Detail Set

This new photo etched detail set from Eduard is designed to fit Airfix’s new tool 1/72 scale Buccaneer S.2C [A06021]. The set comprises of a pre-painted fret and a larger bare brass fret. All the parts on the pre-painted fret are intended for the cockpit. The detail parts focus on the following areas:
●Cockpit, both pilot and navigator
●Ejector seats
●Rear of the two jet engines and the heat resistant panel aft of the nozzles
●Bomb bay
●Air brake
●Front undercarriage bay and door
●Main wheel bay [fuselage]
●Arrestor hook
The non painted fret features detail parts covered in masses of rivets, reflecting the solidity of this cold war warrior.
The pre-coloured parts has plenty of detail on them taking saving the modeller a whole lot of time and trouble. The separate plastic cushions for the seats need to have the harnesses removed. There are five sets of straps to fit on both seats, with some bending and folding. The seat is further detailed around the top of the seat including the seat firing mechanisms. Some surgery is needed to remove the top of the plastic kits seat. The improvement parts for the top of the seat feature the very distinctive red painted danger signs. There is also the firing handle between the legs.
All the instruments for both stations are replicated with the painted detail set and they certainly will make the cockpit look busy. There are thirteen parts for the cockpit instrumentation including throttle and trim wheel. The kits instrument panels are designed to accept decals so there’s no need to remove any moulded detail. It’s a different story with the side panels as there are some parts that need to be removed for the pre-painted etched parts to fit. A nice touch is the inclusion of levers for the throttles and speed brakes. Rudder pedals are included on the Eduard set that fit over the kit’s pedals, but you need to remove the plastic detail. There is even a set of grab handles for the canopy.
The flame holder matrix with sensors needs to be constructed with a short tube created by rolling a length of brass from the fret. The tub is then attached onto the the matrix. The photo etch detail is used in conjunction with the moulded plastic detail.
Detail for the bomb bay includes the fitting of twenty-eight circular panels and two oval shaped panels. There is also a couple of lengths of brass to fit along the roof of the bay. All these parts feature fine raised detail replicating rivet or fasteners. The forward bomb bay bulkhead is pretty well detailed by Airfix. The rear bulkhead is a different story though and Eduard has addressed this. You do need to remove a small part of plastic first.
Although the internal detail of the airbrake of the Airfix kit is good the detail parts Eduard has created are much more subtle. There are also parts to detail that Airfix have neglected. There are seven photo etched parts, no plastic detail needs to be removed.
The front undercarriage bay has photo etched panels for the side and roof. There is a sheet for inner side of the bay door, but you need to remove some of the plastic detail first. The detail on the inner wall of the main undercarriage bay is featured and all the plastic detail needs removing. Once the photo etched sheet is applied there are further photo etched parts to add including cables and brackets. The two main undercarriage doors also have photo etched panels to add to the inner side.
Last but not least there is a bracket that the arrestor hook fits against. It replaces the undetailed stub of plastic found with the kit.

The instructions are straightforward and to the point. The colour coding keeps things simple: black indicates the Airfix parts, red areas indicates which bits of plastic to remove and blue indicates the photo etched parts and where the photo etched parts are attached.

Conclusions

Airfix’s new tool Buccaneer S.2C is a well detailed 1/72 kit and reflects the improvement in detailing and a accuracy that modern production methods bring. But there is always room for more detail particularly the subtle detail that Eduard provide with this release. The majority of the parts on the two frets look straightforward enough to apply.