Reviews

Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$10.00

A perfect addition to your diorama or display base is this Aires Aerobonus figure. This figure is designed to be ascending a ladder to a 1960-1975 USAF Fighter. Aires Aerobonus provides you with a resin figure with separate arms on one pour stub with side bars to protect the figure. Of note is the re-sealable packaging that Quickboost uses that makes the parts easy to review and then stuff back into the package securely. The supplied instructions provide color drawings for painting.

Aires Aerobonus has molded the figure in light grey resin with no bubbles that I could find. There are no mold seams to sand off and the resin plug is easily removed from the bottom with a razor saw or Dremel. Clean up was quite easy and the arms attached with superglue. I added a just a bit of putty to refined the transition on the shoulders to the arms. The sculpting is great with the proportions of the figure perfect. The pressure suit is well executed with appropriate wrinkles and folds.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$73.00

Review

I want to start this review with a disclaimer: I am not an “armor guy”. I built mainly airplanes and the occasional soft skin. But armor has been calling me recently and the release of an all new-tooling Tamiya Jagdpanzer was too tempting as to not trying it.

This kit has a total of 252 pieces. It comes with plastic tracks, includes the torso of two figures and it has a small decal sheet with markings for 3 different tank hunters (one Eastern Front, two Western Front examples).

Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
Company
Academy Models
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$29.98

Background

Manufactured in Korea and marketed as a “premium sport sedan,” Hyundai’s Azera shares the marketplace with Toyota’s Avalon, Ford’s Taurus, and Lexus’ LS 350.

The Kit

Engineered to be built without paint or glue, Academy’s Azera seems targeted for the casual builder, beginning modeler, and the full-size Azera owner. Although targeted for less-experienced modelers, Academy has provided ample detail for the more serious or advanced modeler as well.

Review Author
Keith Pruitt
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$6.99

The Mil Mi-2 is a light helicopter, produced in Poland, used for transport and close air support. Powered by two GTD-350 turbine engines, the aircraft would be armed for a variety of uses. Several specialized variants carried a 23 mm autocannon, machine guns, 57mm rocket pods, four 9K11 Malyutka anti-tank missiles or Strela-2 AA missiles. The Mi-2URP Gunship and anti-tank variant was one of these, and the Hobby Boss kit of this version is used for comparison. The Hobby Boss Mi-2 is the most common and most recent kit and is available in several different variants, although there are a few others like the Smer kit which was released in 2000.

The Aires Wheels and Mask Set includes cast resin replacement wheels, two for the main landing gear and two for the nose gear, as well as a set of pre-cut vinyl paint masks and illustrated instructions.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
3D Model Parts
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$22.95

3D Model Parts is a new U.S. based company that uses 3D printing technology to produce resin ship, automobile, aircraft, and armor detailing accessories. 3D states their printing process produces details with greater precision than either injection molding or resin casting.

This set of 1/25 scale wheels certainly lives up to that claim! The spokes have amazingly fine detail, and the wheel rims are extremely thin. The interlacing of the spokes makes the wheels very realistic at this small size. I compared the 3D wheels to wire wheels from a Revell kit and there is no comparison. 3D accurately reproduces the opening between spokes, where many of the openings on the Revell wheels are filled with flash.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Ultracast
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.58

Ultracast from Canada has released several detail sets for the Eduard Spitfire MkIX in 1/48 scale.

This particular set is a drop-in replacement for the Spitfire tubular exhaust. It has been casted in a pale cream-colored resin with a delicate pour stub that will make removal an easy task.

As you can see, the surface is very smooth and the detail is delicate with thin, hollow exhausts. While the plastic parts are also hollow, this resin set allows for insertion after painting.

To use the resin exhausts, you only need to add the provided exhaust supports to the model’s nose in the step where you would add the original kit exhaust pieces. The rest of the assembly can continue as usual, and once painting and finishing is complete, you simply add the resin exhaust by gluing it to the exhaust support added during construction.

It is a simple detail that makes painting and masking a much easier task, and it is highly recommended.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Ultracast
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$9.42

Ultracast from Canada has released several detail sets for the Eduard Spitfire MkIX in 1/48 scale.

This particular set is a drop-in replacement for the Spitfire propeller. It has been casted in a pale cream-colored resin with a delicate pour stub that will make removal an easy task. There are no bubbles or surface defects anywhere.

The only difference I can see between the kit’s propeller and the Ultracast version is the propeller’s blade chord being a bit wider in the resin parts. Moving on to the spinner, the resin version has rivet detail that the plastic part is missing.

From an assembly point of view, the replacement propeller differs from the plastic part in that each blade comes as a separate piece, meaning you have to set the proper pitch to each blade. However, the resin pour tab includes a small cube-shape piece that will take care of that. Nice touch Ultracast!

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Ultracast
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$4.27

Ultracast from Canada has released several detail sets for the Eduard Spitfire MkIX in 1/48 scale.

This particular set is a drop-in replacement for the Spitfire Cockpit door. It has been casted in a pale cream-colored resin with a delicate pour stub that will make removal an easy task.

As you can see, the finish is very smooth and the surface detail is delicate and petite. It includes the crowbar, a small handle, and the forming ribs of the door. A note of caution, I believe the crowbar was painted silver during WWII, and it was only after the war that they got painted red. Check your references.

I recommend this replacement part for modelers of all levels, except novices.

I would like to thank Ultracast and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Lifelike Decals
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$23.75

Lifelike Decals continues to release aftermarket sets of decals for 1/32 scale Fokker D.VIIs. Each set provides full national insignia and personal markings for four colorful aircraft. The latest two sets were released at the same time and offer marking options for aircraft built by various manufacturers. Set number 32019, Fokker D.VII Part 4, includes markings for the following aircraft:

Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Lifelike Decals
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$23.75

Lifelike Decals continues to release aftermarket sets of decals for 1/32 scale Fokker D.VIIs. Each set provides national insignia and personal markings for four colorful aircraft. The latest two sets were released at the same time a few months ago and offer marking options for aircraft built by various manufacturers. Set number 32-018, Fokker D.VII Part 3, includes markings for the following aircraft: