Avia B.534 Detail Sets

Eduard, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Mark Davies

Eduard's BRASSIN 1/72 Bullpup B is available online from Squadron.com

Both of the sets reviewed here are intended for Eduard’s Weekend Edition new tool B.534 III & IV Serie Kits, although SS518 is specifically for the IV Serie kit, with SS527 being the III Serie equivalent of this. I took a “first look” at the Weekend Edition of the B.534 IV Serie kit here on HyperScale in June this year.

For many Eduard is a brand name synonymous with superb quality, and this is certainly the case with the review items, from their packaging and instructions, to the actual components.

The PE and Superfabric sets come packed with a large card stiffener sealed in cellophane, along with printed instructions. The Brassin-branded wheels & spats are packed in clear blister pack with foam protection and instructions enclosed.  The instructions for each item are also downloadable in as PDF’s from Eduard’s website. To view these please click on the linked part-numbers provided below:

• 73029 – Avia B.534 Seatbelts SUPERFABRIC

• SS518 – Avia B.534 IV Serie Weekend S.A.

• 72602 – Avia B.534 Wires & Stretchers

• 672066 – Avia B.534 Wheels & Spats

A picture is worth a thousand words, and this adage certainly applies to this “first look”. The Eduard’s CAD illustrations, my images of the actual items, and the downloadable instructions should provide readers with almost all they need to about the contents and their intended placement. However, some additional commentary still seems warranted.

The Superfabric seatbelts offer the bare minimum in dress-up for the intended kits, and it is worth keeping in mind that SS518 (and SS527) includes pre-coloured PE seatbelts. Therefore, if you buy either of the PE detail sets you will not need the Superfabric belts, unless of course you prefer these to the pre-coloured PE items.

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The PE detail set, SS518, offers some obvious enhancements over the kit parts (decals in the case of the kit’s radiator and oil-cooler faces). It is worth noting that that Eduard have yet to announce any Profipack Editions of their B.534 kits, which would normally include PE detail sets and masks etc at a price below that of the Weekend Edition kit and individual detail sets combined. Only the Quattro Combo Royal Edition boxing currently includes the detail sets and kits together. (I reviewed the Royal Edition here on HyperScale in June this year). Clearly, holding off releasing Profipack Editions of the B.534 provides Eduard with a chance to sell more accessories at full their price.

The PE rigging is predictably flat and so resembles the streamlined RAF-wire type of rigging used on the original. Of interest is the way the flying wires are fitted to the airframe, which may go some way to alleviating the curse of PE rigging; namely, the difficulty with tensioning it. Each flying and landing wire, whether single or paired, is anchored at one end by separate tensioners. These tiny PE fixings must be inserted into holes the modeller drills in accordance with the two pages of detailed rigging instructions. One end of the flying or landing wire is anchored in a hole, and the other end is fed through a slot in the fixing and bent back on itself, as shown below:   

I should think that despite this somewhat innovative approach many would avoid the PE rigging simply because it is so fiddly. This aside, I also remain to be convinced that it offers a superior result to other rigging methods that enable tension to be easily applied (be they elastic-thread, tensioned monofilament, stretched-sprue etc). I also feel that round-section rigging is quite acceptable in 1/72 scale, despite flattened section PE being theoretically more accurate. I leave it to reader to judge, but even in the Eduard image below of a very nicely made company model, the PE rigging it is slightly bowed in a couple of places:

It is not my intention to nit-pick a very well made model, or to criticise Eduard for offering option of PE rigging, as I commend both. I just want to illustrate the challenge I think the PE option will present.

The kit’s wheels and spats are extremely good, with even tyre logos being moulded in styrene. However, the resin wheels and spats manage to be better still because of the additional detail and refinement resin casting can impart to the spats in particular.

(CAD image sourced from Eduard)

Eduard also offers some other accessory sets for their new B.534 kits, these being:

• SS527. This is the equivalent of SS518 reviewed here intended for the B.534 III Serie Weekend Edition.

• 672069 Bombs & Racks. Six resin bombs with integral racks.

• CX412 Pre-cut Paint-Mask. For the IV Serie kit.

• CX416 Pre-cut Paint-Mask. For the III Serie kit.

All three of these detail sets are of excellent quality and stand to enhance Eduard’s new-tool Avia B.534 kits. I must confess to some doubts about the PE rigging, which will I am sure be very tricky to fit, and possibly less effective overall when compared to more traditional methods. I therefore unconditionally recommend the pre-coloured detail set and Superfabric seatbelts, and encourage braver readers to try the PE rigging out and report their findings on “Plane Talking”.    

Thanks to Eduard for the samples and images.

Review Text Copyright © 2015 by Mark Davies
Page Created 16 July, 2015
Last updated 16 July, 2015

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