The Product

It’s packaged in a simple zip-lock poly sleeve attached to apiece of card-stock sporting a pair of maple leafs. Ultracast has managed to produce a high quality resin casting of the early style Mustang wheels. The rims have the correct spoke pattern and include the valve stem; however, the brake line connection is correct only for the left side, since the pair are from the same mold. It’s not really a big deal and can easily be corrected by simply scraping off the fluid bolt and moving it to mirror the other wheel. I detected no flaws in the quality of the mold or the resins used.

The Bottom Line

Part for part, Ultracast has always had the finest aftermarket parts for the Mustang. These wheels are no different. I recommend these wheels to any true Mustang lover.

My Thanks to Ultracast and to IPMS for allowing me the chance to inspect and review such a fine item.

The Product:

Attached to apiece of folded card-stock in a simple zip-lock poly bag, I found a pair of finely cast resin seats. The detail and quality is simply amazing. And is just what the Doctor ordered to cure the ho-hum kit seat part syndrome. The seat is correctly fitted out with the Sutton harness and backrest cushion, the rolled pan and tube seat construction is faithfully represented.

Some people prefer ‘photo etch belts’ vs. the ‘cast in mold’ harness belts, and of course this is just my opinion, but I like the molded harness belts a lot better, and for several different reasons, plus when they look like these do I’m a very happy camper.

The Bottom Line:

Awesome product I give it a 5 star rating. I highly recommend it to anyone at any skill level.

Thanks:

My Thanks to ULTRACAST and to IPMS for allowing me the chance to inspect and review such a fine item.

Quickboost has been making many types of resin accessories for aircraft for years now, one of which are propellers. This is a review of their P-40B/C propeller which has been faultlessly cast in their grey resin. This product provides three props, one spinner and a tool to assemble these pieces. The spinner has a casting gate on the bottom that was cut off with a razor saw and cleaned up with a file in 5 minutes or less. The props are even easier, they are removed quite easily and had no seam lines to remove, just a little sanding on the base. With the Quickboost tool you can paint the spinner and props separately before hand then assemble the parts into a complete propeller.

Overview

The British Electric Lighting served 34 years from its first flight on August 30, 1954 to its retirement from service on April 30, 1988. One of the more spectacular fighters of the cold war era, the Lighting is remembered for its amazing take offs that pitched up to the vertical soon after lift off. This was not a feat common to aircraft of the period. The Mk 6 was the last of the Lighting models to serve the RAF. It had wings plumbed for over wing fuel tanks to extend range and was fitted with two 30mm cannons in the forward belly bulge. This version of the Lighting was a common sight to Russian Bear pilots who regularly poked near British airspace just to see if someone was paying attention. I’m sure it was a sad day indeed for the members of No. 11 Squadron when their Lightings were replaced on April 30, 1988 by F-4 Phantoms.

The Kit(s)

Quickboost has provided the modeling market with a whole series of useful aftermarket items that give a little extra detail or convenience without breaking the bank. These small sets tend to focus on one aspect of a model needing improvement ; thus, the modeler can choose where to spend his energy, and money, on kit improvements. This small set from Quickboost provides replacement gun barrels for the F-5 series of aircraft by AFV Club.

Use note

A few notes on using this set. First, both “barrels” are not truly gun barrels. Only the port (left) side contains the gun, while the other is an air inlet for avionics. Now, going one step further, not all F-5 airframes have the guns installed, and some don’t have the tubes installed either. Many F-5 airframes in the adversary/aggressor role have neither the gun nor tubes installed in the nose. So be sure to consult your references and make sure that the aircraft you are modeling does indeed require this set.