Eduard 1/350 USS Ticonderoga CV 14 Railings and Catwalks 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 almost read the time on the aircraft clock. How could they top that?

Now when it comes to naval subjects, you don't usually associate Eduard with in-depth details for ships. Evidently that will change. When I saw the owner of Eduard at a recent trade show, he indicated that Eduard will be doing less armor in the future and more naval photo-etch. True to his word, here is an in-depth detail set for the Trumpeter 1/350 kit of the first long-hull Essex-class aircraft carrier, the USS Ticonderoga CV 14 ( reviewed here). Eduard has released a comprehensive detail set ( reviewed here) and has followed up with this set containing the catwalks and railings that surround the flight deck.

This set consists of one large sheets of photo-etch and four panels of instructions. Unlike most of Eduard's releases, this set is reserved for the advanced modeler for the vast number of tiny photo-etched parts that make up this scale make-over of Trumpeter's 1/350 USS Ticonderoga CV 14 kit.

This set provides the railings and replacement catwalks that surround the flight deck. The catwalks mount to the surface of the existing styrene catwalks to provide surface detail, and the railings are integral with the catwalks, making installation and maintenance MUCH easier.

This set also provides the LSO's platform and wind shield for the aft deck. Nice touch!

The set is rounded out with a series of ladders from the flight deck level down into the gun tubs as well as a selection of roll-up doors around the hanger bay level.

This is a beautifully done detail set and will really dress up the Trumpeter kit. As indicated previously, this set is definitely oriented to the advanced modeler that can place photoetched railings in 1/350 scale as well as manipulate these fine details into shape.

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 advanced modelers!

My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample!