This is a re-issue of an older kit, with this being a Limited edition kit featuring a new display stand, Hubble, Shuttle, and three resin astronauts. It is an excellent kit in the Hasegawa range and is very easy to build as long as you watch the instruction details carefully.

In the box is:

• 2 x black sprues
• 2 x white sprues
• 1 clear sprue
• 1 clear blue stand
• 1 grey sprue
• 1 chrome
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 wire
• 1 stand thick curved wire
• 1 instruction booklet

The sprues are extremely well molded with no flash and great detail. The decals allow you to finish the shuttle in three different shuttles.

A perfect addition to your diorama or display base is this Aires Aerobonus figure. This Russian Pilot figure is designed to be used with any modern Russian aircraft or helicopter. Aires Aerobonus provides a resin figure with separate arms and head on one pour stub with side bars to protect the figure. Of note is the re-sealable packaging that Quickboost uses that makes the parts easy to review and then stuff back into the package securely. The supplied instructions provide color drawings for painting.

History

The Spitfire is probably one of the most famous fighters to emerge from the World War II era, combining performance, beauty, and reliability in one exceptional airframe. Its story has been told repeatedly over the years, so I won’t retell it here. The Mk. XVI was a development of the Mk. IX, a Merlin-powered variant, and the basic difference between the Mk. IX and the Mk. XVI was the American build Packard-Rolls Royce Merlin used in the later mark. Most Mk. XVI’s had “bubble” type canopies, although a few of the first had the standard Spitfire faired in type. Over 1,000 were built during the last year of the war, and the type was used by the tactical Air Force as well as Fighter Command. Many served postwar until replacement by jet fighters.