A new set of 3D printed F/A-18E/F Super Hornet exhaust nozzles (late version) in 1/48^th scale are provided by Detail & Wonder Studios for Hasegawa and Meng Kits.

Note: There is no official website for Detail & Wonder Studios, but a Facebook page is available.

In the Package and Product Notes

There are two (2) 3D-printed exhaust nozzles inside a small but very sturdy black box. Each nozzle is individually enclosed in a plastic Ziploc bag and cushioned with a foam insert. These are drop-in replacements for the Hasegawa and Meng kits.

The printed resolution of the nozzle is immaculate and there are NO visible build-up layers. There is a lot of fine detail throughout the entire nozzle and some contrast color weathering will make them pop during the finishing stage.

New P-47D Thunderbolt “Bubbletop” vacuformed canopies are available from Brengun for the 1/144^th scale Platz/Eduard kit.

There are two (2) canopies in the package. There are no instructions, but the product is self-explanatory.

The clear vacuformed plastic is thin and has very good clarity with very little distortion when looking through it.

Upon closer inspection of the canopies, there is a difference in the moldings. One is for an open canopy since there is a space gap between the windscreen and canopy. The other has no space thus making it a closed canopy installation.

Care must be taken when dealing with vacuformed parts. A new blade in your hobby knife will be a must when trimming away the canopy from the rest of the plastic. Light sanding will also be needed to smooth the rough edges.

A new resin detail set from Brengun to add or replace 1/48 scale LAU-115 & LAU-127 missile rail launchers for all the variants of the F/A-18 Hornet, Super Hornet, and Growler.

In The Box

There are six (6) resin-poured parts. Two (2) are of the LAU-115 rail launcher with ECP-422 jettison adapters molded in plus two mounting shackles. The other four (4) are the LAU-127 rail launcher. They are designed to be used to launch the AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. Paper instructions are printed on one side and very well illustrated.

This set is designed to provide replacement parts for Zvezda’s Pe-8 bomber kit. The package includes two complete sets of main gear struts and actuators and a new single-piece casting of the tailwheel fork assembly.

As with most of SAC’s landing gear sets, the metal main gear struts and actuator parts are intended to be one-for-one replacements for the kit parts. The parts are well cast, however, in my sample, one of the strut assemblies that hold the main gear wheels was misaligned (see photo), fortunately, as the white metal is easily manipulated, I was able to straighten it up with no issues.

SAC elected to cast the tailwheel fork as a single piece rather than as two parts as Zvezda did. I think this was a great decision as it eliminates the joint where the two kit parts meet, which could become a weak point over time.

A new photoetched detail set from Brengun to add WWII 1/48^th gunsights to your German machine guns.

In the Package

There is one sheet of photoetched (PE) brass that includes four (4) different styles of gunsights. Paper instructions are printed on one side and very well illustrated.

In the instructions, the style of gunsights is noted with the German term “Visiereinrichtung” which translates to “sighting device” in English. The gunsights noted are:

• Visiereinrichtung VL266 for: MG15, MG17, MG131 machine guns
• Visiereinrichtung VL41 for: MG-FF machine gun
• Visiereinrichtung VE22 for: MG81, MG81Z machine guns
• Visiereinrichtung 15 for: MG15 machine gun

Conclusions

This is a nice PE set from Brengun that will add that extra eye-catching detail on your WWII German machine guns. For planes/bombers that have an extra gunner station(s) or for any 1/48^th scale diorama or figure.