1/24 RAF seatbelts

There are many options to render seat belts. I predominantly build 1/48 although I am being lured into other scales by the recent flood of outstanding kits. In 1/48, I prefer to paint moulded on belts and often rely on the beautiful seats from Ultracast. In the larger scales, several options are available. Four different approaches are shown in 1/32 using RAF belts as an example.

Right to left are printed and photo etch belts from HGW, Laser cut and photo etch from the same manufacturer, RB Production belts in paper and photo etch and prepainted photo etch from Eduard.

This shows the last two offerings. Eduard shows the stitching prominently and there is limited cutting of parts. RB gives prescored paper belts and separate metal eyes, which were so prominent on the RAF belts. HGW has taken two different approaches. Belt set 132004 is beautifully printed down to the stitching and serial numbers. However, it is not prescored and requires a sharp knife and a steady hand. I am probably not alone in occasionally being a bit ham fisted and I suspect this is the reason behind the laser cut edition. Photo etch parts are unchanged but some of the printed detail of the earlier example is absent. The choice is yours. As I am currently working on the 1/24 scale Mosquito, I have a choice between RB Productions and Eduard belts.

For this build, I will be trying the RB Productions set and use Eduard’s on a second Mosquito. Eduard’s belts are the most widely available. Although I am sure many sources exist, RB Productions can be obtained via their web site, www.radub.com www.Ultracast.com or www.Eagle-Editions.com . I obtain my HGW products from www.Hannants.co.uk although you can visit them at www.HGW.WEBGARDEN.CZ Hical, Allan.