Set #49322 consists of 2 frets, one partially pre-painted, containing 144 parts. Almost everything is destined for the cockpit, with some extras for the bombardier's section, guns and boarding ladders.

The two most obvious improvements over the original kit parts, in my opinion, are the pilot and co-pilot's seats. Accurate Miniatures' versions just weren't up to their usual standard, being very thick and really heavily moulded. In their place, Eduard offer a pair of delicate metal seats to fold to shape. The old seats must be careful sawn of their pedestals and the new replacements fitted - I'm slightly surprised that Eduard didn't go the whole hog and supply new pedestals too. After that, a frame attaches to the back of each seat, while the co-pilots also gets a document-holder. The frames might be a little too 2-dimensional, but the seats will be a major improvement over the original kit-supplied items. (One point worth noting: all my reference photos show B-25 seats fitted with cushions which you can make easily enough from Miliput or similar.) The seats are finished off with a nice set of lap-belts, which are pre-painted and are quite intricate, with separate straps - these are also provided for the bombardier and radio-operator.

The kit's transparent instrument panel is scrapped almost entirely. Everything must be carved away to leave just the central pedestal. Then the panel itself is replaced with a new 3-part sandwich made up of beautifully pre-painted placards, while delicate new rudder pedals fit underneath.The throttle quadrants are also replaced with new items which feature separate levers.

There are quite a few parts which need folding in the set and the small multi-element ammunition racks for the bombardier's section will require some patience to assemble.The flexible-mounted machine guns get ring and bead sights, while the gun turret interior is improved with the addition of several items, including a new perforated ring behind the gunner and and armour protection. To round things off, the boarding ladders are augmented with new insets and mechanisms.

The colour instructions cover three A-4 sides and are nicely illustrated throughout. They are broken down into 17 basic stages and highlight the various modifications needed for the kit parts very clearly.

Conclusion

Overall, this set should be quite straightforward for anyone used to working with etched parts. The seats and instrument panel alone are major improvements over their plastic counterparts and will definitely enhance Accurate Miniature's already excellent kit.

Thank you to Eduard for kindly supplying the review sample.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on ARMORAMA