Chris Gibson

IPMS Number
49143

Reviews By Author

Packaging

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Machine Gun Set - Browning M2 Aircraft .50 Caliber Barrels with Flash Hiders

Published:
Company: Master Model

The 1/32 B-17G by HK Models was a kit that I really wanted to get my hands on, and last year I finally acquired one. I have been waiting to build it, slowly getting aftermarket pieces for the kit. When I had a chance to review the Master Model .50 cal. brass machine gun barrels, I jumped at it.

The package contains 13 turned-brass barrels, 13 brass cooling jackets with drilled holes and 4 brass flash suppressors. Right out of the package, I could see these were of very good quality. When I compared them to the kit barrels it was no contest; the kit barrels were so crude one would think that HK made a mistake. First, they were too thin. Next, they had 4 different lengths, and finally, the blast suppressors looked like cones on the ends. The Master Model barrels are about as… more

Package

P-38 Correct Engine Covers

Published:
Company: Quickboost

Quickboost has come out with a very nice aftermarket set of correct engine cowls for the 1/72 Academy P-38 Lightning. Right out of the clear packaging I could see that they did a very nice job in detail and size.

I took the kit cowls out and noticed I had to glue on the lower radiator intakes. The intakes did not fit very well, and would have to be filled and sanded. I then compared both cowls and you can see in the photos the kit lower intakes are bigger and thicker than the Quickboost. The scoops on the side look much nicer and are hollow, whereas the kit scoops are solid. After comparing them I started the task of cutting the Kit cowls off and installing the Quickboost ones. I used a very thin saw blade to do the job. Be careful and take your time so as not to ruin the rear… more

Product Package

SAC Landing Gear for P-38

Published:
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

When I received the aftermarket SAC landing gear for the 1/72 Academy P38 Lightning I went to get out the kit I had and realized the one I had was 1/48 scale, so I had to quick get one off ebay to do the review. Once I found one at a reasonable price and received the kit I finally got down to business. I opened the kit and got the SAC gear out for comparison. After removing the gear from the kit sprues I laid them out to compare them side by side. I was kind of disappointed with the look of the SAC gear, they had some flash on the gear and some mold lines that were very noticeable. Then I looked over the kit gear and found that Academy has some very good gear right out of the box, the mold lines and crisp detail were almost better than the SAC gear. I then proceeded to clean up each… more