Eduard Models has released a nifty photoetch set to upgrade the - already very nice - Hasegawa F-8E Crusader. This fret is of the no pre-painted style and that is good, because you want to paint the detailed parts and the PE parts at the same time.

The fret includes replacement engine exhaust “feathers” and actuators. Installing this part requires removing existing plastic from the original part, and you will need to bend a metal part to a circular shape. You might want to consider getting a piece of pipe or rod to be a template to shape the part to a circular form.

Other parts in the fret are meant to detail the landing gear struts and the landing gear well. Either by adding brake lines to the struts, or just general detail to the landing gear well and landing gear well covers.

Finally, a horseshoe shaped part is provided for the armored windscreen. It would suggest attaching that part using Future -rather than superglue- as to avoid fogging the clear part.

This PE fret has several parts that are minuscule and a few need to be bended to a circular shape. As such I would recommend this fret for modelers with previous experience with photo-etc.

Please note that this fret arrived after I completed the construction of the model and it was not possible to retrofit the photoetch parts to the finished model.

I would like to thank Eduard Models and IPMS/USA for the review sample.