Eduard

Big Ed set for the 1/48 F/A-18A Hornet For the Hobby Boss kit

Stock Number: Big4896

Reviewed By  Dennie Adams, IPMS# 34396

MSRP: $36.95 Website: www.eduard.cz Being a Hornet fan, I could not resist the new Hobby Boss kits. When you find them on sale they cost less than the major Japanese brand kits, cover all the legacy Hornet variants, have all the same attributes and problems as the competition and include weapons. Fortunately our friends at Eduard have packaged a Big Ed set tailored to these kits. The set includes the EX227 mask set, the 48586 weapons upgrade and the 49406 exterior and interior updates with self-adhesive cockpit pieces. As always the quality of the photo etch is superb! The amount of upgrade you get for the price of the set is a fantastic value as well. Eduard's instructions sheets superior to many other aftermarket manufactures and are easy to follow for the experienced modeler. On that note, these are not meant for the novice builder or young modeler.

The mask set has become a must have for many of my projects. They just make a labor intensive chore so much easier and the results are always superior to be so doggone easy to apply. The weapons upgrade gives you the thinnest fins for the missiles and a handy gauge to apply them with, a huge improvement over the kit parts. I confess that I have not used them on the first two builds as they're going to be Blue Angels birds, but, I did experiment with them for the review and found them to be as I noted a great improvement. The interior and exterior upgrades address some of the minor shortcomings of the landing gear bays and the cockpit. This is where Eduard shines in my opinion. Just the right amount of enhancements in the right places can make a model a showpiece or contest winner. I am always amazed at some of the products the aftermarket gives us in the hobby and the self-adhesive pre-painted photo-etch is tops in my book. I'd love to see how this stuff gets made. The cockpit of an aircraft is eye candy to spectators at shows and Eduard doesn't fail on this point, some of these pieces are just amazing! In closing, let's just say that Eduard has hit a home run with the Big ED sets once again. If you're going with the Hobby Boss kits don't hesitate to pick up one of these sets. Highly Recommended!! My thanks to Eduard and the IPMS for the review sample.