AFV surprised a lot of people with a aircraft release as they normally do military vehicles. The f-5E/F series us superb and has all the needed detail for a great build. As with a lot of kits, the one thing they have trouble replicating is the ejection seat. Quickboost to the rescue with two sets of seats. one is for the single seat F-5e and one set for the two seat F-5F. The seats are the same in both sets which is why I combined the review. The casting quality is all the we have come to expect with no flash, zero bubbles and that nice firm dark gray resin.

The comparison in the photo of the kit seat versus the Quickboost show just how much better the Quickboost seat is and it includes all the belts. The addition to the kit is simple, cut of the casting block, paint the seat and install it. Also shown in the pictures is a shot of the Quickboost seat in the cockpit of the kit- fit is perfect.

After Dave Morrissette performed his construction magic, he returned the subject to me for paint, decals and find assembly. I cannot say enough about the quality of this kit and it’s all there. The only items used other than kit supplied were “Remove Before Flight” ribbons and intake covers.

As to paint, I wet sanded the entire model with 600 wet sand paper followed by Alclad II grey primer with microfillers. I was concerned that the primer might fill the exquisitely engraved panel lines, but not so. They took a brown/grey acrylic wash perfectly. The underside white used was Tamiya gloss white, decanted and sprayed through a Paasche “H” model airbrush at 12 lbs pressure. This dries quickly to a high gloss in about 30 to 45 minutes. The light gull grey used on the topside was Floquil S.P. Lettering Grey, a perfect match for the Gull Grey.

The May issue's Cover article features the new Xuntong Tu-2T in 48^th scale. This feature article serves as an excellent resourse for those planning to build the Tu-2T. Author and builder Marco Preto presents an in-depth review of Xuntong’s first release. Marco’s workmanship and skill are evident in the text and accompanying images. The article is a “must read” for anyone who wishes to build the Tu-2T.

This issue of SAM contains a “Feature Build” article and this particular article features the Wingnut Wings DH-2. Dai Williams does a fantastic job building up the WNW kit, sharing his techniques for shading and achieving a “translucent rib effect”. Being a fan of Wingnut Wings kits, and having one on the workbench at this time, I found Dai’s article timely and very useful.

As is the case in each issue of SAM, there are a number of “Compact Build Reviews”. In this issue there six CBRs.

History

The Messerschmitt BF-110 has received a lot of bad press in recent years, mainly because it was not able to contend with comtemporary RAF fighters during the battle of Britain. However, following the Battle of Britain, the type continued in production, and actually was quite successful in the close support role, especially against the Russians, and later, with more powerful engines as the “Gustav” model, as a night fighter it was very useful against RAF night bombers.

Aires with this detail set has provided the modeler with the means to upgrade the 1/72 Su-27UB Trumpeter kit. This resin accessory kit comes with eight resin parts that will assembly into two exhaust nozzles and one small piece of photo-etch that has two afterburner rings, one for each nozzle. The resin is typical for Aires being fine grain and flash free. The photo-etch looks to be stainless steel; at least no bending is required in this case.