Eduard EA-18G Growler Upgrade Sets (for MENG) 1:48

[Mike]

EA-18G Growler Upgrade Sets (for MENG)

1:48 Eduard

 

 

Meng’s new series of Super Hornet kits now includes a single-seater -E, twin-seater -F, and the latest Growler, which is an electronic warfare variant of the airframe, packed with hardware in underslung pods to disrupt enemy operations and ease the way of their allies on difficult missions over enemy territory.  Those three kits are impressively detailed, but you can always improve on styrene perfection with other media.  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), SPACE 3D printed 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.  The smaller Brassin resin sets arrive in the new shallow cardboard box, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as padding.

 

 

EA-18G Update Set (491288)

Two frets are included, one nickel-plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass, plus a small slip of acetate sheet with HUD glazing shapes printed on its surface.  A complete set of two new layered instrument panels that are full of MFDs complete with deep lustrous green screens; side consoles with added levers for both cockpits and additional instrument boxes for the bulkheads, and even a button-studded front for the control column.  The floor of the pilot’s area has a combined interior skin and rudder pedal box, and just above it on the coaming is a new PE HUD with twin acetate films cut from the included sheet to replicate the glazing.  The turtle-deck behind the pilots is augmented with additional parts, requiring some small lengths of 1.2mm rod; the windscreen is finished with a horse-shoe lip; with another on the canopy that has rear-view mirrors included, with more for the rear-seater; the canopy is further upgraded with a wiring harness inside the rear, sidewalls to the interior with a row of hooks to close the canopy, and a detail skin at the very rear that will only be seen if the canopy is posed open.

 

The exterior is then updated with a brand-new four-layer nose gear bay door with additional PE hinges and actuator attachment points, plus a small area bowed outward by using a ball-pen from the other side; the rest of the landing gear bay doors are fitted out with actuator-points; the built-in crew access ladder has the option of being deployed, by removing the detail and adding a shallow bay, plus a short door that hangs down, and the ladder itself, which is made up from twin-layered sides and folded-over rungs that are joined together and attached to the interior of the new bay, and uses the kit’s stay plus two more from the PE set, one V-shaped, the other with a square attachment patch that stands out at an angle.  The weapons pylons are fitted with attachment surfaces so that if you leave any/all of them empty, as is often the case in real-world instances, the detail will be suitable for inspection.  The final parts are wiring and hoses for the landing gear legs, one for the nose gear leg, and two each for the cranked main gear.  There is also a small equipment box added to the side of the nose gear bay, just for completeness.

 

 

 

 

Zoom! Set (FE1288)

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 (FE1289)

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 a set of the pull-handles between the pilot's knees that gets him out of there in case of an emergency; anti-flail leg straps; a replacement headbox detail insert on both sides of each seat, and a number of stencils for the sides of the seats.

 

 

 

 

Ejection Seats (648773)

This set arrives in a small Brassin box, and contains the parts necessary to complete a pair of highly detailed ejection seats for your model.  Each seat is supplied as a main element, to which the seat cushion is affixed.  A resin umbilical hose is fitted to the left side of the seat, and a full set of four-point crew belts are supplied in painted PE for the pilots, along with some small parts to fit to the seat’s sides and some anti-flail leg restraints to protect the crew in case of ejection, after pulling the stripy new handle between their knees.  It’s worth noting that where it is needed, the PE has been painted on both sides so you don’t have to faff about matching colours if shiny nickel can be seen on completion.

 

 

 

 

Wheels (648774)

Kit wheels are generally in two halves, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, possible mould-slip issues on single part wheels, and sometimes less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the tread department.  That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument.  They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement.

 

There are four wheels on separate casting blocks in the flat-pack set, plus two separate hubs for the main gear wheels.  All of them are drop-in replacements for the kit parts once removed from their blocks, and to assist you with painting, there is a sheet of pre-cut kabuki-style masking material included (not pictured), to help you cut the demarcations perfectly with little effort.

 

 

 

 

Masks (EX876)

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 (EX877)

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, which will be especially useful if you have the PE upgrade set, as it provides you with canopy interior details. 

 

 

 

Highly recommended, one and all.

 

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