Among the numerous update sets Phase Hangar has produced for the Hobby Boss kit comes this exterior upgrade that includes replacement wing tips and tail cone. Covered chaff dispensers are featured under these wing tips as well as missile launch detectors. These parts also spare you the chore of closing the joint in the curved underside of the wing present on the kit molding.

In addition, this set includes a replacement tail cone with updated detectors in place. Both parts require plastic removal from the base kit. Both fall on panel lines so you have a guide for cutting. The only caution I would note is squaring up the wing end on the kit part to make sure the new wing tip is positioned correctly.

There is also a second exterior upgrade set (#48110) that includes antennas and gun muzzle. If you wish to have open wingtip Flare/Chaff dispensers, you can order set #48109.

The CR. 42 Falco was one of the last operational biplanes of World War II, as well as being (at least in my view) one of the most elegant aircraft of the period. In the Libyan and Malta campaigns, it battled against the equally obsolete Gloster Gladiator until more modern aircraft made the scene on both sides. It soldiered on for some time thereafter as both an ad-hoc night fighter and intruder for both the Italian and German air forces. The last of the breed served as trainers for the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force. Rugged and reliable, it was a remarkably agile aircraft, which gave it the vital edge in more than one aerial encounter.

Werner’s Wings has been around for some time and is known primarily for rotary wing subjects offering resin and resin in 1/32, 1/35, 1/48 and 1/72nd scale. Their attention to detail rivals all other resin and decal companies on the market and that can be attributed to the owner, Floyd Werner, who served in the US Army as a helicopter pilot and a helicopter pilot for a local police department. With Floyd’s personal experience with rotary aircraft and his connections in the aviation community, reference material he uses can be trusted to be the most authentic.

With over 650 titles in print, Fonthill Media publishes high quality subjects including Archaeology and Ancient History, Aviation, Biography, Local History and Heritage, Military and General History, Sport, Transport and Industrial History.

Jason Nicholas Moore is an avid air historian and modeler and has spent forty years conducting historical research and constructing model airplanes. Moore has spent the last thirty years researching Soviet aircraft in general and has read extensively on the war on the Eastern Front. His previous books have included: Il-2 Shturmovik: Red Avenger; Lavochkin Fighters of the Second World War, Tupolev Tu-2, Soviet Strategic Bombers, and Soviet Bombers of the Second World War.

This set consists of resin 3D printed main wheels and a cast nose wheel. As the product description implies, these wheels are universal for all versions and kits of the A-10 in this scale. In the attached photos, I compared these parts with the Hobby Boss kit (in grey plastic) and the older Tamiya kit (in green plastic). The main wheels require minor clean up once the printing sprues are cut away. The nose wheel sample I received had a casting flaw in the hub area that is easily fixed with some putty. Overall, these wheels are a vast improvement over the rubber wheels in the Hobby Boss and Tamiya kits. The 3D parts have a texture, but no ridge pattern sometimes exhibited in 3D printed parts. Of note is the mounting hole in the hub of all three parts needs to be drilled to the correct size to suit whatever kit you use them on.