All the way from the Emil to the early versions of the Gustav, Bf-109 wheel hubs had support spokes in the hub. These are very deep and are very difficult to replicate in plastic form. Eduard has done a superb job of capturing this feature in their Brassin line.

Contained in a plastic blister pack are two main wheels of the proper size, 660 x 160, the tail wheel strut, and two spoke assemblies which are protected by foam backing. Also included in the kit are a set of masks to use on all the tires. The instructions are easy enough to use and show the proper orientation of the finished tire.

The main wheels are easily removed from the casting block. The small spoke assemblies are the most difficult parts to remove from their pour blocks. I used a very thin razor saw with small teeth and carefully removed each spoke then the center section. If you do it properly you won’t have to clean it up. Then it is an easy matter to add the spokes to the proper place on the hubs.

The tail wheel required no cleanup, just proper painting. RLM 02 was used on the strut portion with Khaki on the ‘boot’.

I painted my wheels Lifelike Tire Black after priming with Alclad Grey Primer. Once dry, the wheels were masked with the masks provided, which fit perfectly. Then the inner hubs were painted Tamiya Black. A light dry brush of silver makes the detail stand out and imparts a metallic look to the hub assembly. I add a very small red anti-slippage mark on the tires with an Xacto blade and some acrylic red paint.

The tires themselves were weathered with Tamiya Flat Earth around the circumference. Then some MiG Pigments were used to weather the sidewall details.

The tires are then simply added to the struts and aligned, being secured in place with superglue or epoxy.

These tires are quite nice and are perfect replicants of the real thing. I do wish that they had a molded-in bulged/flat spot but I understand why it isn’t done. You can never please everyone and attaching them perfectly is then more complicated. This nice little upgrade set sits pretty prominently and noticeably making this an essential upgrade.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Eduard and IPMS/USA for the review copy. You can obtain your copy by contacting Eduard at www.eduard.com, your local hobby shop, or online retailer.