Eduard has issued two resin radiators to upgrade the radiator in their SE.5a kit:

• 648319 SE.5a Radiator – Hispano Suiza for 4 blade prop 1/48 $7.95
• 648320 SE.5a Radiator – Hispano Suiza for 2 blade prop 1/48 $7.95

These radiators are for the Hispano-Suiza engine version of the SE.5a. The upgraded radiators include resin and photoetch parts with much finer detail than the kit parts.

The Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5 was introduced in 1917 with a 150 HP V8 Hispano-Suiza 8A engine with two-bladed counter-clockwise (left) rotating propeller. The SE.5a was an improved version of the SE.5 and was one of the fastest fighters of WWI. The SE.5a aircraft was originally produced with a 200 HP Hispano-Suiza 8B gear-driven engine (‘Hisso’), with a counter-clockwise (left) rotating four-bladed propeller. The gear-driven engines proved unreliable, and were quickly replaced with the 200 HP Wolsely Viper direct drive engine with clockwise rotating (right) two-bladed propeller.

In their recently issued SE.5a kit, Eduard includes both the Hispano-Suiza 8B and Wolsely Viper engines, as well as radiators for both engines. The two-bladed propeller and radiator are for the early 150 HP Hispano-Suiza 8A engine, and the four-bladed propeller and radiator are for the 200 HP Hispano-Suiza 8B engine.

The Brassin radiators have much crisper detail than the plastic kit parts.The parts include the radiator shell, photoetch grille, resin radiator core sections, and photoetch pipes to interconnect the radiator sections. The four-blade radiator also includes a photoetch gear for the front of the engine below the prop shaft. The two-blade radiator provides a duplicate part for the pipe interconnecting the radiator halves, part PE2. The four-blade radiator provides four of the interconnecting pipes where only one is required. The four-blade radiator also provides an extra piece of part PE2. The parts fit together perfectly, except for some trimming of the radiator sections on the four-blade radiator. I also needed to trim the opening in the shell to clear the engine shaft when installing the radiator on the aircraft. The two-blade radiator fit perfectly without modification. The installed radiators look much better than the regular kit radiators.

Eduard/Brassin has now issued many additions and upgrades to the new SE.5a kit, including props, radiators, and guns. All these options increase the flexibility of the SE.5a and allow producing many variations of the aircraft.

Thanks to Eduard for producing these fine parts and providing review samples to IPMS. Thanks to IPMS Review Corps for the opportunity to review these radiators.