Eduard 1/48 Brassin Bf109E Cockpit & Radio Compartment
By Jacob Russell
Eduard has introduced a new Brassin cockpit/radio compartment set (item number 648074) for their Bf109E kits. This is a comprehensive set that consists of 69 pieces, 49 of which are photo-etched and attached to 2 frets. One fret is pre-painted. The other 20 pieces are resin which is cast in 2 shades of grey. The photo-etched parts include a new instrument panel, rudder pedals, landing gear retraction wheels and their associated chains, canopy armor and release handle, windscreen handles, and the radio compartment access door and its frame. Additional items include various levers for the instrument panel, parts of the radio mounts, and the radio faces themselves.
The resin parts include the cockpit floor and sidewalls, upper cowling machine gun barrels, control column, seat, and the oxygen regulator. You also get the radio compartment itself, radios, the forward cockpit and instrument panel bulkheads, and the instrument panel blanks onto which the dial faces attach. You will have to grind or sand off the sidewall detail on the fuselage halves to use their resin replacements, and also cut out the radio access hatch. These steps are explained in Eduard's customary well illustrated instructions.
This new Brassin set is pure quality. The finesse of the one piece floor molding, which incorporates the rudder pedal mounts, is impressive. The lap belts are multi-piece. The radio compartment is exceptionally well done, and I would recommend that one install a miniature white LED inside the compartment so that the detail is visible. Accurate? No, but that detail will be hard to see otherwise!
One of my favorite things about this detail set is the packaging. It comes in a sturdy cardboard box, the resin parts are enclosed in 3 zip lock bags, the p/e parts have their own bag with cardboard backing, and Eduard thoughtfully includes 4 pieces of foam to protect the pieces. You also get-rather oddly, in my opinion-a piece of blue Scotchbrite serving as further protection. That will go right into my arsenal of sanding pads!
This is a great set and I recommend it. I have 3 Eduard Bf109E kits and I will use this new Brassin in one of them. Eduard's kit cockpit is quite good but the Brassin set takes it to another level. I recommend this set and I would like to thank Eduard for providing the review sample.