Steve Collins
Reviews By Author
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Cockpit for B-57G Night HawkPublished:
This set is a replacement cockpit for the Italeri B-57G Canberra night strike aircraft cockpit. It is well cast in a medium grey resin with no pinholes or short casts. Light flash was present on a couple of the parts but was easily removed. It should be noted that care must be exercised when removing the pour plug from the bottom of the cockpit since, if you remove the plug completely up to the level of the bottom of the cockpit, the resulting floor of the cockpit is very thin. The set consists of the cockpit tub with detailed side consoles, side walls, and bulkheads, two pretty accurate, well detailed seats, front instrument panel, rear instrument panel relevant to the B-57G, throttle and gear levers (very fragile), a canopy strut jack, and a canopy support bow. This last piece… more |
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Mi-2 Hoplite ExhaustPublished:
This is another of Quickboost’s more-or-less drop-in replacements for kit parts. In this case, it’s the exhausts for Hobby Boss’s Mi-2 Hoplite helicopter kit. The parts in the kit are hollowed out for you already, but the walls of the tubes are a bit thick. The replacement exhausts from Quickboost are direct replacements for the kit parts, but with thinner walls. They fit right into the sides of the cowlings as if, well, they were made for them. They also appear to be slightly more accurate in shape than the kit parts. The kit parts are oval shaped, whereas the prototype exhausts (and the QB parts) have a slightly flattened side to them. This set is definitely recommended as a time saver. My thanks go to Aires Hobby Models and Quickboost for providing the parts for a rather… more |
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Mi-2 Hoplite Set (Air Intake, Exhaust, FOD)Published:
This set from Quickboost is designed to replace and improve upon the kit parts for Hobby Boss’s Mi-2 Hoplite. It includes part from two other Quickboost sets, as well as FOD covers (Foreign Object Damage) for the intakes and exhausts. The kit’s air intake cowling includes two holes through which you place the air intakes. It also has a molded-in intake in the upper center with a screen engraved in it. Additionally, there are two exhaust ports on each side of the engine cowling. The Quickboost parts are the cowling with two hollowed intake tubes cast in, along with an opening at the upper center, plus four properly shaped and thinned exhausts. The neat addition to this set is the FOD covers for all these openings, along with photoetch pull handles for them. You also get a photoetch… more |
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Mi-2 Hoplite Air IntakePublished:
This set from Quickboost is designed to replace and improve upon the kit parts for Hobby Boss’s Mi-2 Hoplite. The kit air-intake cowling includes two holes through which you place the air intakes. It also has a molded-in intake in the upper center with a screen engraved in it. The Quickboost parts feature the cowling with two hollowed intake tubes cast in, along with an opening at the upper center. You get a photoetch screen to place over the opening, along with a spare screen. While a bit more fiddly than the kit parts, the level of detail is worth the slightly greater effort. Recommended. My thanks go to Aires Hobby Models for producing and providing the parts for a rather esoteric subject and to IPMS/USA for allowing me to review them. |
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Seahawk Exhaust NozzlesPublished:
Another of Quickboost’s drop-in replacement parts, this set replaces the exhaust nozzles on the Hobby Boss Seahawk FGA.6 and Mk.100/101 kits. The exhaust parts that come in the kit are two part assemblies and are curved. The trailing edges of the parts are slightly too thick and the seam on the inside needs to be cleaned up. With the curve, this can be difficult. The Quickboost parts eliminate both of the above problems, giving you two parts that need to be just removed from the pour plug and installed. The trailing edges are commendably thin. The one-piece nature of the parts will save you a lot of time trying to remove the seams on the kit parts. Recommended, especially for the price. Thanks go to Quickboost / Aires for supplying the parts and to IPMS/USA for the… more |
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MiG-25 Foxbat Landing GearPublished:
This is another of SAC’s drop-in replacement landing gear sets. It is meant for the ICM MiG-25 Foxbat kit. As you can see from the pictures, they’re a direct replacement for the kit parts. With the Foxbat being a substantial aircraft, the extra support of the metal landing gear could come in handy. The detail on the parts is sharp and should paint up very nicely. The parts require minor cleanup of mold seams, easily done with a knife blade. Some small parts may have been slightly bent during shipping but they are easily straightened. Recommended. Thanks go to Scale Aircraft Conversions for the landing gear set and to IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review it. |
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Airbus A400M Grizzly Landing GearPublished:
This is another of SAC’s drop-in replacement landing gear sets. It is meant for the Revell 1/72 scale Airbus A400M Grizzly kit. As you can see from the pictures, they’re a direct replacement for the kit parts. With the A400M being such a large aircraft, the extra support of the metal landing gear could be vital over time. There are a lot of parts in this set, with basically six of everything except the nose gear parts. There are gear struts, strut braces, and wheel hub/axles for the mains, plus the main gear, V-strut, and retraction strut for the nose gear. The detail on the parts is sharp and should paint up very nicely. The parts require minor cleanup of mold seams, easily done with a knife blade. Some small parts may have been slightly bent during shipping but they… more |
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Seahawk Mk.100 Pitot Tube, AntennaPublished:
Quickboost is known for replacement parts that are pretty much just drop-in, without modifying the kit very much. Such is the case with these parts. This set includes two pitot tubes (you’ll only need one for the kit) and two antennas. Depending on antenna fit on the aircraft you’re modeling, you’ll need both for the upper spine. The resin parts are more finely cast and the antennas have a better shape than the kit parts do. They should be easily removed from the pour plug and will fit into the holes in the kit for the kit parts. Plus, you don’t have to clean up the blade of the antenna, as you would with the kit parts, where the sprue attachment is on the side of the antenna. Recommended for having sharper detail and easier cleanup. Thanks go to Aires / Quickboost for… more |
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El Alamein: The Battle that Turned the Tide of the Second World WarPublished:
This book tells the story of the events leading up to, during, and after the battle of El Alamein from June to November 1942. Prior to this victory, the British had not been able to defeat the German army anywhere. The author uses a huge number of first-hand accounts to illustrate the viewpoints on both sides of the hardship faced by the common soldier, the decisions that had to be made by the commanders in the face of political pressure, the actions and the consequences of the battles leading up to the stand at El Alamein, and the abilities of some of the (for lack of a better term) ‘superstar’ generals in charge on both sides. The story is mostly one of the British forces in North Africa. What most fail to realize (and the author does a good job of pointing out) is that the… more |
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Halifax B Mk.I/II Landing Gear (Revell new kit)Published:
Scale Aircraft Conversions, or SAC, make replacement landing gear for a wide variety of aircraft, in all the major scales. They are cast in white metal, which is stronger than the kit’s plastic pieces. To quote the company’s website, “Some sets consist of the main gear only while others include the nose gear, tail gear and/or adjacent related components. Some inaccuracies in the original kit gear have been corrected but the mounting points remain identical to the factory parts.” This set is made to replace the kit parts from the new tool Revell Halifax. It’s a large aircraft and will be a bit heavy when finished. Having the metal landing gear underneath will help support that weight. Additionally, they’ve changed the way the tail wheel and gear is assembled, making it simpler… more |