The major flaw of plastic and resin pitot tubes is obviously their vulnerability to breakage. Once broken they are relatively easy to fix but the result are rarely satisfactory. An excellent alternative are these turned brass pitot tubes from Master.

AM-72-142
AM-48-152

These particular ones designed for the Gloster Meteor not only offer a detail that is much more resistant to damage, but they also offer a subtly in shape that capture the look of the originals. Also to boot there is a hole at the end of the tube even in 1/72 scale.

Fitting could not be easier. There is no cutting involved the brass tube replaces the kits plastic part. The instructions provide information on the drill bit size: 0.6mm [1/72] and 0.8mm [1/48] to open up a hole in the wing to fit the tubes. There is even a guide mark on the pitot to show how far to insert them into the wing. Super glue [cyandacrylate] is used to fix the brass parts in place.

Conclusions

These pitots from Master provide a far superior look and robustness to ones made in plastic and resin. They still could be damaged if someone was really careless, they are not indestructible. They not only offer the peace of mind that they won’t be easily broken but they also offer that extra bit of detail almost all modellers are looking for.