Eduard 1/32 F4F-3 Wildcat Landing Flaps 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.

This release tackles the landing flaps of the Trumpeter 1/32 F4F-3 Wildcat kit (early or late versions). This set uses a recent development in their flap design process that doesn't require you to lay out and glue each rib into position.

Instead, they have an origami process where the majority of each flap and flap well are a single part where you bend the front edge up 90 degrees, then bend each of the ribs attached to the trailing edge of the part over and into place. Once you're satisfied with the placement of all of the parts, add a little cyano to hold everything in place.

Each of the flaps and flap wells receive completely new interiors, so you'll really like the look of the Wildcat in the landing configuration after this set gets installed.

While this set will really set off the detail in Trumpeter's F4F-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'tdifficult, or else these sets wouldn't be so popular.

You should be able to find any of these detail sets at your local hobby retailer or one of the many online hobby shops. Trust me, they are worth looking for!

My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample!