Recently I was given the opportunity by IPMS USA to review Eduard's canopy masks for the new 1/48 Airfix P-51D Mustang kit. One of the first things to notice with this product is the excellent presentation of the packaging with the easy to open flap. Package includes a single sheet of kabuki paper masks for the canopy panels, landing lights, and wheel hubs.

Upon removal of the masks from the package I could easily remove the masks from the paper and apply to appropriate section of the canopy. The instructions included with the masks gives you a good feel for which panel you are working with compared to how canopy is sectioned off. The masks lay down well and no trimming had to be done to center up the masks with the canopy framing. The main canopy has to be masked with extra tape or a liquid mask, you only get the outer frame.

This set of replacement barrels for the 1/200 scale Mikasa. It includes 4 305mm (12”), 14 152mm (6”), 20 76mm (3”) and 12 47mm (1.85” Hotchkiss Guns). The 305mm and 152mm barrels are machined from aluminum and the other 2 are machined from brass. The 305mm barrels include brass trunnions.

These are designed for Merit International IJN Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Mikasa.

The 305mm is a straight replacement. The machining is quite good, and the only difference is that the plastic piece has what appears to be a cover on the end of the barrel while the metal barrel is bored out to depict the barrel in action.

The rest of the barrels requires surgery to remove part of the old barrel and drilling out a locating hole for the replacement barrel to slip into.

This set is the latest in Eduard’s “Brassin” line. The set comes in a resealable clamshell package with a cardboard insert to separate the decals, etched parts, and instructions from the sixteen resin parts. The instructions comprise one sheet representing the cover sheet with the decal application guide along with painting instructions. The inner spread provides the assembly guide, with the back sheet showing the parts list and the color codes for Gunze paint (Aqueous and MrColor). I will note that the resin parts on my set had lots of room in the blister to move and as a consequence, I had the rear fins broken off (R33) on two of the four bombs. This set will need to be installed with your favorite CA (super glue) or epoxy, as the normal plastic glues or solvents will not react with the resin or photoetch.