A while back I built the Zvezda 1/72 Mi-24 Hind. I got the opportunity to do this review and grabbed it, as I wouldn’t have to build the entire kit just to add the nose guns

The package contains two guns. The kit gives options of two different guns in the nose turret. The one I used is the Yak-B 4 barrel Gatling-type gun, 12.7 mm. The other is a twin-barrel gun the G-Sh-30, a 30 mm weapon. The 12.7mm has been phased out, and the 30 mm is preferred, as it has more punch, particularly on light armored targets.

The G-Sh-30 is definitely superior to the kit parts, as the kit gun comes in 2 parts, so you have to deal with a seam. The QB part has slightly finer detail, which is still hard to see in 1/72.

The Yak-B looked quite a bit like the kit part, and fit into the turret nicely. The only outstanding difference was that the hump on the kit part is a recess on the resin part.

History:

The Bf 110 served with success in the early campaigns, the Polish, Norwegian and Battle of France. The Bf 110's lack of agility in the air was its primary weakness. This flaw was exposed during the Battle of Britain, when some Bf 110-equipped units were withdrawn from the battle after very heavy losses and redeployed as night fighters, a role to which the aircraft was well suited.

Quickboost has some of the best resin parts I have seen. For a 1/72 scale part the edges are sharp and the details are clearly defined. This will be a nice upgrade to the Airfix kit.

I would like to thank Quickboost.net, Aires Hobby Models and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to conduct this review.

Werner's Wings has released a 5-piece resin set to transform the 1/35 Academy AH-1W NTS into the latest version flying in Afghanistan with turned exhausts to provide a lower heat signature. The parts look very clean and the edges are nicely formed with crisp edges.

The set includes the exhaust housing and outlets, 2 inserts for inside the exhaust outlets, the inner engine bulkhead, and a cover for the tail rotor shaft.

It also comes with a detailed instruction sheet showing you how to install the parts.

It requires that you cut part of old exhaust attached to the fuselage and replace it with the resin parts. Also warns about cutting the area around the driveshaft cover, recommends that you cut the exhaust area first then measure area for the driveshaft cover.

Because the parts have some weight to them you will have to drill out some of the resin from the front of the exhaust. This will help balance the aircraft so it sits correctly.

Oh where were you when I did a review of the Dragon Me-262 A-1a/U-4? Master Models has released a four part set to replace the large 5cm canon which was added to the Me-262 U-4 and also was part of the Me410 in one variant.

The set consists of a turned aluminum barrel, a turned aluminum barrel head and two brass parts. The brass parts are the end of the barrel which has a perforated tip and a cap. You place the cap on the end and add the parts together and drill a hole in the kit part and you're done. Couldn't be simpler.

The holes drilled in the business end of the barrel are a work or art. I included several pictures and borrowed one from the Master Models site to show size.

In summary, this has superb detail, a very reasonable price, will make sure you don't have sanding and fit issues with the kit parts and is easy. Most highly recommended. My thanks to Piotr and Iwona Czerkasow of Master Model, and IPMS/USA fo this review sample.

Aerobonus is a new sub-division of Aires that seems to concentrate on the armament of former Soviet Union aircraft. This set contains two rocket pods cast in light grey resin that are perfectly formed with no blemishes or bubbles anywhere. The rocket pods are easy enough to assemble as there are only two pieces to each pod, the front and aerodynamic rear fairing.

Also included are decals for the stenciling and alignment of the sections. The decals are nicely printed and are easy enough to add.

The modeler just needs to add pins to the holes in the mounting lugs and drill a corresponding hole in the model. Painting is easy enough, aluminum with steel for the tubes.

This type of rocket pod was used on the Su-7, Mig-21 and the Mi-8. So you can update your OEM Su-7 or Eduard or Academy Mig-21 or the Hobby Boss Mi-8.

Simple and very effective. You can now change the armament on your Soviet built aircraft without having to rob another kit.