Thank you to the Eduard Company for sending this detail set for review, it is always a pleasure to see what your new products bring to the scale modeling world. Thank you also to the IPMS Reviewer Corps staff members who do the hard work in getting us modeling products to review, the reviews posted, and the news spread to the world.

The photoetch fret arrived in excellent shape in a sealed plastic package with the distinctive Eduard knight logo. The fret is 1 3/8 x 7/8 inches (34 x 23 mm) on polished metal with color-etched laminated details. Lap and shoulder belts are included, along with pads and buckle latches. A red “time-to-go” face curtain handle is provided to top off the seat. Eduard shaded the colors very nicely on the parts, giving them a sense of depth and wear. The PE metal folds well.

My biggest challenge was part size and I really appreciated having an extra buckle latch. The first latch shot off my tweezers and I have no idea where it went, other than out-of-sight. I sharpened my fine-point tweezers which seemed to help “control.” Of course this is not a criticism of Eduard, but a caution for someone of my skillset! The color laminated film had a tendency to delaminate from the metal at times, so fold carefully and secure the color part edges with a little ultra-thin cyanoacrylate. High-power magnification also helped, as did a very sharp #12 curved blade for trimming parts from the fret. I am very pleased with the visual effect.

A color instruction sheet is included in the package, and Eduard also has the same instruction sheet available for download on the product page. I really appreciate having the electronic PDF format to mark up on my computer, not to mention the ability to easily enlarge for my aging eyeballs. The required Kitty Hawk kit modifications are clearly indicated, and I had no difficulties at all folding, tweaking, and attaching the PE parts. Eduard has well-placed and designed fold lines to assist with shaping the parts.

I highly recommend this set, for ease-of-use, accuracy, and value. Open cockpits draw attention on a model, and the seat seem to be noticed first, so this PE set really helps. Thank you again Eduard and the IPMS Reviewer Corps!