1:32 Gloster Gladiator Mk.I seatbelts STEEL

The real subject

The Gloster Gladiator was a British single-engine biplane fighter of the second half of the 1930s and the last biplane fighter in Royal Air Force service. Compared with older biplanes it had an enclosed cockpit, which made it a transitional type between the interwar machines and the all-metal monoplanes that replaced it immediately afterward. The Mk.I version was the first production form of the aircraft. In 1:32 scale the cockpit is so clearly visible that the belts across the seat are among the first details a viewer notices.

What the set contains

Photo-etched seat belts, according to the name in steel. They replace the part from the kit, which tends to be merely suggested, or complete a seat where belts are missing altogether. Unlike plastic, a thin metal strap can be bent, curved and left to drape loosely over the edge of the seat, so the whole thing does not read as a single stiff molding. The extent of the set, the layout of the straps and the kit whose dimensions the photo-etched parts are cut to are given in the manufacturer's instructions.

Tips for working with photo-etched parts

• cut the parts free with a sharp blade on a hard surface, and do not break them out of the sheet
• lay the strap on dry first and only then shape it with tweezers
• make the fold over a sharp edge, as a thin strap will break if bent back and forth repeatedly
• they are glued with cyanoacrylate dosed on the tip of a pin
• fit the belts before you close the cockpit, as later you cannot reach the seat

Terms of supply

A photo-etched set is supplied. The kit, paints and glue are not part of the delivery, unless stated otherwise.