Lockheed S-3A Viking Control Surfaces

Published: November 25, 2021
Company: Pavla Models

Pavla models has added a control surfaces set for the Hasegawa S-3A Viking to their 1/72 aircraft accessory line. When you look at the Hasegawa kit you realize why Pavla has made this set. There are absolutely no frills on this model. Even the torpedo bay doors are molded shut.

This offering is really a quality set of resin pieces; smooth, seamless and bubble free. The detail is also very nice and doesn’t need any extra work to bring out the detail. Some of the kit pieces will have to be cut from the kit so it isn’t for the faint of heart. Sometimes I still get nervous when I have to do plastic surgery and I also need to make sure I have plenty of Band Aids.

When the Pavla parts are compared to the kit parts, you can see how superior it is. The amount of detail is… more

S-3A Viking Cockpit and Operators Station Set

Published: November 18, 2021
Company: Pavla Models

Pavla has come out with a cockpit and operators station set for the Hasegawa 1/72 S-3A Viking. The big difference between the Hasegawa cockpit and the Pavla one is that Pavla’s also includes the operators’ stations behind the pilots.

This offering is really a quality set of resin pieces – smooth, seamless, and bubble-free. The detail is also very nice and doesn’t need any extra work to bring out the detail; just a little bit of dry-brushing and it just pops out. As with most of the Pavla aftermarket parts, there is some cutting involved. There is a nice sheet included that shows where all the cutting is to be done. They also include the area from the entrance hatch to the cockpit, and that involves the removal of a pretty stout piece of plastic.

There were a couple of… more

F16I Sufa Cockpit Set

Published: August 9, 2011
Company: Aires Hobby Models

Aires now offers a resin cockpit set for the Kinetic F16I Sufa. This set has very detailed resin pieces as well as a small photo etch set and film for gauges. They are molded in the standard Aires grey resin and are flash and bubble free. They also include a 3 page, blue paper diagram, a real help.

The resin pieces include a cockpit tub, 2 ejection seats, control consoles and cockpit sides, and associated bits. The photo etch is also exceptionally good. It comes with everything else you will need to detail this small work of art.

Putting this cockpit in is not to be taken lightly. As with most aftermarket cockpits, if you want great detail, then you are going to have to take your time to cut and test fit until it fits correctly. Be very careful sanding the tub because it… more

NATO Standard Refueling Probe

Published: July 13, 2011
Company: Master Model

Editor: this part also comes in other scales. Check Master Model website.

This is the first time that I’ve used one of the turned brass after market pieces from Master Model. The piece that I’m reviewing is the NATO standard Refueling Probe. As their instructions state “NATO Standard refueling probe is the same in every NATO aircraft with air-to-air refueling system, but fitting is different for every aircraft”. The best part is that after that statement they provide 4 black and white photos showing how it should look.

Well I started looking through the stash for some kits that have an exposed refueling probe and I was starting to get a little disappointed at how many don’t have the option for the refueling probe out. Then I started looking for the aircraft that… more

P-40 M/N Warhawk Exhaust and Radiator Flaps

Published: January 9, 2022
Company: Quickboost

Quickboost’s line of after market exhaust options just keeps on growing. The latest addition is for the Academy P-40. It is up to their usual standards; molded in a cream colored resin, smooth, seamless and bubble free. One thing of note is that they are really easy to remove from the mold block with just a few passes of the hobby saw. Another plus is that the exhausts are bored out, which would be a real pain if you tried to do it on the kit part. One thing I’ve noticed about Quickboost is that you’re not able to tell very easily if the after market part is for the kit on the label or a conversion part to change another kit to the one stated on their package. I believe this is the case here.

When I got the required kit from the stash (Academy P-40M/N) and started looking at… more

Junkers JU88 A-4

Published: October 9, 2021
Company: Quickboost

Quickboost’s line of after market exhaust options just keeps on growing. The latest addition is for the Hasegawa JU88 A-4. It is up to their usual standards; molded in a cream colored resin, smooth, seamless and bubble free. One thing of note is that they are really easy to remove from the mold block with just a few passes of the hobby saw. Another plus is that the exhausts are bored out, which would be a real pain if you tried to do it on the kit part.

The exhausts that come in the Hasegawa kit look alright and would make an acceptable model but the Quickboost replacements are superior because of how they are bored out which makes for more realism, especially in a photo. These exhausts are very easy to install, and they just fit right in. They will also work well with any… more

Focke Wulf TA-154A-1/R1 Undercarriage Covers

Published: May 3, 2022
Company: Quickboost

Quickboost just keeps adding to their great line of quality resin aircraft accessories. The latest addition is for the Hasegawa Focke Wulf TA-154 A-1/ R1. It is up to their usual standards; molded in grayish resin, smooth, seamless and bubble free. They come off of the mold block easily; I just cut the doors loose with my sprue cutters.

The doors that come in the Hasegawa kit are okay but just lack the level of detail that the Quickboost covers have. The Hasegawa instructions have you cut the edges of the doors. Quickboost has already made these cuts for you. The Quickboost covers are superior and add just that much more realism to the finished kit. The resin parts are very easy to install and can be used on any other brand kit that is similarly molded.

I highly… more

B-17G Flying Fortress Engines

Published: October 19, 2021
Company: Quickboost

The Quickboost line of after market parts just keeps growing and growing. This time they’ve done the Revell B-17G flying fortress engines. I was really excited when I saw that they were up for review because I had just purchased Revell’s new B-17G. Once the engines arrived I dove right in and started looking at the engine instructions and noticed that something just didn’t look right. I found out that the Quickboost parts are for the OLD Revell B-17G kit, not the new one. The engines in the new kit have been totally redone and have quite a few more steps to them than their older version. I went to Revells’ web site and checked the instruction sheet for the older version of this kit and also included the instructions for the newer kits engines. I didn’t have one of… more

P-51D Propeller with Tool

Published: June 9, 2011
Company: Quickboost

Quickboost has added the P-51D propeller to their line of resin aircraft accessories. The blades are molded separately from the spinner and a tool is provided for the proper blade pitch during installation. This latest addition is molded in a grayish resin, smooth, seamless and bubble free. One thing of note is that they are easy to remove from the mold block taking only a couple of minutes with a saw blade to remove them.

The package states that it is for the Tamiya kit but it should work with any other P-51D kit. In comparison with the Tamiya kit parts, I don’t really see all that much of a difference in the final product, the difference that does stand out is in the assembly. The Tamiya blades are molded together with the pitch set and will have to have the mold connections… more

P-40 Warhawk Pitot Tube and Antenna

Published: June 6, 2011
Company: Quickboost

Here is another aircraft upgrade set from Quickboost. The latest addition is for the Academy P-40 Warhawk. It is up to their usual standards; molded in a grayish resin, smooth, seamless and bubble free. One thing of note is that they are really easy to remove from the mold block because of a nice perforation. It only took me a couple of light passes with my saw blade to make them fall away instead of launching into the air becoming snacks for the carpet monster.

I must admit that I was a little confused with this set because it comes with every antenna that a P-40 Warhawk ever had on it, so you can replace the existing one in the kit or make any other variation including the “football“ housed loop that some warbirds used. I looked through my reference library and found some… more