Eduard have added to their range of aftermarket accessories designed for their excellent new-tool P-51D Mustang with a set of Brassin 165 gallon drop tanks.

The Royal Class boxing (reviewed HERE) features these massive tanks for the two Iwo Jima based aircraft among the colour schemes offered and, while the kits parts are good, these Brassin versions are in a different league.

The set arrives in a sturdy flip-top box that not only protects the parts well in transit, but serves as a handy tray to keep things together while you're working on the tanks. The set comprises:

4 x grey resin parts
A sheet of servicing stencil decals

The casting is basically flawless in the sample set, and the detail is beautifully crisp. Comparing the Brassin upgrades against the original kit parts, the resin beats the styrene at every turn. Details are better defined here, with a number of points that were missed out entirely on plastic parts.

Obviously, with any resin casting comes flow channels - and Eduard have designed the mould to have multiple small casting points on each tank, instead of one big one - and positioning all of these well clear of any details. This not only makes degassing more efficient (there's not a trace of a bubble on any of the parts), but makes it simpler to remove the tanks from their casting blocks - and also makes the inevitable sanding and shaping easier to get right.

So, Eduard have done a great job in making clean-up pretty painless - but newcomers to working with resin should be aware that some preparation is still required. Once that's done, though, the tanks be simpler to complete than the kit parts, because there's no worry about cementing two halves of each of them together neatly.

Accompanying the resin parts is a comprehensive set of decals for the servicing stencils for the tanks and their supporting stays. These weren't included in the Royal Class kit, so they are another major plus for the Brassin upgrade.

A neatly illustrated sheet of instructions comes with the set, and includes matches for Gunze Sangyo paints. The assembly diagrams are very well done, alternative angles to get the line-up correct. There's no surgery required to fit the tanks to the kit, but the instructions do show how to attach a pair of fuel lines made of wire (not included). Plus Model's lead wire would be ideal for this.

Conclusion

Eduard's Brassin drop tanks are beautifully produced and win hands down over their styrene alternatives. They will require a bit of careful preparation when removing them from their casting blocks, so this is something that newcomers to working with resin should take into account. Anyone experience with working with resin upgrades should have no trouble.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.