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North American OV-10A Bronco detail sets Eduard 1:32 Since the release of the Kittyhawk NA OV-10A/C, it was only a matter of time before Eduard released some etched sets for it, as they did for the earlier release of the OV-10D. The three sets cover the interior, seatbelts and exterior. There is also a mask set designed for the kit, which will come in particularly handy, as there is a lot of Perspex on these aircraft. As with most of Eduards sets, some of the kit detail will need to be removed before any etch can be added. Interior Set (32850) The parts are contained on two sheets of relief etched brass of roughly equal size, with one being unpainted and the other pre-painted, and unusually not self-adhesive, as they usually are. The unpainted sheet contains items such as the canopy latching mechanisms and their respective handles, replacement rear console plates, a central panel for the rear cockpit, and several small panels for around the throttle box. It also contains the seat release handle box, and replacement parts for the seat headrests. The pre-painted sheet contains the instrument panels complete with the instrument faces on the backplate. A little dab of aqua clear will give them the appearance of glass fronts. The sheet also contains the myriad of side console panels, ejection seat parts; The ejection seat main firing handles are not shown in the instructions so check your references before attaching. The rest of the sheet contains the switch panels with separate switches which are fitted from below, circuit breaker panels, radio panels and the rudder pedals. Seatbelts (32851) This small single sheet set contains a complete and comprehensive set of seat belts, buckles and clasps for both the pilot and co-pilot. The belts look like they will be rather fiddly to assemble, but will look great when fitted. The seat belts are pre-painted so no need for some fiddly painting, just a slightly darker wash to tone them down a bit. To fit the lap-straps the modeller will need to cut a slot on both sides of each seat pad to allow the ends of the straps to slide into them. Exterior (32380) This two sheet set contains some very nice additional detail for the exterior and open areas of the kit. There are quite a few parts dedicated to the interior of the main wheel bays, including new side panels and roof frames. The main wheel bay doors also receive new hinge panels. The nose wheel bay also get the benefit of new panels, stringers, a control box, and hinges for the doors. The undercarriage legs receive brake pipes, brake detail, new scissor links and strengthening straps. Note that if you’re going to alter the kits lower oleo so that it represents a working unit then the scissor links and brake pipes will need to be altered too. Around the exterior of the model there are new access panels, new fittings for the flap bays and the flaps themselves. The stub wings are fitted with new gun bay panels which can be posed open or closed, whilst on the underside there are several new panels. The engine exhausts and boom panels are fitted with replacement parts. On the side of the aircraft there are new crew entry steps which can be posed open or closed. The detail upgrades aren’t confined to the aircraft, there are also parts for the weapons, including new strakes, panels, rocket motor ends, fuse clips and straps, whilst the pylons undersides are enhanced with new panels and the Sidewinder launcher is fitted with a new rail. Masks (JX185) This set of yellow Kabuki tape masks for all the Perspex on the kit as well as masks for the wheels. As with most masks the tape is only provided for the surrounds of the canopy, the infill being made up from masking fluid, the exception being the pilots middle windscreen, co-pilots rear quarter screens and outer wheel hubs, each of which comprise one piece of tape. Conclusion Once again it’s proven that there’s never a kit release without an Eduard set of two being designed for it, they are so prolific. Whilst not as comprehensive as some of the previous releases, they will add that extra level of detail sought by some modellers. It still disappointing that they chose to release the seatbelt set separate from what is basically an interior set, but I guess it gives modeller more choice on how much they want to add. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

JU-87G-2 Stuka Updates (for Trumpeter) 1:32 Eduard Trumpeter's big late Stuka is a tempting kit with its sloping canopy and big guns in gondolas, as I can attest because I've got one, despite 1:48 being my usual scale. Eduard's new sets will take the existing detail to the proverbial next level, allowing the modeller to pick & choose which areas to focus on depending on budget, skill and where their interests lie. Each of the three Photo-Etch (PE) sets and mask set come in the usual re-sealable flat-pack with white card insert protecting the frets as well as the instruction sheets. Interior (32847) This is a big set, consisting of two frets of PE in nickel-plated brass that are pre-painted (printed) with full colour instrument panels amongst other things. The other fret is larger and in bare brass for constructional parts that can be painted by the modeller. The cockpit of the Stuka is a glass-house, and even more visible if you open the canopies, so detail is paramount here. The sidewalls are first to be improved with the moulded-in detail removed first to accept a horde of additional parts, such as levers; switch panels; throttle quadrant and numerous boxes of different types. The floor is detailed with map boxes; a small raised panel; foot-rests, additional equipment racks and compartment separators. At the front the kit instrument panel is torn-down to make way for a lamination of pre-painted dials and bezels that have additional knobs & levers bristling from it; a new set of rudder pedals and their suspension arms; a detailed gun-sight, and interior windscreen farming details. The other canopy parts are also detailed with grab-handles, latches and rear-view mirrors, plus a small instrument block. The aft machine-gunner's twin mounted gun is clipped of over-sized ammo feed and handles, before new PE parts are added, along with a pair of cooling jackets that will need rolling to shape. Two sets of ring and bead sights are added to mount as good measure. As if that wasn't enough detail, the pilot's lower viewing panel that allows him to see his target below him is detailed with internal mechanism and an outer frame, just for good measure. Exterior (32378) The exterior set isn't quite as large as the interior, but it still spreads over two bare brass frets, and includes a substantial upgrade to the detail of the prominent chin scoop that first requires the louvres to be removed, before the oil-cooler core is detailed with new mesh, and the louvres are replaced by a five-part assembly, plus a brace to the opposite side, two small probes and a circular access-panel just forward of the lip. Similar treatment is given to the under wing radiators, with mesh inside and both the forward and rear doors replaced by PE assemblies and some short sections of 0.7mm styrene from your supplies. The wing mounted gun bays are detailed with a panel under the gun breech, plus a replacement three-part door and latch so that they look more realistic when left open. The pannier mounted heavy cannons under the wings have their chunky mounting points removed and replaced with a highly detailed and accurate assembly that takes up a large number of parts, but adds a lot of authenticity. The ammo-cartridge that projects from the side of the pod is replaced by a PE part after the lip around the port is filed off and replaced by a more crisp PE part. Finally, the fuel tank under the belly is strapped in place by a new detailed PE part that wraps around and underneath the tank, and a frame is added around the leading edge landing light. Seatbelts (32848) Containing a full set of crew seatbelts, a back-strop for the gunner and a template in the fret sides that is used to cut out the slots needed for accurate belt placement, this set is a small fret that is nickel-plated and pre-printed, so you can have realistic metal furniture on the crew belts, as well as visible stitching on the belts themselves. There is also a cushion top that is folded around a small piece of 1mm styrene sheet from your supplies to give the gunner a nice comfy cushion on his draughty excuse for a chair. Masks (JX183) The Stuka could be the poster-aircraft for the canopy masking industry, as it has just so damn many panes in its greenhouse. Never fear - this set will address this with pre-cut kabuki tape in yellow that contains a mask for every single panel, using full masks for the flat areas, and frame-hugging strips for the compound curves. Fill the middle of these with scrap tape or masking fluid and off you go. Don't forget you also get masks for the opening side-window, both ends of the pilot's lower viewing tunnel and the landing light cover. If you're after bonus wheel masks, you're out of luck because there's hardly any spare space on the sheet! Review sample courtesy of

Mosquito FB.Mk.VI Update Sets (for Tamiya) 1:32 Eduard Tamiya's new large scale Mosquito is a lovely kit, and Eduard have worked their usual magic to make it lovelier (is that a word?). The sets are broken down into areas of interest, so that a modeller can choose where to spend time & money improving the detail to suit themselves. Each set arrives in a flat pack with re-sealable flap, with a sheet or two of white card protecting the contents and instruction sheets from harm. Interior (32849) Supplied on two frets, one of which is nickel plated and pre-painted, the other bare brass, this set deals with… well, the cockpit really. A large proportion of the painted set is used in replacing the moulded-in detail on the instruments dotted around the cockpit, from the main panel, the auxiliary panel on the right sidewall, Gee Indicator, Drift Sight, to the two radio gear boxes in the rear, which are festooned with colourful knobs. There are a surprisingly large number of dials in a Mossie, and they will look a lot more detailed once the new parts are installed. In addition, there is a flare rack under the pilot's seat for which you could scratch-build your own flares from styrene rod; cockpit extinguisher mount; additional seat detail; throttle quadrant upgrades; highly detailed replacement rudder pedals that are built up from a substantial number of parts; extra detail for the crew access hatch, and a frame for the emergency exit on the roof of the canopy, plus a number of other smaller parts that are dotted around. Exterior (32379) This set is surprisingly focused, which says a lot about the detail already present in the kit, with only one fret of bare brass in the bag. The gun bay in the nose gets a set of new ammo can lids; plus four breech tops in both the nose and the belly guns. The engines receive wiring harnesses on both sides each; the fuel tanks under the main spar have their moulded-in straps removed and replaced with new interlocking PE parts, as do the oil tanks in the gear bays. There are also a long pair of skin parts added to the edges of the wing within the gear bays, and some strengthening parts around the radiators. The gear legs are treated to a new set of scale thickness mudguards, which will require some careful rolling to the right radius so that the mounting arms fit and can be glues on, and finally a bit of additional detail is added to the insides of the landing gear bay doors. Mask Set (JX184) The Mossie has quite a greenhouse going on in the canopy department, so a masking set is a welcome addition. As well as providing masks for the entire canopy, it also includes masks for the clear panel in the rear of the navigator's fold-down seat-top (something I'd never noticed before), the wingtip lights as well as the downward facing landing lights in the lower wing surface. There isn't room on the sheet for wheel masks, but Eduard do produce a nice resin replacement for the Marmite wheels in the kit, which you can see here. As usual, where there are compound curves, the masks hug the framing edges, so you will need to fill in the centres with scrap tape from the background, or some liquid mask. Review samples courtesy of

Mosquito Mk.VI Wheels & Exhausts (632065 & 632066 for Tamiya) 1:32 Eduard Brassin The big(ish) Mossie is getting a lot of attention, and the Tamiya kit has had a LOT of praise heaped on it for its detail. You can always do better with resin and Photo-etch (PE) though, so expect plenty of that to take the detail to the insane. Both these sets come in the usual clear clamshell box and the resin is protected by foam sheets, while the instructions double as the header card to the rear. Mark.VI Wheels (632065) A few folks have found issues with the tyres of the kit, and although they use a very clever method for the construction of a supposedly seam-free design, there seems to have been some slop between the parts that doesn't look so good. These wheels are resin replacements with two tyres for the main wheels that have separate hubs on both sides, plus an anti-shimmy tail wheel for the rear. The contact patches have a slight sag that's barely noticeable, and that is where the casting block is attached so it won't be seen once the model is complete. They are a simple drop-in replacement once built and painted, which you're helped with by the inclusion of a sheet of pre-cut kabuki tape masks for the hubs. Mark.VI Exhaust Stacks (632066) The kit exhaust is made up from three stack parts, but these resin replacements have all the stacks moulded into a single base-plate, so all you have to do is omit the kit parts and insert the replacements, one per side per nacelle, totalling four, just in case it had never occurred to you! The detail is lovely, with wafer thin hollow outlets complete with fold marks, flanges and bolt-heads at the base of each port. There is a small key in the base that meshes with a corresponding mark inside the manifold outlet area, so getting them fitted should be simple. Review sample courtesy of

GBU-49 & Mk.81 Bombs (648220 & 648225) 1:48 Eduard Brassin You're probably all familiar with Eduard's expanding range of munitions and missiles, which seems to get substantially larger every month. This month it's some relatively modern US and NATO bombs of the smart and not-so-smart variety, both of which arrive in the standard clamshell packaging, the resin inside protected with foam, and a small decal sheet sandwiched between the pages of the instruction/backing card. GBU-49 (648220) This is an Enhanced Paveway II with a 500lb iron bomb at its heart, with GPS guidance added to the laser guiding found on its sibling the GBU-12. There are parts for two bombs, plus a choice of seeker heads. Construction is simple, as the main body of the bomb is moulded as a single highly-detailed part, to which all you need to do is add the four front steering vanes to their sockets, your choice of seeker head (after drilling a 1mmm hole in the seeker), and the small vane extensions at the rear of the bomb. Decals are included for the stencils, with placement and painting diagrams in the instructions for two colour variations. Mk.81 Bombs with Airbrake (648225) A Vietnam era bomb with a fall retarding set of fins on the rear to facilitate dropping at extreme low-level without involving the dropping aircraft in the subsequent blast. It can also be fitted with a long fuse to detonate just above ground level for maximum anti-personnel effect. In the pack you get six bomb bodies, tail fins and a choice of four fuse types. The bomb is joined to the tail unit after removal from the small casting blocks, and the fuse of choice plugged into the recess in the nose of the bomb. A scrap diagram shows the correct location of the fins in relation to the mounting lugs, with painting and markings diagram in colour on the front of the booklet. Review sample courtesy of

Hello, here's my Eduard Fw-190 A8 finished. Work in progress: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234991920-building-the-172-eduard-focke-wulf-fw-190-a8/ Landing gear doors are photo etch pieces from Brengun (intended for the Airfix kit). Gun barrels & pitot tube from Master Model. Painted with Gunze acrylics according to instructions. Thanks for looking. Greetings from Vienna Roman

Storm Shadow Cruise Missile (648222) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The Storm Shadow is an air-launched cruise missile with a cool name. It is used by the RAF and is often seen slung under Tornadoes, with France, Italy and a number of Arab states also holding stocks in their inventory. It is subsonic and has a range of 150+ miles, which is good news for pilots that don't want to get shot down. Arriving in a Brassin box, there are sufficient parts to build two Storm Shadows, with twenty six resin parts, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) details, a decal sheet with all the necessary stencils, plus the instruction booklet in matt colour. The missiles can be built with their wings folded or unfolded, and there are alternative parts for the Tornado, which has a different top assembly. It is also known as the SCALP EG when fitted to the Mirage 2000, Rafale and Eurofighter, with a reduced top section and different locating lugs. The main missile body is complete save for a small faceted triangular aerodynamic section underneath, and the wings are added in whatever pose you choose to the cut-out in the top side, with the twin tails and guide vanes at the rear slotting into holes in the rear. A PE exhaust ring covers the cut where the casting block is removed, and then it's a matter of choosing either the raised resin top assembly for the Tornado, or the flat PE part with resin lugs for the other operators. A separate diagram shows the painting and markings options which appear to be in black and white, but the missile is grey all-over, and has only a yellow band and a couple of tiny red and white decals that give the game away. As usual the paint call-outs are in Gunze Sangyo numbers. Conclusion There should be quite a market for these ultra-detailed Storm Shadows, as they look good under any suitable airframe, and kit representations are usually either absent or a little soft on detail. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I finished the new Eduard Fw190A-8 at the start of last week and just wanted to share my thoughts on the build and the model itself. First of all, I'm not going to say if it's accurate or not as I'm not the sort of person that measures model kits or checks them against drawings etc, suffice to say I can't see anything obviously wrong with it (like you can with the Airfix kit!) and it looks and sits like an Fw190, so that will do for me. Next point is the detailing, it's easily the best 1/72 Fw190 in terms of detailing. It's the only Fw190A or F out there with the front of the engine modelled (not that you can really see it!) and the exhausts are separately moulded too. It's also got the best moulded wheelbay of any Fw190A kit too. The cockpit like the Hasegawa kit, is very simple, you have the option of flat instrument panels with the details provided by decals, or you can use the Colour Zoom Etch (which I did). The Colour Zoom etch parts, as you would expect include seatbelts, which if nothing else should be used, as you can see these easily, even when the canopy is closed. There's optional standard and Blown canopies, which can be modelled open or closed. The kit is easily the most complicated Fw190A kit to build as the wheelbay needs to be built up and as mentioned the engine front and exhausts are all separate parts, so it will need a bit more care and attention than say the Tamiya Fw190A-3 or Hasegawa Fw190A-8. That said the kit builds really well except for a couple of areas which need extra attention. First of all, as a lot of people know, the Fw190's instrument panel had 2 halves, upper and lower. If you use Zoom etch parts in the kit the upper instrument panel will not fit in the pre cut slots in the inner fuselage halves, without modification. Presumably when the Weekend edition comes out, this will not be an issue. The next area for concern is the nose machine gun decking, on my kit at least, it didn't fit very well to start with, so it needs a bit of sanding, super gluing and clamping to get it to fit. The last bit is that there is a large gap when the front cowling ring is fitted, there should be a little gap (as on the real thing) but the gap on the model just looks a bit too big, so a touch of filler makes it look better. Apart from the issues mentioned it went together really well, I only need to use filler on the front cowling ring gap, it has the best wing/fuselage kit I've seen on a model. I have to say it builds up much better than the well received MiG-15 kits, almost as well as their Hellcat kits. The decals also are quite nice, they behaved quite well for me, going on easily, not sticking too fast, giving you the chance to adjust the positioning. They have also dried on well, conforming to the surfaces and panel lines without silvering. Apart from a few minor niggles fitting some parts (as mentioned) the kit is excellent and I would highly recommend that anyone who likes the Fw190 should get one! There are some pitfalls as I discovered when building the model. The Profipack edition can only really be built as a standard A-8. I found this out as I wanted to do Priller's 'Black 13'. From pictures it can be seen that this aircraft had no outer 20mm cannons in the wings and as a result, no bulges behind the cannons on the upper wing. On the Eduard kit the bulges are moulded on the wings, so to make anything else, you need to file these off and there really isn't a point in doing this as I will explain. According to Eduard, if I understand correctly, in the Royal Class boxing will give you the parts and decals to do 2 standard Fw190A-8's, an A nightfighter and a A-8/R8 Sturmbock (although they insist in incorrectly calling it an R2). One of the standard A-8's will be Priller's A-8 and for this you will get a set of wings without the bulges on top. With the wings without the bulges, it will also allow you to make an F-8 and possibly be correct for an A-5 to A-7 (new fuselage halves with be needed). It's also interesting to note that you get the larger fatter bladed prop from the A-9/F-9, inner landing gear doors for the A-5/A-6,upper nose decking for the A-5/A-6, so there are hints Eduard will release many boxings. As I said I was going to do Priller's 'Black 13' but realised I couldn't easily do this from this kit. I had already filed down the little bulges on the wing leading edge, where the outer cannon barrels protrude. However, I decided after looking at all my spare decals, that the best option that would require the least change to the mostly complete paint scheme was to do the JG10 option from a Hasegawa double set (the one with the snake down the sides). Despite a couple of small errors, it's turned out quite well and I'm happy with it, I guess I'll need to provide pics at some point! So final thoughts now. After building this I can really only recommend this kit and the Hasegawa last Fw190A/F series of kits. The Hasegawa kit is a much more simple and fun build, and is essentially accurate and fits pretty much perfectly together. They also have done loads of the weird and less common armament options (like BT400's) that I bet Eduard won't do, get it for a good price and you'll be very happy you did. If you want a more detailed and challenging build, then get the Eduard kit but remember it can only be built as an A-8 easily oob. If you want another version, wait for Eduard to release it or hunt down the OOP Hasegawa kit! Hope this helps and makes sense! thank Mike

AH-1Z Photo-Etch Updates (for KittyHawk) 1:48 Eduard KittyHawk have blessed us with a new kit of the latest variant of the Cobra, the Viper, as used by the US Marines, who don't seem to think they need any of those new-fangled Apaches. We reviewed the kit here if you haven't seen it, and now Eduard have produced some detail sets in Photo-Etch (PE) for those that want to improve on the detail supplied with the kit. Interior (49718) Presented on one small nickel-plated, pre-painted and self-adhesive sheet, this set provides additional detail in the shape of skin panels for the floor; seatbelts for the pilots; a full set of laminated instrumentation consoles in both cockpits, and a few additional small details for the cockpit ceiling, all of which build on the detail provided in the kit. Exterior (48845) Supplied on a large brass fret, the set adds extra engine, skid and gun details, plus a substantial rebuild of the instrument bays in the port and starboard sides of the fuselage, adding extra boxes and detail in the process. The FLIR ball-turret also sees a number of circular detail parts added around the optics, and a substantial number of mesh grilles are dotted around the airframe, making use of their superior detail. The engine bays are designed to be opened up, and additional parts have been included to add extra visual detail to these, with the focus on the inner panels of the lower doors. Another pair of skins are included for the equipment bays in the nose, and you will need to find some fine wire to represent the retaining wires that allow the doors to rest horizontally when open. Slime lights, airframe details and exhaust tubes for the Sidewinders mop up the final space on the sheet, all of which will make for a much busier look when complete. Masks (EX461) Masking can be a chore, and although the Viper has a relatively small window count, they are odd shapes and sizes, so a masking set will be very handy. Supplied pre-cut from yellow kabuki-style tape, these sets are a boon to the busy modeller, or anyone that hates masking. The main side panels are masked with outline masks that hug the frames, after which you then infill with scrap tape or liquid masks, while the top panels are full masks. As a bonus, you also get masks for the FLIR turret optics, which would be fiddly to cut yourself. Review sample courtesy of

M4A1 Sherman Deep Wading Kit (36289) 1:35 Eduard Released at the same time as the new Eduard Sherman kit, which contains Asuka plastic, this deep water wading set in Photo-Etch (PE) arrives in a large flat-pack ziplok bag, with a PE sheet measuring 21cm x 11.7cm. It contains sufficient parts to build the three large pieces of trunking that allows the Sherman to ford water slightly deeper than the top of the turret cupola. The parts count is relatively low, even given the size of the sheet, but the main pieces are large in themselves. There are two rectangular profile trunks that have curved intakes at the top end, and these are folded up from one piece of PE, but with the addition of some strengthening plates that you add to the insides. The base of the trunk is blank, but won't be seen if you are posing them installed on the tank, while the top has integrally moulded square mesh to protect against debris. You will need to curve the top of the rear to match the profile of the sides, but with a little annealing and a roller on a flat surface, this shouldn't be too difficult. Another pair of mounting brackets sit at the bottom to attach to the adaptor sections that waterproof the exhaust at the rear and the air intake on the engine deck. The engine deck adaptor is relatively flat, and fits around the breather port just behind the turret. This is made up from a single part base and raised adaptor that fits into slots in the base when they have both been folded to shape. Four small shackles are made up from two parts to hold the upper trunks in place. The exhaust of the Sherman comes out from underneath the rear deck, so a large curved adaptor is needed to deflect the exhaust upwards. This is made up from one main part with a smaller wedge-shaped part that attaches at the bottom, has a pair of scab plates on the side, and four more shackles in pairs front and rear. Again, the rear will need to be rolled to match the side profile using the techniques mentioned above. Conclusion A nice set that gives your Sherman a little bit of extra visual interest. Don't forget that you could also use this for any Asuka kits that it might be suitable for. The only downside is that if you wanted to portray it either off the tank or being installed, you would need to perform some surgery to the bottom in order to make it authentic. Either than, or place them upright on your diorama base to hide the bottom! Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi Guys, After a hard decision I will do a second build. It will be the 1/48 Eduard Bf-110D profipack. It will be OOB. I think it will be in the colours of SKG 210. I will put some pictures of the box content later online. Cheers,

M4A1 Sherman Tank (3716) 1:35 Eduard The M4 Sherman was developed in the early part of WWII as an answer to the Panzer III and IV, again which it faired very well, outclassing them in armour and armament. It was designed from outset to be fast, reliable and easy to repair, which were key in its continued survival to the end of WWII and beyond, causing the effective leap-frogging of the M26 Pershing directly to the next generation of Main Battle Tanks. Sharing much in the way of mechanicals with the earlier M3 Lee, the Sherman was powered by a Continental radial engine that was mounted in the rear and powered by gasoline/petrol. It had a fully cast hull and turret initially and sported a 75mm gun, which was later uprated in later sub-variants to a 76mm M1 gun with higher muzzle velocity and a re-structured magazine that contained more armour-piercing shells for killing other tanks. Production of the M4A1 began in 1942 and ended May 1944, with their first in battle at El Alamein in late 1942 with the British 8th Army, but was used extensively by the US, Poland, China, and by the French in smaller numbers. Over 6,000 were made before production was switched to the M4A1(76)W with the T-23 turret and wet stowage hull. The Kit The Sherman is a difficult tank to do well, as there were so many variants and field modifications that have confused manufacturers and modellers alike over the years. Asuka, the new name of Tasca are the acknowledged masters of injection moulded Shermans in 1:35, and you'll be unsurprised to learn that it is their plastic that forms the basis of this kit. The box is typical Eduard, with a painting of a Sherman with appliqué armour welded to its side, on an olive coloured box. Inside are eighteen sprues of various sizes in olive coloured styrene, two of clear parts, a sprue of translucent poly-caps, and four sections of track in flexible styrene. A small sheet of foam rubber is also included along with a decal sheet and a Photo-Etch (PE) fret measuring 14.4cm x 9.1cm in it's own ziplok bag with protective card backing. This is Asuka/Tasca styrene, so quality is superb. The modular nature of the sprues will leave you with plenty of spares for other projects, and the PE will be used to good effect to add realism to the finer parts of the model that simply can't be achieved with styrene parts. The upper hull is a single part, as is the turret, and although they have a very delicate casting texture moulded in, it would merit some augmenting with Mr Surfacer stippling, and some distressing with a motor tool in order to give it some individuality. There is no interior included, which is the norm in 1:35 armour, but with hatches being quite small, an open hatch with a figure placed inside would suffice. Construction doesn't start in the usual place (the road wheels, in case you wondered), but instead opts to build up the lower hull from slabs of styrene that are added in a strict sequence to ensure correct alignment and true angles. Straight away, a small strip along the rear of the hull is optionally lined with bolts or empty bolt-holes. The rear bulkhead is adorned with a pair of doors and the idler wheel axles before the air-cleaner units are added along with new PE closures around the circumference, one on either side of the doors. At the front, a choice of two different final drive housing is built up in sequence with bolted flanges and towing lugs and front mudguards from either styrene of PE, depending on your markings choice. This is added to the front of the lower hull and mated to the upper hull at the same time, remembering to install the bow machine-gun in its ball mount before you do. The two crew-hatches are built up with clear periscopes next, as are the headlights with their clear lenses, and both are installed with the fenders that were built up earlier. The engine deck has an armoured grille on one panel, which has PE backing mesh, and two filler caps with PE retaining chains, with a hinged engine access panel taking up the aft half of the deck. Rear lights with a choice of two types of protective cages are added along with a set of pioneer tools that are upgraded with PE mounting hardware to add a little extra realism. Only now are the tracks and suspension started, which begins with mating two lengths of track together to make the finished length. There are twelve roadwheels to make up next if you are doing one of two of the marking options, and you are instructed to add 12 rivets to each wheel, which can be found on the sprues around the wheel parts. You will need to remove them with a sharp knife, and once you have bandaged up your fingers, marshall them into place and fix them with a little liquid glue. Not a task for the feint hearted, and if you weather your wheels heavily, you could probably get away with not bothering. Two types of idler wheel and drive sprocket are supplied for the different markings, and a separate set of 12 single part wheels are supplied for the remaining two options. These are trapped between swing-arm parts, and added to the VVSS units, which have small pieces of foam added to give a realistic bounce to the suspension unit. The return rollers and two types of skid are built up while the suspension units are made, and two roadwheels are added before three complete units are glued to each side of the hull. The idler wheels and drive sprockets have poly-caps at their centres, so can be left loose to facilitate adding the tracks, which by now will be "rubber-bands", which you might have heard me moan about before. As they go though, these Asuka band-tracks are pretty good, and the pads tend to stay flat, bending at the links instead, so giving that faceted look to the ends of the run that is often missing with rubber track. The barrel is split vertically, so you might consider a suitable replacement in metal, or work those seams to get it back to circular once you're done. It slides through a two-part mantlet, which has heavy bolt detail around the edge, and two separate lifting lugs on each side. The breech isn't included, but the barrel pivots on a transverse axle part that is suspended between two brackets on poly-caps so it won't suffer the dreaded barrel-droop. The coaxially mounted 50cal is inserted from within through an oval hole in the mantlet. One of the marking choices sports a different mantlet, with a larger armoured cover that brackets the base of the barrel – this just requires you to change both mantlet parts during assembly. There is another long barrelled M2 machine-gun on the commander's cupola, which is a highly detailed replica that Eduard have had to do little to other than add a PE iron sight and replace the closed ammo box with a more scale PE one. The cupola can have the doors posed open or closed, and one hatch has a clear periscope with armoured cover set into a (non-working) rotating section. An optional piece of curved appliqué armour can be added to the starboard cheek of the turret front, which as previously mentioned is moulded as a single slide-moulded part, to which the floor and turret ring are added. Periscopes, aerial mounts and the shell-ejection port on the port side are all added along with the main armament, which just slips into the aperture in the front of the turret. This can then be slotted into the turret ring in the hull and twisted to lock in place courtesy of the bayonet fittings. Three pieces of additional appliqué armour are added for some of the marking choices, and then it is on to the side-skirts, which is where the majority of the PE is used. The rear fender is angled, so should be simple to bend and fix, but the front fender is curved, which will require some rolling to match the profile of the side, and it would be better to solder these if you have the tools available to give the finished fenders extra strength. A straight length of fender joins the two at the front and rear, with a small panel sitting behind each joint to add strength through overlap. PE bolt-heads are added all around the fenders, so you'll need some patience, tweezers and some magnification to get them all in place without losing too many. One marking option eschews the fenders, and a set of attachment plates with bolt-holes are added to the bottom of the upper hull instead. There is a towing cable to be installed on the port side of the hull, but either the cord isn't supplied, or I managed to lose mine before I actually saw it, so if I'm not alone, you will need to source either some non-hairy cord, or get some braided wire for ultimate realism. Two towing eyes are supplied however, which simply glue onto the end of your wire. Markings Eduard's Profipak releases usually have their fair share of marking choices, and this one has four, with varying equipment fits, as detailed above. From the box you can build one of the following: 66th Armoured Regiment, 2nd Armoured Division, France, June 1944 – "Hellcat" overall olive drab. H13 in yellow on the turret sides, white star on lower glacis and turret top. 5th Army, Italy, Summer 1944 – "Bull o the woods" olive drab with sandy yellow camouflage, partially obscuring the white stars on turret sides. 3rd Battalion, 66th Armoured Regiment, 2nd Armoured Division, Normandy, June 1944 – "Goldie" overall olive drab, G2 in yellow on the turret sides, white star on lower glacis and turret top. 13th Armoured Regiment, 1st Armoured Division, Anzio, Italy, March 1944 – "Frantic" olive drab with brown camouflage, White star on turret top & engine deck. Full details of the camouflage and marking options can be found on the rear pages of the instructions here. The decals are printed by Eduard, and are well printed in good register (of which there is very little), sharpness and colour density, although the sandy squiggles appear a little thin. Conclusion Asuka/Tasca plastic with Eduard PE and decals is a good combination, and the price has been kept to a sensible level that makes it a very tempting proposition indeed. There is a separate deep water wading PE set available, which I'll be reviewing shortly. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

OK here goes. I will be doing the Eduard 1/72 Hellcat in Armée de l'Air colours from the Indochina War. I haven't even cracked open the Eduard box yet, such restraint is almost unheard of, but I'm going to wait till the start day and then bust it open. The kit is pretty complete, I may be adding some ordnance from the spares box, depending what the bombs are like. Decals from Berna, pity they don't do a French navy option as I like the anchors on the cockade but there isn't much difference in terms of colour schemes, we have it gloss sea blue or gloss sea blue! I'll be weathering it a fair bit too. And I have disc with the Ailes de Gloire about the Hellcat, I'd rather have it as a book but it only seems available as a disc. The disc is awfully formatted and incredibly annoying, they have somehow made the book nearly 500MB in size and it's painfully slow to load. Other than that it has some lovely pictures! Cheers Segan

AIM-9J Sidewinder Missiles 1:72 Eduard Brassin The AIM-9J was a replacement for the original AIM-9E and was rushed into serivice in 1972 for the Linebacker campaign. This missile was able to be fired at greater angles than directly behind an aircraft, and up to 7.5G. It introduced the first solid state components and improved actuators capable of delivering greater torque to the canards making it a better dogfighting missile. This set from Eduard in their brassin range contains 4 complete missiles. There is a resin body which contains the rear fins, with the forward fins being supplied in Photo etch. There is also a rear rocket motor part supplied in PE. Nose caps are supplied in resin for all the units if the modeller wants to use. The last item in this package is the inclusion of missile markings on the small decal sheet. Conclusion Quality ordnance can always enhance the look of a model, these AIM-9Js from Eduard are excellent missiles. Recomended. Review samples courtesy of

Mig-23MLD Updates (for Trumpeter) 1:48 Eduard These Photo-Etch (PE) sets have been produced to improve detail and scale thickness of the original kit, which is Eduard's stock-in-trade. There are several sets dealing with various aspects of the kit, so the modeller can pick and choose which parts of the model they wish to focus on, or splurge and detail everywhere. Each set comes in the familiar Eduard flat resealable pack with a white card protecting the frets, and behind them are the instructions. Interior (49716) This set contains two PE sheets, one of which is pre-painted and self-adhesive, plus a small piece of acetate with HUD glass shapes printed in black. It begins with a new instrument panel that replaces all but the central section of the kit part, and has laminated and printed instruments and their bezels. The rear bulkhead is detailed, and the HUD is replaced with a delicate mixture of PE and acetate parts. The side consoles are skinned with highly detailed painted instruments, and the sidewalls are similarly treated. The windscreen is given a roll-over hoop and addition details, while the kit ejector seat is comprehensively upgraded with new structural details, headbox skins, seat cushion detail, and a full set of crew belts, all of which is pre-painted and self-adhesive. Finally, the canopy is detailed with an inner frame, placards, and a set of rear-view mirrors. Interior Zoom! (FE716) This smaller and cheaper set includes just the self-adhesive pre-painted fret and the acetate sheet, so if you don't want or need the additional brass for whatever reason, then this set is for you. Exterior (48842) Consisting of one large bare brass fret, this upgrades the detail on the outside of the model, starting with the deeply buried afterburner ring and tyre hubs. The landing gear struts are given additional actuators, struts and detail parts, as well as brake hosing, which continues on into the wheel bays, where some additional panels are added. The gear bay doors are given a full set of detailed hinges, and the air-brake doors are skinned on the inside, with their shallow bays receiving additional wiring looms. The engine intakes have their splitter plates removed to be replaced by a new PE part with far superior detail, and inside are a number of flow manipulation devices that are cut from the kit part to be replaced by more accurate and in-scale PE sections. The auxiliary doors are detailed with louvers, and a small panel that sits on the upper section. A number of aerials, sensors and antennae are dotted around the airframe, and a few remaining parts are used to update the chaffe and flare dispensers. Weapons (48841) This large sheet of bare PE contains a mass of parts to upgrade the weapons and their pylons. Each pylon is given a PE skin on the mounting surface for the munitions, which is almost blank out of the box. Additional sway-braces are included with the shorter pylons, with only the inaccurate (but practical) bomb attachment lugs needing removal. The weapons themselves are literally festooned with additional detail in the shape of exhausts, electrical conduits, rail-mounting lugs, various additional panels, plus small details for the aft stabilising fins and their air-actuated "rollers". The missiles covered include the R-60, R-27R/T, R-13M and R-3R. Mig-23MLD Seatbelts FABRIC (49077) This set utilises the GWH pre-printed and laser cut "fabric" coupled with a small fret of nickel plated PE for the buckles and adjusters. The fabric is peeled from its backing, scrunched up into a ball, then cut from the fret and laced through the buckles just like the real thing, following the instructions carefully. They are fiddly, but the result is so impressive that it is most definitely worth the effort! Review sample courtesy of

Tornado IDS Update Sets (for Revell) 1:48 Eduard Revell's new IDS variant of the Tornado is probably still flying off the shelves, and you can always rely on Eduard to produce a rash of sets to upgrade the detail further than the kit designers could go just by using styrene injection parts. The sets have been broken down so you can pick and choose, or go with the Big Ed set and save a couple of shekels in getting the lot. Each set comes in a flat plastic package protected by white card, with the instructions behind and the Photo-Etch (PE) or other contents on the outer face for easy viewing. Interior Set (49686) This set includes a pre-painted and self-adhesive fret in nickel plated brass, and another in bare brass, plus a small slip of acetate with HUD glazing shapes printed in black. After removing all of the raised instruments from the panels and side consoles, they are replaced with pre-painted laminations with a host of instrument detail. The rudder pedals are also removed and replaced with more accurate and detailed units, as well as the seat headbox tops, a small box on the rear bulkhead and the rear-seater's additional equipment boxes sat between the cockpits. These last ones get a new face, plus partial skins in brass, with more skins added to the cockpit sills, the insides of the canopy and the hoop of the windscreen. A throttle quadrant is built up for the pilot's left console, and both pilots get a set of rear-view mirrors each. Interior Zoom! Set (FE686) If all you want is a new set of instrument panels, the Zoom! set is for you, as it includes only the pre-painted sheet and the acetate. Simple if you're doing a closed canopy, don't really like PE, or are economising. Seatbelts Set (49688) The kit seats have moulded in belts, so the first task is to remove them times two, then replace them with the more accurate pre-painted parts included on the fret. To give you an idea of the amount of webbing the pilots have to get strapped down, there are twenty two parts replicating the belts and their fittings for one seat. They will look much improved once finished. Exterior Set (48812) Consisting of one large brass fret, the set includes details such as afterburner rigns for the two exhausts; retaining strip for the wing-gloves; interior framework for the thrust reversing buckets and actuators, wing spoiler interior detail, flap bay detail, air-brake bay skins and brake interior ribbing; replacement vortex generators on the fin base with disposable application template; APU grille; pylon sway braces and adaptor rail details; and finally BOZ (flare) pod exit and vortex generators. Quite a busy set with many fine details requiring a steady hand and some care. Undercarriage Set (49687) A small pre-painted nickel plated fret, plus another large brass fret with a high part count, it consists mainly of skin parts for the bay, as well as extra detail that goes above and beyond the basics included in the kit. Also included are replacement oleo-scissor links for the nose leg, plus additional parts and a set of hoses. The main gear legs get the same treatment, plus a number of data plates wrapped around the main strut that should set it off very well. The wiring loom for the main gear legs are much more complex too. The ribbed bay roof is decked out with thin skin sections patterned to fit between the moulded in ribs, with more boxes, ribs and skins added along the way that should make a substantial difference to the finished article. ladder (48815) This is a re-release of an earlier set for the old (inaccurate) HobbyBoss kit that has been slightly altered to accommodate the Revell kit. I reviewed and built the original here many moons ago, and apart from the two platform parts swapping places and the Y-shaped brackets being a tad wider, there's nothing else changed. Masking Set (EX428) A sheet of yellow kabuki tape masking material with pre-cut parts patterned to fit the edges of the canopy perfectly. The compound curved areas will need filling with scrap tape from the sheet or masking fluid, and you also get hub masks for all the wheels into the bargain. Big Ed Sets (BIG49123 & BIG49111) If you simply must have it all and want to save substantial chunk of the purchase price (up to 30% according to Eduard), there's a Big Ed set in two flavours with and without the masks, and including a pre-painted PE set of Remove Before Flight Tags that you can see here. With Masks and Remove Before Flight Tags (BIG49123) Without Masks, with Remove Before Flight Tags (BIG49111) Review sample courtesy of

Super Fabric Seatbelt Sets 1:48 Eduard Building their range of new Super Fabric seatbelts sets using a flexible colour printing process first used by their collaborators HGW Models, three new sets have arrived for generic subjects, with no particular aircraft mentioned. They follow the usual Eduard pattern, arriving in flat packs with card backing hiding the instructions within, and the sheet of Super Fabric presented through the front of the clear bag. The belts are very simple to use with only one caveat. Don't use Super-Glue/CA, which apparently dissolves the material. They suggest white glue such as Gator Glue, which you use sparingly once you have removed the belts from their backing paper. Because they are thin and flexible, you can get a much more realistic drape than PE, and the printed silver fixtures catch the light in a similar way to the nickel plated PE, although I do prefer the Fabric belts with PE fittings if I'm honest, however they are fiddly which doesn't suit everyone. The instructions show which sections go where, using a generic seat as an example in conjunction with the part numbers on the sheet. IJN Seatbelts (49084) Luftwaffe WWII Bomber Seatbelts (49085) USN WWII Green Seatbelts (49086) Review sample courtesy of

Mosquito Wheels (632061 for HK Model) 1:32 Eduard This set of drop-in replacement wheels for your HK Models Mossie are just the ticket to upgrade the detail in that department. Inside Eduard's usual clamshell box are two large tyre parts with block tread, with four separate hubs and a tail wheel, all in resin, plus a set of kabuki tape masks to allow you to make a decent job of painting the hub after the tyres. There's even a mask for the anti-shimmy tail-wheel into the bargain. Moulding blocks are sensibly placed on the contact patch of the tyres and edges of the hubs, with a slight weighting at the bottom of each tyre to simulate the natural weighting of the aircraft. Highly recommended for the detail and lack of seam clean-up. Review sample courtesy of

Hi guys, Arrived home earlier today to a nice package from Eduard that contains the new release of the 1/72 fw-190. Here are couple of pictures that I took with my cellphone tonight for a preview. Some of the Czech guys have been working on theirs already, and their work can be seen here: http://modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=97364 From their observations, it seems like the kit has a tight fit, and the addition of PE parts in the cockpit appears to make them bit too thick. Also there has been a lively discussion about the covers of the outer guns, namely that there is a missing small panel covering the ejection channel for 30mm ammo when not installed, and the presence of the bulges on the upper side. Finally, Eduard has already released several AM sets both in PE and resin, and more have been announced. From the construction of the kit, it seems that there might be one with the interior of the rear fuselage coming as well...or at least the grove will make it easier to separate and open the large inspection panel on the left side of the fuselage. Onto the photos, I let you be the judge of the efforts: Here are the decals... ...and the PE parts The fuselage halves with some nice rivet detail Inside of the left fuselage half And the wings And some of the smaller parts; the face of the BMW engine seems rather simplistic, but likely not much will be seen past the propeller and the fan This is the only fw-190 in 1/72 that has the back wheel well wall done as the spar rather than molded into the bottom wing The clear parts look crisp, without blemish, and nicely thin

This model was started a while ago by my husband before we both went through a big model making dry spell. Now we're both back on track we thought we might as well start a build log. The first and oddest thing you notice about this model is that they give you this lovely framed interior, then if you buy the Eduard photo etch like he did, you find you need to cover it up with a big blank panel. Much research says that yes this is the right thing to do. So despite my disappointment, accuracy won out. He found that the cockpit actually goes together very well when carefully fitted, although i'd say plenty of test fitting was certainly key to his success. He mixed up his own cockpit interior colour, he went for a fairly muted colour as he didn't want it too appear too over bright and toy like. The next job was masking off the instrument panel, after much deliberation he decided it was best to mask the background off and spray the panels black rather than the other way around. Here's the instrument panels mostly complete. David likes to use a palette of quite a range of colours to try and achieve the best effect. Along with the eduard etch set he also bought the HGW resin seat set with textile seat belts. Neither of us had ever used these before but they were really good and actually surprisingly easy to use. Plus they were far better than the kit part. However when the HGW set arrived the rear resin seat was broken, as the plastic one wasn't all that bad he just used the kit part instead. At the most recent Cosford model show we also bought a load of weathering powder from Pinnacle modelling supplies so he tried these out on his interior. The model needed a modest amount of filler but it wasn't all that bad.

A-4E/F Upgrades (for Eduard or Hasegawa) 1:48 Eduard If you were one of the happy band that managed to get a copy of the new Limited Edition boxing by Eduard of the Hasegawa A-4E "Vietnam Scooters" (1197 still some in stock at time of writing), then these updates and upgrades may well be right up your street. Even if you didn't and have a Hasegawa E/F in the stash, you'll probably still have your interest piqued. As always, Eduard Brassin sets come in clamshell boxes with foam protection and a backing card that doubles as the instruction booklets. Their Photo-Etch (PE) sets are flat-packed and have white card protection and instruction sheets sandwiched behind the PE frets. A-4E/F Upgrade Set (48851) This is a PE set to upgrade and improve the detail over the whole airframe, including the prominent air-brakes and their bays, landing gear bay doors and bays, the leading-edge slat actuating rods as well as the underside of the slats themselves, which are another prominent feature of the Scooter, plus some additional parts for the cockpit rear bulkhead and sills. Inside the canopy is also lined with PE sound insulation padding, and as a bonus you get a pair of FOD guards for the intakes and some pylon attachment surfaces with sway-braces, plus some scale-thickness fins for the almost obligatory wing-mounted fuel tanks. Bear in mind that this set is designed as an augmentation to the PE found in the kit box, so if you are working with just the base kit in Hasegawa boxings, you'll need to take that into consideration. A4-E/F Exhaust (648215) The A-4 has a long tail-pipe, and this resin replacement for the kit supplied tube is a vast upgrade in terms of detail and ease of use. Once cut from their casting blocks, the resin parts can be painted individually without the need to remove any seams from the long narrow trunking. The aft face of the engine is depicted in extreme detail, with a PE afterburner ring inserted before it is mated to the trunk, and once that is installed, the exit nozzle is added after the fuselage is closed up. Detail and finesse here is superb, with a very fine outer shroud and detailed inner petals. Styrene just can't compete! A-4E Early Wheels (648213) & A-4E/F Wheels (648214) Both sets are resin replacement wheels with kabuki tape hub masks for all three wheels. The sets build up identically, although the hubs and brake details are different on the main wheels. The main wheels have separate brake details on the rear and are drop-in replacements once glued, while the nose wheel has a new white resin yoke that requires the modeller to remove the kit part and drill a 1mm hole in the remaining leg to accept the new part. The yoke simply flexes to admit the new resin wheel common to both sets, and like its larger siblings, it has a slight sag moulded-in. A-4E Early A-4E/F Review sample courtesy of

Spitfire Mk.XVI Limited Edition Dual Combo 1:48 Eduard I'll not bore you with the birth and progress of the Spit, and I'm even beginning to get bored of saying that! Suffice to say that the XVI was a variation on the IX that was license built in the US using Packard Merlins that were optimised for low level operations, and had a slightly bulged cowling to accommodate the changes. They were armed with two 20mm cannon with an additional pair of .303 machine guns inboard, and a great many of them had the reduced fuselage spine or bubble-canopy. Just over a thousand were built overall. The Kit This is a special limited edition that includes two options in the box, and you can build both a low-back and a traditional razor-back Spitfire from the parts within. It arrives in a standard sized box that has some extra weight to it, part of which is due to the sprue count, the rest can be attributed to the instruction booklet, which deals with the construction of each model separately, so has approximately twice the pages. There are nine sprues in dark grey styrene, two in clear, two sheets of Photo-Etch (PE) metal, which are nickel-plated and pre-painted, a sheet of pre-cut kabuki-style masking material, a large decal sheet and two smaller ones containing stencils. If you are familiar with Eduard's superb Mk.IX kits, you'll see a lot that's familiar here, due to the commonality of parts between the two types. Mould quality is up to the highest standards, and the detail that has been squeezed out of styrene injection moulding is phenomenal. Construction of each airframe is handled separately in the instructions, as already mentioned, but the main differences are easily spotted. The low-back has the option of clipped wings, an additional set of wings with extra bulges over the gear bays to accommodate a larger set of wheels, as well as the necessary differences at the rear of the cockpit to accommodate the lower fuselage. This causes a slight change to the harness, and of course a totally different set of clear parts for each type. The cowlings for the low-back are also different top and bottom, but the exhaust stacks, the majority of the cockpit parts and tail-feathers are identical. You will need to pay careful attention to the options to ensure that you build your low-back up properly, as only one decal option has the larger wheels, and only one decal option will need the un-clipped wing tips that are included. The high back uses un-clipped tips for all three markings options, and the only options are to have the canopy open or closed, which necessitates a little removal of plastic rails around the cockpit if the closed option is chosen. The kabuki tape masks are provided for both canopies on the one sheet, so there is no spare room for wheel masks, however a quartet of small triangular(ish) shapes are provided to facilitate masking of the very tip of the aerial mast behind the cockpit. The pre-painted PE sheets are used extensively in the cockpits providing laminated instrument panels with detail instruments already painted at a resolution that us mere mortals could only dream of. The pilot's armour and seatbelts are also rendered in PE, as are the optional landing gear scissor-links to replace the kit's plastic offerings. The rest of the sheet is used in small parts that are dotted around the airframe to good effect. Both fuselage types have optional 250lb bombs on small pylons under the wings, which are attached via a pair of small holes drilled in the underside of the wings during construction. Markings The choice of markings are skewed toward the low-back XVI, which has five options, while the more mainstream high-back has only three. For the most part they're all green/grey over light grey, but one of the low-backs has a PRU Blue finish that looks very nice. From the box you can build one low-back and one high-back of the following: Low-Back TD341 No.433 Squadron, Uetersen Airfield, Germany, Aug 1945. TB900 No.349 Squadron, Wunsdorf, Germany, Summer 1945. TD240, Flown by S/Ldr. Boleslaw Kaczmarek, CO of No. 302 Squadron, Varrelsbuch Air Field, Germany, Summer 1945. SL721, Flown by AVM Sir James Robb, 1948. SL718, No. 612 Squadron RAuxAF, Cooper Air Race, Elmdon Air Base, July 1949. High-Back RR227, Flown by S/Ldr. Otto Smik, CO of No. 127 Squadron, Grimbergen Airfield, Belgium, Nov 1944. TB752, Flown by S/Ldr. Henry Zary, CO of No. 403 Squadron, Belgium, April 1945. TB300, Flown by G/C Stan Turner, No. 127 Wing, Evere Airfield, Belgium, April, 1945. The main decals are printed by Cartograf, while the two stencil sheets are printed in the Czech Republic by Eduard. Colour density, sharpness and registration is excellent, and the decals are all covered by a close-cropped glossy carrier film. Instrument decals are included if you want to use the kit's supplied plastic panel, although the PE parts will do a much better job. The stencils for each aircraft are printed separately on sheets marked Mk.XVI Stencils and Mk.IX Stencils, with the final page of the booklet containing the stencil placement of the XVI with all extraneous detail stripped away for clarity. The stencil page for the high-back airframe clearly wouldn't fit in the booklet and although isn't mentioned, it is to be found on the last page of the online PDF booklet, which you can find here. Conclusion A nice way to get hold of a couple of interesting sub-variants of the popular Mk.IX, and some varied decal choices that will please many of us. Detail is up to their usual standards, and the inclusion of the PE and masks just adds to the appeal. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Somua Update Set (36322 for Tamiya) 1:35 Eduard Tamiya's recent release is a little gem of a kit, and this Photo-Etch (PE) brass set is designed to build upon their work, upping the detail to a level that styrene injection just can't compete with. Arriving in their usual flat pack with card insert protecting the PE and the instructions, it consists of one large sheet of PE brass that is full of parts, some tiny and some quite large. The first items that receive attention are the front and rear fenders, which are moulded into the kit hull. These are removed carefully and replaced by PE parts that have their ends curved over to mimic the originals, whilst offering a very much more scale thickness, which you can distress if you see the need. The new fenders are equipped with replacement light and horn housings, which are again closer to scale thickness than the kit parts. The moulded-in stowage bin handles are shaved off next to be traded for tiny replicas, which have infinitesimal upstands folded in. Brackets, handles, and stays are added around the hull, with some additional parts added to the mud-shedding fairings under the sponsons, one important one being a tongue of metal that scrapes the mud from between the teeth of the drive-sprocket. Prominent vertical stowage boxes line the starboard side of the hull, and these have their moulded-in straps swapped out for more realistic PE straps with buckles, plus the two hangers that suspend them from the rail on which they sit. At the rear are an arrangement of tail-pipe brackets, plus rear running-lights, brackets and an aft stowage "shelf" above the replacement light cluster. Conclusion In terms of scope, it doesn't have many areas that it improves, but what it does is remove a great deal of the surfaces that would "give the game away" by being over-thick due to the limitations of injection moulding. The finer detail also goes a long way to improve realism. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

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I've decided to do my new Eduard Fw190A-8 Profipack as Priller's Black 13 that he flew on D-day. I have the Skymodels decals for Fw190A's and it has the relevant Black 13 etc on the sheet. I just have a few things to clear up. Looking at pics of it I'd say it had the earlier style canopy rather than the Blown canopy. Also I've noticed the centreline drop tank is not on the normal rack, it looks more like the sort of rack used to hang the drop tanks off the wings of Bf110's and Fw190's. Any thoughts on these matters? Next is regards to the armament. Hasegawa's kit of Priller's Black 13 tell you not to put the outer wing barrels in and I've seen it labelled elsewhere, as an A-8/R2, which if it's true, it should have 30mm cannons in the outer wings with short barrels. Does anyone know what if any guns did it have in the outer wings? thanks Mike