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Eduard 1/144 Ju 52 Photoetch

By Matt Bittner

Whomever said that 1/144 is not a "serious scale", or "toy-like", has not been keeping up with the current releases. Between Dragon and Eduard releasing new-tool, outstanding injected kits, or aftermarket coming from Brengun and Eduard, 1/144 is flourishing, and definitely to be taken seriously. This is not a toy-scale, nor one to be taken lightly.

With that being said, this photoetch set from Eduard for their 1/144 Ju 52 is just outstanding. Everything you would want to super-detail an already outstanding kit is contained on two photoetch frets. You receive seat belts for the cockpit seats; parts to be placed on the bulkhead separating the cockpit from the main cabin; a replacement instrument panel (pre-painted); a section of the center console containing fold-up levers; replacement control columns; rudder pedals; and other bits and pieces to add to the cockpit.

For the main cabin, Eduard provides side detail, benches, and seat belts for each bench (and there are a lot of them). There are also replacement doors so you can see all this great detail, both the crew door on the port side, and the cargo door on starboard. There are new engine faces; antenna; gun ring and gun for the top of the fuselage; fuselage-side gun for the port, near the crew door; antenna loops; additional nose panel; pitot tube; and control surface linkages for the exterior.

One thing the instructions leave out is that if you decide to cut off the kit's crew door – on the port side – and use the photoetch one as a replacement, you'll also need to cut the kit door's window off the strip of windows. Nothing major, but I thought it would be worth mentioning.

The Eduard 1/144 Ju 52 looks great out of the box; adding all this excellent photoetch detail will make the model quite the stunning display. If you have the patience for this set (especially all the seat belts to add to the benches) then this set is for you.

Huge, huge thanks to Eduard for allowing us to review this excellent photoetch set.