Eduard Bristol Beaufort Mk.I Upgrade Sets (for ICM) 1:48

[Mike]

Bristol Beaufort Mk.I Upgrade Sets (for ICM)

1:48 Eduard

 

 

ICM made a lot of Britmodellers very happy when they announced their Beaufort kit, and now that we have the kit to pore over, it’s been worth the wait.  Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail in the usual modular manner, offering detail that injection-moulded styrene can’t provide.  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.

 

 

 

Detail Set (491318)

Two frets are included, one nickel-plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass.  The first item to be replaced is the pilot’s seat, which is a complex assembly made from a large number of parts, with a third diagram showing the completed assembly.  There are two circular meshes for the intakes inserted in the wing leading edges, then the attention turns toward the cockpit again.  A complete set of new layered instrument panels, highly detailed sidewalls that are covered with instruments and equipment boxes, and side consoles with added levers for the cockpit and a new seat for the bomb aimer.  The turret’s interior is cut up, keeping some portions and discarding others to replace them with new more detailed PE parts.  The twin Lewis guns are detailed with new tops and handles to their plate magazines, and adding extra details that include an armour panel, while the side-mount Lewis gun gets a magazine upgrade plus ring-and-bead sights.  The engines are upgraded with three V-shaped spacers that hold the circular part in position, which also receives a central boss.  The last job is to glue a sight inside the windscreen in front of the pilot.

 

 

 

 

SPACE 3D Printed Cockpit Decals (3DL48094)

The Eduard SPACE sets use new 3D printing techniques that lay down successive layers of different colour resin, creating highly realistic almost full complete panels that are supplied on a decal sheet.  They can depict metallic shades, plus glossy, satin, and matt colours too, which really ups the detail on everything they print.  In addition, a small sheet of nickel-plated and pre-painted PE is included for the aspects of the set that lend themselves better to this medium, such as seatbelts and rudder pedals.

 

 

The PE sheet contains three sets of lap belts that are applied to the seats and turret, plus a four-point set for the pilot, making an oval hole in the back of the kit seat to pass the Y-shaped end of the shoulder harnesses through.  The 3D decals are applied to the instrument panel and copious instruments and equipment boxes on the sidewalls, adding a few PE levers to the panel, and PE backing plates for many of the boxes on the sidewalls.

 

 

 

 

Seatbelts STEEL (FE1319)

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.  The pilot has a set of four-point belts that require an oval hole to be made in the back of the kit seat to accommodate the end of the Y-shaped section behind the shoulder harness, with three sets of lap belts in the cockpit and the turret.

 

 

 

 

Bomb Bay (481094)

This comprehensive bare brass set contains two sheets, one larger, the other smaller.  You will need to remove the raised details inside the kit bomb bay before you install the new detail skins in the centre section, adding a rear bulkhead and an additional rectangular cover if you intend to fill the bay with bombs rather than a torpedo.  Another bulkhead is applied to the front of the main bay after adding several detail parts, some of which require folding.  The curved front section of the bay is covered with another skin that you will need to roll to fit, and has a W-shaped brace added partway along.  The rear section of the bay has two strips fitted to the outer edges, then the centre-section is filled with four folded bomb shackles and another cover to the forward section opening if you are mounting bombs.  If you are installing the torpedo, a complex carrier is folded up and glued in the centre of the main bay, adding a pair of small wheels on short lengths of wire from your own stock on the sides.

 

 

The bomb bay doors are reduced in size 1mm each end and along the top edge, then slimmed down at the top in preparation for the new skin that is laminated, folded and applied to the outer surface of the kit parts to improve detail and replace the thicker kit inner bay doors.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[dogsbody]

A pair of proper shaped engine cowlings would be an asset for the kit, too. The kit supplied cowls look more like the Twin Wasp cowlings.

 

 

 

Chris