F-15 Eagle Landing Gear

Published: June 21, 2021
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

The F-15 sits up high on fragile bird like landing gear and let’s face it the plastic kit parts are pretty flimsy. This is where white metal landing gear come in.

Packaged on a cardboard backing with a plastic enclosure glued on the front, the parts are loose inside the packaging. There are three white metal parts, one for each landing gear. The three landing gear parts are made of white metal that looks blemish free, however, my example had the large support strut slightly bent. Nothing drastic or dramatic, it was easy enough to straighten out. I can’t find any seam lines on any of the pieces. All the pieces had one little attachment point that will need to be removed. Very small and easy enough to do with hobby knife and sandpaper.

The SAC metal landing gear is a stronger… more

MiG-21 Landing Light

Published: April 3, 2015
Company: Quickboost

The landing lights under the wings on the MiG-21 is quite a visible feature. The Eduard kit has you just add a plastic piece over the area. It may be adequate for some but for others it will just beckon those to detail it. Enter the Quickboost set.

Two resin blocks are included. One is crystal clear with outer part of the light and then the other part is a very tiny filament part. It is as realistic as the real thing. The other resin block is molded in light grey resin. This is the housing for the light. Just paint this part gloss silver, add the filament and you will have a perfectly realistic landing light housing.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Aires and IPMS/USA for the review copy. You can get yours directly from Aires at … more

Messerschmitt Bf-109G Opened Cockpit’s Rear Bulkhead Eq. MW-50 or GM-1

Published: April 3, 2015
Company: Quickboost

The MW-50 and GM-1 were used to raise the operating altitude and provide more power for the DB-605. The storage area behind the pilot had an access panel inside it to allow the Schwarzmann a place to service the system. This unique setup has never been available before in model form as far as I know.

Molded in light grey resin with the minimal resin flash, there are four parts for this set molded on two pour blocks. There is minimal flash on the one part but nothing that a knife blade and five seconds couldn’t take care of. The instructions are simple enough and show you how to add the parts. It really is a no-brainer. The storage area is provided in a single piece with the additional compartment cut out of the bottom of the area.

This set will work perfectly for your… more

MiG-19PM (Farmer E) Missile Rails Nose Parts & Pitot Tube

Published: April 3, 2015
Company: Master Model

The MiG-19PM is the missile version of the short lived MiG-19 family. The PM had four pylons which allowed the aircraft to fire beam riding AA-1 missiles.

This set is packaged in a Ziploc bag. There are five parts in the package. The large pitot tube is beautifully rendered out of turned aluminum. There are four turned brass missile rails that are designed to fit on the front of the missile pylons. These will hang out the end of the pylons so you know they will break off during handling, unless you replace them with these metal extensions.

So you have an easy to install upgrade for a reasonable price. This simple and effective upgrade offers strength and perfectly round cross section with minimal work. What more can you ask for? The set is indicative of the quality… more

Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6 Correct Gun Bulges

Published: April 3, 2015
Company: Quickboost

The Revell Bf-109G-6 is an inexpensive model but it does come with its flaws. One of the most noticeable flaws is the anemic gun bulges. Quickboost offers a chance to replace them.

Molded on a single pour block, the light grey resin is perfectly cast of two bulges. Removal of the bulges from the pour block does not seem too difficult. They are properly bulged and direct replacement for the kit parts. Simple and easy.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Aires and IPMS/USA for the review copy. You can get yours directly from Aires at www.aires.com or at your local hobby shop or online retailer.

A-37 Dragonfly Ejection Seats with Safety Belts

Published: April 2, 2015
Company: Quickboost

With any jet the most obvious thing about the cockpit is the ejection seat. If you were to do anything to improve the look of your model cockpit then just add an ejection seat or two in this case.

Packaged as usual for Quickboost in a self sealing package with card board backing sheet this protects the parts while still allowing you to see them. This set has two seats with molded on seatbelts. The resin pieces are molded on pour blocks that will be easily removed. They are flawlessly cast in light grey resin. The belts are perfectly draped and look very realistic. I could find no flaws. There was a little bit of resin that will have to be removed from the seatbelt as it is draped realistically, but to cast it there is a very, very thin membrane of resin that will need to be… more

F/A-18E Super Hornet Exhaust Nozzles - Closed

Published: March 31, 2015
Company: Aires Hobby Models

The Revell F/A-18E is a nice kit of the modern Navy fighter. There are ways to improve it though. The F/A-18 exhaust nozzles close down on shutdown. So this detail set is perfect for the Revell kit. The kit engines are small, inaccurate, and shallow completely lacking depth and detail of a modern jet engine.

There are eight total parts in this set molded perfectly in light grey resin. Each engine has four pieces. There are obviously the exhaust nozzles, but the real story is inside the engine. The burner can, afterburner can and flame nozzle all have detail that isn’t available in the kit. The kit actually provides tiny simulated engines. There is no depth and very little detail. What detail is there is not accurate for such a big engine. Another benefit of this set is that the… more

Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6 Correct Oil Radiator

Published: March 31, 2015
Company: Quickboost

The Revell Bf-109G-6 when released was a welcomed addition to the 32nd Luftwaffe modeler. The Hasegawa kit was getting more difficult to find and was expensive nonetheless. The Revell kit at a third of the price was a bargain. However, the kit did have some shortcomings. One of the noticeable errors was the oil cooler under the nose. The kit was just not right. The sides were too vertical and that threw off the angles of the whole assembly.

The Quickboost piece is a single part with a minor pour block on the front of the cooler. You will have to clean out the front opening. This is nothing too difficult. Then to that piece you’ll have to add the kit exhaust flap. The part is a direct replacement for the kit part. The shape is spot on and looks significantly better than the kit… more

Crew AH-1 Cobra

Published: February 18, 2015
Company: Plusmodel

Finally, somebody has made figures for the helicopter models in 1/48 scale. Aero Line’s latest release is marketed as a Cobra crew. As far as I know there have been no previous US Army helicopter pilots available in this scale.

Packaged in a vacuformed shell, Aero Line has created two beautifully cast figures molded in light gray resin. The instructions are on the back of the insert card. There is no actual color callout, just the color profiles. The instructions show the flight suits in a Vietnam-era olive green like the two-piece flight suit of the time; however, with the way the figures are molded, you could easily modify them by removing the upper pants pockets and painting the flight suit in the sage green color of the one-piece and no one would be the wiser.

… more

F-4B/N Phantom II Undercarriage Covers

Published: December 23, 2014
Company: Quickboost

The Academy family of F-4 Phantoms are impressive kits. I absolutely love them. They are very detailed, but as always there is room for improvement. Enter Quickboost.

Packaged in typical Quickboost bottom opening package with a cardboard stiffener. Two pour stubs of light grey resin hold eight resin pieces that are blemish free. They contain beautiful detail on both sides. They are easy enough to remove from the pour blocks and are direct replacements for the kit parts.

Immediately you will notice that the parts are different than the kit offerings on the inside of the gear doors. They are more accurate for the F-4B than the kit offering. In no particular order, the main gear doors have different details on the inner door face. This would be noticed when you view the… more