Superscale Decals is now owned by the excellent people at Squadron Products, and their latest release is this sheet containing four different sets of walkways for 1/48th scale Phantoms. Both the wing and top of fuselage walkways are included. The set is printed by Cartograf and is beautifully in register and glossy.

The sets included are:

1. Black outlines with the walkway language
2. FS36231 Gull Gray with black outline and stenciling
3. FS36231 Gull Gray with no outline and with stenciling
4. FS36118 Gunship Gray with no outline and with stenciling

The instructions are well done, in color, and show the needed location of the decals.

This set is highly recommended and will go really well with older Phantom kits or the newer Academy kit. My thanks to Gary Newman and Squadron Products for the chance to review these great decals, and to IPMS USA for the opportunity to do so.

Quickboost is well known for creating nicely detailed drop-in replacement parts to enhance the detail of plastic models. This time around they have released a set of fuselage air intakes for the Su-7 from KP (reboxed by Eduard).

The air intakes are perfectly cast in grey resin, with a smooth, bubble-free finish. The molding includes two side walls to prevent accidental damage of the parts while in transit or storage. Removal of the parts should be easy, with either a hobby saw or even by scoring with a #11 blade if you take your time.

All the air intakes are hollow and have very thin edges, adding to the scale effect of your model. You can compare the resin parts with the plastic ones. The plastic ones have thick edges and in some cases (like part 119) they are not even hollow, being just a bump in the fuselage.

Recommended to modelers of all skill levels.

I would like to thank Aires, Quickboost, and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

Quickboost is well known for creating nicely detailed drop-in replacement parts to enhance the detail of plastic models. They have released a set of gun barrels for the Mirage III, for either the Eduard or the Hobby Boss kit. It might be possible to use this set with the Italeri Mirage IIIE, but I am not sure.

The cannon barrels are perfectly cast in grey resin, with a smooth, bubble-free finish. The molding includes two side walls to prevent accidental damage of the parts while in transit or storage. Removal of the parts should be easy, with either a hobby saw, or even by scoring with a #11 blade, if you take your time.

You can compare the resin parts with the plastic ones provided in the Hobby Boss kit. The main difference you’ll see is the muzzle brake detail and a much finer cannon barrel.

Eduard has masterfully downsized their 1/48 Bf-110 family to my favorite scale of 1/72. I have waited a long time for an accurate 110 in 1/72, and from what I see in the box Eduard has delivered. You get a total of 171 parts in familiar light olive plastic, clear plastic, and etch. You also get canopy masks to make life easier when painting the frames. There are five decal options. The moldings are flash-free and the panel lines are recessed and finely cast. Some parts won’t be used in this boxing and some are rendered in both plastic and etch, so you will have bits left over for the spare box or perhaps to help dress-up other Bf-110s you have in your stash. The instructions are clear and easy to follow.

Hobby Boss continues its F-14 series with a modern F-14D. The kit is large. There are 27 sprues of well-defined gray plastic, along with vinyl tires, a photoetch fret, one sprue of clear parts, and three decal sheets. Ten of the sprues are for weapons, including two GBU-12, two fuel tanks, four Mk-82's, four GBU-31's, six AIM54's, four AIM-7's and two AIM-9's. The kit features an open gun bay, refueling probe, two complete engines (that can't be seen), and a complete optional radar.

When this kit came out, the first thing that attracted me was the markings. The VF-101 markings with a black tail and white grim reaper were excellent, but then I noticed that the second markings were from VF-213 aboard the USS Carl Vinson where my son is stationed, so it became a no-brainer. Also, I had built the excellent 1/48th scale carrier deck from Skunkmodels, so it was time to build a kit to rest on the deck. This meant I want the plane to represent a configuration ready to take off.