Eduard 1/32 Bf 109G-14 Interior Detail Set 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 first introduced the acetate-printed instrument faces that go behind their photo-etched instrument panels, this raised the bar on model cockpit reality as you could almost read the time on the aircraft clock. How could they top that?

It took a number of years, but the answer is color photo-etch. Somehow Eduard has developed a process for printing color directly on their photo-etched parts such that now you not only can read the instrument faces, you can now see the color warning arcs around airspeed indicators and color reference circles around Luftwaffe flight and engine instruments.

This release tackles the Hasegawa 1/32 Bf 109G-14 Gustav with a complete interior makeover.

This set consists of two frets of photo-etch, one printed in color. The makeover starts with replacing the kit's molded-in sidewall details with new photo-etched sidewalls, upon which are mounted a variety of junction boxes, throttle quadrant, and trim wheels.

Next up is the instrument panel which is built up from (in places) six layers of photo-etch. What you will have as a result is a pre-painted masterpiece complete with warning placards and color instrument rings. The kit Revi gunsight is given a facelift as well.

The rest of the details take care of some essentials as windscreen frame handholds, canopy locking lever, and the armor plate behind the pilot's head. Instructions are also given to install the color photo-etched shoulder harnesses, but these are not included in this set, they are available in set 32589.

As you can see in the instructions, each step is nicely laid out to show where the new parts go and, when applicable, where a little surgery is required..

While this set will really enhance the look of the Bf 109G kit, this detail set is not for the beginning modeler. You will need to be able to remove the photo-etch parts from their frets (simple once you know how) and then be able to apply these details using cyano adhesives without gluing yourself to the kit parts. It isn'tdifficult, or else these sets wouldn't be so popular.

You should be able to find this detail set at your local hobby retailer or one of the many online hobby shops. Trust me, this is worth looking for!

My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample!