A fast way to upgrade any kit is to replace the wheels with some higher quality resin ones. Ultracast has long been a standard for outstanding resin aircraft accessories and updates, with their P-51 items leading the pack. These wheels are for any P-51 kit where the modeler desires a block tread, which is a little different than the standard kit-supplied diamond tread.

In The Package

The wheels come on two separate pour stubs, sealed in a Ziploc bag on a card hanger. The parts are completely free of any defect or casting flaw, and the tread pattern is very nicely defined but not overdone. The casting block attaches to the tire where there would be a slight flattening from the weight of the aircraft, but there is no “flat tire bulge.”

First, I owe an apology to you and to Dragon for my delay in building and reviewing this long-overdue British 25-Pdr. QF Field Gun Mk.II w/Limber & Crew - Smart Kit. Long overdue in that this fine kit finally replaces the venerable 35+ year old Tamiya 25-Pdr. Tamiya’s kit is comparatively toy-like and its figures scale rather short, 5’2” scale troops. Its big advantage was that either separately or as a package, Tamiya also provided a Quad Gun Tractor. In just over 210 gray injection-molded parts, Dragon provides only the 25-Pdr, limber, and crew. And DML sets the bar high as this is one of the best, easiest to build artillery models I’ve had the pleasure of building.

As might be predicted, with Eduard’s numerous MiG 21 releases on the market, Aires has now added a highly detailed 1/48 scale Soviet KM-1 ejection seat to their line of aftermarket parts. By incorporating both cast resin components and numerous small photo-etch parts, Aires has come up with a remarkably accurate rendition of this style of ejection seat. So many parts are involved that one might describe this aftermarket seat as a kit in itself. The photos below show the components and the finished product.