Eduard Brassin 1/72 Avro Lancaster Wheels
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
The Airfix 1/72 Lancaster is a nice kit, both well detailed and easy to assemble, and a viable option against the Hasegawa and Revell kits. There is still some room for improvement, as is the case with any kit, and Eduard has come out with a nice set of wheels for the Airfix kit.
The Wheels
What is really nice about this Brassin set is that it's a direct replacement for the kit parts, which will greatly simplify usage. The set comes with two main wheels and a tailwheel, all of which have excellent detailing for both the hub and the tire. They have just enough flattening to replicate a plane under weight, but not enough to suggest the tires are flat. There are some small pieces of photoetch that wrap around the landing gear struts for additional detailing.
In addition to the resin and brass details, this set also includes a set of masks to aid in painting the wheel hub. These are set up so the modeler paints the tire color first, then applies the mask and paints the hub. I would probably paint and weather the tire entirely before painting the hub, just to simplify things.
Conclusion
These are nice wheels that provide an edge over the kit wheels. Their nice detail, coupled with the simple drop-in replacement aspect, will make these a fast and easy upgrade to the Airfix Lancaster. My thanks to Eduard for the review sample.