Eduard 1/72 Photoetch for Hobby Boss U-2A
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
The new Hobby Boss 1/72 U-2A is a welcome release as the last new tool early U-2 was from Airfix back in the 1980s (later retooled by Academy). While it has great surface detail with recessed panel lines and excellent molding, the cockpit is fairly sparse, with no raised detailing. This set from Eduard solves those issues, and a bit more.
The Photoetch
For those familiar with Eduard photoetch sets, you have a pretty good idea of what you’ll have for the cockpit. The seat gets a full set of seatbelts, which definitely elevate the kit seat. The sparseness of the interior pays off with the rest of the interior parts, as there is no need to remove any extra details. The sidewall pieces fit on the tub cleanly, as does the three-piece instrument panel. There are rudder pedals provided (a very nice feature, as the kit doesn’t have any), a sidewall control wheel, and windscreen & canopy rim detail. All that together will make the cockpit significantly better than the kit form.
In addition to the cockpit, this set provides replacement speed brake wells, which are probably the most complex build in this set (but it’s still pretty easy). You’ll have to remove the back of the kit part and then build up the new interior, which requires the folding up of interior stiffeners and channels. Finally, the tailwheel doors are completely replaced, there are fuel filler caps, and most impressively there are some very nice pogo wheel assemblies. These last parts are going to make a significant difference over the kit parts, as the kit parts are way too thick and these are much more to scale.
Conclusion
This is a great and quick upgrade for the Hobby Boss U-2 kit that provides that extra detail to help the kit stand out with minimal effort. My thanks to Eduard for the review sample.