Once again, Eduard has expanded the product line with another ingenious kit. This is their product number 49061, seatbelt harness for Luftwaffe single-seat machines in 1/48. The greatest thing here is that the belts are in an actual textile material--and in
color! The kit consists of one photoetch fret of buckles and hardware, one textile fret of belts, and a comprehensive instruction sheet:
Eduard Fabric Seat Harness Set in 1/48
Eduard Fabric Seat Harness Set in 1/48
Here are a few "in process" photos and description of my harness build-up. First I studied the instructions and parts. As is usual with Eduard, a few extra parts are included on the PE fret. These include three types of shoulder harness mounting hardware, the part that attaches to the aircraft seat or structure at the top. It is up to the builder to research the correct type of terminal to use depending on the mounting on the aircraft being built. Also a few spare parts are included to help combat the Carpet Monster, and it is a good thing as I lost one adjusting buckle. Thankfully a spare was on the fret!
Next I trimmed the first belt from the textile fret. After cutting the belt from the fret there is a backing paper that must be removed. Then I simply selected the correct hardware to install on the belt and cut only the slotted end loose from the PE fret. Then I bent the hardware up so that the belt could be inserted and looped around the buckle with tweezers. Assembling the parts this way does two things--it makes the tiny PE parts harder to lose, and makes assembling the belt to the PE easier. After looping and gluing the belt, the other end of the hardware was cut from the tree. I followed this same method for each new piece of hardware on each belt until it was complete and to the correct length:
Eduard Fabric Seat Harness Set in 1/48
Eduard Fabric Seat Harness Set in 1/48
Eduard Fabric Seat Harness Set in 1/48
Here is a finished shoulder belt complete with all hardware. Also notice that Eduard was able to print a serial number on the belts (different on each strap) during the coloring process--a really beautiful feature!
Eduard Fabric Seat Harness Set in 1/48
After build-up of the belts it was a simple effort to apply them to the seat. In this application I'm using the cockpit of an Eduard Fw 190A-8 for the "test-mule". First the lap belts went on. Notice the manufacturer data tag on the right lap belt, another fine printing example:
Eduard Fabric Seat Harness Set in 1/48
Eduard Fabric Seat Harness Set in 1/48
Then the shoulder straps were installed, mounted at the top of the seat frame as on the real thing. Also note the natural way the fabric belts drape on the seat. It would be quite easy with this set to have the shoulder harness draped outside the canopy rail as is often shown on wartime photos:
Eduard Fabric Seat Harness Set in 1/48
Eduard Fabric Seat Harness Set in 1/48
I congratulate Eduard on this new offering. Building the harnesses is really not difficult in any way but does demand a steady hand and good eyesight (or proper magnification for those of us who wear glasses). I highly recommend this kit to anyone who wishes to add more realism to the seat of their next 1/48 Luftwaffe fighter!
My thanks to Eduard for the product, and No.1 for sending it to me for review.
