Eduard has released a series of WWII-era seatbelts in the “steel” series. I think that Eduard Models call this product line “Steelbelts”.

This review covers the following items:

• 1/48 Seatbelts IJN fighters Steel, Catalog 49099, MSRP: $19.95
• 1/48 Seatbelts Soviet Union WWII fighters, Catalog 49100, MSRP: $19.95
• 1/48 Seatbelts RAF Late, Catalog 49101, MSRP: $19.95

The IJN fret (catalog 49099) gives you 4 seatbelts sets for Mitsubishi aircraft (with option of early and late war styles), 6 seatbelt sets for Nakajima aircrafts and 4 seats for Kawanishi aircrafts. Some of the set include shoulder harness and others not, based on the seatbelt style for each factory.

The Soviet Union fret (catalog 49100) gives you a total of 8 seatbelt sets, half for Yaks and half for Lavochinks. They include lap and shoulder harness

The RAF Late fret (catalog 49101) gives you a total of 6 seatbelts sets, all in a tan-ish shade. These ones are remarkable because they include the lap flaps and buckles flaps, all of them as a single piece. So you have only to apply 4 parts (shoulder right/left, lap right/left) and you get the equivalent to a multipart seatbelt set.

When working with this new line of seatbelts (steelbelts) the main thing that jumps is how thin they are. Reading in the Info Eduard (June 2016 issue) they say they are 0.04 mm thick. I should probably say they are 0.04 mm thin. They are pre-painted and also have some shading (weathering), plus stitching on them!

You apply them like any other metal aftermarket piece, using a dab of superglue. That is all that takes to use the steel seatbelts. About 1 minute per seat and it is very easy to do (if you have experience with small parts).

Pros:

• They are very flexible and easy to pose in any position you would like.
• They are pre-painted, including stitching.
• You can bend and re-bend them a few times and they will keep their last shape.

Cons

• None was found

In this review I used a Tamiya 1/48 A6M5 seat, an Eduard 1/48 La-7 and a Tamiya 1/48 RAF Mustang seat. As you can see, different kits were used and in all cases the seatbelt fitted the seats looking in scale.

In some previous reviews I wrote I said that the “opportunity for improvement” is in the instructions, mainly for the RAF seatbelts. They are listed as “RAF Late Fighters”. Is there a year or a Hurricane/Spitfire mark they are applicable to? At any rate, this is a minor issue and most modelers are good at researching the details of the airplane they are modeling.

I would like to finish saying that last year I had the chance to review the “superfabric” style of seatbelts and I said that I liked those seatbelts better than the metal ones. Well… after I tried the steel ones I have my doubts regarding which one I like better. I would say that if you want seatbelts that look good and are very easy to apply then go with the “superfabric” ones. If you want seatbelts that look better and are easy to apply to apply (instead of very easy, the difference being the superglue) then go with the “steel” ones.

When you consider the high number of seatbelt sets you get in each fret (14, 8 and 6 for IJN, VVS and RAF styles respectively) the price tag is actually very reasonable. Adding how easy to apply they are, they almost become a “must have”.

These items are highly recommended for modelers of all levels, except perhaps the most novices due to the small size of the lap belts.

Very highly recommended.

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