Big wheels keep on turnin' - Gary reviews Eduard's new Brassin Wheels for the HK B-17 in 32nd scale

Gary Wickham has been making the new B-17G for his site www.scalespot.com and on the way thru his excellent build he has not paused to correct too much with aftermarket – but he HAS paused however to pick up some improvements in a new set of main wheels from the Eduard BRASSIN range. He has given us his thoughts on them in today’s review…

 

Eduard Brassin B-17 Wheels 1/32
Kit No: 632 017

BRASSIN Range
1/32 scale
Resin parts: 10
Available from: Eduard directly & most model shops

One of the simplest aftermarket upgrades you can make to most models is to swap out the kit wheels for resin replacements. There are many companies that make replacement wheels, some are simply resin copies of the kit rubber wheels whilst others give the tire a weighted appearance and super detailed hub etc. Eduard with its Brassin line is starting to build up a decent collection of wheels and today we look at their offering for the new HK Models 1/32 B-17 kit.

The set, as you would expect, is fairly simple. It represents the main wheels of the B-17 only, with no tail wheel provided. This is actually not a problem as the B-17 tail wheel as provided by HK Models is quite accurate and as it has no tread (on the real thing as well) looks the part.

Some assembly is required as Eduard have molded the tires and hubs separately. This allows them to more accurately create the recessed parts of the wheel hub and also makes it easier for us to paint the hub and tire separately (no masking required).

The most noticeable enhancement the Brassin part provides over the kit tire is the more clearly defined tread pattern (without being overdone) and of course the addition the Goodyear logo and lettering to the tire wall.

The other difference between the Brassin and kit tires is the width. The Eduard tire is visibly thinner and to my eye (no measurements were taken) more closely represents the real thing.

The wheel hub detail is sharper and more detailed on the Brassin parts than the HK Model plastic parts. This is not to say the HK Models supplied parts are bad, just that the resin parts are better.

To more accurately re-create the undercut found on the real B-17 wheel hub, Eduard has created the hub from two parts, an outer and inner hub. As you can see from the picture below the Eduard part (once assembled) more closely matches the real thing.

Again I want to stress that I believe the HK Models hub is pretty good, but the Brassin parts just take it up a notch.

The Brassin inboard wheel hub is also noticeably more detailed than the plastic part.

Eduard provides basic painting instructions (not too many modelers should need to be told how to paint a tire !!) and a breakdown of the parts. One thing I do like about the Brassin sets is that each part is clearly identified on the casting block so there is no confusion about which part goes where.

Once again Eduard has provided us with an excellent drop in replacement for the kit parts. In 1/32 scale the extra detail provided by the resin parts is very visible and in my opinion worth the small extra cost. The resin castings themselves are blemish and bubble free, the detail as mentioned above is very well done and accurate and the asking price is very reasonable. Highly recommended.

Gary Wickham

You can get these from Eduard directly & most model shops