1:72 Spitfire Mk.IX seatbelts STEEL

Seat belts STEEL for the Spitfire Mk.IX in 1:72 scale (Eduard)

This is an add-on photo-etched set from the Czech maker Eduard, not a kit. Photo-etch is a thin metal fret in which the individual parts are chemically etched, held on the frame by tiny tabs. It is precisely because the fret is so thin that detail can be captured for which injection-molded plastic is simply too thick, and seat belts are the textbook example. In a cockpit the belts are immediately noticeable, and a plastic seat without them looks empty.

Why the STEEL range

The sets designated STEEL are made by Eduard from steel rather than the usual brass. The difference is noticeable in use: steel remembers a shape far better. You can drape a belt realistically over the edge of the seat, wave it or fold it, and it stays in that shape. Softer brass tends to straighten partly back and the result then looks flat. The second key advantage: the parts are pre-painted, so they do not have to be painted; once cut off and bent they go straight into the cockpit.

Use

• Carefully cut the parts off the fret with a sharp scalpel or etch scissors, rather than tearing them off.
• Bend them with a photo-etch bender or with tweezers over a sharp edge; steel takes more than brass and holds the shape.
• Glue them with cyanoacrylate glue, as ordinary cement for plastic does not work on metal because it has nothing to soften.
• Let the belts fall naturally over the seat and the edges of the cockpit; belts that are uniformly straight look unconvincing.
• Wipe any fingerprints off the pre-painted parts with a dry cloth before gluing.

Who the set is for

For modelers who build the Spitfire Mk.IX in 1:72 scale and want to take the cockpit up a class without having to repaint anything. Working with etch calls for a little patience and tweezers, but belts are among the most rewarding and simplest ways into photo-etch at all.

Note: this is not a model. The plastic kit, glue and paints are not included in the package.