Eduard has released a series of WWII-era seatbelts in the “Superfabric” series. This review covers the following item:

• Seatbelts USN WWII green SUPERFABRIC, Catalogue No: 49086, MSRP: $7.95

The Superfabric seatbelts are made of some sort of “rubber-like” material. They have volume -i.e, they are not flat like decals- and they have a little bit of texture like if it they were made of ‘fabric’ (pun intended).

From what I read in the Eduard website you can either apply the seatbelts “dry” directly on the painted seatbelt or “wet” if the seatbelt has been coated in Future.

I almost always like to coat my cockpits with Future (in preparation for a wash), however in this review I choose to apply the seatbealts over a “flat surface” (i.e, just over enamel paint).

I still “wetted” the seatbelt. In order to do so I wet the backing paper (from behind) with just a few drops water and I waited a few seconds until the piece was loose on the backing. Then I used the back of an 11-blade to lift one end of the piece and with tweezers I picked them up, very lightly applied white glue (do not use superglue) in the back of the seatbelts and I applied the piece in place, in the seat.

That is all that takes to use the Superfabric seatbelts. About 30 sec per piece and ultra-easy to do.

A few notes:

• When removing them you should use care. They are a bit stretchy and forgiving, but if you are not careful you can break them.
• They are very flexible and easy to pose in any position you would like.
• They are easier to apply than typical photo-etch seatbelts.
• They are easier to pose than typical photo-etch seatbelts.
• They are prepainted.
• You can weather them with pastel chalk, pigments or even acrylic washes.

In this review I used a Tamiya F4U-1D seat for the USN Green seatbealts.

As you can see, the seatbelts fit well in the the seats.

These items are highly recommended for modelers of all levels, except perhaps most novices due to the small size of the lap belts. Honestly I have to say that I like them better than the pre-painted photo-etch seatbelts due to the ease of use.

Very highly recommended.

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