If you want to add some great looking seatbelts to your next U.S. Navy fighter of the Second World War, you need to look no further than Eduard. This is my second review of Eduard Steel seatbelts, and I am still amazed at what the company is producing in photoetched products. The belts are easy enough to install for those with some photoetch experience, the only challenging part is installing the clasp on the left side seatbelt, but I would still highly recommend this set!

The single photoetch fret for this release contains four full sets of seatbelts, which are pre-painted in khaki and green (there are two sets in each color) along with leather pads and clasps. The lap belt attaching to the left side of the seat (if you were in the seat) receives the leather pad and the clasp, and Eduard was great about providing twice as many of these parts than are needed. The steel is soft, which makes it easy to place the lap and shoulder belts in realistic positions, and I did not experience any issues with paint attempting to “pop off” of the steel. For this review, I attached the belts to a Verlinden cockpit, which I had pre-painted some time ago, that came from the F-4U4 Corsair Super Detail Set (item 729).

As far as my hits are concerned, I am impressed with the steel being malleable, and as I have had previous experiences with pre-painted PE items and the paint popping off, the paint did not separate from the steel during this review. I also appreciate the inclusion of eight leather pads, and more importantly, eight clasps as two of the clasps disappeared on me during construction. I did not find a miss for this detail set.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend this set to anyone wanting to add some realistic looking seatbelts to their 1/48 scale U.S. Navy fighter of WWII. I would recommend this set to model builders who have experience with small photoetch items, but one could always decide to leave off the clasp and cover that area with the other lap belt or a shoulder belt when placing them into position.

I would like to thank the folks at Eduard for graciously providing these U.S. Navy fighter steel seatbelts to the IPMS/USA for review and to Dave Morrissette for allowing me to receive this set. I would also send kudos out to the assistants in the Review Corps for the great job they do in keeping the Corps running strong and as always, my appreciation to anyone who takes the time to read my comments.