Eduard 1/48 RAF Ranks WWII First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

Eduard from the Czech Republic is easily the most prolific producer of aftermarket details. Period. Their series of photo-etched detail sets have brought additional fidelity to otherwise bland subjects, and have taken even the best-produced models and kicked them up a notch or two with details that cannot be produced with injection-molded plastic.

When Eduard introduced their color printing process on their photo-etch parts, they brought a whole new world of possibilities for model detailing. I really enjoyed seeing the two-sided color printing of their 1/350 US Navy carrier deck crew as there is now a level of fidelity that could not be achieved by hand previously.

This new release ventures into a new area for Eduard - photo-etched and color-printed insignia in 1/48 scale. This set provides a wide range of enlisted rank chevrons, officer's shoulder boards, and even the distinctive rank bands on the sleeves of uniform jackets. The set also includes several sets of aircrew wings as well.

You'll have to know your ranks (or take your best guess) as there is no printed guide provided to tell you which set of stripes equates to what rank in the RAF. Not to worry however, there is plenty of information on the internet, plus you'll likely be looking at a photograph and simply match up the ranks visually.

While the officer's shoulder boards and enlisted sleeve ranks will be easy enough to apply, the rank bands for the ends of the sleeves might be a bit of a challenge to trim, conform, and install on your particular figure. This is one time where the best material for these ranks might have been color-printed foil rather than photo-etched brass. We shall see.

My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample!