Lifelike Decals has presented us with another sheet on the Me-109. This sheet features some colorful aircraft of various types so you can use this sheet on numerous models.

The instructions are printed on two single-sided A4 sheets in full color. The one thing I like is that Lifelike isn’t afraid to offer an educated guess when some marking are in question. They let you know what is speculative and how they came to their conclusions. Very professional, and a non-pompous way to do business. There is a separate sheet for the stencils that cover the Emil and Gustav versions.

There are two decal sheets. The decals are in perfect register and very thin. They appear to have good color opacity as well. The larger of the two carries most of the markings, while the smaller one carries the individual and kill markings. There appears to be enough National markings to do all the aircraft with enough stencils to do one machine.

Another great sheet for the Eduard Albatros kit. This one will be a pleasure to many WWI modelers. WWI aircraft have always been colorful, but finding good quality decals has been a pain in the past. Lifelike has helped fix that with their latest two sheets.

The instructions are printed on two single-sided A4 sheets in full color. The one thing I like is that Lifelike isn’t afraid to offer an educated guess when some marking is in question. They let you know what is speculative and how they came to their conclusions. A very professional and non-pompous way to do business.

This particular release, like 48-039 Albatros Part 1, has a sheet of the major propeller types used on German fighters in WWI. This is a very valuable asset and shows the difference to the props and the manufacturers.

Another fine offering from Quickboost comes in the form of a pair of cast resin engine covers for the Tamiya/Italeri Hurricane Mk. I.

Crisply and delicately cast, these shrouds for the ‘Cane’s Merlin cleanly capture the shape and internal and external detail of the Mk. I’s engine covers, and are ideally suited for display in the removed position, as the fastener holes are finely captured. Compared to Eduard’s photoetch panel inserts reviewed earlier, the Quickboost version far better captures scale thickness and interior surface detail, as shown in the photo below. Not to knock the Eduard set (which is superb overall), but if you want to display your Hurricane with the engine exposed with the removed panels nearby, the Quickboost parts are the better option.

A fast way to upgrade any kit is to replace the wheels with some higher quality resin ones. Ultracast has long been a standard for outstanding resin aircraft accessories and updates, with their P-51 items leading the pack. These wheels are for any P-51 kit where the modeler desires a block tread, which is a little different than the standard kit-supplied diamond tread.

In The Package

The wheels come on two separate pour stubs, sealed in a Ziploc bag on a card hanger. The parts are completely free of any defect or casting flaw, and the tread pattern is very nicely defined but not overdone. The casting block attaches to the tire where there would be a slight flattening from the weight of the aircraft, but there is no “flat tire bulge.”

Eduard’s self-adhesive photoetch set for AFV Club’s F-5F Tiger II is yet another work of art in a long line of exquisite detail sets from the Czech manufacturer of model kits and accessories.

Two PE frets – one color with self-adhesive on some parts, and the other in bare metal – provide the modeler with over a hundred parts to make the already-solid AFV kit really “pop.”

As with all of Eduard’s comprehensive “S.A.” sets, the cockpit is the focal point. Instrument panel, side consoles, rudder pedal, ejection seat, and canopy rails and frames are superbly recreated in quarter scale, and fit the kit like a proverbial glove. The pre-painted instrument panels, console surfaces, and harnesses immediately draw the eye and provide a clear “wow” factor. Although the AFV kit has strong cockpit detail to begin with, the Eduard enhancement really makes it a centerpiece of the model.