Eduard continues to amaze with the release of its Bf-109G series of models. They’ve taken the kit and provided you with some impressive detail right out of the box. However, they also have their photo etch line and the Brassin line of resin. It was a natural to add this detail to their kits. The problem was that as you add more stuff the aftermarket stuff would become cost prohibitive. Eduard has an answer for that. They offer options in the BigSin series that bundles some of their sets into a lower cost offering. Same great aftermarket but at a lower cost.

This BigSin set offers the new Brassin multi-media cockpit set, fabric seatbelts, and a photo etch set. There is no part of the model that is not addressed. Let me look at each set separately.

The new Brassin cockpit set (Set# 648 240) contains 20 light grey resin pieces and four clear ones. They are all perfectly cast with no imperfections that I can find. They parts are sealed in a four ziplock baggies. Also included are two frets of photo etch. The first one is a pre-painted nickel plated brass finished fret with the biggest feature the instrument panel and seatbelts. The other fret is brass and contains details such as the armor panels, access panel behind the seat, chains and various parts. A film is included that has the reflective portion of the gunsights. The last item, besides the instructions, is a decal sheet for the instrument panel.

The biggest resin piece is the large tub bottom and back. Onto this goes the sidewalls. Various details are added throughout the assembly. You will have to make a couple of decisions before you begin. First which type of instrument panel do you want to include? There are three options, the first is a straight resin instrument panel. The second is with the decal overlayed on the resin panel. Then the layered photo-etched panel. There are advantages to each type. The resin panel with the decal lets you have some great detail but lacks the handles like the primer handle. The layered photo etch one has the handles but is a little flat looking. So the call is yours. Another option to think about is what type of gun cover is going to be installed. I chose to do a MG-151/20 cover. Then there is the type of head armor, early or Erla type. The early armor is designed for the flat type of canopy and the Erla type is for that type of canopy. Well that is what Eduard would have you believe. I used the armored headrest with my normal canopy. Construction is pretty straight forward just follow the instructions.

The hardest part of this whole process is folding the photo etch gunsights as they are so small. Don’t forget to thin out the sidewalls sufficiently and the rest will be easy. Dry fit, dry fit, dry fit.

There is one more thing you will have to decide on with this set because of the inclusion of the Fabric seatbelts. The cockpit set contains a set of photo etch pre-painted seatbelts. The BigSin set allows you the option of doing the Fabric ones. As the fabric ones look great I’ll be using them and saving the other ones for another 109.

The Fabric Seat belts (Set# 49093) contains a fabric piece of the belts and a nickel plated fret of buckles and holders. These sets are simple enough but you are going to need an optivisor and some good tweezers. They are very realistic and look great when assembled.

The final part of the Big Sin set is the photo etch fret (Set# 48885). This set provides some unique features not included anywhere else. The first is an all new landing gear doors, a different radio compartment than that offered in the Radio Compartment set, thinner and more realistic inboard flaps, plus the new landing gear wheel well parts. The hardest thing will be deciding which items you want to include and which to leave out. I see myself including everything except the radio compartment cover. My landing gear doors looked great but the photo etch ‘rivets’ were all the way through. You have to look close but there are small holes around the panels. The landing gear wheel well parts I think are a necessary addition. The flaps were nice but really a pain. The option of having them ‘positionable’ is nice though.

Now why would you want to add all these things? The cost savings alone is a great incentive. The total if you were to buy these sets separately would be $72.85. In the BigSin set you get it all for $49.95 and save yourself $22.90. That is getting the photo etch and part of the seatbelts for free. The other reason is that this set addresses some areas of the kit that are best done with resin and brass. The seatbelts are the most realistic ones I’ve dealt with.

Now the added detail for a cheaper price is a great way to feel good about adding detail to your Bf-109G. The choice of seatbelts is nice, but you will not find nicer seatbelts than the fabric ones. The resin cockpit is very complete and looks great. This entire set will add to the look of your Gustav.

Thanks to Eduard and IPMS/USA for the review copy. You can obtain yours from Eduard directly at fwernerjr@comcast.net