Set #49045 - Seat Belts - $7.95

Trumpeter's Vickers Wellington has been widely welcomed for the very comprehensive detailing that the kits features straight out of the box. The interior is particularly well handled but, strangely, lacks any seatbelts for the crew stations. Eduard have released an incredible series of etched metal sets which take things to a new level, as seen in last month's News report - including what amounts to a total overhaul of the interior - so some might ask why these seatbelts are sold separately. The answer is quite simple; using the full Eduard interior detail sets is a pretty major undertaking and many modellers will be content with the plastic kit's standard detail. So Eduard have actually been very smart in releasing the seatbelts one their own, offering everyone a cheap and simple opportunity to make up for the omission in Trumpeter's Wimpy.

The 40 items for the belts come on a pre-painted steel fret containing and are accompanied by a single A5 side of clear instructions, printed in colour to differentiate between the Trumpeter and Eduard parts.

The set provides 5 basic types of seatbelts, identified by letters in the instructions:

A. The pilot's Sutton shoulder-harness is made up from two parts and threads through the hole on the back of his seat.
B. The pilot's seatbelts - each made of a main belt, with a separate adjustment strap.
C&D. The lap belts for the rest of the crew stations - each comprising a main belt with separate buckles.

As you'd expect, the pre-painting is excellent - the detail of the stitching than I (or I believe most modellers) could ever hope to paint by hand.

Set #EX195 - Painting Masks - $9.95

Trumpeter have done a good job with the kit's transparencies - but there's no getting away from the fact that masking all the separate panels is going to be a real chore. Eduard certainly take a lot of the drudgery out of things with a comprehensive set of painting masks. EX195 comprises 2 sheets of kabuki tape masks and includes no less than 87 separate items - well, the Wimpy does have a lot of windows! Some idea of just how much time this set will save comes from a quick check against the instructions - the canopy uses 14 masks, while the front and rear turrets need 15 and 17 respectively.

Conclusion

Eduard's Wellington seatbelts should be simple enough for almost anyone of average ability to use. Basically, I'd say if you can build the Trumpeter kit, you should have no worries about using the belts and they offer a really quick and affordable way to add the final touch to an excellent kit. The painting masks are also a great help - the Wellington is exactly the sort of model where they really come into their own, saving literally hours of work. Highly recommended.