Messerschmitt Bf-109F Wheel Bay

Published: April 19, 2011
Company: Aires Hobby Models

I love the Hasegawa Bf-109s and the newest Bf-109F-4/Trop is no exception. One of the areas of the kits that could be better is the wheel well. As provided the kit wheel wells have the G-6 kidney shaped areas which obviously isn’t correct for the Friedrich. Aires provides you with the correct wheel wells by providing you with two pieces of light grey blemish free resin and a fret of photo etch.

This set requires that you remove the molded on wheel well and thin the upper wing. Then Aires replaces it with the resin one with the photoetch on top of it. The resin wheel wells have superb detail inside, including the zip in liner. The photo etch will require you to build it up in layers for the proper thickness of the stiffeners but this is easy enough to do.

Although… more

Messerschmitt Bf-109F Wheels and Masks

Published: April 19, 2011
Company: Aires Hobby Models

I hate using rubber tires on my model kits. So whenever anyone such as Trumpeter comes out with a kit that has them I cringe at the thought of using them. Luckily for me, Aires offers a replacement set of wheels. You get two main wheels, a tail wheel and the strut.

These perfectly cast replacement parts are simply gorgeous. These are some of the best wheels for the Friedrich I’ve seen. They are beautifully cast in light grey resin. Of course just having wheels is not Aires style, so they include a set of masks for them. The tail wheel itself is as good as a casting as you are ever going to see. The area between the forks and tail wheel is hollow and simply perfect. The pour stubs are easy to remove.

Although designed for the Trumpeter kit you could easily use this set on… more

Messerschmitt Bf-109F Tropical Filter

Published: April 19, 2011
Company: Quickboost

The Trumpeter Bf-109F-4 is a nice kit but there are some pieces that could be better. One of those things is the Tropical Filter. This beautifully cast three piece affair is simply inserted into the supercharger scoop and your Freidrich is a Tropical version. I see no reason that this filter couldn’t be used to upgrade the Hasegawa kit filter. This set could also be used on the Bf-109G-2/4/6 kit as well.

You get an open filter assembly with two mounts. The filter has some really fine screen that is perfectly cast and representative of the real thing.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Quickboost, Aires Hobby Models and IPMS/USA for the review copy.

Focke Wulf Ta-154 Air Intakes & Pitot Tube

Published: April 19, 2011
Company: Quickboost

The Dragon Ta-154 Moskito Tri-kit will benefit from this simple update set. Cast in light tan/grey resin the six pieces will add to the look of the kit. The set includes five air inlets and a pitot tube. The air inlets are hollowed out perfectly, especially noticeable in the larger ones. The set is the easy to use and simply replaces kit parts. I guarantee I could not have gotten such a deep cut that looked as good. The pitot tube is very thin and perfectly straight. The only thing I worry about is the fragility of the pitot tube. Overall, a very simple upgrade to the Moskito.

This set could also be used on the Promodeler Ta-154.

Thanks to Quickboost, Aires Hobby Models and IPMS/USA for the review copy

Spitfire Mk. V Stabilizer

Published: April 19, 2011
Company: Quickboost

If you are like me, you like to articulate your elevators but you are never happy with the way it comes out. Well Quickboost makes that a whole lot easier. This set has four light tan resin pieces which replace the kit horizontal stabilizer and elevators. The trailing edges of the stabilizer are thinned and have a concaved area that the elevators, which are rounded on the leading edge, will slot into. The Tamiya kit is a really nice looking kit and this set will just make it that much nicer. It is up to the modeler to position the elevator as they wish. Don’t forget to offset the control stick.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Quickboost, Aires Hobby Models and IPMS/USA for the review copy.

Messerschmitt Bf-110 Oil Tanks

Published: April 19, 2011
Company: Quickboost

I love the look of the Cyber-Hobby Bf-110s, especially the separate engines. One of those things that even slide mold technology won’t mold as well as I’d have liked is the oil tanks. Quickboost offers you two replacement oil tanks complete with the filler ports and lead in holes for wire for those so inclined. A very simple resin addition that could be a beginning for a scratch builder.

The oil tanks are molded in light grey resin that is blemish free. They would be very nice addition to your model. If you have never worked with resin or done any scratch building this is a good first kit to try it on.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Quickboost, Aires Hobby Models and IPMS/USA for the review copy.

P-40N "Natural Metal"

Published: April 14, 2011
Company: Hasegawa

Editor's note: The kit's title is "Natural Metal"; however the author opted to use a different scheme for reasons explained in his text.

History

The P-40 history is covered in plenty of detail. The P-40N was the last and most produced version of this iconic fighter. In 1943 the 49^th Fighter Group was stationed in the Southwest Pacific. They had been flying the P-40E, but they were getting very war weary. Enter the P-40N. The N model was assigned to the flight leads. One of those was Lt. Sammy Pierce. At that time he had three kills from flying the P-40Es. In keeping with his practice of naming his aircraft after a feature film, the P-40N was emblazoned with “Kay The Strawberry Blonde”. The crew chief side had “The Hialeah Wolf” on the… more

Scale Aircraft Wheel Sander

Published: March 19, 2011
Company: CB Model Products

I love tools. I don’t think you can have too many. Occasionally I come across one that I say "how did I live without that?" That is what this tool is. More than a simple jig, this machined metal tool allows you to flat sand the bottom of the wheels evenly and consistently. Let’s face it a perfectly round wheel is not realistic nor are the flat wheels that are common on aftermarket wheels. That is where this tool comes in, the perfect balance of weight without being flat.

How do you use it? Simple get your tire from the kit, clean up the seam lines, set the angle, clamp the wheel between the flat spots on the tool and leave about 1/8 inch out the bottom. Then simply sand with 320 sandpaper while applying pressure to the base plate. It is that simple, but does it work?

I… more

Focke Wulf 190 Wheels and Tires

Published: March 2, 2011
Company: Ultracast

Editor's note: This review is for four related products: Spoked Wheels 700 x 175 Smooth Tires, Stock #- 48228; Spoked Wheels 700 x 175 Smooth Tires, Stock #- 48228; Spoked Wheels 700 x 175 Smooth Tires, Stock #- 48228; Late Style Wheels 700 x 175 Treaded Tires, Stock #- 48231. Price is in Canadian Dollars which at current writing is almost par with U.S. Dollar.

The Focke Wulf 190 has been kitted by every major kit manufacturer. Often times the kit wheels leave a bit to be desired, whether they were anemic or lack detail on either the hub, tread or brake side. Ultracast has provided an answer for both early and late model FW-190s. Molded in light cream colored resin the wheels are perfectly molded with no blemishes or imperfections. This is the typical quality that I’ve… more

SS Tiger Tank Commander 1944-45

Published: March 2, 2011
Company: Ultracast

With the new Dragon Tiger tanks on the market, more people than ever are building tanks. I’m one of them. Armor, more so than aircraft, lends itself to figures. Enter Ultracast with their line of resin figures.

Molded in light cream bubble free resin, this figure features two heads, one with a headset and one without. The headset head has a nice action pose of the commander yelling. The neck is nicely rounded so you can articulate the head as you want, up, down, and left or right, excellent flexibility.

You also get two left and three right arms so you can pick and choose how you want your figure to look. The arms are keyed with square pegs so you can alter the look of the parts easily. Amazingly the thumbs are not grouped with the others and articulated and perfectly… more