Eduard 1:24 Typhoon guns

[James H]

1:24 Typhoon guns

Eduard
Catalogue # 624002
Available from Eduard for €14,95
Bunny Fighter Club price: €12,71

 

 

 

 

Eduard have released a whole suite of PE and resin sets for Airfix’s 1:24 masterpiece, and we’ll bring you a look at the wheels and photo-etch parts in the very near future. In the meanwhile, this rather nice set has arrived, designed to replace the four 20mm Hispano cannon that packed a punch with this brutal-looking bird.  Having built the Airfix 1:24 Typhoon, which I have to say is magnificent in everything from its engineering, to the depth of detail and rendered surface finish, there are only a few things which generally let it down, and one of them is the rather lacklustre set of cannon.

 

 

Eduard’s new replacement resin parts are supplied in their familiar Brassin blister pack, and the set itself contains replacements for the entire gun, including the barrel and ammunition feeds. In total, there are SIXTEEN parts in this set, cast in a combination of light and medium grey resin. All parts are safely protected within the package by pieces of foam, with the barrels packed in between the layers themselves. Therefore, you won’t see these from the front of the pack, but they are included.

 

 

This set is designed to simply replace the kit parts, and as a result, there is no surgery required. Probably the worst aspect of the Airfix parts are the ammunition drums that have an awkward seam along them which you’ll struggle to remove. The fit of these, and the ambiguity of their position, along with the spent chutes, makes fitting these quite tedious. With this release, not only do we have excellent gun detail which was lacking in the Airfix parts, but the drum feed is moulded as part of the main gun section. This saves so much time in getting things right, and it goes without saying that the detail on these could simply never be recreated in injection form, as a single part. For the gun bodies, there is a small casting block to the rear underside, extending upwards slightly to protect the rear of the gun. Removal should be very easy. As the guns are ‘handed’, the ammunition feed enters the chamber from opposing sides, depending on installation. As a result, there are two R6 and two R6 parts here.

 

 

 

Two blocks contains the spent shell chutes, connected to their casting block via a thin membrane of resin. Again, clean-up will be minimal, swift, and very easy.

 

 

 

Unless you find a way of building your model without the external fairings, the barrels within are going to be completely hidden, except for the protruding muzzle. However, Eduard has supplied four far nicer barrels than those in the kit. I found that a lot of the Airfix parts seemed to have seams which indicated that the moulds weren’t aligned, or they’d slipped. This included the thin barrels. Eduard’s replacements are excellent, with good recoil sprint detail, and a slightly flared, open-ended muzzle. The rear end is also keyed to ensure correct orientation into the main body.

 

 

 

Lastly, replacement ammunition feeds are included. These are a big improvement over the kit parts, with beautifully defined shells, and also with the tips of the lower shells being seen in between the upper feed. Cap detail is also included.

 

The instructions clearly show where everything needs to fit, and Gunze paint codes are supplied too.

 

Conclusion
A very simple and very well-priced update to the one area on the Typhoon which I did fell was a little under par. As always this set is beautifully produced, and is actually easier to install than the kit parts, with the added bonus of detail that wasn’t provided in the kit, and no seam removal hassles. In my book, it’s worth it for the last reason alone!

 

Very highly recommended

 

My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample. To purchase directly, click THIS link.

 

James H

 

 

 

[nmayhew]

the resin breech and ammo etc looks exquisite

 

but i am not a fan of the resin barrel - never going to be as crisp as metal, and whilst maybe you can get away with that in 1/48 and 1/32 at a stretch for certain types, these compound barrels in 1/24 just don't do it for me

 

i wonder how many people will buy these for the former bits, and just chop off the barrels once Master do the right thing

 

i know i will

 

it's kind of like Eduard being stubborn in either not producing them as just the breech and ammo, or doing metal barrels themselves

[One-Oh-Four]

You're right Nick, but the only thing you'll ever see of those barrels is the extreme end of the muzzle. The rest is tucked away in the gun fairings. At least in the bubble-top Typhoon...