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Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$6.50

Having just finished the Eduard Royal Class Spitfire Mk.IX kit, I can say that this kit is absolutely perfect; however, that is the Royal Class kit. The Weekend Edition of this kit will be lacking two essential items in plastic – the ballistic bulkheads. The Weekend Edition won’t have the PE parts that the Royal Class kit has. Quickboost calls them bulkheads, but they are actually the ballistic protection plates behind the cockpit.

Molded perfectly in thin light grey resin, these two pieces are easy enough to remove from the pour block, and just need paint to upgrade your cockpit. Your other option is to cut your own bulkheads. We all know what a pain it is to get them perfect. Quickboost does that for you.

This set is essential for the Weekend Edition of the Spitfire. If you have the Royal Class or the Profipack, you will not need it unless you don’t want to deal with the PE parts in the kit.

Highly recommended.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$37.50

You want your Flogger to stand out on the model table? How about opening up the entire nose section? Now we are talking. What can be cooler than complete electronic bays? Normally the whole process would be hours of research, and then hours of scratchbuilding. Thanks to Aires, this will be significantly easier.

You get 25 high-quality light grey resin pieces that feature bulkheads, access panels, and radio/radar equipment. Unlike most Aires sets, this set does not come with any photo etch parts. Everything is rendered perfectly in resin. The bays are deep and have the equipment added from behind. Just exquisite molding.

You think you have to wire the electronics? Nope; miraculously, Aires has even molded the wiring. All the modeler will need to do is artful painting.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$21.50

The Trumpeter MiG-23 is a nice kit, but the seat and the whole cockpit is simplified. It may be just the limitations of plastic molding technology, but now you don’t have to scratchbuild the cockpit. The Aires set comes in their normal packaging in a plastic container, with foam securing the parts in place. It is effective. I did have one piece fall off the sprue, but that is to be expected in shipping, sometimes.

There are nine exquisite resin parts perfectly molded in light grey resin. The amount of detail in this set has to be seen to be believed. The cockpit is perfection. The undercuts on the side walls are impressive. The same can be said for the instrument panel coaming. The pour blocks are small and will be easy to remove.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Aero Line
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$11.20

Plusmodel’s Aero Line continues its tradition of providing the modeler with simple and interesting pilot figures. The latest is a pilot for the MiG-15. This is a two-piece figure. The biggest part is the pilot himself. The other piece is the parachute pack. Both are perfectly cast in light grey resin. There is very little clean-up required. The thin wafer of material around the figure is easily removed by hand and cleaned up with a sharp blade. The face is perfectly formed. The proportion of the figure are perfect. The stance of the pilot is relaxed and completely natural. The equipment is perfectly sculpted, as well. I could not find anything I didn’t like. The small parachute pack is easily attached to the pilot’s backside.

The figure is safely packaged in a plastic container with the parts safeguarded by a piece of foam. Included on the packaging is a painting of the figure. Inside the packaging is the same painting but much larger.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.50

The Trumpeter F-100 series of models is nice. If you are like me, it is really tough to get rid of the mold line on the round parts such as the refueling probe. I can get rid of the mold line, but keeping it round is not my forte. Quickboost offers a quick and easy upgrade. This set provides three pieces of resin molded perfectly in light grey resin.

The probe comes in three pieces. One is the fuselage mounting point with a perfectly hollowed out tip. Then there is the long probe itself. I was amazed at how straight this part was and, best yet, no mold line. The part is removed from the base. Then the final part is the probe end. This is really a nice looking piece. It is an accurate representation. It will require a sliver of resin to be sanded off the end, but that is an easy operation.

While designed for the F-100, the probe tip can be used on any US aircraft that has an in-flight refueling probe.