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The Wespe was in production from February 1943 until June 1944 by taking a Panzer II chassis, moving the engine to the front right and adding a fighting compartment with a 105mm howitzer in it.
This update set is typical Aires, coming in a sturdy plastic package with foam backing and instructions tucked in between the cardboard back and plastic. First impression is how crisp the detail is on the internal afterburner nozzles and after burner cans. Mold release is non-existent however I still recommend washing the resin before use.
Compared to the Revell kit parts, the Aires set has a finer detailed afterburner fuel manifold & flame stabilizer at an astonishing degree of detail. One word or warning as you will see in the pictures, be very careful when removing the excess material. I used a belt sander and trimmed to what appears correct in the instructions and it gets very thin. Portions of the burner ring backing vanish just leaving the fine webs of the fuel manifold. This will allow you to see right through the part until it is installed on the kit. I fine-tuned removing the back of the part with 600 grit wet/dry sand paper so be very careful.
The Bf-109G-6 was the most produced variant of the iconic German fighter and as such the paint schemes on it were varied and could get quite interesting. That is where this sheet comes in.
Eagle Editions is known for its Luftwaffe releases and Jerry Crandall is world renowned for his expertise on the Luftwaffe. So it is with that information that I am always eager for each new release. This decal sheet does not disappoint. The Bf-109 is my favorite aircraft and a popular modeling subject. With the release of the Eduard and Zvezda kits recently and even more recently the Tamiya one there is no lack of plastic to add these decals to.
Quickbost has produced replacement exhausts for the Hasegawa 1/48 F-190 kits. The resin replacements are a simple drop-in substitute for the kit’s plastic parts. The supplied items include all three separate exhaust stacks. There is no modification required to the kit parts to use these resin replacements. The resin parts will need to be cut with a razor saw close to the base of the stacks to fit properly, so use care when removing the stubs.
A side by side evaluation (see photos) indicates a replacement of superior detail that will provide a more accurate rendition of the Butcher Bird’s exhaust assemblies. Check your references for the appropriate placement. Be sure to wash the parts in soapy water to remove mold release agents and prime prior to using your favorite modeling paints.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to the IPMS Reviewer Corps and Quickboost for the opportunity to review this item.
This is the 2nd eBook provided by Richard Marmo that I have had the opportunity to review recently.
United States Camouflage WWII, is not a book written by Richard, but rather is a book compiled and published by Jay Frank Dial in 1964. Richard restored and enhanced it, and then converted it (with small additions) to PDF format in 2008. According to the promotional blurb, the original book has/had been difficult to locate and was expensive when found. I did a quick search on abebooks and was able to locate a few copies, some cheaper than others (none cheaper than this eBook). The original book had only one production run in 1964 and was never reprinted.
