Want an nice upgrade to any 1/48 Boulton Paul Defiant? Step right up to the new Quickboost Defiant Mk.I undercarriage set that provides a beautiful replacement to what is supplied in your kit. The parts are packaged in the standard Quickboost re-closable packaging with a paper stiffener along with the description card. There are no instructions. These parts are specific to fit the Airfix accurate and highly detailed 1/48 Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.I injected plastic kit. They may also work for the older limited run Classic Airframes kits (471, 481, and 482) that were introduced in 1995.

Quickboost has molded the undercarriage set perfectly in light grey resin with no apparent bubbles. The undercarriage set detail is an improvement over what is provided in the kit providing more of a 3-dimensional aspect to the doors.

Make sure you consult your photographs to get the correct geometry for all six parts. I found some useful pics by Ron Patterson at:

• https://www.largescaleplanes.com/walkaround/wk.php?wid=93

The fun part is removing the doors from the sprue. I used an razor saw to first remove them from the pour block. The next step is to remove the remaining resin sprue from the outer door lip. Again I used a razor saw (see attached pics) and gently sawed away for about five to ten minutes for each part. Then out came the sanding sticks to smooth everything out. Total preparation time was about an hour. Pay special attention to the upper-outer door with its retraction arm. It is extremely easy to break. Ask me how I know. The good news is it is also easy to re-attach with super glue. As you can see by the website photos, this retraction arm can stand to be thinned somewhat so it can fit between the main gear strut and the wheel well. I thinned it down some, but it probably can stand a bit more. It will probably depend on how brave you wish to be as to how thin you can get it.

Although most paints will adhere to resin alone, I would recommend that you wash the parts to remove any remaining mold release and prime them first. They will need to be installed with your favorite CA (super glue) or epoxy, as the normal plastic glues or solvents will not react with the resin.

This product is a good way to enhance your Airfix Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.I and well worth the time and cost. You can see from the photographs at the previously mentioned websites that the outer main gear doors are clearly separated with space in between them. Replicating this with the supplied injected kit parts would be labor intensive and you still would not have the detail that Quickboost provides. This product is highly recommended due to the superior appearance of the Quickboost parts over the injected kit parts.

Thanks to Aires Hobby Models and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this set.