Thank you to Freedom Model Kits for providing a review copy of an excellent new release of a very unusual aircraft. Thank you to the many Reviewer Corps people who make the IPMS review system work. It is a continuing honor and privilege to be part of the team.

This first release from a new company is a welcome addition to UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) subjects in the scale model world. Freedom Model Kits (FMK) maintains an excellent Facebook presence (see the vendor link above), hosting much good information including corrections, and they set a very high standard with their first offering. I thoroughly enjoyed building this kit for review. The part fit is excellent, construction is very straightforward, and a very nice model may be produced directly out of the box. The model compares well to public domain published literature and internet sources.

Master Model, maker of fantastic turned-metal details, has released a new set of 1/72 probes for the RA-5C Vigilante. The Vietnam-era RA-5C, a supersonic nuclear bomber turned capable reconnaissance aircraft, features a prominent pitot tube with multiple diameter changes along its length. Master’s set includes both the complicated pitot tube and an AOA (angle of attack) probe. The set can be used on any 1/72 RA-5C kit, and should be an outstanding upgrade. In this review, I’ve compared the parts to the Trumpeter kit.

Aires is constantly adding to the Quickboost line, and here is one of the latest.

QB 48-602 are gun barrels designed to be used with Hasegawa’s 1/48 N1K2-J. As with other Quickboost products, these are meant to be drop-fit replacements for kit parts. The molding on this resin set was extremely crisp.

In comparing these to the kit items they are designed to replace, I found a few key differences. First, and probably the main reason one would want this set, the tips of the QB set are open. Hasegawa’s barrels are sadly molded flush across, with no opening. While in general I am fine to create an opening with the tip of my Xacto and a small drill on ‘standard’ gun barrels, the flared muzzle on these makes that a bit more challenging of an undertaking. So I will happily be using the QB ones instead. Second, the QB barrels just have a much less ‘clunky’ look to them. A quick glance at the photos should help demonstrate that.