Eduard 1/48 MiG-3 Landing Flaps 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-moldedplastic.

This set consists of one fret of photo-etched details to dress up the flap wells of Trumpeter's beautiful 1/48 MiG-3. While the kit is nice, the interiors of the flap wells are barren.

Eduard has engineered a very interesting solution to the problem that eliminates the painful process of installing individual ribs and stringers. If you look closely, there are only four major parts on this fret plus a few small bits to round out the job. Two of the major parts are the flap wells themselves where the rib structure is folded over the textured interior surface. Fold the framework and twist a few of the ribs into place and you have a subassembly ready for paint without having to use very much cyano to get the job done.

The insides of the flaps themselves are the other two major parts, and they fold and twist into position the same as thewells. Very nice engineering indeed!

While this set will really set off the detail in the MiG-3 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't difficult, or else these sets wouldn'tbe 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!