Fw-190A Stencil Decals

Published: February 19, 2013
Company: Eduard

It comes as no surprise that I love the Eduard Fw-190A series of kits. Having had the pleasure of building quite a few of them, I have often remarked at the quality of the decals. These decals are printed by Eduard and typical of Eduard’s quality; these decals are actually as good as any other aftermarket decal in the world. They rival the quality of Cartograf.

The stencil decal themselves are all contained on a 4” x 3 ¾” decal sheet. The decals are crisp, perfectly printed, and in perfect register. They are suitably thin with minimal carrier film. One of the nice things is that the decals have wing walk areas in grey and black. There are options throughout the sheet, like the two different versions of black and two white versions of Nicht anfassen on the sheet. The landing… more

Bf-109E Stencil Decals

Published: February 19, 2013
Company: Eduard

Eduard’s Bf-109E is a very nice kit. One of the nicest things about the kit is this additional decal sheet. Printed by Eduard, the actual sheet is a 3” x 4” sheet of decal film. There are decals for one complete airplane with all the stencils being included. You get three Nicht anfassen decals for the ailerons in white and black. I thought that there should be at least one more for the elevators but Eduard indicates that they are carried on the elevators so that may be an error on my part.

The instructions are on a double-sided half A4 page sheet and are very clear in showing you where the decals belong. Remember that sometimes the stencils were oversprayed and not every aircraft carries every stencil. I really liked that Eduard provides you with red and black wing walk areas… more

Bf-109E-3 and Detail Sets

Published: November 13, 2020
Company: Eduard

Brassin Detail Sets

• Cockpit/Radio Compartment – Stock No. 648074, $28.99
• DB-601 Engine – Stock No. 648059, $28.99
• MG-17 Mount – Stock No. 648060, $28.99
• Wheel Set – Stock No. 648058, $5.99

Eduard’s Bf-109E series has released all the variants of the Emil. This is the first time, other than the Royal Class, that the E-3 version is available. The Profipack release is typical Eduard quality with the suitable extra items, such as photo etch and masks. While a good deal and adequately detailed right from the box, what happens when you add all the Brassin items designed for the kit?… more

Focke Wulf Fw-190A-9

Published: January 28, 2013
Company: Hasegawa

Hasegawa continues to offer easy-to-build Focke Wulf 190s; the latest one is the last short-nosed 190 to be produced during the war, the Fw-190A-9. The BMW-801TS-powered A-9 variant is identified with a larger propeller, an extra cooling fin on the fan, and a bulged canopy. This limited edition release is the basic A-8 kit from Hasegawa with some white metal parts – the cooling fan and a wider chord wooden propeller which are all that are needed to convert the A-8 into an A-9.

The kit is molded in typical Hasegawa quality light grey plastic that is flash free with subtle panel lines. There are four sprues of grey plastic, a sprue of clear plastic, one set of poly caps, and the two white metal parts. I did notice that the wings had three strange holes on the upper surface. These… more

US Pilot – F-16

Published: November 14, 2012
Company: Aero Line

This is the second pilot figure I’ve had the pleasure to review from Aero Line. If you are like me, you like to add a figure outside your model for scale and visual interest. Well, probably also like me, you aren’t a figure modeler, so you don’t want a big hassle doing it. Happily, Aero Line produces scale resin figures.

My example was perfectly molded in light grey resin with no blemishes or bubbles anywhere. The figure is a one-piece affair on a small pour block with some minor pour wedges that will need to be removed. The single piece ensures that the figure is easy to remove. The detail is quite impressive. The proportions look perfect to me. The pose is natural and will look great next to an F-16. The face is exquisitely detailed, as are the speed jeans and equipment. This… more

MS.406 Gun Barrels and Pitot Tube

Published: November 14, 2012
Company: Quickboost

Hobbycraft’s Morane Saulnier 406 is not a new kit, but that doesn’t mean that Quickboost has ignored it. The M.S.406 has a large pitot tube. This would be hard to keep round when removing the mold lines. Well, hard for me, anyhow. The gun barrels are again something hard to keep round, let alone hollow out the end. Quickboost does this perfectly in every example that I’ve had the pleasure to look at.

The three pieces are perfectly molded in light grey resin. The gun barrels are hollowed out perfectly, as I said before. The cross section on all the parts is perfectly round. These parts will add to the look of your French fighter. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the review copy.

F9F Panther Antennas

Published: November 14, 2012
Company: Quickboost

Quickboost has always offered up quick and easy upgrades at a good price. The latest is designed for the Trumpeter F9F-2 Panther but could easily be used on the Monogram -5/-5P. There are three beautifully rendered antennas which do not have mold lines and are perfectly formed and round. The antennas are molded in light grey resin with very small pour blocks that will prove no problem even for a novice modeler dealing with his/her first resin pieces.

Because you don’t have to ensure the roundness of these parts, I find these antenna worth the price of admission. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the review copy.

Bf-109E Propeller with Tool

Published: November 14, 2012
Company: Quickboost

Having built the Eduard Bf-109E, I would have loved to have had the prop hub off my open-cowled model but I didn’t have the means to do it effectively. Quickboost now provides you with a five-piece prop and hub, plus an alignment tool.

Molded perfectly in light grey resin, the props are suitably thin and of the correct cross section. You will need to drill a hole for the prop shaft, but it is not a big deal. The mounting pins for the prop blades will ensure correct alignment of the blades. Then, all you have to do is leave off the prop hub and you can add a new dimension to your 109. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this set.

Bf-109E Air Intake and Injection Cover

Published: November 14, 2012
Company: Quickboost

I’ve built two of Eduard’s beautiful Bf-109Es, and in both cases an area that I would have liked to have done better was the intake and the injection cover – the injection cover especially if the engine cover is removed. Both of these parts are folded or joined out of photo etch pieces. Well, unless you are really good with PE, the result may not be as good as you’d like. Now, Quickboost remedies that situation in resin.

Molded flawlessly out of light grey resin are three pieces of resin: the air intake and two covers for the injectors. Both of these items, especially the intake, are much easier than the PE to use and look great. I will certainly enjoy using these pieces over the PE.

If you are like me and prefer resin over PE, you will enjoy these parts as well… more

M-197 Rotary Cannon

Published: September 8, 2012
Company: Master Model

The AH-1 Cobra had various versions that used the M-197 20mm cannon: the Army AH-1E, AH-1F, and the Marine Corp AH-1J, AH-1T, and AH-1W. Until now, the kit offerings of this prominent armament feature have been poorly molded in plastic. Well, fret (no pun intended) no more – Master Model has your cannon.

You get three turned metal barrels and one end barrel nut. There is a fret that has the mid-barrel clamp and the rear barrel clamp. The barrels are perfectly formed and are literally miniature gun barrels. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are grooves in the barrels. This set is absolutely gorgeous. The hardest part of this set will be not to lose the end barrel nut. Everything about this set is perfect.

As someone who has pre-flighted, shot, and lived around these… more