1:72 P-51D Mustang - Zoom Set (for Eduard Weekend Edition Kits)

Eduard ZOOM, P-51D Mustang 1:72 (for Eduard Weekend Edition kits)

The ZOOM set from the Czech manufacturer Eduard is not an airplane model but a photo-etched accessory. It is intended for the North American P-51D Mustang kit in 1:72 scale from the Eduard Weekend Edition line, a simplified edition that deliberately contains no photo-etched parts and no masks. That is exactly the gap the ZOOM set fills. The base kit has to be obtained separately.

What ZOOM means

ZOOM is the Eduard designation for a simplified photo-etched set. While a full photo-etched set also contains small parts for the exterior, such as flaps, landing gear bays, grilles and small covers, ZOOM is a selected extract from it, concentrated on the most visible thing, that is on the cockpit. Typically it consists of pre-colored (color-printed) photo-etched parts: an instrument panel with legible dials and the seat belts of the pilot seat. The extent is therefore smaller than that of the full set, but the ratio between the work put in and the visible result is excellent, and in 1:72 scale the cockpit is the only thing that is really visible under the canopy.

Use

• Intended for the Eduard P-51D Mustang kit in 1:72, the Weekend Edition.
• The pre-colored parts are not painted: they are glued straight in, and at most the clear coat on the instrument glasses is picked out.
• Separate the parts with a sharp knife on a hard surface, not by twisting them.
• Glue them in spots with super glue; bend the belts naturally with tweezers before gluing.
• Finish all of it before the fuselage halves are glued together, because after that the cockpit is out of reach.

Who the set is for

For modelers who build the Mustang from the Weekend Edition and want detail in the cockpit comparable with the richer editions without buying the full photo-etched set. Working with photo-etched parts in 1:72 calls for tweezers, patience and good light; for a complete beginner it is a challenge, for the slightly advanced it is routine.

This is an accessory set, not a kit. The base model, paints and glue are not included in the package.