The A-4 portable oxygen cylinder with an A-13 regulator was an essential piece of equipment in USAAF multi-person aircraft, allowing the crew to move between positions relatively unencumbered. It's often overlooked in models, or represented quite crudely, so Eduard's decision to produce a 3D-printed set is very welcome.

The parts arrive very well protected in a small flip-top clear plastic case and are accompanied by decals and a simple set of instructions.

The set provides 6 beautifully rendered cylinders and their regulators, attached on thin stalks to a baseplate that's firmly fixed in the case with a double-sided adhesive dot. 

Proof of how delicate the parts are is that two of the minute hose attachments are missing on the sample parts - presumably knocked when they were packed. So, rather than risk slipping and damaging anything else, I'd recommend keeping the cylinders this way and only slice them off their stalks as you need them, there being plenty of room to access them. Once removed, there's no assembly required and clean-up promises to be quick and straightforward - just handle the parts with extra care.

To go with the resin parts there's a small sheet of decals. This supplies stencil markings for the cylinders and data-plates for the regulators. A welcome touch is that Eduard have included spares in case of mishaps.

The instructions provide a neat painting guide with matches for Gunze Sangyo paints.

Conclusion

Eduard's set of oxygen cylinders will be perfect if you're detailing the crew stations in a US WWII bomber or similar aircraft. The tiny items are superbly produced and will add instant "eye candy" to the interior, but the lesson from the  sample set is that they are clearly extremely easy to damage, so extra care will be needed handling and installing them. 

As for the slight damage to the sample parts, it's not the end of the world - I can always replace these with stubs made from stretched sprue - assuming their absence is even visible once they're installed in a cockpit.

Item #648796 is available now from Eduard - Price: £2.95

Many thanks to Eduard for the review sample.

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