EDUARD [ MORE REVIEWS ] [ WEBSITE ] [ NEW STORIES ]

First Look Review
148
Brassin Ki-61 Upgrades
Brassin Ki-61 Upgrades
  • move

by: Rowan Baylis [ MERLIN ]

Eduard have released a couple of new Brassin upgrades for Tamiya’s recent Ki-61 since our last look. This time the focus is on the wheels and cowl guns.

Both sets arrive in standard blister packs, which protect the parts well with plenty of soft foam backing. Inside each, you find a well-produced sheet of instructions, which in this case are pretty self-explanatory - if you've realised you want these upgrades, you probably also figured out how you're going to use them.

Item #648 317 - Ki-61-1d Wheels
The set comprises a pair of resin mainwheels, plus a new tailwheel cast integrally with its yoke and leg. The mainwheels are grey resin, while the tailwheel is white - whether this is a different density resin, I don’t know.

To be honest, when I first looked at the mainwheels, I thought Eduard had simply filed flats on the kit parts to make them “weighted”. They wouldn’t do that, would they? Well, of course, no - they wouldn’t! When you look closer you realise just how much subtle new detail there is on the redesigned resin parts.

On the tyres themselves, apart from being "weighted", there are now two tread grooves missing on the kit parts. Turning to the hubs, in the kit they are essentially blank on the front, but Eduard’s have tyre inflation valves and screw holes, while on the back there’s a tiny connection for the brake-line. The differences are subtle but certainly worthwhile.

The tailwheel is harder to just in the photos, simply because it’s cast in white and not exactly camera-friendly. It's a different story under a magnifying glass and you can see that the tyre has a slightly different cross section, and the way it meets the hub is totally changed. A little spigot on the kit part has gone, and Eduard have opened up a hole in the axle. Finally, of course, there's no ejection pin mark to fill!

The set also includes a small sheet of die-cut kabuki tape mainting masks and the instructions provide Gunze Sangyo colour matches.

Price: 5.95 Euros

Item #648 321 - Ki-61-1d Gun Barrels
Until I examined them side by side with the Brassin barrels, I hadn’t realised just how basic Tamiya’s cowl guns are. The new parts feature perforations in the cooling jackets, and you just need to drill out the ends of the barrels carefully before installing them as direct replacements for the originals.

If I have a disappointment, it’s only that Eduard haven’t gone one stage further and provided complete guns instead of just the barrels. That way you could remove the top of the cowling as Tamiya would have you do and actually have some guns to look at inside.
Price: 3.75 Euros

Conclusion
Eduard’s latest Brassin sets for the Tamiya Ki-61 are faultlessly cast and will be simplicity itself to prepare and use. If you're new to using resin upgrades these will be an ideal introduction. Meanwhile, superdetailers looking to add that little bit extra to the kit will definitely appreciate the subtle refinements offered here. With some upgrade sets, you look at them and think "I could do that myself" - but it's the tiny details that make all the difference and these are just in a another league to what most of us mere mortals could hope to achieve.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.
SUMMARY
Highs: Faultlessly cast with fine details way beyond the standard kit parts.
Lows: None that I noted.
Verdict: These are beautifully produced resin upgrade parts that will be a cinch to use.
  Scale: 1:48
  Mfg. ID: See Text
  Suggested Retail: See Text
  PUBLISHED: Jun 29, 2017
  NATIONALITY: Japan / 日本
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 88.37%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 88.59%

Our Thanks to Eduard!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

View Vendor Homepage  |  More Reviews  

About Rowan Baylis (Merlin)
FROM: NO REGIONAL SELECTED, UNITED KINGDOM

I've been modelling for about 40 years, on and off. While I'm happy to build anything, my interests lie primarily in 1/48 scale aircraft. I mostly concentrate on WW2 subjects, although I'm also interested in WW1, Golden Age aviation and the early Jet Age - and have even been known to build the occas...

Copyright ©2021 text by Rowan Baylis [ MERLIN ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AeroScale. All rights reserved.



   
ADVERTISEMENT


Photos
Click image to enlarge
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
ADVERTISEMENT