Upon opening the box you will find 9 baggies containing 182 parts, one tree of P.E. parts, a couple of small sheets of decals, a 10 page instruction booklet, and a decal placement flyer. Parts are molded in three colors; black, red, and chrome. The chrome parts have an aluminum tint to them, making them much more realistic and appealing to the eye than the typical “chrome” parts found in most car models.

Kit instructions

Before beginning this project it is important to study the instructions and illustrations, and become familiar with the part number and paint color codes. Having given that admonition, once these codes and the associated symbols become familiar to the builder the instructions become very clear and easy to follow. The illustrations are well drawn and precise, with a sense of perspective that aids the builder in part location and placement.

“So many Spitfires…so little time…” or at least that’s the way seems to die-hard modeling fans of Supermarine’s legendary fighter. Of all of the kits offered in 1/48^th scale, Tamiya’s varied offerings of the Mk V are among the most popular with competitive and serious modelers. Excellent accuracy, detail, and general engineering of the kit put it in an elite class of quarter-scale Spitfires.

If Tamiya’s outstanding kit weren’t enough, those folks from Aires just had to take things a step further with their recent release of a cockpit set for Tamiya’s Mk V’s. Boy, do they deliver! Eight crisply-cast chunks of resin, a fret of top-notch photoetch, and a small sheet of acetate with instrument faces and gunsight glass to raise a high bar even higher.

This review is a little different for me, only because I have taken over this task from John Yager, the original reviewer who started the initial work, but was unable to complete the build. However, I was still able to complete enough of this model to bring to you an honest and fair review. When I received the kit, Steps 1 thru 4 were underway, but needed to be cleaned up. Only the cockpit was complete and it was a job well done. The credit for the building should be shared with John Yager due to the hard & good work he put into what he had done.

ABOUT THE AIRCRAFT

(PLAAF) J-10A VIGOROUS DRAGON

This softbound book contains 264 pages of high quality photos taken by German occupiers printed on high quality paper. What I did not know was that pre-war Polish security concerns prohibited photos from being taken from 1937 until the war. That is why there are, according to the authors, only around 25 photos of pre-war Polish aircraft. Then after the invasion anyone seen taking photos was suspected of spying and detained, plenty of reason that there are so few photos. The German photos became the only source of knowledge and markings from the Polish Air Force. The quality of photos is very high even though most of the aircraft are in states of disrepair.

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 blonde 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.