I would like to thank Master Model for this review sample.

Master Model has been literally “turning” out numerous metal details for the model maker. This latest offering is the Alpha Probe and angle of attack probe for the F-14 in 1/48. The alpha probe is the pitot at the forward end of the radome. For a model this is a very vulnerable place and no doubt, like me, you have managed to bend or snap off the plastic one provided in the kit. Quite frankly, they never look as crisp as the real thing and once the mold seam is removed can be a bit oblong in cross section. The angle of attack probe is the pointy short probe on the left side of the F-14 below and forward of the cockpit. On the Hasegawa kit it is molded with the fuselage. I managed to snap mine off while assembling the model. It is not an easy thing to replicate.

Hasegawa's 1/48th scale kit of the Stuka is a gem with great fit and detail and there are several aftermarket parts available for it. One thing that is lacking in the basic kit is seats with belts. Quickboost latest issue has that covered and is a two piece set with the pilots seats and gunners seat as separate parts. The parts are Quickboost's excellent, bubble and flash free gray resin. To use the parts is simple, cut the mold block off of each and sand.

I want to address the two parts individually. The attached photos of the pilot seat show the enormous improvement that the Quickboost seat is with its corrected shape, seat belts and much finer detail. in a word, the kit part is wrong and Quickboost fixes it in spades.

The gunners seat has the seat belts and the open structure. When compared to the kit seat (which I have already added PE seat belts too), the parts are pretty close for either. The Quickboost parts does have the belts so a slight edge to it.

History

The Ju88 was first flown in 1936 and remained in production until the end of the war (or as factories were overrun). Probably the most versatile aircraft flown by the Luftwaffe in WWII as it was used as a level bomber, dive bomber, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance, photo reconnaissance, day fighter, night fighter, pathfinder, pilotless missiles… (You get the picture). The Ju 88S version was developed to be a high speed, low drag bomber. Due to increasing armor and armament, the idea of a ‘Schnellbomber’ that could evade or make interception a tough thing to do was becoming a problem for the Ju 88s by the summer of 1942. The S version used an A-4 airframe as a starting point that was aerodynamically refined and was first flown in 1942. The refinements included deletion of the ventral gondola, a smoothly rounded Plexiglas nose and reducing the armoring. Also the defensive armament was reduced to 1 MG 131 firing aft.