Eduard's color etch sets are really great looking and this one is no exception. This set is made for Trumpeter's 1/72nd F-100F and, when you first look at it, you wonder "where does all of this stuff go?" This set is also self-adhesive, which actually ends up being more trouble than advantage. By the time I had cut a few parts from the fret, I had basically destroyed the backing paper and the adhesive was no longer effective. But, that didn’t slow me down. Gator Glue to the rescue! The cockpit gray of the consoles and instrument panels is more of a light blue than anything related to cockpit gray. I could not find anything in all of my paints that was a close match, so I mixed my own. Don't ask me for the formula, because I have no idea, except that it came close.

The instruction sheet is the typical Eduard blowup that refers to both kit parts and etch parts and shows what portions of the kit parts must be removed. The drawings are confusing in some areas and some of the drawings look different from the kit parts. Due to the thickness of the etch parts and the extra thickness caused by the paint, you need to really thin the kit instrument panels prior to applying the two layers of photo etch for the final panels. Otherwise, the kit panels will not fit in the slots on the side consoles. I didn't do that, and had to widen the slots, as well as file down the front of the side panels. I will know better when it comes time for me to build Trumpeter's F-100D. The side consoles were a little large, too, but a few swipes with a file took care of that.

The same holds true for the seats, but there is no capability to thin anything. By the time you get all of the belts installed, the thickness is way out of scale. They look great, but they are much too thick, which is a shame. Nothing has been left out on the etch fret. All of the handles are there, as well as all of the other fiddly bits that make up a cockpit. It's time consuming but, once it's all together, you have a great looking, highly detailed cockpit. A lot of the parts are extremely tiny, which means the carpet monster and all the other gremlins common to the hobby area will be out in force. I didn’t install everything that was available, but I think what I did use made a very nice looking cockpit.

My thanks to Eduard and IPMS/USA for the review sample.