Eduard continues to expand its line of WWII 1/48 Superfabric seatbelts. This time with a set of USN Beige WWII-era seatbelts.

The Superfabric seatbelts are made of some sort of “rubber-like” material. They have volume - i.e, they are not flat like decals - and they have a little bit of texture like if it they were made of ‘fabric’ (pun intended).

From what I read in the Eduard website you can either apply the seatbelts “dry” directly on the painted seatbelt or “wet” if the seatbelt has been coated in Future.

I choose to apply the seatbealts over a “flat surface” (i.e, just over enamel paint).

The Su-9 was a Soviet interceptor from the later 1950s until the late 1970s. It superseded by the Su-15 Flagon and Mig-25 Foxbat. Often mistaken for a Mig-21 because of the delta wing, it was in fact a much larger aircraft with greater range. It was the second Sukhoi fighter with the Su-9 numerical designation, the first being a prototype early twin engine early jet fighter similar to the Me-262 which never saw service. The Su-9 shared an airframe and engine with the Su-7 Fitter, the aircraft being developed somewhat in parallel. It only saw service with the Soviet Air Force (VVS) and was never exported.

Quickboost is well known for their fine resin details and plenty to choose from. The Hawk pitot tubes are typical of them with fine details that are difficult if not impossible to produce with injection molding. There are three Pitot tubes provided so if you do not break them, one set will allow you build three kits. The tubes come in a plastic bag with while the pour block (sprue) contains supports to protect the fine parts.

Compared to the Hobby Boss (HB) kit parts, the QB parts have a more defined shape including the various tapers and tip of the probe.. The kit part has a very “blunt” tip where the QB tip is tapered and well defined.

Quickboost is known for exquisite detail on all of their update sets and this review sample is no exception. I would like to thank Aires for this review sample.

John Vojtech made a big splash at several nationals a while back with his magnificent builds of a B-2 and C-130 to name a few. To build these models, John actually fabricated some of his own tools and over the years has refined them and is now selling them. This UMM-USA tool is the VojTech Hand Sanding Bar. These bars come in five convenient sizes: Extra Large, Large, Medium, Small, and Fine. Made from polished aluminum and with 6 flat surfaces, these tools are useful in many applications.

The part reviewed here is the extra-large bar. Using it is simplicity itself. Get a piece of the appropriate sandpaper cut a strip the width of the sanding bar or a little less. Wrap the sandpaper around the bar of the side you need. One end of the sanding bar is longer and comes to a sharper taper. The other is wider and not as sharp of a taper. You can also use tape to attach the sandpaper also

We all need a cutting mat for our hobby area. Not just as a cutting surface, but as a work area and to prevent damaging the table/surface we are working on.

Squadron has released the latest on their tool line with a cutting mat on A3 size, with a 10x15 inch working area. One side is just plain green for general work and cutting, while the other side has a square inch pattern plus angle lines at 30, 45 and 60 degrees.

The surface is made of a self-healing material, meaning that your cuts would “heal-up” (i.e. disappear) and you will have a smooth surface to continue your work. I did a few test cuts -gentle ones, just drawing the blade on the surface- and next morning I couldn’t see any cut or “scar” for what matters.

This cutting mat is likely to last you a long, long time (I would bet at least a decade if you take care of it) plus it will protect your blades and your working surfaces. Get one, you won’t regret it.

Recommended.