Eduard 1/32 Seatbelts USAF and USN WWII Early 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.

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 almostread 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.

What is good for instrument panels is also very useful for seatbelts and shoulder harnesses. Ever tried to match up the different colors used in the straps? This set replicates two of those colors, plus the leather lap guard that shielded the pilot's mission essentials from the various blunt edges of the quick-release mechanism on the lap belt.

This set will add some nice eye-catching detail to your pilot's seat with very little effort. This set is targeted for early WWII US fighters: Army and Navy/USMC. We'll hopefully see revised sets for later aircraft types as well as similar releases for allied fighters 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, thisis worth looking for!

My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample!