Aires Quickboost has released a replacement for the Monogram (and later Revell) series of 1/48 B-25J kits that replaces the cheek gun packs. There are no instructions but this is direct a replacement for the kit part. No modifications to the kit are required; the assembly simply goes in the same place as the kit parts.

Quickboost has molded the external gun packs in light grey resin with no apparent bubbles on three resin sprues. Each Quickboost twin gun pack is supplied on its own resin sprue with a separate sprue for the four .50 caliber gun barrels.

Although most paints will adhere to resin alone, I would recommend that you wash this part to remove any remaining mold release and prime it first. This part will need to be installed with your favorite CA (super glue) or epoxy, as the normal plastic glues or solvents will not react with the resin.

History

The Mikoyan MiG-27 (NATO reporting name "Flogger-D/J") is a variable-geometry ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan design bureau in the Soviet Union and later license-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics as the Bahadur ("Valiant"). It is based on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter aircraft, but optimized for air-to-ground attack. Unlike the MiG-23, the MiG-27 did not see widespread use outside Russia, as most countries opted for the MiG-23BN and Sukhoi Su-22 instead. It remains in service with the Indian, Kazakh and Sri Lankan Air Forces in the ground attack role. All Russian and Ukrainian MiG-27s have been retired.

Trumpeter, a Chinese maker of scale model kits, produces the kit. The kit arrives in a very colorful box with artwork of a Mig-27 Flogger D displayed in level flight. The box sides show the four decal options.

This upgrade provides a 1//32 scale improved seat for the HK B-17. It comes in three different options, with two seats to a package. One is the plain seat, one has basic seat cushions and backpad, and one has seat cushions, backpad, and the lap-belt, as the B-17 was (from my references) rarely equipped with over-the shoulder harnesses until later versions. The lap belt is the ultimate in final detail. As you can see in the side-by side view, the kit seat (in basic gray plastic) is about 3/8” taller than the Resin2detail seats; I believe the Resin 2 detail seats are more accurate.

The least expensive way to get an Eduard kit is by buying an Overtree kit. These kits are only available for a limited time, typically about one month after the release to the Profipack. This kit is typical of the Overtree line. The kit comes with just plastic. No decals, no masks, no instructions, no nothing but plastic. This is bare bones but I love the concept. I have lots of decals so I don’t need to worry about marking options.

The plain white box is about half the height of a normal Profipack box. This doesn’t diminish the quality of the plastic. Mine had a very small amount of flash on a few parts. Nothing to worry about. There are four sprues of light grey plastic and one sprue of clear plastic. The two main sprues are the same as the ones in the G-5 and G-6 kits. You get a new fuselage and new wings on the other sprues. The fuselage, wings and tail planes all feature restrained rivets and engraved panel lines.

A generous thank you goes to Aires Hobby Models/Quickboost for this review item.

The German Heinkel He111 civil prototype was demonstrated publicly in 1936. By the end of 1936 the bomber version, He111B, was entering service with the Luftwaffe. There were dozens of He111 variants developed over its 10 years of service making it a popular aircraft in the modeling world.

Quickboost has released a nice set of resin exhausts for the Airfix Heinkel He111P-2. The delicate parts come in a clear re-sealable plastic bag packaged with a small card insert showing a photographic image of the parts, part number, name of the parts and the recommended kit, Airfix. What is not included in the bag is a set of instructions. This is not a problem as the resin parts fit the exhaust locations the same as the kit parts.