Sunderland Mk.III
Detail Sets & Masks

Eduard BRASSIN, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Mark Davies

Eduard's 1/72 scale Lancaster Wheels is available online from Squadron.com

I have Italeri’s recent Sunderland MK.I kit, but I have yet to see the very similar Mk.III in the plastic. Both kits have their detractors, me included, mainly due to for Italeri’s heavy-handed surface detail treatment. There have also been a number of inevitable small accuracy issues raised. What cannot be denied is that the Italeri kits offer a lot more detail than the old Airfix Mk.III, which dates from 1959!

It seems a fair bet that most Sunderland builders will opt for the Italeri kit as a better fitting and more detailed build than Airfix; therefore, it is an obvious subject for Eduard to turn its attention to. Eduard has released a number of detail sets for Italeri’s Mk.III kit, as well as similar sets for their Mk.I. They have the following Mk.III items listed on their website (the first four are not subjects of this review):

• BIG729 Big ED,

• 72583 Bomb Racks,

• 72584 Surface Panels,

• 72585 Exterior,

• SS510 Interior SA (cockpit),

• 73510 Interior SA (cockpit plus)*,

• 72586 Maintenance Platforms, and

• CX396 Mask.

* Item #73510 combines #SS510 with a second fret of additional parts.

For me, Eduard is a brand name that is synonymous with superb quality, and this is certainly the case with the review items, from their packaging and instructions to the actual components. The interior PE sets and the mask come packed with a large card stiffener in a resealable cellophane bag, along with printed instructions, whilst the servicing platforms are packed in a zip-lock plastic bag with card stiffeners and instructions. The instructions can be downloaded from Eduard’s website as PDF’s.

Unlike some other detail sets, the instructions do not give paint call-outs. This does not matter so much in the case of the interior sets, as they are pre-coloured and supplement the kit parts, for which there are Italeri’s colour call-outs. However, some guidance could be expected for the servicing platforms.

The production quality in all cases is excellent, as we would expect of Eduard. Before illustrating the contents of each set, I will comment about each.

• Whilst the kit’s cockpit is reasonable, I am sure the Eduard items will be enhance this quite a bit. Item #SS510 is a nice dress-up of the basic elements, whilst #73510 uses this set plus a several more parts to address extra details behind the pilots’ seats and in the nose. I think Eduard have struck a good balance with the amount of detail provided; as any more would be wasted in my opinion. Some may wish to consider using a Pavla vac-form canopy to improve visibility over the kit’s injected canopy.

• The servicing platforms have the potential to add considerable interest and from the basis of a most interesting Sunderland diorama. Some surgery is needed to remove sections of wing leading edge, which are replaced with fabricated PE items to replicate the foldout platforms the aircraft had built into its wing.  Extending from these are quite delicate platforms that run alongside the engine nacelles. There is some fiddly work required, with a delicate touch needed during folding and assembly. However, construction should not be unduly difficult, just repetitive as there are eight platforms to construct; there being two for each engine. Four more platforms cross the front of each cowl. Colour call-outs for the foldout sections of wing leading edge and the platforms themselves would have been helpful, but none is provided.

• I am a fan of Eduard’s masks, and the benefits of these are self-evident. This set caters for the canopy, gun-turrets, portholes and beaching gear wheels.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and so it is the case here. The following images combine Eduard’s CAD illustration and instructions to give a more detailed idea of the contents, whilst my scanned images of the actual items appear elsewhere in this review:

SS510 - Zoom Cockpit Interior

73510 – Enhanced Cockpit Interior & Nose

72586 – Maintenance Platforms

CX396 – Masks

These detail sets and mask are all of excellent quality and stand to enhance Italeri’s Sunderland Mk.III. None is essential to correct kit failings, but all have something to offer; whether to simplify painting, lift interior detail to new levels, or provide the basis for a stunning servicing diorama.

The interior sets may be a little harder to see, but the added detail should be observable to some degree. Eduard has been sensible here by not getting too obsessive with heaps of parts that will never be visible.

The absence of colour call-outs matters little for the interior sets as these are either pre-coloured or covered by Italeri’s kit instructions. However, I do feel some guidance would have been helpful for the colours of the maintenance platforms.

I highly recommended all of the sets reviewed here based on their quality, and leave it to individual tastes and preferences to determine the benefits offered and need for each. 

Thanks to Eduard for the samples and images.

Review Text Copyright © 2015 by Mark Davies
Page Created 5 February, 2015
Last updated 5 February, 2015

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