FW-190A Tface Masks

Published: October 12, 2018
Company: Eduard

For as long as I can remember I’ve always painted the outside of my canopy framing the interior color first and then painted the exterior color overtop of that. This ensured that the interior color showed through the canopy. But there was always one thing that bothered me a little bit, the color was always glossy. Well Eduard has finally fixed that with their new line of TFace Masking sets.

This particular set is designed for the FW-190A series of Eduard models, including the A-8/R2 Rammjaeger. The masks are made of the infamous Kabuki tape so they are flexible and very easy to use. There are instructions to show you which masks to use where, including which is the inside masks and which are the outside ones.

Placing the masks is fairly easy but care has to be exercised… more

FW-190A-5 ZOOM

Published: October 12, 2018
Company: Eduard

So you bought the Weekend or the Overtree FW-190A-5 but you don’t really want to paint the instrument panel and you’d like to have some seatbelts. What do you do? Well Eduard has the answer. They provide you with the pre-painted photo etch brass fret that comes in the Profipack kit.

Personally I think that the ZOOM sets are what really makes it a Weekend or Overtree kit. This fret is typically released when the Overtree kit is released. I think that they are a bargain. You get one pre-painted photo etch with all the parts you need for the cockpit and a few other places. The key is you get the seatbelts and the instrument panel. Those two things alone are worth the price of admission. Also included are the side panels and some various other photo etch pieces for the outside of… more

FW-190A-5 OVERTREE

Published: October 12, 2018
Company: Eduard

So you want to model the Eduard FW-190A-5 but you don’t want to spend a lot of money to do it or maybe you don’t like to work with photo etch. Maybe you have a huge selection of decals and you just need a canvas to use them on. Whatever the reason, maybe Eduard’s Overtrees are the answer for you.

I’ve said it before I love the way Eduard markets their kits. For those that want the whole hog and then some there are the Royal Class kits. Then comes the great value, the Profipack Editions. This is followed up with the less extravagant Weekend Edition, which is just the kit and decals for two airplanes. Then there is the bargain basement, the Overtree Editions. Traditionally these are very inexpensive but just provide you with the plastic parts, no photo etch, no masks, no decals… more

FW-190A-5

Published: November 12, 2020
Company: Eduard

Following on the heels of their gorgeous FW-190A-4 Eduard has released the next variant in the production line, the A-5. The A-5 differed from the A-4 in that its engine was moved forward. This would become the standard position until the D-9 variant came into production.

Having built the A-4 and found it to be simply gorgeous I was anxious to see what the later variants would look like.

Packaged inside of a beautifully painted boxtop with a sturdy cardboard box protecting the parts are some beautiful plastic. There are five sprues of plastic is the light grey kind with no flash or blemishes that I could find. Three of the sprues are the ‘common’ sprues found in all the FW-190 boxings. The other two are aircraft specific with a new fuselage and a new wing. This speaks… more

Ju-87B-2/R-2 Seatbelts STEEL

Published: September 16, 2018
Company: Eduard

The Airfix Stuka is an impressive kit but there is room for improvement. One area that would benefit from aftermarket is the seats. In short, they lack the seatbelts and shoulder harnesses needed to bring this kit out of the ordinary.

Packaged in the typical Eduard resealable packaging with a cardboard stiffener inside is a single pre-painted fret. The cardboard helps prevent bending during storage. The single fret is beautifully represented with ‘shading’ and silver buckles. Since they are thin steel, they are beautifully detailed and bend easily without losing their paint. There are shoulder harnesses for the front seat and lap belts and straps for the other two seats.

The seatbelts are easy enough to add and when seen through the canopy glazing will make a dramatic… more

Ju 87B-2/ R2 Zoom

Published: September 10, 2018
Company: Eduard

The ZOOM series of photo-etch from Eduard features the absolutely essential parts to upgrade your model. Typically, it includes the things in the cockpit that provide dramatic impacts such as the pre-painted instrument panel and various other knobs, buttons, and stuff in the cockpit.

It is packaged in a resealable packaging. The set includes one fret of nickel plated pre-painted brass. The detail contained in the pre-painted parts is phenomenal. The detail that is painted is better than I could ever do. Some like it and some don’t. I love it.

In addition to the instrument panel are rudder pedals, radio faces, and all the little parts that are in the cockpit area. The amount of detail contained is impressive, to say the least. Adding this set to the kit cockpit elevates… more

Ju-87B-2/R-2 Canopy Masks

Published: September 10, 2018
Company: Eduard

Many Luftwaffe aircraft had canopy framing on the inside but not on the outside. How to replicate and paint this has always been a challenge. The Stuka has a few of these panels. Well, what is a modeler to do? Well if you are like me you look to Eduard to help you because I hate to mask canopies.

Eduard’s masks are made from Kabuki tape which is just like Tamiya tape. The tape is precisely cut and conform to curves perfectly. This sheet of masks comes in the traditional resealable packaging that Eduard uses. The larger than usual masks includes all the masks you’ll need for your Airfix Stuka, except the camouflage.

The set is broken down into each canopy section and is quite easy to understand. There are masks for the outside and the panels that are just the inside… more

Ju-87B-2/R-2 Photo Etch

Published: September 8, 2018
Company: Eduard

The Airfix Stuka is an impressive kit but there is some room for improvement. When you think of Eduard you automatically think photo etch. So matching these two great modeling companies together is a natural.

Packaged in the typical Eduard resealable packaging with a cardboard stiffener inside are two different frets. The first fret is the pre-painted fret that is the ZOOM set. It is nickel plated and has the instrument panel and interior parts. The parts are really nicely done and the pre-painted is better than I can paint by hand. Some people have issue with pre-painted parts, but I do not.

The second fret contains the detail parts on a brass fret. Things like interior details, ammo drums, radios, gun ring details and other highlights are replicated or replaced. This… more

Bf-109G-14 Profipack

Published: September 1, 2018
Company: Eduard

The Bf-109G-14 was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to standardize fighter production of the G-5/G-6. It failed to do that but the G-14 was a good aircraft and served from 1943 until the end of the war.

This is a natural progression for Eduard and its much respected Bf-109 series of models. Like the real thing, it is essentially a G-6 with just as many options for equipment and markings. This ProfiPack follows the other releases which contains four light grey plastics sprues and one clear styrene sprue. My example did have minimal flash and my wings were slightly misaligned in the mold but it was all easily taken care of with a knife and sanding sticks. As a ProfiPack it also has a pre-painted photo etch fret and a set of masks. Decals are printed by Eduard and includes markings… more

Bf-109G-6s

Published: August 30, 2018
Company: Eagle Editions Ltd.

The second new release from Eagle Editions in their EagleCal line of decals is aimed at the Bf-109G-6. With the release of the Tamiya kit and the previously released Eduard and Zvezda kits there is no shortage of plastic to put these on. While I’m only reviewing the 1/48th scale decals, they are also available in 1/72nd and 1/32nd scales.

The Bf-109G-6 is a favorite amongst modelers and model manufacturers so the big thing is which markings to add to yours. EagleCals has you covered with this release.

Packaged in a ziplock baggie, you get 11x17 instruction sheet printed in full color. The profiles are on the cover but inside of the cover are larger versions. The artwork is done by James Bentley. The artwork is superb and the drawings are quite nice and reproduced well.… more