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: Aero Line

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

German Luftwaffe Pilot WWII for Bf-109 late version

Published: December 23, 2014
Company: Aerobonus

This latest offering from Aerobonus is typical of their line of figures. There is one pour stub containing four pieces of flawless light grey resin. There are two arms, body and head. That sounds all kind of boring but this figure is molded as if he were exiting a late war Bf-109. The two separate arms are set to lay on the top of the canopy frame. The arms are added on a natural seem line. The legs are already set to have one leg on the seat and the other on the canopy sill, no assembly required on them. Overall clean up is relatively easy. The pour stubs are small and easy to remove.

Obviously a good pose won’t make a necessarily good figure. That is the job of the sculpting. The sculpting on this figure is nothing short of superb. The proportions of body to head are perfect… more

Big Sin Russian Modern Aircraft Missiles Set

Published: December 20, 2014
Company: Eduard

Modern Russian aircraft have been making a surge in the marketplace of late. The SU-24, SU-25, SU-27, MiG-29, MiG-23 and MiG-25 have been released by a variety of manufacturers. Regardless of manufacturer, one thing that all these kits can benefit from is the addition of really accurate armament.

In case you didn’t know Eduard is from the Czech Republic, a former member of the Eastern Block. They have access to the information and the real items.

This BigSin set consists of five separate types of air-to-air missiles. The, R-60/AA-8 Aphid, R-27ER/AA-10 Alamo-C, R-27ET/AA-10 Alamo-D, R-73/AA-11 Archer and the R-77/AA-12 Archer. This is the Russian equivalent of the Sparrows, Sidewinders and AMRAAM in the US inventory.

The first set is the AA-8 Aphid IR missile.… more

Big Sin F-4 Weapons Set

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Eduard

The F-4 Phantom II is perhaps the finest jet of its time. It could carry a variety of ordnance. In addition to heat seeking and infrared air-to-air missiles it could carry bombs, and lots of them. The Phantom is an iconic airplane with legendary performance and capabilities.

What would a Phantom be without the ability to shoot down other airplanes and bomb the enemy back to the stone age? Just another pretty, no wait we are talking about a Phantom here, just another ugly loud smoking airplane.

With that in mind and Academy’s release of the F-4B and F-4C it is essential that you include ordnance and lots of it. Enter the BigSin set. This set is EVERYTHING you would need to arm up your Phantom. The set contains five sets, one set of Sidewinders, one set of Sparrows and… more