Set 72452 Lancaster B Mk I/III bomb bay

This set comprises two frets of parts for adding detail to the bomb bay interior. These parts include new sidewalls and a bomb bay roof section, parts to improve the kit bomb cradles, a complete new bomb cradle for the 4,000lb "cookie", hinges for the full length of the bomb bay doors and various internal fittings. There are also replacement bomb fins for the standard bombs found in the Hasegawa kit. With over 180 parts this is an impressive looking set. The instructions are clearly set out and show when the kit parts should be altered to allow the etched parts to fit. In most cases it is simply a case of trimming away the moulded detail of the plastic.

My only concern with this set is the replacement bomb cradle for the 4,000lb "cookie". If the bomb is fitted, it will only have a small amount of contact area with the etched cradle and may easily become dislodged when handling the finished kit. It may be a case of glueing little bits of scrap plastic to the cradle where the bomb sits to increase the surface where the glue will bond the bomb into place. This area will be hidden by the bomb so won't affect the look of the thing.

Set 73243 Lancaster pre-painted interior

This set comprises three frets. The first is a beautifully painted set of 29 cockpit and radio compartment equipment parts. The detail in the painting of these parts is excellent, just on the fret they look superb. I can only imagine how impressive they will look when assembled and fitted into the kit. The largest of these parts are the flight instrument panels. The front faces of each panel have holes for the guages, a seperate part has the painted dials of the guages, glueing them together gives a realistic depth to the guages.

The other two frets are unpainted and between them hold over 80 parts for detailing the interior of the Hasegawa fuselage, including the turrets. Some of the kit parts need some major surgery with a razor saw to allow the etched parts to be used. The instructions do give clear indications of what cutting is required. Many of the etched parts are quite thin and some care will be needed in handling and bending them. However they look like they will give an excellent enhancement to the Hasegawa kit.

Set 72450 Lancaster B Mk I/III exterior

This is a single fret of over 120 parts. It has replacement parts for control surface actuating rods, numerous vanes and pitot tube fittings to "busy up" the fuselage exterior, radiator grills for each of the engines and parts to detail the undercarriage assemblies. This set also includes sidewall details for inside the undercarriage bays. A small amount of cutting and drilling is required to use this set, again the instructions are clear where this is necessary. As with the other sets in this review, it will add an enormous amount of detail to the Hasegawa kit. It should be noted that using this set will necessitate careful handling of the kit during and after painting so that none of these parts are accidently damaged or knocked off.

Set 73011 Lancaster seatbelts

This fret holds 32 pre-painted parts thad add seat harnesses to the pilot's and seat belts to the crew members' seats. Many of these parts require glueing together and some care will be needed as many of them are quite small. All the buckles on each strap are left unpainted and this gives them a very realistic look. Although the smallest of the sets I am reviewing here they will really add to the finished look of the Lancaster kit.

Conclusion

I have to admit I am totally impressed with each of these sets. Although many of the smaller parts will add the tiny details, I especially like the detail such as the riveting that is etched into the larger ones. Many modellers, like myself, who have limited experience with etched metal sets may choose to be selective in which parts they use, while more experienced modellers will really enjoy getting "stuck into" these sets. The instructions are easy to follow and are clear in any alterations needed to the Hasegawa parts. I should again say that the pre-painted parts are fantastic, being far superior to any painting detail that I could produce. Well done Eduard!

Thank you to Eduard for kindly supplying the review samples.