Ki-61-Id Gun Barrels
for Tamiya kit

Eduard BRASSIN, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

Eduard's 1/48 BRASSIN Spitfire Vb Gun Bays are available online from Squadron.com

This set contains two Ho-103 12.7mm fuselage machine gun barrels to replace the plastic barrels in Tamiya’s 1/48 Ki-61-Id Hien kit.  The barrels are drop-fit replacements, and require no modification of other kit parts.  And as good as Tamiya’s mouldings are, the resin barrels are more detailed, with the cooling perforations particularly finely cast. 

There is a neat bit of engineering from Eduard at the end of each barrel, which is protected by a small nib that needs to be carefully cut off.  The nib protects a slight indentation that will guide your drill if you wish to hollow out the tip of the barrel.

Casting quality is excellent, with no imperfections or warping apparent – the latter for me is the biggest drawback of resin barrels, but these are so short it’s unlikely to be a factor here.

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The double-sided instruction sheet provides clear preparation and assembly instructions, including a handy overhead illustration that shows the correct stagger of the guns through the cowling openings.

Eduard also offers replacement Brassin wheels for Tamiya’s Ki-61, as well as its usual suite of photo-etched details.

This is a very simple set that will be within the ability of almost any modeller to install.  It offers better detail than the Tamiya parts, at a very reasonable price. 

References

Kawasaki Ki-61/100 and Kawasaki Ki-48 Type 99 (Mechanic of World Aircraft, 1992/93)

Thanks to Eduard for the samples and images.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2018 by Brad Fallen
Except Blue Background CAD Images by Eduard
Page Created 2 February, 2018
Last updated 2 February, 2018

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