Andy Renshaw
Reviews By Author
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A-7 Landing Gear baysPublished:
Every so often as a reviewer, you end up with a product that wasn’t quite what you thought it was. Thus was the start of this, where I had volunteered to review this new set from Aires covering A-7 landing gear bays in 1/48. However I thought they were for the Hasegawa kit, but alas, they are for the Hobbyboss kit! Knowing this occasionally happens to us as modelers, where we walk out of store with the latest aftermarket treasure only to find it’s for the other manufacturer’s kit, I set about to see how this set would fit in the Hasegawa 1/48 A-7E. First, you get 19 resin parts, 11 of which are in a medium gray resin and the rest in a light cream color. The gray resin seems to be a bit harder, and is what the larger parts are cast in. As you can see from the pictures,… more |
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F-8E/H Crusader Detail SetPublished:
The F-8 Crusader has always been one of my favorite aircraft. I personally tend to model in 1/48 scale, however when the opportunity came up to review Aires 1/32 detail set for the Trumpeter F-8E/H, I could not resist. The set showed up, and I found an F-8 kit with a few other goodies shortly after, so I was all set. Aires has always been a leader in the realm of aftermarket resin sets. I am used to their 1/48 line and the level of detail found on those, but was blown away with their treatment in 1/32. First, the set is large, and comes in a sturdy cardboard box with lid and clear picture of the contents. Opening the box you are greeted with several bags of large resin parts, a small photo-etch fret, and instructions. The main areas covered by this set are:
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AU-23A Detail ItemsPublished:
Roden’s AU-23A kit was a welcome addition for those who like Counterinsurgency (COIN) aircraft, and Roden has established itself with a fine line of kits. However, being a short run kit, there are areas that can be improved with the addition of resin details. Quickboost comes to the rescue, with a series of items to help overcome some of the minor shortcomings of the Roden AU-23A kit. QB48 333 AU-23A NoseFirst in line is a single piece part to replace the nose on the kit. The resin part has a nicely molded front with deep air inlet. There is also some crisp panel lines scribed in, and at first glance this looks like a winner.… more |
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F-16D Block 30 CockpitPublished:
For those resin aftermarket aficionadoes among us, Aires never fails to satisfy. Set #4454 provides a full resin cockpit for Hasegawa’s F-16D kit. Though the Hasegawa kit is not the latest kit available, it is still a good kit and by some accounts more accurate in shape than other offerings. The kit does suffer from a very basic cockpit, so this is where the Aires set will dress it up nicely. The set comes in the common blister back and comprises of fourteen resin parts, two of which are extra control sticks. Also included is a small photo-etch fret with a dizzying amount of tiny parts and one printed acetate for instrument dials. As to be expected from Aires, everything is finely cast with no bubbles or imperfections. Construction is simple enough, mainly removing resin… more |
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Standard Rolling SetPublished:
The Small Shop, the makers of the "Hold-n-Fold" photo-etch workstation, have added a new tool to their lineup, the "Standard Rolling Set". This set comes with a milled aluminum base and a total of twelve rollers in metal and wood.
The milled base has a series of rounded cutouts that many of the smaller rollers will fit into. The base is not needed for the larger diameter rollers. Instructions are included with easy to understand descriptions and illustrations to show the many different ways that the rollers and base can be combined to form the part needed. I tested the tool on a couple of fairly common PE items, machine gun… more |