Mk.82 Bombs

Published: January 31, 2017
Company: Eduard

Eduard continues their Brassin series armament releases for 1/32^nd scale aircraft with Mk. 82 low drag, general purpose bombs which are in use around the world. This set is your basic dumb bomb with a low drag configuration with no guidance systems or retardation fins. This set is comprised of thirty parts; twelve of which are the bomb fronts and the fins. The remaining eighteen are fusing/plugging options. There are three choices- standard fuse and the extended fuse and lastly, the plug installed to the nose to cover the internal parts. Casting is excellent with no pinholes and great definition. There are no seams on the parts to sand.

Preparation is simple. The tail fins and the main body need to have their casting block removed and this is where planning pays off… more

F9F Panther Control Surfaces

Published: January 29, 2017
Company: Aires Hobby Models

Aires continues its releases with this excellent set to make the horizontal stabilizers moveable on Trumpeters 1/48^th scale F9F Panther. The set is comprises four perfectly molded parts with two for each side.

Casting is perfect and prep work takes about five minutes. Carefully cut the four parts free with a razor saw and then sand the edges smooth that were cut loose. They are already keyed to fit directly into the kit parts. A little clean up and they fit perfectly. One thing to note too, the set duplicates the kits surface detail very well with all the needed rivets. To finish, glue to the kit and angle the moveable parts to the same angle and paint.

This is a wonderful quick to add set from Aires and will give you kit more visual interest. Highly… more

R-2600 Engine Front

Published: June 18, 2021
Company: RESIN2 Detail

Resin 2 Detail produces some really great and unique resin parts to enhance kits. This set is part of their “Fast Fix” series. They are single part upgrades which enhances the kits quickly and simply. This set is two R-2600 engine fronts which are suitable as upgrades to any 1/48^th scale Helldiver, Avenger, A-20, or B-25’s. They are direct replacements with almost no preparation needed.

The set comes with two engines so you could do two avengers or one each of the A-20 or B-25’s. The castings are perfect and very detailed and include two engine faces along with two magnetos for the top. Preparation is simple by grinding off the back casting block of the engines, cut the magneto off and glue to the top of the engine per the instructions.

I primed the engine… more

SBD-5 Dauntless Undercarriage Covers

Published: December 20, 2016
Company: Aires Hobby Models

Quickboost is well known for making simple, well detailed, drop in replacement parts. This set is for the Accurate Miniatures (now Italeri) SBD-5 and replaces the undercarriage covers. The set includes two replacement doors which replace the kit parts. The molding is perfect and as you can see in the comparison, the Quickboost parts are much thinner that the kit parts on the edges. One thing to note- the kit parts have a tab which goes up into wheel well and establishes the angle while the Quickboost parts are more accurate and attach only to the landing gear struts.

Preparation is simple; I used a photoetch razor saw to cut the parts free and primed the parts with Alclad gray. I was installing these on an Atlantic scheme kit so interior and exterior color was white. I added… more

McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II, Fuselage and Wing Assembly, Part 2

Published: December 20, 2016
Company: Zoukei-Mura

In Part 1, We worked through the cockpit and assembly of the basic fuselage. In Part 2, we’ll get the wings done and the fuselage finished and button up things for its first set of paint.

The fuselage includes several pieces indicating future variants of the Phantom. The rudder top cap is a separate piece and glues easily in place. Make sure your alignment is straight with the rest of the rudder on this part. There are two different rudder caps so make sure you select the correct one. The front radome is added and with a light sanding fits wonderfully into place. It is keyed but make sure it is in the correct orientation. If not, it will look really weird. Lastly, the top spine of the fuselage can be added. Not the need to add a hole for an antenna. This part took a light… more

SBD-5 Dauntless Exhaust

Published: December 19, 2016
Company: Quickboost

Quickboost is famous for making simple, well detailed, drop in replacement parts. This set is for the Accurate Miniatures (now Italeri) SBD-5 and replaces the exhausts. The set includes four exhausts which have the attachment tab molded into the bottom. The molding is perfect and as you can see in the comparison, the Quickboost parts are much thinner than the kit parts on the edges and have a nice deep indent. Also, there are four exhausts, which is enough to do two kits or a spare if you are a fumble fingers like me.

Adding them to the kit is simple. Cut them from the casting block and sand as needed. I primed with Alclad gray primer and then painted with Alclad exhaust manifold. I added a black wash making sure to get it deep in the inside. Once dry, I flat coated and glued… more

F/A-18C US Navy, Swiss Air Force, Finnish Air Force & Topgun

Published: December 18, 2016
Company: Kinetic Model Kits

When Kinetic announced they were doing a F/A-18C series, there was a lot of interest based on the fact that the Hornet has been a long serving fighter with an iconic shape and lots of great markings. When the markings were announced, my interest became a little more personal as one of the markings was for VFA-25 on the USS Carl Vinson. I was lucky enough to be on that very tiger cruise and I have included a series of pictures of this plane. How could I not build it (plus you can never have enough Hornets).

Looking in the box, there are 18 light gray sprues with crisp engraved panel lines and riveting. Six of the sprues are dedicated to weapons (missile, bombs and pods). There are also two clear sprues, a photoetch sheet and the instructions which include separate building and… more

USAAF 50-GAL Fuel Drums

Published: June 18, 2021
Company: RESIN2 Detail

Brian Watkins is a huge WWII buff and longtime modeler and he did what many of us have always thought about, started his own company, Resin 2 Detail which is supplying detail parts he has researched, 3D printed and is selling them to us which is awesome

This is a nice small set of four US 50-Gallon barrels/drums in two different styles. Each style comes a dented version and undented version. The parts are perfectly cast and bubble/seam free.

Prep work is simple, lightly sand the bottom and prime the parts. Looking through the Internet, I found a couple different colors so I thought I would do some gray versions and some black and concentrate on weathering and wearing on the dented versions. I used a mixture of washes and pastels and the drums look great. I am sure you… more

F/A-18C Seatbelts, Steel

Published: December 15, 2016
Company: Eduard

Kinetics’ 1/48^th scale F/A-18C is a great kit and comes with a good representation of the SJU17A ejection seat. The kit even provides a photoetch generic seat belt. Eduard ups the ante a ton with its release of a color photoetch steel set of belts specifically designed for the Kinetic seat.

The set has one small colorized steel fret with nine pieces for the shoulder/seat belts and two pieces for the leg restraints. All made with multicolor parts. As you can see in the photo, the kit provides a basic lap belt and shoulder harness.

Addition to the seat is easy. There are four sets of lap belts so those get added first. The seat is pretty flat so they slide right into place. Next, add the adjustment straps on top of the four lap belts. Lastly, bend the shoulder… more

F/A-18 Canopy and Wheel Masks

Published: December 13, 2016
Company: Eduard

Masking sets first started making their appearance a while back and have been made in several materials including vinyl and tape. Eduard has settled on the kabuki style thin yellow tape for their masking material and makes a wide assortment of masks for many different subjects. I think tape is the best item as it is thin, conforms to the shapes well and provides a good seal.

This Eduard set is specifically designed for the Kinetic 1/48th scale F/A-18C and provides masks for the windscreen, canopy, and the wheels. Use of the masks is very simple. The windscreen and canopy are broken into four parts- two for the left side and two for the right side. Start at the corner and place the mask to conform to the curve in the corner and extend it out even with the bottom frame. Place the… more