One of the only complaints I have seen regarding the superlative 1/48 F6F Hellcat released by Eduard a few years ago was with respect to the wheels provided in the kit. The kit parts are considered to be too thin, most likely representing the wheels/tires fitted to the prototype and very early Hellcats.

Ironically, Eduard themselves have now release a Brassin wheel set for the F6F that fixes this problem with their own kit. This resin accessory comes with a pair of crisply molded wheels/tires, with a separate pair of hubs and a set of Eduard kabuki masks to ease with painting. The tires have a diamond tread pattern (as opposed to the smooth tires of the kit-provided pieces), and the detail is extremely crisp.

The wheels are attached to a small molding block by way of a wafer-thin piece of resin, and are easily removed with a hobby knife. There is a little cleaning up to do where the wafer attaches the tire to the molding block, but this is easily accomplished with a few swipes of a sanding stick. Unfortunately, there is a thicker attachment point present as well (about the size of a normal sprue gate), and this results in a small circle that cannot be removed without destroying the delicate tread pattern. Luckily, this can be easily located at the bottom when mounting the wheel, thus making it invisible (unless you pick up the model and examine the underside of the tire!).

One interesting feature on this set is the separate hubs. The instructions clearly show where you are meant to clean out the excess resin between the spokes on these hubs. I was able to accomplish this in a few minutes with an X-Acto knife. These then attach to the main wheels and have a small tab present that makes for perfect alignment. Eduard has provided detail inside the wheel, which will then be visible through the hollowed-out hubs after they are installed. The result is a very crisp and detailed wheel. I had a little trouble making sure the hub was properly rounded off after removing it from its pour stub, but that is a function of my poor skills rather than Eduard’s moldings.

I have included photos comparing Eduard’s Brassin wheels to those in the kit, as well as to a wheel from the True Details resin set (also designed to replace the Eduard kit wheels). Notice the tread patterns are different for each tire. Of the three, the Brassin set is by far the most crisply detailed and, in my opinion, looks the best.

The wheels were also a drop-fit onto the Eduard landing gear legs. They are specifically designed for the Eduard kit, so I would have expected this. But it is still nice to see that my expectations were realized!

Highly recommended! A simple, no-fuss replacement that looks great.

My thanks to Eduard for providing the review sample and to IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it.