Reviews of scale model detail sets.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
April 19, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$3.99

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

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
April 19, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$7.00

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.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
April 19, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$3.99

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.

Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
April 17, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$5.95

Quickboost just keeps adding to their line of resin aircraft accessories. The latest addition is for the Hasegawa Ta 154. It is up to their usual standards; molded in grey 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 minutes with my saw blade to remove them. 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.

Review Author
David Wrinkle
Published on
April 17, 2011
Company
True Details
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$14.99

Description

3 resin parts, decal sheet and a decal / paint guide to convert the stock Wingnut Wings SE5a 'Hisso' kit to James McCudden's B4863. Included with the conversion are the shortened exhaust stacks and a replacement cockpit deck representative of McCudden's aircraft. As an added bonus you get 8 resin parts used to construct a 1/32 scale figure of McCudden.

Review Author
Dan Mackay
Published on
April 14, 2011
Company
3D-Kits
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$11.64

I'm a big Spitfire fan and I was really excited to review this new item from 3D-Kits. The decal sheet provides marking for four Spitfires. You get two identical sprues containing all the parts needed to convert two Spitfire Mk I's to Mk II standards. This set reminds me of the old Airform conversion set for 1/72 Spitfires from the mid-seventies, but much better. The parts are flash free and very nicely molded. A new seat, control column, Rotol propeller, blunt spinner and teardrop shaped Coffman starter fairing complete the conversion parts. This conversion is intended for Airfix (old and new tool), and Tamiya Spitfire kits. Although it may also fit the aging Hasegawa, Heller, and Revell kits as well (I don't have these kits handy and could not verify). The new parts are direct replacements for kit parts. However I found that the new seat will require a little adjustment to fit the Airfix kit to get an acceptable result. The decals options are as follows:

Review Author
Andy Renshaw
Published on
April 13, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$6.50

Quickboost continues to push out affordable details for scale models and one of the latest is a straight refueling probe for Hasegawa’s family of A-4 Skyhawks. The part is solid resin, and appears to be strong enough. The tip is shaped a bit better than the kit part, but does require a little clean up to remove a small nub that is there to ensure that the tip is completely filled in with resin during the pour process. It’s a direct replacement for the kit part, so requires no modification.

This probe is applicable to all A-4B, A-4C, and some A-4E, TA-4J, TA-4F. Do consult your references when building a particular aircraft to be sure it had the straight probe installed, or the later “bent” probe.

Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS for the review sample!

Review Author
Andy Renshaw
Published on
April 13, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$9.95

When Hasegawa finally followed up their excellent 1:48 A-4 series with a TA-4J, many modelers were thrilled, including me. Of course shortly after its release, aftermarket companies soon had various releases to detail the kit even further.

Canopy masking is always time consuming and among aircraft modelers is one of the least favorite tasks to complete a model. Precut masks have been around for a while, but it wasn’t until the introduction of Kuboki tape that precut masks really matured. Eduard has been doing masks for some time now, and EX273 works perfectly with Hasegawa’s TA-4J.

Review Author
Andy Renshaw
Published on
April 13, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$29.95

When Hasegawa finally followed up their excellent 1:48 A-4 series with a TA-4J, many modelers were thrilled, including me. Of course shortly after its release, aftermarket companies soon had various releases to detail the kit even further. Eduard produced several new photo-etched sets for the TA-4J, a couple of which are applicable to other A-4 variants.

The set covers the following:

Review Author
Andy Renshaw
Published on
April 12, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$24.95

When Hasegawa finally followed up their excellent 1:48 A-4 series with a TA-4J, many modelers were thrilled, including me. Of course shortly after its release, aftermarket companies soon had various releases to detail the kit even further. Eduard produced several new photo-etched sets for the TA-4J, a couple of which are applicable to other A-4 variants.

First we will look at the airbrake set. A single fret of etch is included along with one page of instructions in the usual Eduard style. The final assemblies completely replace the kits flaps, plus provide parts for the upper spoilers seen on the TA-4J, TA-4F, A-4F, and A-4M. Also one advantage the etched parts have is there is no ejector pin marks as seen on the kit parts.