Eduard 1/32
F-100D Super Sabre Wheel Wells and Undercarriage Detail Set

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.

Eduard has turned out seven detail sets for the Trumpeter F-100D Super Sabre:

• 32181 F-100D Exterior Detail Set
• 32184 F-100D Weapons Bay Detail Set
• 32185 F-100D Wheel Wells and Undercarriage Detail Set
• 32186 F-100D Slats
• 32599 F-100D Placards
• 32607 F-100D Interior Detail Set
• 32612 F-100D Ejection Seat Detail Set

This detail set is a most welcome addition to the Trumpeter kit. While the wheel wells look okay for most folks, those of us who've had our noses under the Hun once or several times will notice that subtle details weren't captured in the main wheel wells, which is nothing more than a limitation to how the molds were laid out when the kit was designed. This set will have you start over and replicate the real look up inside the main wheel bays using this nice photo-etch set.

In addition to new front and rear bulkheads for the main gear bays, the structures are also addressed. Even after you're finished with this set, you'll probably want to add some plumbing of your own using the photos we have on our F-100 reference site.

The set also provides new interior faces for many of the gear doors as well as more detailed brackets and framing. Each of the main gear receives the missing brackets over the anti-skid brakes that are a visible detail with the F-100

The gear struts receive new torque links, tie-down rings, and plumbing to add fidelity to these parts as well.

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!

Recommended for experienced modelers!

My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample!