Eduard 1/48 B-57B/G 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 is a rather large fret containing the inboard and outboard replacement flaps as well as the wing structure of the flap wells. This set uses an interesting approach to complex photo-etched details. Where some of the early detail sets from virtually any photo-etch producer etched each part individually, the process of laying out each rib was painful and difficult for most modelers. Eduard developed an 'origami' approach where the ribs are part of the main part and you simply fold and twist each rib and secure them with thin cyano or solder. This new approach significantly minimizes the time needed to assemble each of the four flap wells.

Airfix made their Canerra kits with the flaps molded in the up and locked position to save cost and complexity in their kits. This set will allow you to simply cut away the flaps and replace them with these new assemblies and pose them in the flap setting you'd prefer. This set is designed for the Airfix release of the 1/48 B-57B/G Canberra kit (not the UK Canberras) and can be adapted to the Classic Airframes B-57Bkit if you want to undertake the modifications.

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!