Eduard EA-18G Growler Update Sets (for Hobby Boss) 1:48

[Mike]

EA-18G Growler Update Sets (for Hobby Boss)

1:48 Eduard

 

 

Hobby Boss now have an Electronic Warfare F-18 variant in their catalogue, the EA-18G Growler, which we reviewed here.  A decent kit that of course you can upgrade with parts that provide more detail than it possible with injection moulded plastic.  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.

 

 

 

Cockpit & Exterior Set (491268)

Two frets are included, one nickel-plated and pre-painted, the other larger fret in bare brass, plus a small slip of clear acetate that is pre-printed with the HUD glass shapes.  A complete set of new layered instrument panels, sidewalls and side consoles with added levers for the front cockpit and the extensive instrument panel for the rear cockpit are in full colour, with additional equipment boxes and rudder pedals also included.  The control column has a new face fixed with button details, with a choice of long or short throttle lever to complete the HOTAS pair.   The kit supplied deck behind the seats is mis-labelled and should be H10, detailed with a number of stiffeners and other parts, with a new pivot made from 1.2mm rod for the canopy, which also has PE caps glued on each end after it is inserted into the drilled-out hole.  The canopy itself has an aft insert that is detailed with PE parts, and once glued-in it has an underside skin that will be visible if the canopy is posed open.  In addition, there are latches added to the underside of the side rails, a horse-shoe loop at the front of the canopy frame with etched-in rear-view mirrors, and a trio of separate mirrors for the rear-seater that could be ‘glued-in’ using Klear.  More parts are glued to the inner sides of the canopy frame, and another horse-shoe section finishes off the windscreen frame, all of which begs for a set of Tface masks to aid in painting both sides of the clear parts for extra realism.

 

Externally, various panels are added to the fuselage after removing the kit details, a box is replaced by a PE section in the nose bay, fixing new pivots to the bay doors, with the small nose-gear door receiving skin in addition to the pivots, while the larger door is replaced entirely by a four-ply lamination, one of which should be deformed with the tip of a ball-point pen before it is glued in, and this part also has three hinges and two pivots for the retraction gear added into the bargain.  The gear legs are wired up with PE looms, then attention turns to the built-in crew ladder, which inhabits the underside of the port LERX when retracted.  The engraved aperture is opened up and backed with an inner skin, then the ladder is made up from one side that has the rungs attached, plus the other side and two stays that flip out as the real thing deploys.

 

The final parts are used to detail the pylons, two smaller ones having anti-sway braces and contact patch skins, and four larger pylons that have the same features added, with rail details for the adapters.  Lastly, the two AN/ALQ-99 jamming pods are fitted with radiators on both sides from the fret.

 

 

 

 

 

Zoom! Set (FE1268)

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 (FE1269)

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.  As well as the two sets of crew belts, you also get pull-handles between the pilot's knees that gets them out of there in case of an emergency, and anti-flail restraints for their legs so they don’t get left behind.

 

 

 

 

Masks (EX854)

Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape.  In addition, you get a set of hub/tyre masks for all the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort.

 

 

 

 

Masks Tface (EX855)

Supplied on two sheets of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with everything above, but also give you another set of canopy masks tailored to fit the interior of the glazing so that you can paint the interior and give your model that extra bit of realism. 

 

 

 

Review sample courtesy of