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MiG-21Bis Dual Combo Limited Edition (2151) 1:72 Eduard The MiG-21 was a development of Soviet Cold War jet-age aviation, developed as a natural successor to its predecessors for the point-defence/interceptor role, should the Allied bomber streams head to Moscow to bomb it into radioactive dust. It was capable of Mach2 thanks to its Tumanskiy afterburning turbojet, but this level of speed could only be achieved at the expense of immense amounts of fuel, which gave it a short range. As an interceptor this wasn’t a major problem, and range could be extended by external tanks or aerial refuelling, should the need arise. Development airframes started coming off the line in the early 1950s, as the design matured into a capable interceptor, progressing immediately to the MiG-21F due to upgrades that had been forthcoming during the years of development, commencing production just prior to the end of the decade in small numbers as a day fighter. With the inclusion of the requisite missile systems to attack bombers, the MiG-21P variant could carry K-13 missiles, a system that was also used by the mass-produced MiG-21F-13 that was one of the most produced of the first generation of this type. In the early 60s, work began on a significant upgrade that utilised the same basic airframe, but incorporated technological advancements that had weren’t integrated into the initial design. The PF, PFL, PFM, and RFM were just some of the variants that stretched the capabilities of the jet, leading to robust overseas sales, and a third generation that began with the MiG-21M. As late as 1971 the MiG21Bis was yet another upgrade to the Fishbed, which the NATO code system had already allocated several suffixes to cater for the myriad of variants, giving this variant the Fishbed-N designation. The new Tumanskiy R25-300 engine gave it yet more speed and power, with its weapon carrying capability broadened thanks to advances in avionics, again selling well to Soviet satellite states and aligned nations, China license-building F-13s as the Chengdu J-7. The MiG-21 stayed operational for a considerable period before being replaced in Soviet service by more modern next-generation jets, and many nations kept theirs substantially longer, some still in service after unofficial upgrades to capability to keep pace with modern military aviation. The Kit This Dual Combo Limited Edition is based upon the original 2018 tooling by Eduard, updated with new parts that represent this later variant, with sprues for two models in the box. The kit arrives in a Limited Edition box with a painting of a brightly coloured MiG passing over water at high speed, and inside the box are eight sprues of blue-grey styrene, two clear sprues, two frets of pre-painted Photo-Etch (PE), a single sheet of pre-cut kabuki-style masking for the canopies and dielectric panels, three decal sheets, one of which covers national and unit markings for the decal options, with two identical sheets of stencils, one for each kit. The final item is the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on glossy white paper, with the profiles for the decal options on the back pages in full-colour. Detail is excellent, as we’ve come to expect of Eduard over the years, with a quality package that includes items that other manufacturers would consider to be aftermarket. There are sufficient parts to build two models, the box contents consisting of two of each sprue, two frets of PE and one sheet of masks, plus doubling of the stencil sheets, while the main sheet contains markings for all decal options. Each of the sprue photos below depict just one of the two, so please bear this in mind. Construction begins with the cockpit, building the nose gear bay with the floor inverted to add the detailed sides, plus a pair of struts on the sides of the bay. Flipping the floor back over, the control column and rudder assembly are added, then a choice of using a three-part styrene instrument panel, or more complex two-part flat panel with two layers of PE, plus another two smaller PE parts and a styrene part that is applied over the top layer of PE. A similar process is carried out for the side consoles, using detailed styrene tops or blank tops with PE covers applied to the console sides that fit over the raised edges of the floor. The aft bulkhead, your choice of instrument panel style and a forward bulkhead are fixed in place, using a scrap diagram to the side for correct alignment, and finally adding a throttle quadrant to the port console. Before the fuselage is closed, the main gear bays must be made from four detailed parts, and the exhaust is fabricated from a succession of four cylindrical parts that trap the afterburner ring in place, attaching the completed structure to a bulkhead that has the rear face of the engine moulded-in, plus a long tapering tube in the centre. The cockpit sidewalls moulded into the fuselage sides are outfitted with either a styrene or styrene plus PE lamination to depict the detail found there, painting as you go, and painting the intake area a burnt iron colour before closing the fuselage around the cockpit, exhaust, and an internal ring within the nose area. The delta wing lower is full span, and incorporates a section of the lower fuselage, drilling out small holes around the leading edges and wing roots, then adding detail parts behind the main gear bay cut-outs before closing the assembly by gluing the two upper wings over the top. This allows the main bay insert and the wings to be offered up to the lower fuselage, gluing them in place and installing an exhaust tube at the rear, plus a spine with moulded-in fin on top, and a coaming with clear HUD glass at the front of the cockpit cut-out. The intake is tidied up by fitting a fine ring to the front, and if you feel it a good idea at this stage, a triple antenna on the tip of the fin is removed and replaced by PE, mounting another part to the exhaust, and a styrene antenna on the spine. The nose is fleshed out by an insert that closes the area in front of the windscreen, adding a circular part to the coaming, then covering it by gluing the windscreen in place, thereby protecting the HUD from damage during the rest of construction. The tail is completed by a pair of elevators on tabs, mounting a probe on the top of the fin, and several intakes around the rear of the fuselage. The flying surfaces are each individual parts that are glued to the trailing edges of the wings, two per side, and they can be offset if you wish, checking your references for suitable arrangements. There are several choices of sensors under the nose, while the nose gear leg has a separate yoke part that traps the two-part wheel in place, slotting it into the bay and installing the bay doors on either side. Moving aft to the underside of the wings, inserts are added to the fuselage, with a choice from two for the larger aft section, in front of a large tapering strake under the exhaust, and yet more intakes/outlets and probes around the area. The main gear legs have separate oleo-scissor links, and a captive bay door that is bent along a pre-weakened line according to a scrap diagram nearby, fitting the one-part tyre and hubs from both sides to the short axle at the lower end of the legs. A scrap diagram shows the correct orientation of the wheel to the leg from above to assist with alignment, then they are inserted into sockets in the main bays along with a retraction jack and control linkage, which are again shown from a different angle in a scrap diagram nearby. The inner bay doors have retraction jacks to hold them in position, with a scrap diagram showing where they mount on the bulkhead (part D53) within the fuselage. A pair of RATO packs can be fitted under the wings, each one made from two halves, with more scrap diagrams showing where they are located, using alternate small parts instead of the packs if you omit them. An airbrake folds out from a location in front of the tail strake, and it is held at the correct angle by a retraction jack, painting the interior the colour suggested by the instructions for the various decal options. Much of the airframe is now complete, but there are still many tasks left to do on this detailed model. PE blade antennae and static-wicks are applied to the tail feathers, removing a few small bulges near the tip of the tail for some decal options, a task that is best done early in the build before you add too many details. The pilot’s KM-1M ejection seat is built from four styrene parts with the help of a scrap side-view, plus five PE parts to represent the crew belts, pull-handle, and seat controls on the port arm, sliding the finished assembly into the cockpit. The canopy can be posed open or closed using the same part, but propping it open to the side with a retraction jack to leave it open, mounting a probe on the starboard nose, and a long pitot probe over the intake, which you can relieve of its chunky fins using a sharp blade, replacing them with PE parts that whilst more delicate, are more in-scale once glued on later in the build. The nose cone that protects the radar is slipped inside the nose after painting and applying a ring decal near the base, locking it in the correct position thanks to a keyed base. To pose the canopy open, additional PE detail parts can be fitted to the lower sills and in the centre of the opener, plus some stencil decals to improve it further. A host of antenna of different sizes and shapes are shown in the last main step, your choice depending on which decal option you have chosen. Two sprues of weapons are included in the box, allowing you to build the following: 1 x 800L fuel tank 2 x 490L fuel tank 2 x R-13 A2A Missiles 2 x R-3S A2A Missiles 2 x R-3R A2A Missiles 2 x UB-16 rocket pods A page of the instructions is devoted to the locations suitable for each of the included stores, which are fitted under the wings on simple pylons on a busy diagram that also includes some optional antennae that require drilling of holes for some of the decal options to complicate them further. Markings There are an impressive ten decal options on the three sheets, giving you plenty of choices for your two models. The MiG-21 was covered in many stencils too, which adds visual interest to the model, but of course these things take time. From the box you can build two of the following: MiG-21bis, c/n 75061904, 2 Fighter Squadron, Taszár Air Force Base, Hungary, 1993 MiG-21bis, 115 GIAP, Soviet VVS, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, 1980 MiG-21BIS, c/n 75084300, HävLLv 31, Kuopio airbase, Finland, 1980 – 1981 MiG-21bis, No. 47 Squadron, Iraqi Air Force, Al Hurrya Air Base, Iraq, 1990 MiG-21bis, Free Libyan Air Force, Tobruk, Libya, November 2011 MiG-21bis, 797, German Democratic Republic, Holzdorf, 1990 MiG-21bisD, Eskadrila borbenih aviona, HRZ i PZO, Zagreb-Pleso, Croatia, December 2016 MiG-21bis, San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba, 1990 MiG-21bis, c/n 75080880, 1 Pucki DLMW, Lotnictwo Marynarki Wojennej, Gdynia-Babie Doły, Poland, late 1997 MiG-21bis, C2776, No. 26 Squadron “The Warriors”, Indian Air Force, Adampur, 1990 The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, the pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopies of both models, with compound curves 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 masks for the dielectric panels on the tail and strakes, plus masks for the HUD glazing. Conclusion The kit is a good one, improved further by the addition of PE parts to detail the cockpit, which coupled with a range of colourful and interesting decal options, plus masks should make for an entertaining build that will look good in your cabinet once completed. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Eduard leaflet for May: http://www.eduard.com/store/out/media/distributors/leaflet/leaflet2016-05.pdf change digit in link for older issues

Source: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/308021-eduard-mig-21f-mig-21-uusum-in-48th-scale/ V.P.

Lysander Mk.I/Mk.III Löök (644305 for Airfix) 1:48 Eduard A lot of modellers got very excited when Airfix announced their new tooling of the Westland Lysander Mk.I/Mk.III, and they weren’t disappointed by the resulting kit, which we reviewed here. As you’re probably tired of reading, you can always improve on injection moulded styrene when it comes to detail, and Eduard are renowned for doing just that. This set contains a combination of pre-printed resin and PE parts to detail up your cockpit quickly and efficiently. There are two resin parts that make up the instrument panel in front of the pilot, the second part a compass on triangular support that slots into the bottom of the panel, with glossy faced dials and switch gear already painted for you at high resolution on black resin. Additionally, the PE set of four-point belts for the pilot that requires cutting of a lozenge-shaped hole in the back of the seat, and a pair of lap-belts are supplied for the rear gunner or passenger on his/her stool in the compartment behind the pilot. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hello, Here's another project of mine. 3 american aircrafts including 1 and a half under british management. Both are early Mustangs with différents armament and of course different wing. 1 MTO, 1 ETO and the last from CBI There's an Accurate min and 2 ICM, serioulsly they're almost identical. The first to be finished, I guess will be the MTO one a P-51A from an US Sqdn on loan to an brit squadron. The colours will be ... Let's say, unusual. One of my favourite game , you both should know the kind of remark "are you sure about the colours ???" I modify the camera rack for 2 of thede Mustang, because, you receive this... And you must have that... So, I cut the brackets, throw away the original support, add an armour plate ( from her cousins ) slightly modified. Add wiring to the camera, That seem promising, there's also lots of sanding but the ICM are worst. I keep on going, modifying the wings according to the 3 different type of early mustang is funny. Thank for watching. Corsaircorp

Eduard is to release a new mould from the 1/48th Focke-Wulf Fw.190A. Source: http://www.detailscaleview.com/2015/11/new-products-from-novemberfest-2015.html 3D renders V.P.

I’d like to present my finished vignette of a crashed Focke Wulf 190. I made a WIP thread here, and I have a YouTube build video with the link in my signature.

With the Sukhoi going nowhere fast I have had to make a decision on what will act as it's replacement and have decided to say with something from the same side of the Iron Curtain in the form of a Mig-21, a true classic. The kit I will be using is an Eduard 1/48 Mig-21 PFM with one small aftermarket addition and in markings as yet to be decided. We'll start with the box top; She has been started but only to the extent that some paint has been sprayed on the interior in a representation of that lurid colour so beloved by Soviet manufacturers; The only aftermarket will be an Eduard 3D cockpit set; And some decals; Not 100% sure which option to go with yet but am leaning towards one of these two, either Bulgaria; Or East Germany; As the airframes are identical thats a decision I can put off for now. Now I just need some time so I can make a proper start on her! Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig.

P-39K/L Airacobra Weekend Edition (8463) 1:48 Eduard The P-39 was Bell’s response to a specification requested for a fighter from the USAAC, which was to be a high-altitude interceptor. With Bell’s usual left-field approach to aircraft design, the team produced the world’s first tricycle landing geared prop-driven aircraft, as well as the first aircraft to site the engine behind the pilot, while the airscrew remained at the front. The prop was driven by a long drive shaft that ran under the pilot’s floor, with a coaxial 37mm cannon firing through the centre of the spinner, in a quest for high penetration and accuracy. Ancillary armament varied depending on model, from nose mounted .50cals to four 7.62mm machine guns in the wings. The Airacobra had limited internal space for fuel thanks in part to its tapered nose, and the lack of a supercharger substantially limited its abilities at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks, and the likelihood of engine failure after hits from a rear attack, the Airacobra flew in most arenas of combat, but distinguished itself best on the Eastern Front in Soviet service, where almost 5,000 were flown with some notable aces racking up victories whilst flying them. The K model was fitted with an Aeroproducts prop and a more powerful engine that output over 1,300hp, and with a Curtiss Electric prop it was designated L, with a total of around 500 of the two subvariants made. One K airframe was taken from the production line and converted into the prototype of the later N series. The final variant was the Q, which ceased production in 1944 after a variety of sub-variants and one-offs were created. The Kit This is a reboxing of a tooling with origins in 2000, but to which additional parts have been added over the years. It is a Weekend boxing too, which as the name implies has just the styrene and some decal options for a simple build, rather than adding Photo-Etch (PE) and other such extras that might slow you down. The kit arrives in a blue-and-white themed top-opening box with a painting of a brace of Airacobras flying low over shipping, and the profiles for the decal options on the side of the lid. Inside the box are three sprues of bluish grey styrene, a clear sprue in a separate Ziploc bag, two decal sheets split between markings and stencils, and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on gloss white paper, with the full profiles of the decal options on the back pages. Detail is good, especially for the era, and the decal choices offer a range of schemes. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with the floor, to which a bulkhead with clear armour is fitted, adding a suspended radio shelf that is supported by another bulkhead at the rear, and a portion of the intake behind the cockpit at the very rear. Additional small parts are mounted in the forward cockpit, including the control column, extra levers, the pilot’s seat with decal four-point belts, and of course the instrument panel, which has rudder pedals fixed in the rear, and a dial decal applied to the engraved details on the front. Another bulkhead is mated to the front of the cockpit assembly, attaching the five-part nose gear bay to the front, tipping upward so that it fits snugly within the nose. The cockpit sidewalls are moulded into the fuselage halves, adding a throttle quadrant to the starboard side, plus stencil decals to add extra detail and realism. A cartoon bunny in the corner of that step reminds you to add nose weight to prevent a tail-sitter, but doesn’t give a value for the weight needed, so you will have to tape the main parts together to achieve balance. Once the fuselage halves are joined around the cockpit and nose weight, an insert with the nose guns is added to the nose, which will also give you one last chance to install nose weight. Once you have dealt with the seams in your preferred manner, the elevators are slotted into the sides of the tail, and the wings are built. The lower wing is full-span, and has the main gear bay walls moulded-in, adding the roof panels, and installing the radiators in the leading-edges of the wings, boxing them in with the intakes that follow the contours of the wings. A small piece of the leading edge of the wing should be cut away to accommodate the wing mounted guns, gluing the upper wings over the completed lower, then mating it with the fuselage. Flipping the model over, the radiator exhaust ducts have their cores installed, followed by the cooling gills, with a scrap diagram showing how they should be arranged. While the model is inverted, the main gear legs are fitted with separate scissor-links, captive door bays, and a choice of two styles of two-part wheels, one with a flat-spot to imply weight of the airframe on the tyre, the other without, whichever you prefer. Two decal options have the majority of the bay door removed, so bear this in mind before you apply glue, adding the inner bay doors and their retraction jacks on the central edges of the bays. The nose gear leg also has separate scissor-links and the same choice of two styles of wheels, adding a small door to the base of the leg, a long two-part retraction jack behind the strut, and a pair of long doors down the sides of the bay. Righting the model allows fitting of the exhaust stacks on either side of the cockpit, gluing the main canopy and windscreen as one part over the cockpit, and an optional radio mast behind it. The two clear “car door” style doors are painted on the inside and have stencil decals applied before they are fixed to the cockpit, with a choice of inserts on the nose that depends on which decal option you have chosen. The propeller is built from a back-plate with three grooves for the individual blades, of which there are two choices, trapped in place by the spinner with gun barrel in the centre, while a scrap diagram shows the 37° angle of the blades to the back-plate. It is glued in place on the axle moulded into the front of the fuselage, then the model is completed by sliding the two gun barrels into each wing, and a pitot probe near the tip of the port wing. Markings There are four decal options on the included sheets, with a choice of different schemes to appeal to a wider audience, each option having a full page dedicated to it, and the common stencils shown on a separate set of line drawings to avoid over-complicating the main profiles. From the box you can build one of the following: P-39L, 42-4558, 93rd FS, 81st FG, Sidi Ahmed, Tunisia, summer 1943 P-39K, 42-4275, 70th FS, 347th FG, Guadalcanal, spring 1943 P-39L, 42-4472, 346th FS, 350th FG, Tunisia, spring 1943 P-39K, 42-4358, Lt. William McDonough, 40th FS, 35th FG, Port Moresby, New Guinea, February 1943 The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion A welcome reboxing of this Eduard staple in 1:48, with four decal options adding value to the Weekend boxing. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Yes as the topic says, its finnished. This is my interpret of Hermann Graf BF109G-6, field worn.

A great kit made a little better with: Eduard PE cockpit Eduard Zuni Rockets Hasegawa Weapons Set bombs SkunkModels MD-3 Tractor Helmet and oxygen mask from manufacturer I cannot recall. I used the kit decals and found them to be a little fragile and impossible for me to place the CAG color flashes on the rudder. Instead the build represents the CAG bird following a rudder replacement carried out in 1970.

F-35B Exhaust Nozzle (6481091 for Tamiya) 1:48 Eduard Brassin Tamiya’s 1:48 range of F-35 super kits has grown to encompass the full trio of available variants with the recent addition of the F-35C, and Eduard are working through the range to offer upgrade options to the major areas where detail will be needed. This set is appropriate to the STOVL F-35B, which is the option chosen by the Royal Air Force for their carriers, in addition to the US Marines, Italy, and possibly Korea. As is usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, they arrive in a Brassin-themed black-and-yellow cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags between two layers of grey foam, and the instructions folded around acting as additional padding. Inside the box are five large 3D printed resin parts, all of which are roughly cylindrical, as you might expect. Detail is astonishing if you haven’t yet seen the level of quality that is achievable using this new technology, and is still impressive to the hardened viewer of these things. The exhaust “can” is covered with fine detail that is seen on the real things, and this attaches to a length of trunking that is covered with a waffle-texture on the outer face, and ribbing on the inner, plus a few diagonal strips that are where the nozzle rotates during the transition from horizontal flight to hover. The aft section depicts the rear portion of the engine, starting with another cylinder that fits to the trunk, all of the parts keyed so that they can only fit the correct way. Inside the shorter section are two fan sections that represent the aft face of the engine and afterburner ring, each one a separate part that should make painting straight forward. The fit is extremely snug however, so it is worthwhile sanding a little material from the two inserts, or leaving insertion until everything is painted and weathered. Once the assembly is complete, it locates in the fuselage on two cylindrical tabs of differing length on the top of the main trunk section. Painting instructions are given throughout the instructions in Gunze H and C codes, with colour names below. The lack of seams on any of the parts, increase in detail, and more realistic scale thicknesses where appropriate should result in a more accurate representation of this powerful and innovative focal point for your Tamiya F-35B model in this scale. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Fw.190A-6 Engine & Fuselage Guns (6481102 for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Brassin We’ve just reviewed the new Fw.190A-6 kit in 1:48 from Eduard here, and it’s a great kit that will satisfy many builders straight from the box. If you’re hungry for more detail however, this new engine set will upgrade the kit with an extremely high level of detail that peels back the skin of the fuselage to expose the motive power of this WWII fighter, adding an extra focal point to your model. As is usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, they arrive in a deep yellow and black themed Brassin cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, a foam sheet top and bottom, and the instructions folded around acting as extra padding. Inside the box are a large quantity of highly detailed resin and PE parts to construct a complete BMW 801 engine for the deadly Fw.190, which is so detailed due to Eduard's advanced CAD prototyping, 3d Printing and casting facilities, and their extremely talented model engineers. Incredibly, much of the detail is amalgamated into monolithic parts to reduce the number of castings, starting with the gun bay between the cockpit and the engine. The two ammo boxes have PE handles fitted, and are then glued into the single-part stepped bulkhead at the rear, which shows a triangular length of scrap resin behind that must be removed before construction. A hose it applied into a groove in the front of the bulkhead, followed by a single part that depicts the entire engine mount, attaching by its four location points astride the ammo boxes. The twin MG17 cannons on their supports are fitted to the top of the bulkhead after removing additional resin marked in red, adding wire around the bases for realism, and another resin part depicting the operating mechanism on each side. Additional wiring is added behind the gun breeches, their locations marked in colour, and their lengths given in addition to diameter. Both cylinder banks are printed as a single part, onto which the exhaust collector pipework is glued. A PE wiring loom and resin ancillary plate are added to the rear, the remainder of the exhaust tubing and clustered outlet pipes surround this, plus another wiring loom fitted to the front of the engine before the reduction housing, magneto, and optional prop-shaft are inserted, fitting several PE straps that hold the hoses and exhausts stable, and mounting a horseshoe-shaped reservoir and ancillary parts around the rear. Once completed and painted, the engine can be mated to the nose gun bay, setting it aside while the fuselage and lower wing parts are adapted to accommodate it. Red areas mark the parts of the fuselage cowling and underwing areas that should be removed, and four slots made in the skin around the gun bay to accommodate the closures, trapping the combined engine and gun bay between the fuselage halves, adding a gun trough panel with heater ducts fixed to the top of the engine, first slipping the barrels into the troughs, then mating the intake-ring to the remaining fuselage panels. The missing cowling panels are all supplied as thin resin parts, with exceptional detail, which is augmented by adding PE fasteners to the edges, and PE hinges where they join the fuselage. They are shown posed open to the correct positions, held in place by lengths of wire from your own stocks, and you can then choose to fit the kit prop on the axle, or leave it off and replace it with a resin shaft with splined ends if you prefer. There is also a resin update set available if you wish to augment the detail in that area too, which can be found by clicking here. Colours are called out during construction using Gunze H and C codes, the location of wires/hoses are printed in colour with lengths and diameters given to aid you in selecting suitable wires from your stock, which will help immensely with the complex task. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hello there, this is my first post on the aircraft section on BM, I normally do Armour modelling and have made many models in that section. I needed to have a break from armour, I've done so much in the past I needed to do something different. I saw a photo on the internet with a group of Japanese in the water next to a Rufe which looked brilliant and I thought I'd love to do that plane in a water scene. So the plane was from Eduard, a really nice plane to make, I particularly enjoyed doing the weathering. I used AK water products for the sea, I must say it was a bit of a heart in mouth moment when I applied the resin, but all came good in the end I think... Here are a few photo's hope you like it all the best Ed

Allright. doin a quicky here, and yes all PE parts will be used, hmmm obsession after my ship build eh, waiting for few AM part to my Arado build, so meanwhile doin this,...5h later, this will do just fine for me, all the instrument got glasses aswell... so enjoy. Here is the kit, got it cheap second hand, unbuilt and sealed in bags...as usual, usually never buy new...money saver, spend big bucks on quality tools and material instead.

Thanks HKR 👍 Eduard worked in secret on a new kit and tomorrow it will be announced 7PM (Warsaw Time) UPDATE - It'll be a family of 1/48th Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" Source: https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=95280&start=33390#p2448351 V.P.

Thanks "hawkeye" Tbolt (link) ! Is Eduard to release soon a new tool (?) 1/72nd North American P-51D kit? Let's have a look at page 52 of this month Eduard Info Vol.20 May 2021. Source: https://www.eduard.com/out/media/InfoEduard/archive/2021/info-eduard-2021-05-enrr.pdf V.P.

Hi, When Eduard announced their P-51 in 72nd I immediately knew that I had to build one. I love those baby Ponies and up till now I had a great experience with Tamiya (D version) and Arma Hobby (B/C version) kits. I bought a dual pack and decided to do a quick build before trying something more elaborate. The kit is ok, as expected from Eduard. Well designed with lots of details. Maybe even with too many (mostly rivets) but the build was a very pleasant experience. The real disappointment comes with additional 3D parts (all from Eduard). I used here a few of them including: Whole cockpit (barely visible here) External fuel tanks Wheel bay Wheels Undercarriage legs Some of them are printed with all those layers visible which are really difficult to remove without destroying all the fine details they provide. I guess I liked those previous resin parts more. Ok, enough whining. Here it goes, P-51D-5, serial no. 44-13761 flown by Capt. Jack Ilfrey. Please enjoy and comment at will. Cheers and Happy Easter, Marcin

Fw.190A-6 Cockpit (6481101 for Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Brassin We’ve just reviewed the new Fw.190A-6 kit in 1:48 from Eduard here, and it’s a great kit that will satisfy many builders straight from the box. If you’re hungry for more detail however, this new cockpit set will upgrade the kit cockpit to a higher level that justifies spending extra time painting and weathering the area, which is a typical focal point of most aviation models, with the exception of drones and UAVs. As is usual with Eduard's larger resin sets, they arrive in a Brassin-themed black-and-yellow cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags between two layers of grey foam, and the instructions folded around acting as additional padding. Inside are a mixture of traditional cast and 3D printed resin, PE, decals and a small sheet of clear acetate film, the largest part of which is the cockpit tub with the aft decking and side consoles already moulded in. The separate seat has a button-quilted cushion moulded-in and has a pair of pre-painted PE lap-belts added, fitting into the tub along with the control column after the removal of the tendril-like supports from the printing process, applying stencil and dial decals on the side consoles after detail-painting. The instrument panel lower section is made first, using either a lamination of two layers of PE and a blank resin panel backing, mounting a choice of resin centre sections that are used with the alternative resin panel with dials moulded-in and decals instead of using PE. In this latest set, there are levers and handles supplied as delicate 3D printed parts to be glued into recesses in the panel sides instead of shallow PE parts. The rudder pedals are also 3D printed, which gives them a more realistic look for less effort, beyond the capabilities of PE parts alone, which would have to be folded to shape. They are glued into the floor of the cockpit on their mounting posts along with the lower instrument panel that fits in place on the ends of the side consoles. A resin lever is fixed to the port side console, and the shoulder belts are laid over the top of the seat now in place, followed by building the resin gunsight with acetate glazing parts sliding into grooves in the mechanism. The completed gunsight is slotted into the upper panel, which you can build from PE and resin, or resin and decals in the same manner as the lower panel. The coaming fits over the top, and it has a cut-out on top to accommodate the gunsight that protrudes through. The starboard fuselage half has two lugs marked in red that are removed to be replaced by a resin winder handle, and once everything has been painted and decaled, the fuselage can be closed around the new cockpit, the kit forward bulkhead, and the resin coaming. The final resin part combines the pilot’s head armour and the support structure behind it in one highly detailed part, which should be detail painted according to the usual Gunze Sangyo call-outs, and has a red warning decal to be applied to the front of the head armour below the cushion, as shown in a separate diagram. That is then glued in place inside the clear styrene canopy appropriate to your decal choice from the kit. To fit the new cockpit inside the fuselage a pair of plastic wedges are removed from the inside, to be replaced with a detailed PE and resin trim wheel. The assemblies should then fit neatly within, alongside the kit bulkhead, assuming you aren't taking advantage of any of the other sets I'll be mentioning in this review. The set includes the opening mechanism and the pilot's head armour, which has a warning decal added to it after painting. The interior roll-over frame is resin, and has delicate PE bracing wires linking to the rear, all of which fits inside the canopy after painting. The canopy then installs as normal. Conclusion As the cockpit is one of the main focal-points of any single-seat fighter, the extra effort is well-worth expending, as the detail is finer and accurate, thanks to the capability of 3D printed parts, traditional resin, PE and decals, each with their own specialities. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Fw-190A-6 ProfiPACK (82137) 1:48 Eduard Introduced in 1941 to combat the ever-improving Spitfire, the Fw.190 was intended to supplant the Bf.109 if it reached a development plateau, or to run alongside it as a stablemate if it could continue to be improved. Its powerful twin-bank radial engine was installed with a close-fitting cowling on a small fuselage, and was initially equipped with an oversized, ducted prop-spinner to keep the engine cool, which was discarded early in development in favour of a fan that ran on the prop's drive-shaft to push air over and between the cylinder heads, also facilitating oil cooling. It was also given a wide-track landing gear, which reduced the likelihood of a nose-over, a problem afflicting both the Bf.109 and its opponent the Spitfire, due to their narrow tracked gear and poor forward visibility over a long cowling. When it first encountered Spitfires, the Fw.190 gave the RAF pilots a shock, as they were expecting Bf.109s, not these agile new aircraft. It caused a frenzy of development at Supermarine, which was just part of the leapfrog game played by both sides throughout the conflict. The initial A-1 production version was equipped with a BMW 801 engine, and by the time the A-4 was signed off, it had two 7.92mm guns in the cowling, and a pair of 20mm MG151 cannons in the wing root, all of which were synchronised with the prop's motion, in turn mated to a more powerful version of the BMW engine. There were several equipment fits used in the many variants that gave the Würger (Shrike) additional weapons and capabilities, including a pressurised cockpit, rocket tubes and reconnaissance cameras. The A-6 was a natural progression of development that started reaching service in mid-1943, with an increased armament that included MG17s in the engine cowling, two 20mm MG 151 cannons in the wing root as before, and another identical pair just outboard of the landing gear bays. The wings were also lightened whilst improving their strength, leaving space for extra ammunition for the two wing-mounted cannons, in an effort to increase their success in downing the bomber streams that were attacking German industry on a daily basis by that point in the war. The Kit Since the initial tooling of the Fw.190A series airframe in 2007, there have been numerous reboxings, additional parts and re-releases of other variants, plus tooling upgrades as time went by. Eduard's Fw.190 today is a great kit, and has stood the test of time well over the last decade, the moulds amended and improved to keep it current. The ProfiPACK boxing of this variant includes extras to improve on the already excellent detail, and arrives in a gold-themed box, which is adorned with a dramatic and emotional painting of the iconic Butcher Bird in night fighter guise, engaged with an ill-fated Halifax bomber, which has its two inner engines on fire, although the mid-upper gunner is still bravely fighting on. Inside are five grey/blue sprues, one of clear parts, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a small sheet of kabuki tape masking material (not pictured), two decal sheets and the instruction/painting guide, printed in colour on glossy white paper. Due to the modular nature of the sprue design and layout there will be a fair quantity of spare parts left after construction, which are marked on the diagrams with pale blue overprinting. Construction starts in the cockpit, which is augmented with pre-painted PE side consoles and instrument panels, but also retained are the decals that can be applied to flat panels, as well as the engraved styrene panels for those that prefer to paint their details manually. The tub includes the sharply tapering rear deck, to which you add the rear bulkhead cheeks, control column, seat, plastic or PE rudder pedals, pre-painted seatbelts and sundry other parts in styrene and PE. The cockpit sides have details moulded-in that are improved by adding PE parts to the areas that will be seen within the finished compartment, detail painting them according to the instructions accompanying each part. To close the fuselage, the cockpit assembly with upper instrument panel that has the same choices as the lower is inserted along with a bulkhead that closes the front of the tub, two exhaust inserts with L and R engraved into the cowling, and the two-part engine assembly, which is only an approximation of the front row of cylinders, as little will be seen once the cowling, prop and cooling fan is in place. The lower wings are full span, and has a spar fitted that runs to the ends of the gear bays, with detail on the face visible through the apertures. This is augmented by the wheel bays, various ribs and the cannon barrels that protrude through, with the upper wing surfaces added after painting of the bay roof detail that is engraved into their underside. The completed wing assembly is then offered up to the fuselage, and the missing sections of the cowling with exhaust stubs, gun barrels and troughs are added to the top and bottom of the nose, adding the instrument coaming to the front of the cockpit cut-out, either adding a small PE part into a recess, or making the same part from scrap styrene and a decal if you prefer. The two-part intake ring finishes the front cowling, and the flying surfaces are glued into place, including separate rudder and ailerons that can be posed deflected, and fixed elevators that slot into the sides of the tail. The tyres provided for the main gear have separate hubs front and back, and fit onto the peg on the ends of the struts, with separate oleo-scissors and captive bay door parts, the latter with a choice of two styles. The retraction gear is installed along with the leg in the bay on the inner side of the leg, and the centre doors fit to the central bar that splits the bays either closed, or opened with a strut holding them in place. The tail wheel slots into a two-part yoke and slides into a socket under the tail, a crew step, aerial and D/F loop for most decal options, gun barrels and pitot probes are installed, then the three-bladed paddle prop is completed with spinner and fan behind it, with a peg at the rear fitting into a corresponding hole in the engine front. Two styles of open and closed canopies are provided, and are outfitted with head armour, PE grab handle and armour support before being added to the airframe along with the windscreen part. The last touch is to add the gear-down indicator pegs to the tops of the wings, which are made from tiny PE parts, and for the night fighter options (F&G), a series of antennae are made from PE strips with circular bases that are applied to the wings and fuselage as indicated, fixing styrene flare hiders to the side-mounted exhausts. A belly-mounted fuel tank is made from two halves, and is mounted on a long, four-part pylon that fixes under the fuselage on two pegs, where another set of antennae for the night fighters are shown in blue. If you are rigging the aerial wire to the tail, remember that if you pose the canopy open, the wire can appear relaxed, although many photos also show it taut, so check your references. Markings There are seven decal options on the sheet provided, with the common stencils on a separate sheet as is common with Eduard kits. Which decal option you choose informs your choice of options whilst building the kit, so make your choice early to avoid confusion and potential mistakes. From the box you can build one of the following: Fw 190A-6, WNr. 550375, Lt. Heinz-Günther Lück, 1./JG 1, Deelen, Netherlands, August 1943 Fw 190A-6, WNr. 550461, Oblt. Helmut Radtke, 5./JG 54, Immola, Finland, Summer 1944 Fw 190A-6, WNr. 550453, Hptm. Friedrich-Karl Müller, Stab /JG 300, Bonn-Hangelar, Germany, October 1943 Fw 190A-6, Fw. Günther Josten, 1./JG 51, Bobruysk, the USSR, January 1944 Fw 190A-6, WNr. 550473, Fw. Walter Nietzsche, II. /JG 300, Rheine, Germany, Summer 1943 Fw 190A-6/R11, WNr. 550143, Oblt. Fritz Krause, 1./NJGr 10, Werneuchen, Germany, January 1944 Fw 190A-6/R11, II. /JG 300, Lobnitz, Germany, Autumn 1943 All the decals are printed in Czechia, have good registration, colour density and sharpness, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the edge of the printing. The stencils are catered for on a separate sheet, with a page of the instructions devoted to their placement, away from the markings options to avoid clutter. As always with Eduard, the Swastikas are provided in two parts on the body of the sheet to comply with local regulations regarding this contentious symbol, and can be brought together to create the symbol if you are striving for historical accuracy and it is permitted in your nation. Conclusion The surface detail on the kit is excellent, with lines of finely engraved rivets adding to the visual appeal (yes, we know rivets aren't holes, but this technique works for most of us though). Add the extra PE detail, and quite a fun set of decal options (I particularly like the night fighters), and you have a winner on your hands. The box art is also striking, so don’t forget that there is a large print of the artwork available to buy without the necessary text and other clutter of the box top. Very highly recommended. Kit EduART Print Review sample courtesy of

Hi everybody, here's my new project: It's my first Eduard kit (but not the only one I have in my stash, since I also own a FW190A, a Tempest and an F-6F5, all in 1/48). Ever since I was a kid, reading comic books telling stories of WWII RAF pilots, this specific Spitfire version was the one I liked more: the pointy tail fin, sleek lines and overall look just did it for me. Among the 6 versions you can build in this boxing, there's one with a shark mouth, and regular wings! (I don't care for clipped or extended wings). That checked all my boxes, so here's the one I'm building: This was flown by Aussie ace W/C Robert "Bobby" Gibbes, credited with 12 kills. What's in the box: four main grey sprues One clear sprue, in typical Eduard Style Being a Profipack Edition, in addition to decals (which I plan to use as less as possible ) there is also a PE fret and pre-cut masks for the clear parts. I've already started mangling some plastic, namely the cockpit bits; I'd like to have most of the cockpit done before I do any serious dry fit of the main parts. So I started with the frame right behind the seat, here's the kit offering: I improved it by drilling out all the lightening holes (same for the frame right behind it, BTW) Filled in the top rear side slot with PPP, as per instructions I then glued on the first PE part , the head armour plate, using Gator's Grip, and the seat supporting frame, using TeT Little bit of improvement on the latter too, by drilling out lightening holes again The seat: I wanted to add some riveting, visible in the walkaround pics (here on BM) of an airworthy Spit MK VIII painted in these very colors (not the original airframe, though). So I marked them with a sharpie first, followed by a pointy needle, and filled in with some clear UV resin Looks a bit messy (but remember it's a macro pic ), only primer will tell if it's any good. If not, I have a plan B Side frames glued on Most of you probably already know, this kit has a lot of parts for the cockpit (and not only that...). Detail looks really good to me, though. I already have a question for the experts: what do we think about the interior color demarcation line? When I built my Spitfire Mk Vb, I remember the cockpit green stopped right behind the seat frame, with the rest of the fuselage interiors being painted aluminium. I read a few discussions here and on other on line sources stating that there was an official order in 1943 (I don't remember the actual date, sorry) that specifically addressed this issue, stating not to paint cockpit green overall. No specific indications about models or marks, though. So again, what do we think? Thanks in advance for any contribution. And as always, all comments welcome! Ciao

A JV44 plane flown by Ltn. Karl-Heinz Hoffman (might have to build a Me-262 to go with it!) First time freehanding camo and reasonably happy with the result.

Hello everyone, Ive been working (at glacial pace), on a crashed Fw 190 diorama/vignette. I know there’s some debate as to what a dio and what a vignette is, but I wanted a small scene that tells a story. This kit is really cheap and highly detailed, as it’s a ProfiPACK it comes with some masks and PE which really helps. The cockpit went together well, and for its scale it’s very detailed. The aircraft was built with the landing gears stowed. The decal scheme that I painted was for an aircraft that was shot down by bomber escorts over Germany in 1945, so most likely a P-51. The propellers were bent using a lighter, the wing was clipped to simulate damage on impact, a panel was removed with some metal rods inserted to represent the frame, and finally some .4mm holes were drilled to represent bullet holes. At this scale, .5 rounds are just shy of .2mm so slightly out of scale, but .4 was the smallest I had. All this detail should do enough to let the viewer know that it’s had a bad day! There are plenty of examples of damaged aircraft, so I don’t really think people can say what is right and what is wrong, but to try and keep the bullet holes subtle, I drilled them, then softened the edges with Tamiya cement. The rear tail also received some impacts. The left wing was also used to practise different techniques, as this will be submerged in water/resin. The aircraft was given a brown wash and AK slime dark green and light green were applied to the left wing. As for the base, the foam was cut and shaped before a balsa boarder was applied. Next came a mixture of Mig acrylic mud, sharp sand, sea grass, bits of stone and rounded rock that I picked up from a beach. The rounded rocks will be sat in the water obviously. A scar or mark where the aircraft slid before going firm was also worked into the base at this point. Along with a small cluster of static grass. I didn’t take too many photos of the next part as I was in the zone but the process was roughly: - Base coat everything with Tamiya X9 Brown. - XF59 Dessert Yellow then XF60 Dark yellow for the grass. - XF52 Flat Earth on the ground, followed by buff for the highlights. - Paint the stones with some greys. - Ammo wash Wet Ground for the river bed. - Ammo washes Fresh Mud and Loose Ground for the river bank. - AK Slime Dark Green and Light Green for the bank as well. The photo doesn’t do it justice, there some nice variation to the eye. At this point I also used the washes to splatter mud onto the aircraft. I tried to keep it all to scale, which was hard! The point that I’m up to now; the river bed has received some AK Still Water in preparation for the resin and some puddles were also filled to use up the last bit of Still Water that I’d put in the cup. I really like how this is looking, once the resin is done, I have some brown leaves to scatter and that should be it! Thanks for looking, Tom.

Notwithstanding the fact that I'm building (or butchering should I say?) a couple of Hurricanes, I could not resist starting this new work. First of all I have to say thank you to two benefactors who supported me with a lot of material for this conversion work. Thank you gentlemen (you know who you are!). Last week I was evaluating what will I build with these new assets and now I have a plan. I would like to model a Seafire Mk.46: although a rare bird, I think it is so beautiful with its low-back, huge fin, and contra-prop... I would also like to model a Pr. Mk XIX because I rate it the most elegant Spitfire ever. But first of all I want to model a Mk XII. Some people like this variant the most among the Griffon-engined ones; I like better the long-nose (more appropiately the two-stage-compressor-engined) ones but this variant has a particular charm in being a sort of a "hybrid", being a "rare bird" and even for its war record being employed as a stop-gap against the Fw-190 low-raiders and V1 missiles... ...Thinking about it I feel the same fascination for the very early F Mk.IX which had a similar origin and operational history, or the Mk. VI and VII. There's no perfect Mk.XII kit on the market (that I'm aware of, at least) so add the fashion of a modelling challenge to the above mentioned reasons to build one! Publicly available documents about this variant seem scarce and photo coverage is not abundant too. There are no preserved original Mk.XIIs, and the closest relatives available today as a reference are Seafire Mk XVs which are quite different in many detail. The general shape of the aircraft is well undestood but there are differences in detail between the early-build airframes and later ones; moreover Mk XII has some peculiar elements like the carburettor intake and the magneto hump which are unique in the Spitfire lineage. Fortunately the few existing photographs show rather well these particulars and allow for an accurate reconstruction. Here is the recipe I have in mind for the ultimate 1/72 Mk.XII: Base kit: Eduard Engine cowling and propeller blades: modified Airfix Mk.22 Spinner: modified Airfix Underwing oil radiator: Tamiya or Sword Scale plans: Jumpei Tenma's A lot of work, a little scratch-building The base kit is well known; Eduard's 1/72 Spitfire is a scaled down version of Eduard's 1/48 Spitfire which in turn is a scaled down version of .....(it can't be said openly) which is a 1/32 reproduction of a full-size Spitfire. All of the main features are dimensionally very very close to the data reported in the monumental "Spitfire engineered" book by Montforton; it is the only real "Spitfire looking" 1/72 Spitfire model I'm aware of, together with Airfix Mk.22 incidentally. That 2012 kit still has the best Griffon nose ever produced in 1/72 and is the perfect donor for a conversion work, as many modellers before me discovered. To be honest, both Airfix Mk.22 and Airfix Pr.Mk XIX have a correctly-shaped engine cowling; both kits have small defects in the shape of the cylinder bank fairings: the Mk.22 has them too short at the back, Pr.Mk XIX has an incorrect shape in front (due to the simplified moulding process chosen by Airfix for this kit) AND too short fairings. Correcting the Mk.XIX cowling is much more difficult than adjusting the Mk.22's so the last is a better choice. When asserting that this is the best choice for a Griffon nose in 1/72 I mean the following verified facts: -the profile is accurate within 0,1-0,2mm (or can be easily done so after the careful removal of the moulding burrs) -the width in plan is accurate, and the cross section is just about right (I'll try to have a better look at this in the building process) -the position, shape and angle relative to the thrust line of the cylinder covers appear to be accurate (whitin my measurement capabilities) except for the length in the back. I checked also Sword and Special Hobby products but simply they are not accurate, in particular regarding the shape and position of the cylinder humps and exausts (Sword) or overall cowling shape (SH). The propeller is a very good base for the Mk.XII were not for the fact that it has five blades instead of four... The Spinner assembly results slightly excessive in length (0,4mm) and the baseplate has some peripheral burr so that its diameter is about 10,2mm instead of 9,9mm. This mismatch is easily addressed by some reshaping of the spinner assembly on a lathe. If normally I can't decide which livery put on a particular a/c variant the Mk.XII requires yet another choice from the beginning: fixed tailwheel or retractable tailwheel? I resolved my quandaries choosing the retractable tailwheel variant (although at this moment I've not choosen a particular a/c to represent) Let's begin. The Griffon cowling is separated from the fuselage and compared to a scaled down version of J.Tenma's plans of the Seafire Mk.XVII (he did not trace plans for the Mk.XII or Mk.XV although you can find colorized profiles for them in his website) If your printer does allow just integer percentage scaling of the original (like mine), you can get perfect results by scaling with Inkscape, Photoshop or similar software. Please notice in the photograph above how well the Airfix nose matches the profile; it can be further improved by gentle bending of the upper arch, but this is not necessary for the Mk.XII because of the magneto bulb in that position. The cut is refined until reaching the perfect size, and the process is repeated for the other side. According to this quoted drawing for the Seafire Mk.XV (which is supposedly based on Supermarine data and matches J.T. plans), the "measurable" (I mean with a caliper) lenght of the section is calculated with some easy math: from fuselage datum point to the front of the cowling, at propeller axis: 76,2 inches from fuselage datum point to the upper cowling panel line: 1,28" (source "Spitfire engineered") the front cowling section is a disk, reportedly 28" diameter, inclined 2° to the cowling panel line. This adds 14" x tan(2°) =0,49" to the measurable length so: measurable lenght= 76,2"-1,28"+0,49"=75,41" which in 1/72 converts to 26,60 mm. My result is pretty good!...and was obtained matching the plans, and taking some progressive measurement of the part. One of the key points in getting a precise cut is adjusting the final tenths of mm with the right tool. I use 400-grit sandpaper glued to the side of a square aluminum block, and lay both the nose part and the aluminum block on the same plane, so that the sandpaper results perpendicular to it. Both halves are finished. And now... there's no return! Two perfectly good Eduard Spitfire Mk.VIII fuselages are horribly mutilated!

1/72 - MiG-21 Fishbed family project was finally officially confirmed by Eduard http://www.eduard.com/store/out/media/InfoEduard/archive/2015/info-eduard-2015-01CZ.pdf (english version soon) MF, bis and SMT versions expected first