Eduard has brought together four detail sets in this BigSIN release for their 1/48 scale Hawker Tempest Mk.V.

In The Box

The mixed media contents are sandwiched between two 10mm pieces of foam inside a top opening box. A gentle shake of the box reveals very little movement of the contents. Inside the box you will find:

648 416 - Tempest Mk.V cockpit
648 418 - Tempest Mk.V exhaust stacks
648 421 - Tempest Mk.V wheels late with masks
48 977 - Tempest Mk.V landing flaps

648 416 - Tempest Mk.V cockpit
The vast majority of the parts are resin and are contained in a single re-sealable bag. There is a small decal sheet with instrument faces on it and a small acetate sheet for the gun sight; these are packed separately with the wheel masks. The amount of resin looks both daunting and satisfying as there looks like everything you will need to create an accurate cockpit is in this release. There are even two types of control stick.
Eduard lists 84 highly detailed resin parts on the back of the instructions, which indicates the sort of detail you can expect and also the amount of time it will take to complete it. All the parts are attached to resin blocks and needs to be removed. Separating the cockpit framework from the block on first look appears to be quite a daunting task, but the framework is moulded to the block via dozens of small thin attachment points. This lessens considerably the work involved separating the parts particularly as the framework looks delicate. The detail is first rate and has the three dimensional look that photo etched detail parts generally fail to provide. It does mean you will need to exercise your painting and highlighting skills to bring out all the detail, there isn’t the crutch of the pre-painted photo etched parts to rely on. That’s with the exception of the included seat harnesses of course.
There are decals that represent the instrument faces. The decal instruments are separate into three groups that are meant to be placed over the three panels. I suspect it would be better to separate and place the instrument faces individually and when dry just put a drop of Klear to represent the glass.

The instructions match the quality of the parts in this set and it takes you through several stages so the illustrations are not overly complicated. The layout is a bit weird as Eduard uses both alphabetical and numerical system to indicate the stages. I like the fact that the gluing areas are highlighted in blue. Also the parts are illustrated in black, but then repeated with a blue outlined drawing where the parts are located. So there is little or nothing left to the imagination when attaching parts. Colour references throughout are for Gunze Sangyo paints and the colour of parts is indicated in the various stages of construction.

648 418 - Tempest Mk.V exhaust stack
These are direct replacements for the kits plastic parts. Definition of the detail is better on the resin parts and the ends are hollowed out giving a very good impression of depth to the pipes. Instructions are printed on a double sided A5 sheet.

648 421 - Tempest Mk.V wheels late with masks
The two main wheels and anti-shim rear wheel is included with this set. Again these are direct replacements for the plastic kit parts. All three twheels are cast with their blocks and these need to be removed. The blocks on the main wheels are placed where the tyres have a bit of give where they are in contact with the ground. The main wheels are of the late type and feature four spokes in the hub. Detail on all the wheels is excellent and includes the manufacturers name ‘Dunlop’ in low relief. The distinctive look of the ant-shim rear wheel is nicely portrayed. Masks are included and these are for the tyres side wall, not the hub. Instructions are printed on a double sided A5 sheet. Colour references throughout are for Gunze Sangyo.

48 977 - Tempest Mk.V landing flaps
The plastic kit release has no option to drop the flaps so to add these photo etched flaps some surgery is required. Obviously the plastic flap area of the upper and lower wing must be removed as well as a small section of wing root on the fuselage. The fine detail on the brass matches the plastic parts very well. There is a fair bit of folding involved with the build of these flaps. The ribs need to be rotated 90 degrees and folded along the surface of the flap. This is much more preferable method than having to glue each rib individually. There are a few bracing plates to put in as well. A couple of lengths of 9mm diameter plastic rod are required to build the actuator. Eduard has thoughtfully provided excess numbers of the smaller parts so there is a small margin of safety just in case any do a runner. The instructions are printed on two sides of an A4 sheet. They clearly indicate how to get the best from this set. There are clear guide for removing the plastic parts and build up and attaching the photo etched parts. The set looks complex, but anyone with a little experience of dealing with photo etched parts should manage this useful set. The instructions look clear and unambiguous.

Conclusion

This is not a set for the budding modeller as it requires some previous experience using resin and photo etched parts. But for the modeller with some experience this set opens up a whole new world of detail. It will certainly add a Wow factor to your build of the Tempest Mk.V. An added bonus is the price of this set; Eduard claims that you will be saving 30% on the price of being the sets individually. Or put it another way purchasing this set means you are getting the wheels and exhaust for free.
I did question the reasoning of producing a resin cockpit set as the kits cockpit detail is excellent. The resin cockpit is not only more detailed, but it removes the need for the photo etched parts. The flaps are an option not available with the kit. True you could scratch build some, but why bother when there is such an excellent flap set from Eduard. The wheels and exhaust are better looking items than the kit items. The weighted look of the wheels and the openings of the exhaust pipes are noticeable improvements on the kit parts.