The Czechoslovakian Aero Vodochody L-29 Delfin (NATO code Maya) became the standard jet trainer for the Warsaw Pact Air Forces. First flight was on April 5, 1959. Two-thirds of the over 3,000 aircraft manufactured have served with the Soviet Air Force as its standard basic, intermediate, and weapons platform trainer. The L-29 has seen combat in several wars, notably the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the Nigerian Civil War in the sixties. Many have been sold to the private sector with some performing in airshows and air races.

This set is specifically designed for the AMK 1/48 L-29 kit. Of course it will work in the Eduard kit as well since Eduard used the AMK molds for Eduard’s enhanced release. I don’t have the earlier Planet Models resin kit, but I’m sure these seats will dress it up as well.

This set is in Eduard’s Brassin series and of course, you get pre-painted photoetched brass and resin. The set comes in a re-sealable clamshell package with a black foam insert to protect the parts. The parts include nine resin parts and twelve photo-etched parts; however, you are on your own to supply and create two 0.2mm diameter wires for the rear of each seat. I would note that once the seats are glued into the Delfin’s cockpit, I do not know how you will see this detail, but you will know it’s there. Eduard’s detailed instructions come complete with paint callouts (Gunze and Mr Color) included. You can find the instructions at Eduard’s website above and download as a pdf. This set will need to be installed with your favorite CA (super glue) or epoxy, as the normal plastic glues or solvents will not react with the resin.

I started by removing the parts from the sprues, except for the main ejection seats (Parts R5 an R6). I trimmed the resin sprue back from the ejection seats, but left enough on the bottom to provide a nice stub to support a good clamp hold onto the seats to minimize breakage in assembly and painting. Three parts (Two R9 and one R11) appear to be in a slightly darker resin and appear to be extremely fragile, but I managed not to break them (yet). The headrest (Parts R7 and R8) also have fragile mounts where they attach to the seat and you will need to be careful separating the sprue from these mounts. Next you need to decide which harness option you wish to go with. If you use the seat cushions (R10) you will be using the photoetched parts (PE1 and PE6). You can go without the seat cushions and a different set of harnesses are supplied (PE2, PE3, PE4, and PE5). I elected to go with the seat cushions, but then, I have several of the AMK Delfin kits!

I began painting all the resin parts with Vallejo paints; Model-Air 71.057 Black for the headrest, backrest, seat cushions; Model-Color 70.973 Light Sea Grey for all the rest of the resin parts. The next step was inserting the footrests (R9) only to find they didn’t quite fit. I used a #11 scalpel blade to open up the mating point a bit and solved that issue. My advice going forward is to secure parts R9 and R11 to the seats prior to painting (and while you are add it, cut and place the 0.2mm wires to the back of the ejection seats). Part R11 was added next (front ejection seat only) with gel superglue to give some time to make sure it was orientated properly. The ejection seat handle on the right side of the ejection seat was painted Vallejo Model-Color 70.926 Red and a handle on the left side of the ejection seat was painted Vallejo Model-Air 71.057 Black.

I am quite pleased with the overall look of the L-29 ejection seat set and feel that they are well worth the cost and effort. You can clearly see the size difference between the AMK seat and the Eduard seat. I have to believe the Eduard seat is a much better depiction, especially after looking at hundreds of L-29 cockpit photographs available online. While this set may not be essential to building this kit, it does add quite a bit more detail to the kit parts that will help your completed model apart from the crowd. I know I will be using this set for my AMK kits. Highly Recommended

My thanks to Eduard and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great kit.