form. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Spitfire Mk.IX Engine 1:72 Eduard If you're lucky enough to have one of Eduard's rather excellent new Spitfire Mk.IXs in glorious 1:72, you won't have failed to notice that the kit has been designed in such a way as to accommodate an engine. It should come as no surprise then, to find that Eduard themselves have released just such an item. Packed into a reasonably large box considering the size of the contents, the engine is supplied as 26 resin parts and a small fret of photo etched details. Not all of the resin parts are used though, as you get a choice of upper cowling and two different types of exhaust nozzles. Assembly should be fairly straightforward, although you will need to supply your own wire in order to finish some of the finer plumbing and electrical work. The inclusion of replacement parts for the cowling allows the engine to be finished in a variety of possibilities. The resin parts are beautifully cast and tick all the boxes in terms of fulfilling the functions of an aftermarket upgrade. Overall, this is a great addition to the kit and it can be highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Spitfire Mk.XVI Dual Combo 1:72 Eduard More than any other aircraft - at least on this side of the Atlantic - the Supermarine Spitfire has attained the status of a true legend. An unrivalled reputation and its role in the Battle of Britain have combined to ensure the type is ingrained in the nation's psyche. One of the ultimate Merlin powered variants was the Mk.XVI. The Mk.XVI was essentially a Mk.IX, with a licence-built Packard Merlin 266 in place of the Rolls Royce Merlin 66. The Mk.XVI was optimised for low-altitude combat, and a large number were produced with a cut-down rear fuselage and bubble canopy for improved pilot visibility. Just over a thousand Mk.XVIs were produced at the Castle Bromwich factory by the end of the War. Eduard have earned an excellent reputation in recent years with world-class models such as their 1:72 Hellcat, Bf110 and MiG-15. Their models typically feature a mixture of exquisite detail and superb – if complex – engineering which puts them right at the pinnacle of modern kit manufacturers. The latest all-new 1:72 kit to roll off the Prague production line is actually a range of kits, covering the late mark Merlin engine Spitfires, including the Mk.VIII, Mk.IX and Mk.XVI. This kit represents the latter. To kick this particular marquee off, the first edition is a dual combo edition containing two complete kits as well as photo etched parts and pre-cut masks. The kit arrives packed into a glossy, top-opening box adorned with a picture of both high and low-back examples. Each of the two kits comprises well over 150 plastic parts, as well as a small fret of pre-painted photo etched parts and a set of die-cut paint masks. The instruction book is a glossy, stapled A4 affair which includes full-colour painting diagrams. The overall impression is of a really premium package. The quality of the mouldings is up to the usual Eduard standard, with clean, crisp details and no flaws anywhere. As with other recent kits from Eduard, there is plenty of fine detail, with parts such as the cockpit comparable to high-end resin items (which, in turn, should tell you how good Eduard's resin cockpit is). The surface detail on the outside of the airframe is exquisitely rendered, with fine recessed panel lines and delicately engraved rivet and fastener detail. Eduard take an uncompromising approach when it comes to detail, resulting in a cockpit that is simply fabulous, particularly so in this Profipack edition. I don't think I've ever seen a Spitfire kit in this scale with a seat made up of three parts, so it's just as well that a set of pre-painted harnesses have been included too. There is a choice of plastic or photo etched parts for the pilot's armour, and further tiny photo etched details for the control column and throttle controls. The instrument panel also benefits from the addition of photo etched parts, with a detailed plastic alternative provided if you don't fancy using the metal parts. Unusually, the cockpit sidewalls have been moulded separately. I can only think that Eduard have done this in order to maximise the amount of detail they have been able to pack in, as well as paving the way for their resin cockpit, which uses the same approach. Once the cockpit has been assembled and painted, it can be fitted between the vertically split fuselage halves, along with the engine firewall, a blank part into which the propeller is fitted later on, and the pilot's head armour. The leading edge wing root also has to be fitted at this stage. The fact that these parts have been moulded separately to the rest of the kit is testament to Eduard's commitment to detail, if not buildability! The breakdown of the wing is no less complex. As you might expect, the lower wing has been moulded as a single span, with separate upper wing surfaces. Between the two you must sandwich seven parts which together make up the walls of the main landing gear bay. The ailerons and wing tips have been moulded separately, which allows both regular and clipped wing variants to be built from the same moulds. The same applies to the rudder and elevators. Multiple alternatives are included on the sprues, so make sure you use the correct version for your intended subject. The upper and lower cowlings are moulded separately, with the former split along the middle. Even the wing radiators are made up of six parts each, with the surface of the radiators themselves picked out in photo etched metal in this boxing. Turning the model over, the undercarriage is just as detailed as the rest of the kit. Each of the main landing gear legs is made up of seven parts, with the tyres moulded separately to the hubs and photo etched parts to represent hub covers (where fitted). The separate tyres will make painting easier, which is just as well as the included paint masks don't cater for the landing gear. A long range fuel tank and a couple of small bombs are included and the wing cannon barrels are moulded separately, which means they can be added at the end of the build in order to avoid accidental damage. For the high back version, two different rear canopy sections are included so you can finish your model with the canopy open or closed. A single rear canopy is provided for the low back version, which can simply be posed in open or closed position as you wish. As this is a ‘profipack’ edition, a full set of canopy masks has been included. I’ve used Eduard’s pre-cut masks a number of times now and have always found them to be excellent for turning a time consuming chore into a quick and easy job. Eduard are usually pretty generous with the decal options in their profipacks, and this is no exception. Choices are provided for a giddy eight aircraft: Spitfire Mk.XVI TB900, No. 349 Squadron, Wunstorf, Germany, Summer 1945; Spitfire Mk.XVI TD341, No. 443 Squadron, Uetersen Airfield, Germany, August 1945; Spitfire Mk.XVI TB675, No. 485 Squadron (RNZAF), W/O M. Lond, Fassberg, Germany, Summer 1945; Spitfire Mk.XVI SL721, Flown by Air Vice Marshall Sir James Robb, 1948; Spitfire Mk.XVI TD240, Flown by Squadron Leader Boleslaw Kaczmarek, Commanding Officer of No. 302 Squadron, Varrelsbuch Air Field, Germany, Summer 1945; Spitfire Mk.XVI RR227, Flown by Squadron Leader Otto Smik, Commanding Officer of No.127 Squadron, Grimbergen Airfield, Belgium, November 1944; Spitfire Mk.XVI TB634, No.421 Squadron (RCAF), Pilot Officer A.F. McIntosh, B.90 Airfield, Petit Brogel, Belgium, March 1945; and Spitfire Mk.XVI TB752, Flown by Squadron Leader Henry Zary, Commanding Officer of No.403 Squadron, Belgium, April 1945 All of the aircraft are finished in a variation of the Ocean Grey/Dark Green over Medium Sea Grey scheme with the exception of Air Vice Marshall Sir James Robb's aircraft, which is finished in overall PRU Blue. Each option is illustrated with a four-view colour profile. The decals look crisp, thin and glossy and the colours used are nice and bold. Conclusion Eduard's range of 1:72 Spitfires is simply excellent. The kits are both accurate and highly detailed, putting them some way ahead of most other 1:72 kits on both counts. This dual combo package is particularly appealing because of the inclusion of both low and high back versions, the excellent range of decal options and the addition of photo etched parts and masks makes. The only downside is complexity. Other than that, this looks mighty impressive on the sprue and can be highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi everybody! The first pictures of my bf 109. Very nice kit and a great level of details, I added only few wires and 2-3 other things. I hope you will like it! The painted cockpit in the next post.

Cripes... I just realized I don't think I have posted a complete model here, so here goes. This is the Eduard 1/48 Bf109E-4 Profipack and is the third aircraft I have completed since I got back into the hobby four years ago.

Hereby the finished P-400 Airacobra. Eduard present it as a wekkend edition, that is a time scheme I couldn't match. The build was realli enjoyable. Most of the decals went on really good, even the pin-ups. They consist of several pieces, because of the car doors on the aircraft. The panel lines were done with oilpaint. The colors are all from Vallejo. Thanks for looking. Jan Remco

Gentlemen As I am almost done with the Iraqi Hunter, it's time to post a new WIP. This one is second in line of the SyAAF next to the L-29. I thought of doing the one from the Ramadan war in '73... The kit is the old Kopro and during the years I managed to collect some aftermarket for it: Neomega cockpit and seat, Eduard interior, SAC metal landing gear, quickboost vents and such and Armory resin wheels. A few years back I did an Algerian Fitter, so no big surprises are expected... The seat looks great: the pit is also nice... After some painting... I've used IP decals from some leftovers, cut them out... I think it's better than I could ever do by hand... To make a BM/BMK out of BKL you need to remove some plastic. The BKL had skids on the landing gear so the wells were larger. A minor surgery... Quickboost vents are too small And that's about it for now. Stay tuned and thanks for looking in. cheers