Hasegawa’s 1/32nd scale P-47D-25 is a great kit with good fit and form but like most of Hasegawa’s kits, they leave some room for improvement. In this case, the cockpit is Ok OOB but Eduard has produced a single fret of colorized photoetch that will bump the cockpit to the next level.

Inside the package, you’ll find one fret of colorized photoetch with 40 parts that address improvements to the instrument panel, the cockpit sidewalls and the rudder pedals. Two pages of instructions detail the installation including a little surgery on the kit parts.

The instrument panel is made from 17 parts. It is basically a two part affair with the back being dials with a clear raised “lens” for each instrument. When sandwiched with the front section, it is awesome. One trick I used is to add all the parts to the instrument panels front and flat coat it before attaching it to the part with the dials and clear. That way, you don’t have to flat coat anywhere near the clear shiny lenses and they look better. You do have a little surgery to do prior to gluing the photoetch to the kit panel including sanding it smooth and removing the raised bits but nothing a sanding stick can’t do.

The rudder pedals also get the photoetch upgrade with each side getting a part. There is one switch added to the cockpit floor and a new face for the throttles.

Each sidewall has a few parts removed or sanded flat which is minor and took only a couple minutes. minor. Name plates improved electrical panels and trim dials are included in beautiful preprinted photoetch. All the parts fit well and only a couple need bending.

I painted my parts prior to adding the photoetch. After addition, I added a wash and some dirt followed by some chipping and put all the parts together. A final flat coat followed last. I also glued the fuselage together to see what it looked like. There was no interference at all with the added parts.

This is a wonderful, quick addition to a very nice kit. With this set enhancing the cockpit and making the instrument panela real standout, add the seat belt and the plane will look spectacular. Most definitely recommended.

My thanks to Eduard for the opportunity to review these excellent sets. If you have this kit in the stash, go get these sets!