Background

Developed in the 1970’s and first fielded in the early 1980’s as the US Air Force’s lightweight multirole fighter-bomber to replace the F-4 Phantom and A-7D Corsair II, the F-16 Fighting Falcon established itself as one of the most capable, reliable, and cost-effective aircraft in US Air Force history. One of the specialized roles the F-16C inherited from the F-4 was that of Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD), in Air Force parlance known as “Wild Weasel.” F-16C Block 50 and 52 aircraft equipped as Wild Weasels began production in 1991, and still serve as USAF’s primary SEAD platform.

This set in designed as a replacement for the kit wheels and hubs of Eduard’s new 1/72 FW 190A series of kits. The set includes two resin wheels with the hubs integrally cast and a mask set for the wheels.

When the wheels are removed from the casting block, Eduard’s careful planning comes to light as it turns out the attachment point is also a flattened area of the tire, establishing a realistic sit of the aircraft on the ground. While the tires are not bulged like some other replacement sets are, they really should not be in 1/72 scale as the tires are so small.

I painted the tires Tamiya NATO black with flat black hubs to create some contrast between the two shades of black. The enclosed mask set includes masks for the tires, but instead I painted the hubs first and then used the central circle of the mask to mask the hubs, followed by airbrushing the tires. I like this method as I tend to distort or tear the tire masks as they are very narrow.

Hauler has provided another addition to the great Diorama releases with this Modern Hand Pallet Truck. These were used to manually transport single pallet loads in commercial and military logistics operations.

The detail quality is great; there is a lot of easily removable flash and no other noticeable imperfections. The parts once removed from the mold base are ready to assembly. There is also a small Photo Etch sheet with some very delicate parts that need careful removal and adding to the assembly.

The Assembly is quick and easy. The final part is painted yellow and looks great as an addition to any diorama.

Thanks go to Hauler for providing this kit to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.