Rowan takes a look at Eduard's replacement bronze and resin main undercarriage for the Revell 1:32 early Gustav.

Revell's recent largescale Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2/4 is generally a very good kit (see Aeroscale's review here: https://aeroscale.net/news/messerschmitt-bf-109g-2-4) and it represents excellent value for money in offering a nicely detailed Gustav for less than £30. But one thing which I really don't like is how the designers tackled the main undercarriage legs, with slightly awkward and potentially flimsy multi-piece assemblies so they can double for a retracted landing gear.

So, it's very welcome to see Eduard produce a straightforward and much better detailed lowered undercarriage as part of their Brassin range. The set arrives in a sturdy flip-top box with the parts sealed in zip-lock bags. The new gear comprises a pair of bronze legs with resin covers.

The casting and detail throughout is exceptional, and the legs feature integral brake-lines that meet up with similar ones on the gear covers. The parts are a direct drop-in replacement for the original Revell undercarriage, so newcomers to using aftermarket upgrades won't have to worry about doing any surgery. 

One point I did notice, though, is that the resin covers are cast as realistically thin as possible - to the point where there's a pin-hole breakthrough over one of the locating points for the legs. It's so tiny, I actually missed it until I edited the photo for the review. While it won't be card to fix, it's an indication that you'll need to handle the covers with a little care until they're safely attached.

Eduard provide a neat set of instructions which include colour matches for Gunze Sangyo paints. Installing the new landing gear will be so straightforward, experienced modellers will probably hardly spare a glance at the instructions, but it's nice to see Eduard include them for newcomers to using upgrade sets.

Conclusion

This is a beautifully produced upgrade for Revell's 1:32 Gustav and is much better detailed than the original parts. It's simplicity itself to install and and the finished undercarriage will be much sturdier than the kit landing gear. It's priced very fairly for an upgrade set of this quality and well worth considering if you're building the Revell kit.

Item #632185 is available now from Eduard - Price: £11.29

Many thanks to Eduard for the review sample.

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

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