Eduard F-35A Exhaust Nozzle & Ejection Seat Sets (648860 & 648858 for Tamiya) 1:48

[Mike]

F-35A Exhaust Nozzle & Ejection Seat Sets (648860 & 648858 for Tamiya)

1:48 Eduard Brassin

 

 

Tamiya can’t be described as prolific producers of new toolings, but their kits usually impress when they arrive, with the new F-35A in 1:48 being one such triumph of styrene engineering.  Eduard have wasted no time in producing upgrades for those in our hobby that ask more of their modelling experience, and we’ve got two sets in for review from their Brassin range.  As is now usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the new Brassin cardboard box, the exhaust nozzles having a deeper box due to its size, with the resin parts safely cocooned in bags, and the instructions folded around acting as padding.

 

 

F-35A Ejection Seat (648858)

This set replaces the kit part that is highly visible in the aircraft’s goldfish bowl of a canopy, which although it is tinted gold makes the seat and/or pilot a focal point of the model.  Consisting of a bag of nine 3D printed resin parts, and another with a pre-painted Photo-Etch (PE) sheet and a small sheet of decals inside, both protected by a sheet of card.

 

 

The seat chassis is printed as a single part, into which you place the seat cushion and headrest, followed by the back cushion that locates on three rounded pins that have matching depressions in the chassis.  The central buckle for the seatbelts is resin and installs in a groove in the seat cushion, and is joined by either a resin or PE ejection pull-handle that is positioned just forward of the belt.  Around the back of the seat, there are some short lengths of 0.3mm wire you need to provide, with lengths and shapes given to assist you with accurately cutting and shaping them, then a frame is glued over the seat back, and more short wires are added between the two parts.  Finally, an oxygen bottle for high-altitude ejections is strapped horizontally across the frame, with a large roughly triangular box fixed above it behind the headbox.

 

 

Turning the seat around, the seatbelts are made up and installed in a three-step process, which is best done after painting to protect the metallic and pre-painted belts from splashes.  The location of the decals are shown on the last step, showing the colours of the various areas, although colour call-outs in Gunze Sangyo Mr Color codes are given throughout the instructions.

 

It’s a superbly detailed set that will improve the cockpit immensely with some careful painting.  Incidentally, the right seat handle was broken off on my example, but was simple to glue back in place with a little super glue, so check yours for damage.

 

 

 

F-35A Exhaust Nozzle (648860)

This set has just four 3D printed resin parts, but the detail is simply off the charts.  The petals of the nozzle are crisp and well-detailed, which extends into the interior, where textures and shapes are replicated on every surface.  The exhaust is attached to the hollow trunk, which is printed in a dark grey almost black resin, hiding the exquisite details rendered on the interior, which we have attempted to bring out by lightening the interior in the photos below.  At the forward end of the trunk, the afterburner ring and rear of the engine are glued into position after painting with Gunze Sangyo Mr Color, the codes for which are used throughout. The completed exhaust assembly then plugs into the kit parts G17 and G18 within the fuselage.

 

 

 

Again, the detail is exceptional, and when painted sympathetically, it will look about as real as most modellers can achieve without selling their souls to the modelling gods for additional skills.

 

 

 

Conclusion

Two 3D printed sets that will upgrade very visible aspects of this new kit from Tamiya, and really are worth the extra effort to use.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

Review sample courtesy of