Internet Modeler : New Releases : Aviation RSS News Feed

Eduard 1/72 Colored PSP

By Matt Bittner

PSP - or Pierced Steel Planking (also called Marsden Matting) - was developed in the United States of America as a way to rapidly construct temporary runways. It was originally developed prior to World War II and not only used for that war, but was also used in Korea and Vietnam during those wars.

Eduard has come up with a pre-painted, plastic PSP base so you can display your models easily. You can opt for it "out of the bag" with its colors, or weather it as you see fit. I have done just that by providing a wash of black oil color, followed by a spray of Xtracrylix dull coat, followed by a rubbing of graphite sticks, to give the surface a worn-down look. Metal that was over run with rubber tires didn't exhibit a high "silvery" shine, instead it did acquire a shine, but it was more "muted", hence using the graphite sticks.

You can see the difference in the accompanying photographs. In addition, since I recently finished a Hasegawa 1/72 F4U-1D Corsair in USMC markings, I thought it appropriate to display that on the Eduard base.

This is a great product. You can use it straight-up or weather as you see fit. Either way you have an easy base to display your model on.

A huge "thank you" to Eduard for sending this for review.