Over the years, Eduard’s line of 1:48 scale P-39 Airacobras has grown substantially, including the recent release of their P-400 ProfiPACK and P-39Q Weekend Edition kits.  In particular, Eduard has a range of detail set options for their P-39Q kits, and here, we take a look at their Zoom, Löök, and SPACE sets.  Together, these sets can appeal to a very wide range of scale modelers.

First up, let’s take a peek at the most straightforward of these items which comes out of Eduard’s Löök product line (P-39Q Löök #644098; MSRP: $12.95).  Here, you get two pre-painted cast resin parts, along with twelve pre-painted photoetched metal parts.  The instrument panel is intended to function as a drop-in replacement for the kit parts, and the detail here is excellent.  Individual dial face details are discernable, and each dial face has been treated with Eduard’s clear glass effect.  The additional fret of photoetched metal parts provides the pilot’s shoulder harness and lap belts, buckles, and clasps.  The pre-painting of the belts details is exceptional, right down to reproduction of the stitching details.

However, some scale modelers may desire an even greater level of detail, especially for the P-39Q Weekend Edition kit (link here).  In that case, the P-39Q Weekend Edition ZOOM set might be just right (P-39Q ZOOM #FE1158; MSRP: $19.95).  This set comes on one photoetched metal fret and contains forty-seven parts.  The instrument panel, shoulder harness, and lap belt parts are pre-painted, and feature equal fidelity of detail as that seen in the Löök set described above.  Furthermore, this set also includes interior cockpit door details, air inlet and radiator vent details, the gunsight, throttles, cockpit sidewall items, and interior windscreen details. 

Yet further, Eduard also offers a SPACE set for their 1:48 scale P-39Q (P-39Q SPACE #3DL48012; MSRP: $10.95). Here, one will find fourteen 3-D printed parts on a section of decal sheet and thirty-three additional photoetched metal parts on a single fret.  The 3-D printed parts include all the elements for the pilot’s instrument panel, and a few data placards.  Buttons and switches are represented as finely raised features, and various instrument dial faces feature very finely printed details. Each glass dial face is treated with Eduard’s “glass effect” to produce just a perfectly smooth and high-gloss surface mimicking the reflectivity of glass.  The photoetched metal fret contains the pre-painted shoulder harnesses and lap belts.  The pre-painting of the shoulder harnesses equal that of the two sets described above – they are excellent and filled with high-fidelity detail.

Notes on working with 3D parts: these are polymerized vinyl parts that are printed directly onto a piece of traditional decal paper.  First, and just as with using photoetched parts, one must often remove kit cockpit details and sand panels and consoles smooth.  Second, dip these parts in water as a traditional water-slide decal.  They will soon slide off the decal paper and be ready to place in position.  Since these are thick “decals” made out of vinyl, they are best affixed to the kit parts using a PVC-type glue, a little Future/Pledge floor wax, Tamiya X-22, Microscale’s Metal Foil adhesive, or superglue applied with a thin micro-loop.  The smaller 3-D decal parts are more amenable to being affixed using just a little superglue.  DO NOT use standard decal setting or solvent solutions, as they will dissolve the part and ruin your day.

For the value and detail that it brings to any of the 1:48 scale Eduard P-39Q kits, each of these sets are very well priced.  At the end of the day, any one of these sets will provide an impressive upgrade to the kit.  Which one to use really comes down to the level of detail sought by individual builders.

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/

Haagen Klaus

Scale Modeling News & Reviews Editor

Detail & Scale.

Haagen Klaus
Scale Modeling News & Reviews Editor
Detail & Scale