Quickboost has added a pair of detailed Spitfire Mk.V cannon barrels to their aftermarket parts line that can be used to replace the ones that come in the new Airfix 1:48 scale kit. The barrels have a slightly more delicate profile than the ones in the kit and no seam lines to clean up. They also have open ends so there’s no need to break out the pin vice and # 76 drill bit. The base of the Quickboost barrels are molded to match the shape of the Airfix barrels so they will fit into the leading edge recesses as drop-in replacements. (see the comparison photo below of the Quickboost parts and the kit parts). The detail closely mirrors the kit parts, but the Quickboost barrels capture the look of the prototype with crisp and more refined recoil springs that appear less pronounced. With some adjustment, these barrels also may be used on kits other than Airfix.

Thanks to Brengun for providing this most excellent upgrade set for the Special Hobby AH-1G cobra; and to IPMS USA for sending it to me to review!

If you are interested in the “Snake”, the Special Hobby 1/72 kit is well worth acquiring. Y etc…turbine exhaust is a first in ANY scale, and two types of tail rotor mounts, one port side, one Starboard side based on the version you are building. And you get a set of not only 2.75” rocket pods, but minigun pods as well if you don’t use them. I purchased the M-35 kit, which has the externally mounted .20MM Vulcan short-barreled cannon, and the associated saddle magazine set for it. I hope they pantograph this one up to 1/48 or even 1/35, as it’s that good… and it’s appropriate for the Vietnam-era builders out there like me. The old 1/32 Revell kit is a bit long in the tooth…

Scale Aircraft Conversions, or SAC, make replacement landing gear for a wide variety of aircraft, in all the major scales. They are cast in white metal, which is stronger than the kit’s plastic pieces. To quote the company’s website, “Some sets consist of the main gear only while others include the nose gear, tail gear and/or adjacent related components. Some inaccuracies in the original kit gear have been corrected but the mounting points remain identical to the factory parts.”

Scale Aircraft Conversions, or SAC, make replacement landing gear for a wide variety of aircraft, in all the major scales. They are cast in white metal, which is stronger than the kit’s plastic pieces. To quote the company’s website, “Some sets consist of the main gear only while others include the nose gear, tail gear and/or adjacent related components. Some inaccuracies in the original kit gear have been corrected but the mounting points remain identical to the factory parts.”

This set is made to replace the parts for Tamiya’s F-16CJ. They seem to be direct replacements for the kit parts, providing more strength and should withstand more handling during construction than the kit parts might. They’ll definitely help add to the beefy look of the later F-16 landing gear.

These are well-made parts that should be drop-in replacements. Thanks to SAC for providing the set for review and to IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it.

Eduard's latest release in their Hellcat series is a F6F-5 late in the Profipack set which contains lots of photoetch, resin wheels, a masking set and the sprues needed to make a late version. The set also comes with five olive sprues and one clear sprue which have wonderful panels lines and the lapped seams in the fuselage. The photoetch has one brass fret and one colorized one with lots of cockpit parts including a wonderful dozen for the instrument panel alone. The kit also has an excellent decal sheet with markings for four planes:

• VF-12 (or VBF-12), USS Randolph, May 1945
• LCDR T. Hugh Winters, VF-19, USS Lexington, October 1944
• VF-29, USS Cabot, January to March 1945
• White 115, "Death and Destruction", Multiple Pilots, VF-83, USS Essex, May 5th 1945

There's also all the needed stencils. There also options for open/closed canopy, bombs or rockets and extended or retracted tail hook.