Eduard Arado Ar.234B Update Sets (for Hasegawa/Hobby 2000) 1:48

[Mike]

Arado Ar.234B Update Sets (for Hasegawa/Hobby 2000)

1:48 Eduard

 

 

Hasegawa’s excellent quarter-scale (1:48) kit of this ground-breaking jet bomber has been around a while, and has recently been re-released by Hobby 2000 in a different boxing to give it a new lease of life.  Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail in the usual modular manner.  Get what you want for the areas you want to be more of a focal point.  As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between.

 

 

Update Set (491217)

Two frets are included, one nickel plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass.  A complete set of new layered instrument panels and side consoles are the primary parts on the painted set, with new rudder pedals; control column details; other instrumentation and equipment with the cockpit, and canopy internal detail.  Externally, the main gear bays are upgraded with ribbing, wiring harnesses and other internal skinning parts; the landing gear struts are given PE oleo-scissor links and brake hosing; the main bay doors are replaced while the nose bay doors get detailed hinge details.  The D/F loop is replaced; the pen-nib fairings above the exhausts are skinned; the RATO bottles have PE straps added to their recovery parachute bundles at the front, and all the flying surfaces are detailed with actuators and trim-tab actuators.

 

 

 

 

Zoom! Set (FE1217)

This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above.  Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements.

 

 

 

 

 

Seatbelts STEEL (FE1218)

In case you don't already know, these belts are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting.  Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE.  You get a full set of four-point crew belts, plus the trapezoid comfort pads that stop the furniture from digging into the pilot during long flights.

 

 

 

 

 

Masks Tface (EX804)

Supplied on two sheets of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with masks for the canopy and camera ports, but also give you another set of canopy masks tailored to fit the interior of the glazing so that you can paint the interior and give your model that extra bit of realism.  Compound curved are handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape.  In addition, you get a set of hub/tyre masks for the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort.

 

 

 

 

 

Review sample courtesy of