Reskit is an aftermarket parts company based out of Kiev, Ukraine. Established in 2015, their products are a combination of photo-etch and resin parts. Using CAD and 3D printing technologies, the resulting product is finely detailed and builds up into very complex assemblies.
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This release by SAC provides replacement white metal landing gear for the Kitty Hawk 1/48 Su-34 kit. While white metal is softer than cast brass, the main struts and nose struts are quite sturdy in this set and will hold up if a lot of weight is added to the model. This release by SAC is a replacement for the kit landing gear, both the main gear and the nose gear. These parts are not a copy of the kit parts it is engineered from build-ups of the kit parts and then cast. As a result, this set has fewer parts than if you built the landing gear out of the box. The gear is engineered to incorporate some plastic parts from the Kitty Hawk kit. Unlike past SAC sets I have reviewed in the past, these parts have been cleaned up and do not show any mold lines.
I have long been a fan of the Warpaint Series books from Guideline Publications and have several in my collection. They are excellent references for the aircraft they cover. Typically, they follow a standard format of history and development, service and deployment histories, and finally, technical information and detail photos. This particular volume, however, is slightly different from the others I’ve read since it is translated from Russian sources. Consequently, some of the sentence structure is stilted and you will have to take your time and read these passages carefully to absorb the content.
In the opening pages, the author discusses in detail why the designers chose the swept wing for the Mig-15 - speed. Then the narrative follows themes shown in the “sections” listed below.
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom, and West Germany.
There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS fighter-bomber, the Tornado ECR (electronic combat/reconnaissance) and the Tornado ADV (air defense variant) interceptor aircraft. First flying in 1974, the aircraft was introduced into service in 1979–1980. Due to its multi-role design, it replaced several different fleets of aircraft in the adopting air forces of the three original partner nations. The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) became the only export operator of the Tornado following a somewhat controversial trade deal.
As part Tempest release, Eduard Models has included different aftermarket sets. This one is for the RP-3 60 lb rockets, widely used by the Royal Air Force during WW2. The set in particular is recommended for the Eduard Tempest Mk V, as the rockets railings are meant to fit that model. I’ve believe the rockets could be used in other RAF models, if you can source your own railings.
A total of 8 resin rockets and railings plus a large PE fret arrive inside a box. To prevent the parts from rattling, there is some packing foam in the box. That is good, but in my particular boxing, the parts were packed so tight, that it might have led to some of the resin parts to bend. Actually 6 of the 8 rockets had some level of bending or twisting. Not a lot of bending but noticeable under close inspection. Probably by dipping the part in hot water and “re-bending” the part it might be possible to straighten them. The railings were straight as arrows.
IPMS/USA continues to welcomes the return of the Advanced Modeling/Amigo team for sending us this new-technology set; their lineup continues to grow! And thanks to Phil and John for obtaining the sets for the team…
Advanced Modeling/AMIGO (Hereafter referred to as AM for simplicity) is a Russian company specializing in modern Soviet and Russian aircraft accessories; their first items released a few years ago were weapons, and they have recently branched out into other items, in this case an upgrade to Zvezda’s Mig-29 9-13 kit exhaust, augmentor tubes, and afterburner nozzles.
Once again, AM’s accessory shows the extent 3-D printing has improved the appearance of our available aftermarket… included are 8 resin parts: Exhaust augmentor tubes with excellent cooling liner details, along with the turbine/flameholder, and the dual-layer Exhaust augmentor petals, a hallmark of the Mig 29. These fit together like they should, and are astoundingly detailed.
Eduard has released the long awaited Tempest Mk.V series 2 in their Profipack boxing and what a treat that is. The box includes a total of 7 sprues (two clear), plus pre-painted photo-etch cockpit details, detail pre-cut masks and cartograph-printed decals for 6 different airframes. Not only that, but you will end up with some extra parts for your spares box, as there are a few parts for the Mk.V series 1 and you also have some optional parts for different airframes. A comment is that some of the sprues seems to have been molded with a slightly different color of plastic (one is a tad bluer than the other sprues). Regardless the color, all sprues have the same ‘feel’ when removing parts or sanding parts.
IPMS/USA again thanks Ross and his Team at SAC for supporting the IPMS USA reviewer corps with one more of many monthly releases, with extremely useful and well-thought out landing gear additions for the modeling crowd out here in the modeling world. And thanks to IPMS leadership for sending it to me to be reviewed.
Consisting of 7 separate well-cast white metal parts, this gear is the usual replacement for the kit gear. Hobbyboss provides excellent kits with great detail, but usually has some things simplified. In this case the landing gear has everything it needs attached to the main gear, and as to the nose you add kit shimmy dampers, doors, and taxi lights. The FOD/Mud Guard is supplied with the set as well.
This SAC set adds the usual structural strength to the weakest part of most models: The landing gear. Cast tough yet malleable white metal, it addresses any concern for splayed and failed landing gear for Hobbyboss’ SU-30MKK.
I’ve built a number of models from this fledgling company, and must state one basic observation: they provide some fascinating subjects. I probably don’t need to go into a lot of historical background regarding the revolutionary Arado Ar234, except to say that it was the world’s first jet bomber and a truly amazing aircraft in many ways. I became fascinated with it during my teens when I built the venerable Lindberg kit, enthralled by the design.
Leave it to Fly to come up with not one, but several different configurations of this pivotal aircraft in my favorite scale, with more to come. I checked up on the Fly internet site and was not at all surprised to see that the two earlier releases are now sold out. Get them while you can!
The new Airfix P-40B is an excellent example of the iconic fighter made famous by the Flying Tigers. The kit is nice but there are some things in the cockpit that need to be ‘fixed’. Aires has released this new cockpit set for the kit.
Inside the typical Aires blister pack are 21 pieces molded in light grey resin. My example was flawless despite damage to the blister package. The set also has a small fret of photoetch that includes the instrument panel and seatbelts. A film of acetate is also provided for the instruments.
This set will require some thinning of the sidewalls to get it to fit properly. But once you get past that, the set fits together simply and easily. The parts breakdown is very similar to the kit breakdown. The pour stubs are easy enough to remove.
