I love a quick fix. Lord knows there are plenty of labor-intensive so-called “fixes” out there in the modeling market (some photoetch sets spring immediately to mind). Quickboost, at least in this lovely little detail set, does all the heavy lifting for the modeler.

If you have the old Hasegawa 1/32^nd scale Zero, the limitations of the molding process definitely shortchange the weapon systems of this classic craft – no fault of the manufacturer. Quickboost offers this simple, beautifully crafted set to bring this older model into the 21st Century. It also offers a similar set (QB 32 153) for the newer Tamiya offering.

Comprising five gun barrels – three machine gun caliber Type 3 and two 20mm Type 99-II cannon – this set is a direct replacement for the kit parts. Molding is exceedingly fine and without any blemishes or mold lines. Each gun features an open muzzle and the cooling holes in the machine gun barrels are beautifully reproduced.

Many Luftwaffe aircraft had canopy framing on the inside but not on the outside. How to replicate and paint this has always been a challenge. The Stuka has a few of these panels. Well, what is a modeler to do? Well if you are like me you look to Eduard to help you because I hate to mask canopies.

Eduard’s masks are made from Kabuki tape which is just like Tamiya tape. The tape is precisely cut and conform to curves perfectly. This sheet of masks comes in the traditional resealable packaging that Eduard uses. The larger than usual masks includes all the masks you’ll need for your Airfix Stuka, except the camouflage.

When something in 1/144 scale comes up as available for review, I will quite often jump on it. There isn’t NEARLY as much in 1/144 as in 1/72 or 1/48, so I’m quite often looking at a list with nothing for me. When I saw the AOA Decals AC-119 decals in 1/144, I grabbed it. And I’m glad I did.

The Roden AC-119K Stinger is a pretty good kit, but I really wish the Eastern Europeans would start putting locating rings and tabs on their parts. A simple butt joint doesn’t always hold up well to handling. In this case, if you look at my Stinger, you’ll notice that the tail booms don’t line up very well with the fuselage. That’s because I managed to rip these parts off the kit THREE times.

So I’m very happy to review AOA’s decals for the AC-119.

History

The MiG-15 was one of the first really impressive fighter airplanes developed by the Soviet Union after WW II. Utilizing some British jet engine technology and some captured German swept wing technology, the Design Bureau of Mikoyan and Gurevich (MiG) produced a fighter that surprised the Allies when it was first encountered during the start of the Korean War. In 1949, a year after the fighter entered series production, work began on an advanced combat trainer variant to provide pilots with the skills necessary to fly the higher performance fighters. This resulted in the MiG-15UTI. The NATO code name for the trainer was Midget while the Soviet nickname was Babushka (grandmother).

Instructions

The instructions in this kit are similar to those of all of Airfix’s new issues. They are on full size sheets, with one page of general historical information in 5 languages, one sheet of brief modeling instructions in 12 languages, and 19 detailed assembly drawings on 4 pages. There is also one sheet of excellent rigging instructions with 1/72 scale drawings, since this model needs wire rigging to look realistic. The box art has the color guide and painting references, although there isn’t a lot of interior information, especially since not all interior colors are covered. There is no sprue diagram or detailed information on the forward part of the cockpit interior. The photo on p. 20 of the Imrie book should solve this problem.