This set provides belts for the F-104G using the Mk. GQ7A ejection seat. The F-104 also used a C2 ejection seat and one is provided in the Hasegawa kit I used (stock #PT 20) but the seats are very different designs and this set won’t work on the C2 seat. In general, the export versions of the F-104 used the Mk. GQ7A seat.

I would consider this a “must have” since the base kit doesn’t provide any kind of harness for the GQ7A seat. Eduard makes two harness sets for this kit, the FABRIC set reviewed here and SUPERFABRIC (Eduard #49 073) set that I’ll share with you in separate review. The FABRIC set is a little more difficult because you have small PE buckles and restrainers to thread the tiny belts through. This was my first exposure to this type of belts from Eduard. The details are very refined and the PE parts add a nice dimension of depth to the finished assembly.

Make sure you remove the backing paper from the belts before you try to work them through the PE parts. I used white glue to stick the belts to the PE and to the seat. I had some difficulty getting them to lay on seat in a natural looking position but the end result is certainly better then the bare seat provided in the box. The references I found online show some of the belts are blue in color which I suppose would be easy to paint if you so desired. Also of note, the backside of these belts is white so you might have some touchup if the backside is exposed.

With some advanced planning you could provide slots for mounting points to hide the attachments better. I just stuck these on the stock seat to see what came out. The cockpit is the focal point of any aircraft model especially one you can see into as well as this one. If you’ve got to have real metal on your belts, break out the magnifiers and tweezers and have at it! You’ll be rewarded with a very detailed seat.

Thanks to IPMS and Eduard for another terrific upgrade that in this case provides an essential detail.