Eduard has come out with several photo etch sets for the 1/200 Scale, Merit, USS Hornet CV-8 (kit# 62001) and this is one of them. Part 4 provides detail parts to upgrade the 20 mm Oerlikon AA Guns.

The set includes a large sheet of photo etch with a lot of little parts. You get new gun shields and brackets, sights, forward and aft ammo drum covers with handles, elevation wheels and a harness for the gunner. Also included is a new deck (nice looking non-skid) that the guns sit on. You get two options one with the expended ammo canister and one without.

Assembly is straight forward but extremely fiddly. There are a bunch of very tiny parts that need to be bent and shaped. Most of the small parts are hard to hold and glue at the same time. This makes for a time consuming and sometimes aggravating assembly. Thank you Eduard for providing extra parts. There are only 30 of these mounts so pace yourself accordingly.

The instructions are quite adequate to provide detailed information on part numbers and placement. There is some minor surgery required on the guns but nothing that is overwhelming.

All-in-all Eduard has come to the rescue with some very nice detail sets to improve an already very nice kit. I would only recommend this set to an experienced modeler who has worked with tiny photo etch. But if you bought the Hornet your already a glutton for punishment.

Thank you Eduard and IPMS USA for providing me the opportunity to review this sample and let the modeling community know it’s out there.

Have fun and enjoy.