Colour Instrument Panels
Jan-Feb 2018

Yahu, 1/48 & 1/32 scales

Reviewed by James Hatch

Eduard's 1/72 Avia B.534 IV serie Weekend Edition is available online from Squadron.com

Those good folks at Yahu have sent us a sample of their photo-etch instrument panels in both 1/32 and 1/48 scales, and as usual, they don’t fail to deliver in standard, attention to detail and quality. These are very probably the very best on the market, and price-wise, are very reasonable.

Each set is packaged into a small sleeve that has card reinforcement, and instructions printed on the rear of this, if applicable. All of these panels are direct drop replacements, and some of them have small parts included which will need to be fitted. Where appropriate, clear foil parts are also included.

Please check the images below for pack contents. Unlike other manufacturer colour PE panels, whereby you layer various plates to create a 3D relief, these are mostly supplied as pre-assembled layers, which are finished appropriately. By this, I mean the actual fascia will be either matt or satin etc. whilst the instruments themselves have a gloss finish and look suitably glass-like in appearance. The depth of detail on these is quite astonishing, with the dials and placards readable.

These are NOT digitally printed but employ a rather modern and unique system of screen printing, hence the macro-detail that is achieved.

Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words, so we’ll take a look at each one in turn. I just wish I had a macro lens for my Nikon!

The sets we’ve been sent this month are:

YMA3217, 1/32 Fw 190D-9 (for Hasegawa kit)
YMA3221, 1/32 Spitfire Mk.IX Late (for Tamiya kit)
YMA3223, 1/32 P-47D Late (for Hasegawa kit)
YMA3226, 1/32 P-40N Early N-1 – N-5 (for Eduard/Hasegawa kits)
YMA3230, 1/32 Ki-44 Tojo (for Hasegawa kit)
YMA3231, 1/32 Lublin R XIII (for Lukgraph kit)
YMA4819, 1/48 P-51D Early (for Meng kit)
YMA4845, 1/48 Heinkel He 51 (for Roden/Eduard kit)
YMA4860, 1/48 SH-2G Super Seasprite (for Kitty Hawk kit)

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Thumbnail panels:

YMA3217, 1/32 Fw 190D-9 (for Hasegawa kit)

Sort of fortuitous that this has arrived as I plan to build a 190D-9 for Military Illustrated Modeller in the next months. This set contains upper and lower panels that are joined by a small fret that needs removing. The fret contains three small parts for the oxygen knob and the red pull switches.

YMA3321, 1/32 Spitfire Mk.IX Late (for Tamiya kit)

I swear you can actually see the weathering on this panel, it is that realistic. Two options are provided for the central flying instruments panel (squared and curved top) which suit this panel perfectly. Other components are provided on the separate fret, for the various switches. A replacement compass face is also included.

YMA3223, 1/32 P-47D Late (for Hasegawa kit)

An amazingly busy instrument panel, complete with a small fret that contains a further 6 colour PE pieces that are used alongside the main panel. Note that one piece of this is designed only for the P-47D-30.

YMA3226, 1/32 P-40N Early N-1 – N-5 (for Eduard/Hasegawa kits)

Yet another instrument panel that contains a second fret of parts. A small piece of clear printed acetate is also supplied as a backing for the switch unit, plus another for the radio unit. I can see no indication as to where some of the smaller parts fit, so it will be a case of checking reference photos.

YMA3230, 1/32 Ki-44 Tojo (for Hasegawa kit)

To me, Japanese instrument panels tend to look a little quirky, and this is no exception. What we have here is a main upper panel which really is quite narrow, and below this there is a separate, secondary console with more gauges and buttons.

What this set also includes is a small fret that contains colour PE parts for sidewall instruments.

YMA3231, 1/32 Lublin R XIII (for Lukgraph kit)

This is an odd little panel! Unlike the other panels, this one has a metal finish, with several red instrument gauges. Lukgraph are a Polish company that produce resin kits, and the Lublin R-XIII was a Polish army cooperation airplane that was designed in the 30s. Certainly an esoteric machine. This neat little panel is single-piece and designed to simply replace the kit part.

YMA4819, 1/48 P-51D Early (for Meng kit)

Of course, the smaller scale you go, the more effort is required to make an instrument panel look good…unless you swap the part for a Yahu panel! This little gem is as detailed as the 1/32 counterparts and is again a simple swap for the kit part. I know there are numerous 1/48 P-51D kits available, but this is designed for the rather nice Meng release. I really have tried my best to photograph this, but I should invest in that macro lens.

YMA4845, 1/48 Heinkel He 51 (for Roden/Eduard kit)

Roden’s neat little He 51 kit (re-boxed by Eduard in the Legion Condor release) is certainly deserving of a nice cockpit upgrade, and this set provides the split instrument panel that defines the office of this biplane. The colour appears to be a grey/RLM02 shade, and the two panels will need to be separated from each other before installation.

YMA4860, 1/48 SH-2G Super Seasprite (for Kitty Hawk kit)

This kit is unfamiliar to me, but the Yahu pack provides a simple panel replacement for this neat-looking heli.

Review Text Copyright © 2018 by James Hatch
Page Created 26 February, 2018
Last updated 26 February, 2018

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