This is part 3 of the continuing review of Eduard’s interior parts for the HK B-17 kit. The usual thanks to Eduard for providing us these sets is again stated!

This installment covers the very visible nose interior section of the aircraft. I have noted several reviewers take Eduard to task for daring to try to include details that are (1) actually there on the aircraft and (2) are considered redundant since you “can’t see them.” Not so; they will be tough to see, but the Eduard updates certainly add a lot of visual interest to the kit. Having built more than my share of Monogram B-17G’s over the years, that kit has better basic interior detail in many ways than the HK kit, and Eduard is addressing those points.

This much detail is, of course, a matter of personal taste, and one is certainly free not to invest in these sets. HOWEVER, I am enjoying these sets, as my one flight on a B-17 and a lot of time doing maintenance on a museum item showed me much of the detail Eduard provides for the modeler, and I know we are well past 1965 when kits were 98 cents and that was considered excessive by our parents. Keep this a hobby!

This set addresses the multitude of injector pin holes in the nose section. Eduard provides a plethora of perfectly shaped plates to superglue into the area between the formers and stringers, covering up the injector pin marks. They work well!

Next is the aft bulkhead; again, the HK kit has detail that can be viewed if you are showing the aircraft in a partially dismantled state – that being the cover over the instrument housings themselves, and the lower former section. It should be noted that the instrument housings on the HK kit, if not covered, are about three scale feet long, and no wiring or piping for the barometric powered instruments is provided. Eduard covers provide proper flight configuration. The kit CB fire extinguisher on the starboard upper side is provided with a belt and buckle PE item to improve realism; this extinguisher should be painted dark gold. I mispainted the CO2 bottle on the aft panel; it should be red. Four sets of O2 regulators are improved with PE items, and various boxes, placards, and radio bits are added to both sides of the fuselage. And more color – a first-aid kit cover is included in white with a red cross.

A walkaround O2 bottle rack is provided for the right forward nose; I spent three nights trying to make new ones for this rack and then the rack on the O2 bottles behind the cockpit seats; I had learned I had put the CO2 extinguisher in the wrong place! I finally had two made, and then discovered that I had a set of O2 bottles in 1/72 scale that pretty well fit the bill. Painted yellow with the dials attached to Waldron punched discs for backing, the solution was better!

Various boxes and PE hanging hooks for the cheek gun balance pulleys are provided. Color PE provides placards for various areas, and included in these are “Whiz wheel” navigation calculators, a protractor pantograph for the maps, and various other bits that “busy up“ the navigator table. PE belt backs are provided for the cheek gun feed link lower sections. Strangely, the aft radio compartment table and position are referenced for the navigator items. Fortunately, I know what the parts are for and knew where to place them. Oops on someone’s part, but minor and recoverable.

It is worthwhile to spend a bit of time on the seat harnesses; from the previously reviewed seat harness set, two types are provided, one standard for the bombardier, and one “wraparound” type for the navigator seat. Additional detail is provided for the cheek gun ammunition boxes in the form of placards, a mounting tray, and tie-down straps. There is a round plate provided to cover the open structure on the nose gun area; it is an option, but my recollection is the plate is there to prevent injury to the bombardier.

.50 cal gun details are provided in the form of triggers, hanging frames, and gun sights to be added to the basic receiver frames. I will be adding these later when the model is ready to be closed up. The Norden bombsight also gets an eyepiece washer “doughnut,” and various knobs and placard details including a windage card. This will be added, along with the upper bombardier gun sight assembly, before the nose is finally installed. The gun sight itself appears to be an interesting folding effort in brass; we’ll see how I do!

Seven more sets to review…continuing the high marks for Eduard for this series of PE upgrades; 10 of 10. Thanks again to Eduard and IPMS USA for the review items!