It is no secret that I love the Eduard Bf-109E kits. Having built three of them in various forms has provided me with some insight on these little gems. One thing that would be nice is the ability to articulate the elevators, as is frequently seen on the real thing. I can never get this to look correct to my eye when I do the work.

Quickboost has the answer. Molded in a light olive drab resin, this set comes in four parts – two horizontal surfaces and two elevators that already have been modified with beveled surfaces that allow the modeler to articulate the control surfaces without issue. The detail on the parts is exactly as good as the kit parts.

If you do articulate the controls, don’t forget to offset the stick in the cockpit as well. Down elevators mean forward on stick. My next Eduard 109 will have this set installed.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the review copy.

The Ki-84 Hayate was the premier Japanese fighter of the war. It also sported some really colorful markings that are a natural for an airplane modeler.

The instructions are printed on two single-sided A4 sheets in full color. Five aircraft are included in the decals. The exterior sheet has the three-view drawings and the references used to design the decals.

The decals themselves are printed by Cartograf and are very colorful. They are in perfect register and thin. In my opinion, Cartograf is the best decal producer in the world. I’ve used all kinds of setting solutions on them and they perform flawlessly. The decals not only include the aircraft markings but also some stencils.

The first Hayate has never before been seen in print, let alone as a decal. The aircraft has a unique spackled look to it with a beautiful white tiger on the tail. This aircraft was flown by Lt. Shuho Yamana of Army Transportation Unit in the fall of 1944.

This in the sixth volume in Osprey’s Air Vanguard series, but the first I have come across. The series seems geared to providing an overall view of the subject aircraft’s development, technical specifications, and operational history. One interesting angle on this series is that the books are also available in eReader formats such as Kindle or ePDF files. People have differing opinions on which format is better suited to a reference book, but in any case it is nice that this option is available.

The book is broken down into 4 basic sections: Design and Development, Technical Specifications, Mark by Mark, and Operational History. A brief Conclusion section wraps things up, and a small bibliography (6 titles) is included.