Review Author
Rick Bellanger
Published on
April 25, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$54.95

I received this conversion set with great anticipation and look forward to installing it on my latest venture.

I have built quite a few Tamiya, 1/32nd Phantom kits, since its debut. (a total of 77 to be exact.) I know this guy’s lying, but it's true. I used to build for a decal manufacturer that had over 100 decal sets for the F-4 and he wanted a model built for every one of them, all in 1/32nd. Well, he is out of business, so now I build for myself). I have used just about every aftermarket product out there for the F-4 and I'm always looking for something new. Eduard has come aboard with a very nice Exhaust Nozzle set.

Opening the package revealed some nice protective foam and each assembly was in its own plastic bag. No damage or lost parts. You get direct replacement parts for two engine intakes, discharges, tubes and nozzles. Also included is a new arresting hook. All the parts are of a very high quality resin casting and photo etch.

Review Author
Tom Moon
Published on
April 25, 2011
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$14.95

This set consists of 4 figures all conducting land mine removal.

The figures come on two sprues with 67 parts, the bulk of which are the odds and ends that the soldiers are carrying. The box art and instructions on the back of the box show the figures as completed. The first figure is using a probe to find mines, the second is digging with a spade, the third is removing (or placing) a mine, and the fourth is using a mine detector. The poses are well done and depict a reasonable amount of action.

The set had very minimal flash and no ejection pin marks. What mold lines that were there were easily removed with a sharp blade. There are no decals and the painting instructions are just for the major items. You will need to copy what you see in the illustration or consult your references for actual colors for the badges, shoulder boards, and metals. The paint colors are coded for Vallejo, Testors, Tamiya, Humbrol, Revell, and Mr. Color.

Review Author
Chad Richmond
Published on
April 24, 2011
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$42.50

The Academy 1/32ndscale F-16I Sufa is a very nicely done kit, with lots of detail and lots of extra bits and pieces. But, Aires isn’t satisfied with good detail, they want great detail. And, that’s what they have done with this wheel well detail set. There are four resin cast pieces to the set, along with four pieces of copper wire to use for various hoses that would be virtually impossible to cast. Although, I’m sure they tried to figure out a way to do it. The main wheel well has so much detail molded in the one piece of resin, that I am still scratching my head on how they made the mold, with all of the undercuts that are present in the casting. What Academy takes seven separate molded parts to do, Aires has done in one. All of the hydraulic lines are there, as are the pumps, wires and junction boxes. There is a casting plug on it that’s a big as the gear well itself that has to be removed, but that’s it.

Review Author
Chad Richmond
Published on
April 24, 2011
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$16.50

Aires continues to produce some very finely detailed resin parts that upgrade the accuracy of model manufacturer’s releases. The Aires Hobby Models F-100C/D exhaust nozzle for the Trumpeter 1/72 F-100 is no exception. It is molded at the correct length, and comes with a very nice turbine complete with fins and a photo etch flame holder, plus a really nice ribbed burner can and exhaust. The interior of the burner can has only one barely perceptive seam on the inside, but I can certainly deal with it being there. When compared with the short, two pieces can from the kit, it’s a no brainer. I’m still trying to clean up the seams in the 1/8thinch space between the internal ridges. And there are no nasty ejector pin marks to clean up, either. I don’t know how Aires made the mold, but I’m happy with it. The kit burner can has two locator rings molded to it and corresponding grooves on each of the fuselage halves, which lock and align the can in place.

Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
April 24, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$3.95

Quickboost added the top antenna for the tail of the FW 190A-4 to their line of resin aircraft accessories. This latest addition is molded in a cream colored resin, smooth, seamless and bubble free. One thing of note is that they are easy to remove from the mold block taking only a couple of minutes with a saw blade to remove them.

The package states that it is for the Tamiya kit but should work with any kit that you want to covert past an A-3 model. From what I’ve researched about the Tamiya kit, the 1/48thkit comes with the option to do the A-3 or A-4 but the 1/72 only comes as an A-3. Once again Quickboost comes to the rescue to let the 1/72ndmodeler have the same options. All that is needed is to cut along the seam line of the A-3 antenna and glue the A-4 antenna in place.