WWII Russian Fighter Seats and Wheels

BarracudaCast, 1/48 scale

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In addition to a wide range of new resin details, Roy Sutherland’s Barracuda Studios has reissued a number of sets that Roy produced for his old Cooper Details label.  I’ve used a number of Cooper Details sets in projects and they have all been excellent; unfortunately, before the launch of Barracuda Studios, they were also becoming hard to find and in some cases, expensive.  (I remember about seven years ago being delighted at finding a set of 1/48 Cooper Details Sea Vixen intakes on Ebay – I wanted them for my Dynavector kit – and then horrified when they sold for well over USD $70.)  The release of many of these sets under the BarracudaCast label, therefore, is extremely welcome.

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These 1/48 seat and wheel upgrades for World War 2 Soviet fighter models fall into this category.  Originally issued as Cooper Details sets CD 4835 and CD 4836 respectively, both offer highly detailed, drop fit replacements for kit parts. BarracudaCast points out that sets are not kit or aircraft-specific, identifying the wheels as suitable for “MiG-3, Yak-7, Yak-9, LaGG-3, La-5, La-5FN, La-7” and the seats as correct for “LaGG-3, La-5, La-5FN, [and] I-16 (Type 6 and earlier)”.  This ubiquity reflects the Soviet aircraft industry’s efforts to maximise output by standardising production of some key parts.  However, there were always exceptions to this practice, and I would recommend checking your references to make sure the BarracudaCast seat and/or wheels are appropriate to the specific machine you are modeling.

For the record, I compared the BarracudaCast seats and wheels to their plastic counterparts in Zvezda’s 1/48 La-5FN (a well regarded kit), and they were simultaneously close matches for, but noticeably superior to, the kit parts.

Both sets are very simple and should be within the ability of most modellers to use.  The two parts in each set are attached to a single casting block with a minimal amount of resin, which should be easy to cut through with a razor saw.  Casting is up to Barracuda’s usual high standard, with no pinholes, warping or other deformities present. 

Detail is very fine, with each (identical) seat featuring a padded backrest covered by a set of nicely jumbled seatbelts.  The lightening holes in the back of the seat are also present, although these will be scarcely visible when the seat is installed in the model. 

The wheels have crisp hub detail, finely replicated brake lines, and subtly weighted tyres.  You will probably need to drill out the centre of each wheel a little in order to accommodate the kit gear strut, but be careful in doing so because it would be easy to drill through the other side and damage the hub detail there.

Because the sets are drop-fit replacements for kit parts, no instructions are provided – or required – other than the list of appropriate aircraft on the packaging.

It’s good to see these Cooper Details sets reissued by Barracuda Studios.  Applicable to a wide range of Soviet World War 2 fighters, they are perfectly cast, easy to use and offer a step up in detail from their injection-moulded kit equivalents.  Highly recommended to anyone with one or more Soviet fighter kits in their stash.

Thanks to Barracuda Studios for sample

Barracuda Studio products are available online from their website

Text and Images Copyright © 2014 by Brad Fallen
This Page Created on 12 March, 2014
Last updated 12 March, 2014

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