Packaged in the now classic standard clear poly 4 ¼” X 5 ½” envelope you will find a nicely printed photo-etch fret along with a piece of card stock, one small piece of acetate film, and a well illustrated instruction sheet. The printing is well rendered and very colorful. The sharp details are incredible even under a magnifying glass. However, my fret was not S.A. (self-adhesive). Not needed, but it is double-printed on the applicable parts.

The Bottom Line

A picture is worth a thousand words, as you can see. The Eduard kit is awesome and the Eduard photo-etch makes it better. The parts are drop-in replacements, plus there are parts for a seat upgrade. The Eduard guys have been busy and their work is a testament to their talented effort. I highly recommend this set to anyone who can safely use a sharp knife and wants a serious ‘SMT’ MiG.

Thank you Eduard and thank you IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this item.

Another nice-looking resin detail set in the fine line of Quickboost products. This time we’ll be looking at the resin landing gear covers detail set for the 1/48 Hasegawa J2M3 Raiden “Jack” Interceptor/Fighter.

The Japanese WWII Raiden Interceptor/Fighter was designed to combat the high-flying B-29s over the Japanese Home Islands. It had the fastest climb rate of any Japanese aircraft of the war. The allied code-named the aircraft “Jack” and it saw combat starting in 1944.

This detail set is designed to fit exactly with any boxing of the 1/48 Hasegawa J2M3 kit. The resin parts are made in a way where they simply fit into place with no surgery required. All one needs to do is carefully remove the parts from the resin ‘plug’ they come on.

This is the second book in this series that I have had the pleasure of reviewing, the first being for the RMS Titanic. The reader is presented both with history of the airframe type and the basic knowledge to safely start, operate and maintain an F-86A Sabre.

This book begins with the story of the Sabre’s development and testing. Next is a good overview of the Sabre’s combat history. Then the reader gets into the main body of the book. This covers the restoration, operation and repair of the world’s only flying F-86A. The book then concludes with a listing of principal production variants and surviving airframes.

Arriving in the familiar, colorful, small poly envelope, the set contains one color printed photo-etch fret, one smaller piece of acetate film, an illustrated instruction sheet, and card stock backing. I found, upon close inspection, the parts to be beautifully printed and well finished.

Installing the parts will require removing the surface details of some existing kit parts, such as the instrument and console panels, while other parts like the rudder pedals are folded and simply changed out for the kit part. Other parts, like the ring and bead gun sights and radio knobs, are basic add-on parts.

The kit parts seem a little clunky, to be fair, and I think the photo-etch is a better alternative for true scale effect, plus the genius of printing on photo-etch affords really beautiful renderings.

The bottom line is I highly recommend this set to anyone ready to tackle the 1/32 Dragon Bf-110.

Quickboost just keeps adding to their great line of quality resin aircraft accessories. The latest addition is for the Hasegawa B-24 Liberator. It is up to their usual standards, molded in grayish resin – smooth, seamless, and bubble-free.

The doors that come in the Hasegawa kit are okay but lack the level of detail that the Quickboost doors have. The Quickboost covers are superior and add just that much more realism to the finished kit. I shaded in one of the doors to show the detail that is molded into the Quickboost part. The resin parts are very easy to install and can be used on any other brand kit that is similarly molded.

I highly recommend this product if you want a really superior looking model. Usually, replacement parts need some work to get them installed properly but these doors pretty much just drop into place.

Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS USA for the chance to do this review.

A new addition to Quickboost’s ever-growing line of resin aircraft accessories is the corrected spatted undercarriage for the Ju-87G Stuka. This set is to correct the spats that come in the Academy kit. It is up to their usual standards – molded in grayish resin, smooth, seamless, and bubble free.

The spats that come in the Academy kit are too short and at a different angle than they should be. A great plus to the Quickboost parts is that all of the separate parts are molded as one piece, eliminating seam lines. All you need to do is pop the wheels in and glue the assembly in place. The resin parts are very easy to install and add a neater appearance to the finished model.

I highly recommend this product if you want a really superior looking model. Usually, replacement parts need some work to get them installed properly, but this assembly just drops into place. Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS USA for the chance to do this review.

In US service, the F-84 Thunderjet experienced early problems, but the E and G models proved the validity of the design. With its straight wing, it was very stable and was a great fighter-bomber. It is well known from its exploits in Korea. A portion of the F-84E production was exported to NATO to provide them with a modern jet attack airplane. When the greatly improved F-84G entered production, a majority of the production was exported to NATO and other countries.

This book provides complete details of the F-84E and F-84G in the service of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The book is written in Dutch and English. The first half of the book is in Dutch while the rest of the book repeats the information in English. Different photos are included in both halves but all photos feature descriptions in both languages. Twenty-four profiles are provided along with four plan-view drawings.

John Noack was kind enough to let me do this as an in-the-box review, since it’s a rerelease of a version of the Hasegawa F-4 that’s been around for a while. It’s still among the best F-4 kits on the market. With the differences in the available kits narrowing over the last several years, it comes down to personal choice. Personally, I like the Hasegawa F-4s just fine, though I have more than a few examples of almost everybody else’s in my collection, too. To the kit…

History and Performance

The 15cm sIG33 infantry gun was first installed on converted Pz.Kpfw. I chassis and used in the early campaigns of May-June 1940. This combination resulted in a high profile vehicle that offered little protection to the crew. Afterwards, plans were developed to mount this weapon on a more suitable chassis. A prototype was mounted on a Pz.Kpfw. II chassis, but it was quickly realized that more room was required for the gun and crew. The chassis was widened and lengthened. Only twelve vehicles were built, and all were eventually shipped to Africa. All were destroyed in combat on that front.

Kit Review:

Instructions – The instructions are in the typical fold-out Dragon standard. There are 21 steps to the build, with a sprue layout identifying what parts are not to be used. There are painting and marking guides for seven vehicles.

Aires has been on the scene for some time now, producing some amazing details in resin and photo etch metal. Among aftermarket aficionados, Aires is the top of the pack for the level of detail and quality of casting. This set for the AFV Club 1/48 series of F-5 Tiger II kits is no exception, though installation is a little time-consuming.

The British battleship HMS Dreadnought is widely thought to have been the first of the modern battleship designs, culminating in the Missouri class built during WWII. When the Dreadnought was launched in December, 1906, after only slightly more than a year in building – a pace unheard of prior to her building – she revolutionized battleship design and made all other existing battleships obsolete. The reasons for this were simple. She carried a massive, for the period, main armament and relied on only a single caliber, 12" 45 cal, for her main battery. Prior designs had mixed larger caliber guns which created problems when they were all firing and the fire control crews were attempting to determine which rounds to spot and adjust for more accurate fire. With only one large caliber, there would be no confusion as to which battery’s fire was to be adjusted.

Quickboost has added exhausts for the Academy Hellcat F6F-3/5 to its like of detail sets. They are molded in grayish resin, smooth, seamless and bubble-free.

The exhausts that come in the Eduard kit are okay but just lack the level of detail that the Quickboost parts have. The Quickboost parts are really superior. The biggest plus is that the ends are hollowed out, while the Eduard exhausts are not. This can really save you a lot of time if you were going to hollow out the kit parts, not to mention how great they will look on the finished model. The Quickboost parts for the Eduard Hellcat aren’t just drop-in parts like a lot of other Quickboost parts. The exhausts on the Eduard kit are molded onto the fuselage and will need to be cut and sanded off. Once this bit of surgery is out of the way, you will be very happy with the resulting improvement.

Quickboost just keeps adding to their growing line of quality resin aircraft accessories. This time they have put out a nice set of propellers for the Academy B-24 Liberator. They are molded in grayish resin, smooth, seamless and bubble-free.

The propellers that come in the Academy kit are okay but lack the level of detail that the Quickboost propellers have. The Quickboost ones are just more believable when you look at the finished kit. When you compare them, the Quickboost hub detail is superior and the tool that they include ensures that you have the right pitch. Installing them is also no problem and they could go on almost any other B-24 kit.

I highly recommend this product if you want a really superior-looking model. Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS USA for the chance to do this review.

Okay, I stepped up to review this since nobody else asked, nor volunteered. I have never used a Big Ed add-on before and I have a Tamiya A6M3 so I thought, “Why not try it?” When the Big Ed arrived, I opened it with joy like a kid at Christmas who had a good year with Santa. Then, while looking at the instructions, I realized I had the new Tamiya Zero and this Big Ed is for Tamiya’s OLD A6M3 Hamp kit. So, for a few months, I watched a bunch of these kits on eBay sell for more than I could pay. I have been unemployed for two and a half years now, so I don’t get to buy kits any more unless I can get them for under five bucks. Earlier this week I was able to borrow an old Tamiya Zero so we can at least get the review done. Of course, that Zero did not arrive until today...