Quickboost now offers 1/32 scale builders a set of resin exhaust pipes for Hasegtawa’s Ki 44 Tojo kits. They are accurately sized, cast in Quickboost’s typical gray resin and feature remarkably thin sidewalls that capture the appearance of the Prototype’s exhausts quite nicely.

Unlike the kit parts that require modelers to glue together two halves to end up with a single hollow pipe, the Quickboost exhausts are already hollow and ready to use without any assembly. They are cast so they may be painted while still on the casting block. After removing them from the casting block, they will fit in place with absolutely no modification required. Just remember, because they are resin, they will need to be attached with super glue or an epoxy adhesive.

This set is recommended. My thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

The folks at Quickboost continue to add superb detail sets to their growing catalog of items. For this review I will be looking at the Undercarriage Covers detail set for the 1/48 Hasegawa Ki-61 family of kits.

This superb detail set is designed to work with the 1/48 Hasegawa Ki-61 I Hein “Tony”. The Hein was a WWII Japanese fighter with an inline engine. When Allied pilots first encountered the Hein, they thought they were flying against German Bf 109 fighters because of the similar nose shape. They quickly discovered that this was in fact a Japanese design, and it was given the code name “Tony”.

The Quickboost Undercarriage Covers (Landing gear doors) are finely molded, and are very easily removed from the casting block. I find that using a razor saw is the easiest method, and after a little sanding, these great detail parts are ready to glue in place.

The folks at Quickboost continue to add superb detail sets to their growing catalog of items. For this review I will be looking at the exhaust detail set for the 1/48 Hasegawa Ki-44 II “Tojo” family of kits.

Hasegawa has released many different boxings of the Japanese WWII Shoki Fighter, and from what I see in my collection, this Quickboost set will work with any of the Ki-44 II kits.

The Quickboost exhaust stacks themselves are finely molded, and are very easily removed from the casting block. I find that using a razor saw is the easiest method, and after a little sanding, these great detail parts are ready to glue in place.

As you can see from the photo, the detail is far above the kit part that these replace. The exhaust well is deeper and more defined on the Quickboost replacement parts than the original kit part.

The Mitsubishi T-2 was a supersonic trainer for the Japanese Air Self Defense Force (JASDF). Like the T-38 and F-5 in the US, it was used as an aggressor aircraft and demonstration team mount as well as the original trainer mission. The T-2 used the same engine as the SEPECAT Jaguar, the Rolls Royce Turbomeca Adour, built in Japan by Ishikawajima – Harima Heavy Industries. The Jaguar T.2 and the Mitsubishi T-2 look similar, but they’re definitely not the same aircraft. It’s a case of engineers with the same problem coming up with similar solutions.

The next set, QB 48 332, for the Ar-196 is a simple set for the radio set up. The kit offering features soft detail in a highly visible cockpit. This is a simple upgrade. Molded in blemish free light grey resin, this upgrade is as simple as remove the part from the pour block, paint and add. This is a direct replacement for part number 21A. I did notice that the kit part looks slightly different than the Quickboost part. As I don’t have my references handy, I’m leaning towards the Quickboost part as being correct.

These parts are quite nice and will make the work for the modeler so much easier. The radios are a nice addition and certainly look more like radios than what is in the kit.

Highly recommended

You can obtain your copy at your local hobby shop or online.

Our thanks to Quickboost and Aires for the review sample.