Mil Mi-8/Mi-17 Hip Landing Gear

Published: August 24, 2018
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

The Trumpeter helicopters are really nice kits but the kit’s white metal landing gear are very fragile. They are brittle and break apart. I’ve had this issue with the CH-47D and Mi-8 kit landing gear. Scale Aircraft Conversions offers a replacement set of white metal landing gear for the Hip.

This set includes nine white metal parts for the landing gear. They are direct replacements for the kit landing gear. They are packaged in a cardboard backed blister pack. The detail is nicely represented and should prove no problem for adding them to the kit.

They are not brittle like the kit parts. Some parts will need straightening as they got slightly bent during shipping.

These are a nice addition and stronger than the kit landing gear. These are a perfect replacement for… more

WGr.21 for Bf 109G-6

Published: August 24, 2018
Company: Eduard

The Tamiya Bf-109G-6 allows a lot of options. One option that isn’t included is the WGr-21 Rocket system. The mortar rockets were mounted under the wings of the Bf-109, from the G-2 to the G-6.

This set is packaged in a typical blister pack with 16 light grey resin and one photo-etch fret. The resin is molded in light grey and dark grey not that it matters as both styles are beautifully done. The weld mark on the tubes is awesome.

The fret is made up mostly of templates to first set the angle of support struts and second to then set its location on the wing. The assembly of the set is pretty straightforward once you get the templates made up. You get two separate rockets for your diorama and two rockets to be ‘installed’ in the tubes. The photo-etch parts for the… more

Bf-109G-6 Exhaust Stacks

Published: November 12, 2020
Company: Eduard

The Tamiya Bf-109G-6 has that beautiful engine that can be shown opened or closed. My question was they lead the world in engineering kits, can’t they hollow out the exhausts? Apparently not. So that is where this set comes in.

Eduard provides the answer. Packaged in the typical Brassin blister pack, Eduard provides you with some spectacular exhausts to replace the kit parts. Two light grey resin set of exhausts are included, as well as, a fret of photo-etch. They have beautiful weld lines and are hollowed out. They also are specifically designed for the Tamiya kit. The mounting points on the engine are sided and so are these beauties.

The photo-etch parts are for the deflectors and the front and rear deflectors.

The instructions are printed on a single sheet… more

Team Factory: Carrier Air Wing Eight at War - Operation Inherent Resolve 2017

Published: August 24, 2018
Company: Furball Aero-Design

The USS George H.W. Bush is the latest aircraft carrier in the US Navy arsenal. The carrier was deployed in 2017 as the flagship of Operation Inherent Resolve. On its decks were the many variants of the F/A-18, in the guise of the C, E, and F as well as the EA-18G. Furball Aero-Design has gathered this information and provided it to the modeler.

The decals are packaged in a large ziplock. They are printed by Cartograf so you know they are world class decals. The colors are in perfect register with good color saturation. My decals were so large that I couldn’t seal them. I cut the bottom and top of the sheet to make it fit the packaging.

The decal sheets contain markings for 18 aircraft, five F/A-18Fs, eight F/A-18Es, three F/A-18Cs and two EA-18Gs. The aircraft… more

Bf-109G-6 Radio Compartment

Published: August 24, 2018
Company: Eduard

No doubt the Tamiya Bf-109G-6 is an impressive kit right out of the box. But what if you want something more impressive? Well help comes from an unexpected source, Eduard. As the Tamiya kit is in direct competition with Eduard’s kit I was surprised by the amount of detail set that Eduard offered to upgrade the Tamiya kit.

This set is packaged in a standard blister pack that Brassin item typically packaged in. The parts are held in place by foam. The six resin parts are molded in light grey resin with no blemishes anywhere. The detail is impressive. The hardest part is removing Part 91. It is very delicate so be careful when removing it. There is a fret of brass photo etch pieces. It contains five pieces. The instructions are easy to understand and are on a single page.… more

Do 335 B-2 Detail Set - MG 151, MK-103 Tips, FuG 25a Antenna, Pitot Tube

Published: August 24, 2018
Company: Master Model

The Do-335B-2 Zerstrorer version of the late war German fighter plane had two wing-mounted 30mm cannons in addition to the standard 30mm armament in the nose.

Master has provided some remarkable parts to replace the kit ones. Packaged in the standard card stock backed zip lock baggie. The individual items are packaged separately to ensure that they are safe from damage. The set comprises two resin pieces, the muzzle flash suppressors, and seven beautifully turned brass parts. There are two cowl-mounted 30mm barrels, as well as the wing mounted ones which the flash suppressors are fitted to. A pitot tube is included along with a FuG-25 underwing antenna. The propeller blast tube is also included and makes this set very complete.

The turned metal parts provide the modeler… more

Su-35S AL-42F1S Exhaust Nozzles

Published: August 23, 2018
Company: Amigo Models

The Su-35 is a super maneuverable Russian fighter plane. One of the reasons for this is the vectored exhaust nozzles which can direct the exhaust in a variety of directions allowing the super maneuverability required in a dogfight.

Amigo Models has released a set of exhausts for the Kitty Hawk Su-35. Packaged in a small cardboard box the parts are protected by bubble wrap and resealable bags. The resin is a very light grey resin. The parts are superbly cast but more importantly extremely well detailed. They are quite thin as they should be. The interior of the burner cans is simply breathtaking in its detailing. The detail on the inside and out is simply beautiful. Removal of the burner ring is tricky but the rest are really easy to remove. Time and patience will reward you… more

Bf-109G-6 Canopy TMasks

Published: November 12, 2020
Company: Eduard

Eduard has initiated a new line of masks that are rather unique in that they provide masking for the outside and inside of the canopy. While this is not a new solution it is the first time that pre-cut masks have been available. If you are like me you mask the outside and paint the inside color so that it shines through and call it a day. The drawback of this method is that while the correct color it is shiny.

• EX581
• EX582

In the past canopies have been rather thick and as such caused distortion so that if you masked from the inside it might not be perfectly aligned with the outside and vise versa. Modern kit canopies are significantly thinner than previous kits. So that… more

Bf-109G-6 Photo Etch

Published: August 22, 2018
Company: Eduard

The Tamiya Bf-109G-6 has produced quite a nice model that is beautifully engineered. Because it is plastic there are things that are overscaled. Enter Eduard with their sets designed for their competitors 109.

This set is in the standard Eduard photo etch packaging with a resealable package and protected by thin card stock. The set contains two sets of photo etch, a single pre-painted fret made out of nickel plated brass and a larger brass fret.

The smaller one is pre-printed and is from the ZOOM set. The primary colored part is the instrument panel. The instrument panel now features simulated glass on the gauges. They look great. The only thing that would change would be to flat the outer face before you assemble the instrument panel together.

But the set… more

Bf-109G-6 Seatbelts Steel

Published: August 22, 2018
Company: Eduard

Tamiya‘s beautiful Bf-109G-6 is just a fun build. What it does lack is the seatbelts. Tamiya provides you with a decal to replicate the seatbelts and shoulder harnesses. This is a major letdown for me as the belts are quite prominent in the small cockpit.

Packaged in a self-resealing package that is typical for Eduard smaller photo etch is one fret of pre-painted photo etch. The fret includes the seatbelts and shoulder harnesses. They are painted properly with some shading around the buckles. It is very convincing and looks great.

I noticed that this set is slightly different from the one designed for the Eduard kit so it is definitely designed for the Tamiya kit. You can tell by the mount for the shoulder harness which will key into the kit attachment point.… more