The latest release from Quick Boost is a complete set of resin exhaust tubes for the 1/32 scale A6M5 Tamiya kit. Once again the quality of the molding is flawless, no bubbles, or pin holes and the only flash is between pipes where there are more than one. I strongly suspect this is intentional for added strength while being shipped and handled. The resin is the light blond color we have become accustomed to. And of course the ends of the pipes are hollow.

As can be seen in the photos of the packaging, each pipe is numbered and each number is referenced to the Tamiya part number that the part replaces.

If you have or anticipate getting a Tamiya 1/32 A6M5, you will want these exhausts to enhance the detail of the kit engine.

I can highly recommend this set.

The BAC Lightning was Britain’s first and last supersonic interceptor. This Mach 2 jet was in service for nearly 30 years with its retirement in 1988. The Lightning’s clean lines and unique over and under engine arrangement make it a must have for any modern jet collection.

Eduard’s new kit of the Lightning is from their Limited Edition series and contains essentially EVERYTHING the modeler needs to build a stunning replica right from the box. All that the would-be 1/48 Lightning builder needs to add is paint, glue, and time.

Striking box art adorns the sturdy and rather tight opening box, an Eduard hallmark. Cracking the lid open reveals (8) sprue trees, (1) large decal sheet, (2) photo etch frets, (1) canopy Mask, and a nice resin seat from their new Brassin line. A multi lingual instruction sheet and a fold out full color painting guide are provided, offering the modeler a choice of (4) paint schemes.

I have acquired a few Airfix Spitfire Mk IX's recently and found the Quickboost product to be a sound rendition. The Airfix Spitfire provided the common standard issue flared or fishtail exhaust. Now with the new Quickboost round exhaust for the Spitfire Mk IX it is now possible to make other variants. Many post war variants used the simpler round exhaust such as Belgium and Dutch machines. Also many Mk IX e used these exhaust also. It would be a simple matter to relocate the wing gun blisters and re-position the cannons to the outboard. This will enable you to make make post war Mk IX e in Czech, and the above mentioned liveries using the round exhausts.

Background

Several months ago, I was asked to review an excellent publication dealing with the Brewster 339’s operated by the Netherlands East Indies Air Force in the Malaya-Dutch East Indies theatre of operations at the beginning of World War II. It was entitled Brewster B-339C/D/-23 History of Camouflage and Markings by Gerard Casius and Luuk Boerman, and appeared on the IPMS site a while back. There was a set of decals for Brewster Buffaloes in Dutch, RAAF, American and Japanese markings in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale. These looked very good, and John Ratzenberger wrote a review on the decal sheet, but I decided to actually build some of the models and use the decal sheet, and as usual, the project got a little bit out of hand, resulting in six new Buffalo models that I need to find space for in my model display cabinets.

Background

Arguably one of Germany’s premier fighters in World War I, the Fokker D.VII quickly became won acceptance by its adoptive aircrews as it began to enter service in the summer of 1918. A well-balanced and stable gun platform, with exceptional maneuverability and reliability, the D.VII demonstrated significant performance improvement over prior Germany types, including its famed older brother, the Fokker Dr.1 triplane.

In order to meet wartime demand, Fokker licensed production of the D.VII to Albatross. Albatross cranked out the D.VII at its Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (OAW) facility. Multiple models were manufactured, incorporating running changes and three distinct powerplants – two of Mercedes origin and one from BMW.

By war’s end 2,800 D.VII’s rolled off of the production lines.