Photoetch is not really my thing but I have seen some stunning details created by it so guess it is time I broke down and joined the 21st Century.

This set is designed specifically for the new Airfix kit which has pretty good detail to begin with so what is on the fret.

For the cockpit we get new seat belts, rudder pedals, an instrument panel with printed instruments to put behind it and sidewall consoles. All of this will add greatly to the details Airfix provided. There is also some additional and replacement details for inside the canopy. New undercarriage doors look good and there is some wheel-well detail. I have heard that the landing gear on the kit are depicted in the extended length and need to be shortened slightly. If you do that, you would also have to modify the PE doors. One thing Airfix missed was the underwing and underbelly antenna. These are supplied but not sure if the flat PE medium works best for them. Still, it is better than nothing. There is also a replacement for the included boarding step. Hatches are provided for the fuselage behind the cockpit (radio access?) and a hatch on the tail. No interior detail is provided for either area but if you are making a diorama of a plane being worked on, these could be helpful. There is also some side armor for the forward fuselage but I understand this was only applied on certain airframes so check your references.

My biggest issue is with the instructions but that could just be my lack of experience. All the details are called out but some of the bending instructions seem confusing to me. Maybe as I start playing with it things will be clearer. There is also no info on what colors to paint any of the details so once again, get out your references.

All in all you get a lot of detail for the price and it will really help the look of the kit, especially in the cockpit.

Thanks to Hauler and IPMS/USA for the review kit.