Product

The gun barrels come packaged in the typical clear cellophane and cardboard insert that Quickboost has become known for. The parts are cast in a light gray resin and feature nice details for the cooling jackets and muzzle. The parts are designed to be used on the Italeri release of the old AMT/Ertl A-20G, which means they can be used on the AMT/Ertl kit if that's in your stash.

Application

When compared to the barrels supplied in the kit, I really feel that it would be a no brainer to use these wonderful barrels. The installation of these barrels require no cutting or modifying the kit parts. Pretty much glue them in and its done. Quickboost provides a quality upgrade for minimal price.

I would like to thank Aires - Quickboost and IPMS/USA for allowing me the opportunity to review this set.

The Hobby Boss Ta-152C has been released in a number of guises. The Ta-152C, E and H for that matter, could be equipped with different propellers. They could sport either rounded or pointed type of props. On top of that the spinner could be opened for an engine to fire through or a capped nose cone.

Typical of Quickboost the set is cast in blemish free light grey resin. There are six pieces to the set. There is a spinner, three prop blades, prop shaft and a setting tool.

Hobby Boss allows you to choose either one of the props. In this particular set, there are pointed tip blades. The blades are very thin and accurate in shape. The spinner is beautifully accurate with the hole in the tip. The spinner has a small casting block that should be easy enough to remove. The other piece of the set is the setting tool which will allow the modeler to place each prop blade angle and make sure they all line up and allow you to drill out a hole for the prop shaft.

The third 1/72nd B-24 sheet from Lifelike contains more colorful nose art. If you are a fan of pinups and nose art these sheets are really impressive.

The decals are contained in a 6”x9” ziplock bag along with two A4 full color instructions. The decals themselves are printed by Cartograf and Microscale. Between those two decal printers you know you have some of the best printed decals in the world. But what about the research? Lifelike is well known for their research. Even Lifelike can make errors as they acknowledge. Lifelike basis their findings on the latest information available and when the information is lacking they base their finding on educated guesses. Some would find this a weakness in the decals but I think it is an asset. They let you know what is known and what is conjecture.

This is the final stretch reviewing Eduard PE parts for the HK B-17 kit. Even more thanks to Eduard for providing us these sets!

The landing gear set addresses an area frequently neglected by many modelers; the landing gear and wheel wells. Intended for the kit plastic gear, there are numerous straps, tow eyelets, and panels to apply to bring the struts to life. I Purchased and am using a set of SAC gear for strength. The review copy of this gear is to be reviewed by another IPMS member, so I’ll refrain from comment on these other than to say it is a drop fit for strength. In the interim, the kit gear will benefit greatly from Eduard’s efforts.

The tail wheel well gets full treatment, adding brace, side and top panel and rivet detail where none existed on the kit. The same treatment is applied in the main wheel well area; duct braces, additional detail sheets, some boxes, and air flow straighteners. The detail added makes quite a difference.

This set covers what is not included in the bomb bay set: the racks themselves, latches and placards in color etch, bomb carry racks, tail section cover plates for the bombs, fuse propellers (front and back), and some cats and dogs for the lift mechanisms.

This was one of the more difficult sets to review, in that you must remove plastic side rails on the racks without destroying the racks themselves, and then fit the cover sheet metal plates over the bomb release shackles, (which also require modification before the PE will work). It took a while, but I got there, just no magnifiers when viewing, please.

I will be installing the bombs toward the end of the build, but it’s pretty self-evident these parts will make a difference in the appearance of the bombs themselves.

As noted in the other reviews, more high marks for Eduard for this series of PE upgrades; 10 of 10. Thanks again for the review items!