One of the beauties of Revell's recent 1:32 early Gustav is that it offers great value for money for a kit as large and well detailed. Straight out of the box, the cockpit's really pretty complete, but the main instrument panel's decal instrument faces and the moulded-on seat harness don't really bear close scrutiny. The kit's low price means that's not the end of the world, though, because you can afford to splash out on a few upgrades and still have a very affordable model.

Eduard obviously have just this in mind with a neat LööK upgrade that tackles both weaknesses by combining a pre-coloured resin replacement instrument panel and a set of colour-etched seatbelts.

Packed in a simple resealable bag with a card backer and instructions, the set could hardly be simpler (in theory, at least - more on that later), because the one-piece resin instrument panel is a direct replacement for the kit part and, being cast in RLM 66 coloured resin and with precisely painted dials, knobs and placards it's essentially ready to use as soon as you've trimmed off the thin casting points. The details are beautifully crisp and Eduard have even "glazed" the instrument faces for a very realistic look so, unless you want to weather the panel, it's basically job done. The only thing I'm not personally keen on is the white "highlight" around each bezel, presumably to make them stand out - while the idea's sound, I think I'll knock it back.

Similarly, the new etched harness is very nicely done, with the pre-painted (printed?) details far finer than most of us could hope to replicate by hand.

When things get tricky, though, is that Revell's moulded-on seatbelts won't be all that easy to remove. It'll take some delicate work with a fine scalpel or modelling chisel - and you'll risk damaging the seat if you slip up. Simply laying the etched belts over the originals isn't really an option, because the moulded-on originals are almost sure to show.

Eduard provide a simple set of instructions showing the surgery required and how to assemble and install the new belts.

Conclusion

Once installed, Eduard's LööK set will make a major improvement to the cockpit of Revell's early Gustav and is well priced as an affordable bit of high quality "eye candy" for an already very nice kit. 

Item #634029 is available now from Eduard - Price: £6.96

Many thanks to Eduard for the review sample.

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