Eduard 1/48 A6M2 Enhancements
By Jacob Russell
Eduard's new Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 21 Reisen/Zeke is great right out of the box, but Eduard has lots of aftermarket parts for it. Let's take a look at more of them:
EX821 A6M2 TFace
This is a set of rice paper canopy masks for both the inside and outside of the windscreen and canopy.
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FE1238 A6M2 seatbelts STEEL
This small photo-etch fret of is a set of belts for the kit seat.
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481077 A6M2 Zero
This photo-etch fret includes an ignition harness, bomb fins, landing gear doors, etc. The landing gear doors in particular are spectacular.
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3DL48050 A6M2 SPACE
Space sets combine 3D printed waterslide decals with a steel photo-etch fret. This et consists of 34 parts. 14 of these are decals and the rest are photo-etched parts on a single fret. Many of these are pre-painted.
The 3D decals include an instrument panel, sidewall consoles for both fuselage sides and several floor-mounted instruments. The decals are straightforward to use: you soak the sheet in warm water for a couple of seconds until the decals slide off the backing sheet. Don't leave the decals in the water too long as this causes them to swell and distort. You can use white glue or GSI Creos (Gunze) Mr. Mark Setter to increase their adhesion and for best results apply clear gloss before attaching them.
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644128 A6M2 Löök
This Löök set takes another approach to cockpit detail, combining a 3D printed instrument panel and sidewall consoles and a photo-etch seat harness. The instrument panel is highly detailed and will make a nice addition to the A6M2 cockpit.
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Conclusion
Eduard's new 1/48th scale Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 21 is a superb kit. It's accurate and well detailed and it builds into a great model right out of the box. Eduard is exploiting state-of-the art technology to offer the modeler numerous ways to enhance the cockpit, engine and airframe. I recommend these aftemarket sets and I would like to thank Eduard for the review samples.