Barracuda Studios have released a beautifully detailed resin seat with integral harness for Eduard's new-tool Hawker Tempests. The seat is a straight replacement for the kit item, so is equally suitable for modellers who prefer moulded-on straps to the etched harness supplied with the ProfiPACK boxings, or to complement the overtrees that are available direct from Eduard and the simplified Weekend Editions which are bound to appear.

The set arrives in a clear zip-lock bag with a cardboard header. Along with the parts themselves, there's a very neat sheet of instructions with detailed a description of the work involved, complete with step-by-step colour photos.

The master patterns have been produced by Kerry Carlyle and Roy Sutherland and, as usual with anything from Barracuda Studios, the casting and delicate detail is simply superb. There is a bit of preparation required before you can install the seat, but this is all explained clearly, so modellers with a little experience shouldn't have any difficulties.

The seat features a cast-on late-war Sutton harness that is posed very naturally, while the diamond-pattern quilting on the seat's padding is much less "rigid looking" than kit part. The top sections of the shoulder straps are separate pieces to allow you to lay them over the supporting bar on the kit's armoured plate behind the seat - and a nice touch is that a spare pare is included in case of mishaps. As an alternative to the top straps supplied, the instructions suggest using metal foil (such as that found around the tops of wine bottles) if you desire. This will save some delicate trimming and sanding.

Item #BR48397 is available now direct from Barracuda Studios

Conclusion

Carefully painted, Barracuda Studios' Tempest seat should look simply superb. Once the parts are prepared, it will be a lot simpler to install than the original multi-part seat in the kit.

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