Eduard

1/350 Japanese Navy Submarine I-400 Photo etch For the Tamiya kit

Stock Number: 53037

Reviewed By  Tim Hortman, IPMS #19789

MSRP: $32.95 Website: www.eduard.cz This Eduard PE set for the Tamiya 1/350 I-400 submarine is a very comprehensive set. The set consists of two large nickel-colored Photo-Etch sprues. The detail of the set is very fine, and complete. In fact there may be too many parts to this set, as it took me several hours with my reference books to figure out what they all were, and where to place them on the model! As you can see in the scan, the detail of the parts is incredible. I found that the Eduard PE set was much finer and looked more realistic in this scale than the PE parts that came with the Tamiya kit.

The Eduard PE set gives the builder the option of using two rail or three rail railings. You should check your references for which ones to use for your submarine. I found the directions a bit confusing at times. Some of the smaller PE parts were not as clearly defined as I would have liked, so having some good references is a must. Care needs to be taken when positioning the small ladder rails so that you don't end up with the 'crooked stair' look with the railings at odd angles. Aside from the railings and the aircraft launch rail, the majority of this PE set is used on the conning tower and hangar tube. This set also includes details for the wing fold and radiator area of the M6A1 Seiran aircraft. Overall I was very impressed with this set and would recommend it to anyone who wanted to super-detail your I-400 submarine. You may not even use the entire set, as some of the parts are very tiny and somewhat difficult to work with because of their size. Thank you to IPMS USA for the chance to review this outstanding PE set. See Tim's build of the Tamiya kit.