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Mi-24D Raised Rivets & Surface Details (ER48002 for Zvezda) 1:48


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Mi-24D Raised Rivets & Surface Details (ER48002 for Zvezda)

1:48 Eduard

 

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Zvezda’s new 1:48 Mi-24D Hind was welcomed with open-arms by the modelling masses, putting the old Revell/Monogram kit way into the background.  One of the few criticism levelled at the kit was the lack of raised rivets, particularly around the rear and on the tail-boom of the aircraft, which are fairly prominent on the real thing.  That fact didn’t get lost on Eduard’s designers, and they’ve been working on this new 3D printed set that corrects that omission and adds lots more detail besides.

 

This set arrives in a flat, resealable clear foil package around A5 size, with the instructions wrapped around the contents to keep them safe, aided by a sheet of white card.  Inside are three sheets of decal paper that have been printed with incredibly fine resin details in a large number of sections, which correspond to coloured sections on the instructions, while the back page includes guidance notes to help the novice getting to grips with this interesting new use of the 3D printing facilities that they have been so ably using in their SPACE printed instrument panels.

 

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There are 65 individual decals on the three sheets, and the detail is phenomenal, including rivets by the million, raised sections in various layers, fasteners and inspection hatches, all surrounded by a faint grey border line, which is your guide for cutting of the decals from the sheet.  The instructions tell you to build your model, fill engraved panel lines, remove raised detail where advised on the coloured map, and prepare each decal by cutting it just the other side of the afore mentioned grey lines.  You are advised to use a kitchen sponge with a mixture of water and a few drops of “dishwashing saponite”, which confused me a little until I Googled it.  Saponite is another word for soapstone, so I suspect there has been a slight mis-translation somewhere along the line, although Google’s translation was “spring”, but I suspect it means dish soap as a water-tension breaker.  You moisten the sponge with the mixture and place the decal on it until it is ready to release, after which you press it carefully onto your model without moving the sponge.  Sounds simple, doesn’t it? I hope it is, as I’m going to have to get another set for my other kit eventually.  After the decals are fully dry, you are told to give it a few thin coats of Mr Surfacer to help them bed-in, and take care if you are masking your model for painting, as the decals don’t have the same adhesion as primer.  If you do mask, reduce the tack of the tape by applying it to the back of your hand or a scrupulously clean desk a few times before using it.

 

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Conclusion

These decals have the potential to be a game-changer for models that were created minus some of the finer details, as these can now be added later with the modern technology at Eduard’s fingertips.  The detail is amazing, even down to the different sizes and pitches of the rivets and their patterns around the model.  They’re not cheap at this stage, but they offer a lot to an otherwise great kit that suffers from rear-end blandness.

 

If anyone from Eduard is reading this, please produce a video of the decals in use for the hard of thinking like me.  It would be much appreciated, and could possibly improve uptake, as pictures speak a thousand words, so videos probably speak tens of thousands.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

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Review sample courtesy of

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