Eduard’s 1:48 scale P-51D Mustang has plenty of detail, but there’s surely room to add more features.  To these ends, Eduard has released a growing selection of aftermarket detail sets (you can find many of them, along with reviews of other aftermarket detail sets, HERE).  Here, we look at Eduard’s P-51D BIG SIN Essential set.  It combines four individual Brassin detail sets, and does so at a savings for the buyer.

The centerpiece of this BIG SIN offering is the P-51D cockpit set.  It is appropriate for the P-51D-10 and higher production block numbers.  It contains 28 cast resin parts, 29 photoetched metal parts on one fret (some pre-painted), one small decal sheet, and one set of clear acetate parts.  This is a complete cockpit replacement for the Eduard kit.  It is mostly a drop-in replacement, with only very minor surgery (removal of the forward cockpit floor to be replaced with a resin version) required to make it fit in the kit.  The set also provides a cast resin seat, left and right sidewalls, a new radio and battery, gunsight, two styles of fuel tank selector panels, the control column, rudder pedals, throttle, oxygen hose, the canopy brace, and lots more.  The cast resin instrument panel also features great raised detail, and the instrument dials themselves are represented by individually printed decals – a very effective combination, indeed.  Other decals are provided to represent various data placards in and around the cockpit.

The photoetched metal detail parts here provide a set of pre-painted shoulder harnesses and lap belts.  The detail is gorgeous, from individual stitching details on the belts to shading/depth effects and separate belt latches (very small parts there, so be careful).  Other PE parts are applied to various locations throughout the cockpit.  Clear acetate parts are provided for the gunsight glass. 
 
The second set in this BIG SIN set consists of cast brass main landing gear for their P-51D kits and also includes cast resin main landing gear well doors.  The kit’s landing gear are bit a of literal weak point.  These cast brass main mounts are a lot stronger, and they also feature some really nice detail.  The casting is impeccable and very clean.  The level of detail is spot-on and also includes the brake lines cast integrally on the inside of the gear.  Normally, I like to add my own from lead wire, but these brake lines look quite nice and will appear as nice or better than adding your own wires.

The cast resin gear well doors are also quite eye catching.  Their casting quality is outstanding, and the detail level is far beyond what an injection-molded kit can provide, both on their internal and external surfaces of the doors.

Third, a set of cast resin wheels are included with the diamond tire tread pattern.  The wheel set comes with cast resin left and right wheels/tires, separate outer wheel hubs, a single-piece tail wheel, and a pre-cut self-adhesive wheel hub masking set.  The casting is superlative.  Inner and outer hubs look great, along with the brakes and even the tire stems are represented.  The Goodyear imprimatur on the tire sidewall is nicely represented, too. 

Fourth, a set of shrouded left and right exhaust stacks for the Merlin engine.  As is par for the course with Eduard, the casting quality is impeccable.  The exhaust tubes are deep and hollow on the inside, and there’s even a hint of the weld line going down the midline of each pipe, and the flanged ends of the pipes look really good.  Once removed from their casting blocks, these parts are designed to drop right into the kit as direct replacements for the plastic items.

Overall, use of these sets will add a lot of detail and certain “wow factor” to your build of the Eduard 1:48 scale P-51D.  Bundled together in this BIG SIN set, the customer also saves more than $20 over if they bought these same sets individually.  

We extend our sincere thanks to Eduard for the review sample.  You can visit them on the web at http://www.eduard.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EduardCompany/