Eduard 1/48 Spitfire Mk.XVI Cockpit 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. Many AMS modelers will collect the relevant Eduard photo-etch sets for a given project, but they'll also go out and gather specific resin enhancements as well. Eduard has stepped up with a new product line to complement their photo-etched detail series - Brassin. Brassin is a play on words with Brass and Resin, and in many sets in this series, the resin details also include a set of color photo-etch as well.

Take a look at this release. Eduard has produced an intricately detailed cockpit for their Spitfire Mk.XVI kit which provides the eye-catching details without the need to assemble lots of tiny parts. This nicely engineered cockpit is cast in gray resin and is supplemented by a fret of color-printed photo-etched parts. Aside from the kit's fuselage halves, none of the kit's cockpit parts are used. This set is an AMS modeler's dream as it provides the fuselage interior side details, fuselage interior bottom structures, visible fuselage frames, multi-layer color photo-etch instrument panel, pilot's seat with color-printed photo-etch harness, oxygen bottles, control yoke, rudder pedals and mechanism, and lots more. This cockpit is a model in itself.

If you want to render some breath-taking details in your Spitfire build, this set will definitely add some eye-catching details, especially if you use this set with the Brassin Merlin engine and gun bay sets sold separately!

My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample!