In going through all of my references on the Skyraider, I found pictures of at least three types of 20mm cannon barrels. I guess it’s another one of those cases where you have to have pictures of the exact aircraft you are modeling; to be sure you get it right. The castings are very well done, very sleek and very fragile. They are one-to-one replacements for the barrels on the Hasegawa kit. Just glue the wing halves together, snip off the kit barrels and drill a hole in the leading edge, and you’re ready to go. If you are depicting a step-down barrel, this is the way to go, because you just won’t find any thin walled tubing that will give you that nice of a step-down. The pitot tube is very thin and very fragile. And, of course, the quality of the casting of Quickboost detail parts is great.

My thanks to Aires for the review sample and to IPMS/USA for letting me do the review.

First of all, thanks to Amodel and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to build this kit. I received the kit from fellow IPMS Phoenix club member Brian Baker. It had been sent to him for review, but since he only builds 1/72 aircraft he offered it to me to build. The reason that he received it in the first place is that fact that the instructions state that the kit is 1/72 scale. However, the box and kit number indicate that it is indeed 1/48. Since I prefer 1/48 aircraft, I agreed to give it a go.

Often overlooked in historical accounts of U.S fighter operations during World War II, the 57^th Fighter Group (FG) served with distinction during nearly three years of continuous combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Activated in January 1941, the then 57th Pursuit Group deployed to North Africa in July 1942, launching their Curtiss P-40 Warhawks from the deck of the U.S.S Ranger, and in the process, becoming the first U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) unit to deploy in group strength from the deck of an aircraft carrier. The 57^th FG joined the British in “The Blue,” Royal Air Force Desert Air Force slang for the North African desert stretching west of Cairo, earning the distinction of being the first USAAF to fight in North Africa.

I hate using rubber tires on my model kits. So whenever anyone such as Trumpeter comes out with a kit that has them I cringe at the thought of using them. Luckily for me, Aires offers a replacement set of wheels. You get two main wheels, a tail wheel and the strut.

These perfectly cast replacement parts are simply gorgeous. These are some of the best wheels for the Friedrich I’ve seen. They are beautifully cast in light grey resin. Of course just having wheels is not Aires style, so they include a set of masks for them. The tail wheel itself is as good as a casting as you are ever going to see. The area between the forks and tail wheel is hollow and simply perfect. The pour stubs are easy to remove.

Although designed for the Trumpeter kit you could easily use this set on a Hasegawa or 21^stCentury kit. This set is simple yet detailed and will add to your kit and you won’t even have to worry about the rubber eating the plastic or drying out.

The Dragon Ta-154 Moskito Tri-kit will benefit from this simple update set. Cast in light tan/grey resin the six pieces will add to the look of the kit. The set includes five air inlets and a pitot tube. The air inlets are hollowed out perfectly, especially noticeable in the larger ones. The set is the easy to use and simply replaces kit parts. I guarantee I could not have gotten such a deep cut that looked as good. The pitot tube is very thin and perfectly straight. The only thing I worry about is the fragility of the pitot tube. Overall, a very simple upgrade to the Moskito.

This set could also be used on the Promodeler Ta-154.

Thanks to Quickboost, Aires Hobby Models and IPMS/USA for the review copy