Revell’s 1/72nd F-89D/J came out in the early 90’s and is a great kit. There are really only two shortfalls of the kit; the first being the lackluster cockpit and the second being the multi-part exhaust/jet pipes. Pavla has recently released resin detail parts for the cockpit and the exhaust.

What you get in the package is a full gear replacement in white metal for both main gear legs and the tail gear. In many cases SAC will assemble some of the kit parts prior to casting. In this case the replacement parts number is the same as the kit parts. They have cleaned up the gear and filled any imperfections that were present on the original plastic parts. They also have enhanced the level of detail on the gear well above that of the plastic parts

The gear in the kit consists of five plastic parts. The metal replacement parts make up five pieces, two for each main gear and a single piece for the tail gear.

Detail is crisper on the metal gear than on the kit’s plastic parts. One can also tell from the photos that the SAC gear is much beefier, especially on the main gear retraction arms. The replacement parts are a drop fit with no issues what so ever. The overall appearance of the replacement gear is vastly superior to the kit parts.

Eduard’s partnership with fellow Czech company HGW continues with their release of these pre-cut printed fabric seat belts. The belts themselves are made from very thin, elastic like fabric onto which the details and colors are printed. The belts are printed in the standard Luftwaffe light tan for this set, with the late war Orlon green available in a separate set.

The hardware is typical Eduard, rendered beautifully and precisely. Three types of mounting brackets are included for the shoulder harnesses, so check your references to the type used specific to your model.

Assembly is straight forward, if not a tad fiddly. The belts re very thin, and thread well through the photo-etched buckles and parts. As noted in other reviews here, they work best if you do not crumple them up before threading them as the instructions states.

Master-Model offers modelers three different sets of turned metal parts that can be used in place of the Special Hobby kit’s plastic parts to add extra detail to models of the Fairey Firefly. These sets are available in both 1:72 and 1:48 scale. This set (AM-48-097) provides parts to assemble crisply detailed 1:48 scale Hispano 20mm cannon in short fairings for the Fairey Firefly.

The Master-Model parts are designed to replace the injection molded ones in Special Hobby kits without significant surgery. Since the kits already have holes on the wings’ leading edge to install the injection-molded parts, the Master-Model barrels should literally drop in place instead. (Although the size of the holes may need to be increased to 1.5mm diameter to accept the plug on the end of the fairings).

Are you familiar with Japanese Puzzle boxes, sometimes called “trick boxes” or “secret boxes”? A Puzzle box is a box that can only be opened through some “obscure or complicated series of manipulations”. The boxes contain a good luck charm and are designed to trick or confuse the person attempting to open them. Some require only a handful of movements in order to slide the various parts of the box into an “open” configuration, and some require hundreds of manipulations. Indeed, Japanese Puzzle Boxes are known for their complex and challenging design but they are also known for their intricate geometric patterns and their exquisite engineering and construction.