History

The Junkers Ju-88 was probably one of the most versatile multi-engined aircraft that the Luftwaffe had available during World War II, and it seemed that whatever was asked of it, it performed very well in the role. Designed originally as a fast medium bomber, one variant was adapted as a long-range heavy fighter, eventually evolving into one of the most effective night fighters of the war. With the development of airborne radar, the Ju-88C series, and later the Ju-88G series, was active wherever Luftwaffe night fighters were employed. The first Ju-88C fighters, designated Ju-88C-2, began operating from Norwegian bases against Allied shipping – and these were basically fighter versions of the Ju-88C-1.

The usual “Thanks very much” goes out to our friends and suppliers at Quickboost for an excellent detail item, in this case an upgraded, simple radio rack drop-in for the Meng kit item.

Almost the same as the Aires radio rack, the difference is in the mounting. Check out the photos – on the side-by-side, the right is the Quickboost item, the left is the Meng item, and the manufacturer picture shows the Quickboost item. The QB item facilitates use with the already stellar Meng basic cockpit interior; this alone makes the upgrade worth the cash!

Again, a 10 for detail and appearance. Thanks again to Quickboost and IPMS USA for providing these items for review.

The ejection seat provided in the Trumpeter 1/32nd A-4 kit is very nice, combining both injection plastic and photo etched parts, ten in all. It is certainly passable. It does not compare, however, to the Quickboost seat, which consists of six cast resin parts. The casting is some of the best I have ever seen. The belts are very detailed and the finished seat should paint up nicely. While attaching the separate oxygen hoses, one of them decided to break off and go airborne. The last I saw of it was passing over my left shoulder.

The seat fits perfectly in the Trumpeter cockpit. I did not have a Hasegawa kit to compare it with, so I don’t know how it would stand against that kit seat. I can’t wait to get it painted and installed in the Trumpeter cockpit.

My thanks to Aires for providing this excellent product, and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it.

Quickboost is known for producing drop-in replacement parts for many model kits. The seat in the Airfix 1/72 Bf-109E is very basic, with a hint of the harness molded on the surface. While it is acceptable for a fun and simple build, it does leave something to be desired in the level of detail. The Quickboost replacement seat is well-molded and incredibly detailed. The seat is slightly thinner than the kit part (perhaps more to scale), the seatback has a raised cushioned area, and the harnesses are intricate (including the buckles and hardware) and are draped realistically in the seat. Once the pour stub is removed, the seat fits neatly into the attachment on the cockpit floor. For an easy upgrade to the kit, and almost a must for the super-detailers, the Quickboost Bf-109E Seat would be considered highly recommended.

Thank you to Aires and Quickboost for supplying this review sample, and IPMS USA for supplying the review opportunity.

Exhaust manifolds on small-scale aircraft rarely look very realistic. The moldings are representative of the exhaust, but are usually finished with solid ends where they should be tubular, like the ones on the full size aircraft. While some styles can be drilled out, the process is time-consuming and tedious to perform. If the exhaust is anything other than round, this process does not work, especially if the exhaust opening is a flattened oval shape or square shape. The Airfix Bf-109E has the latter style, a square shaped exhaust opening for each of the 12 engine cylinders. Quickboost has been well known for some time for producing high quality molded resin replacement parts for models, solving many of the issues with inaccurate or limited details. The kit exhausts are molded separately, which makes painting easier, but they are also solid with no openings. The Quickboost Bf-109E exhausts are an easy replacement, and are molded in scale thickness with the proper open ends.