Detail and Wonder (D&W) is a new aftermarket company; They currently list The F-35, F-4, and recently the F-16 as target kit improvements for their products, (Tamiya F-35A, Meng F-4E, and Tamiya F-16, which means it will work on the Kinetic copy) producing landing gear with integral Wheels/tires/struts, Exhaust Nozzles, and some intake/exhaust FOD (Foreign Object Damage) prevention plugs. The subject of this review is the F-35 Augmentor Exhaust and intake/exhaust plugs… IPMS USA is grateful to D&W for providing us this set to review!

The packaging is frugal but effective; no parts breakage noted on my set, and opening them revealed one exhaust nozzle and three separate intake/exhaust plug parts encased in protective foam inserts to prevent movement and crushing.

The printer resin is an almost-black color, and the wheels are medium gray.

Instructions are provided in English, with colored “remove these parts” diagrams for cleaning the parts of support struts and rods.For all parts careful use of a micro razor saw released the parts from their printer base; the removal and cleanup took 5 minutes.

Painting was with Mig AMMO flat white primer, then finished with Vallejo for the plugs (and the blue color). The AB nozzle received the Flat white primer as well, as the ceramic coating is bright white with a touch of exhaust residue light tan drybrushed to delineate the fuel imperfections inherent in JP-8 kerosene fuel (and show off the detail of the cooling holes in the pedals). Tamiya bare metal rattle can finish was used for the nozzle exterior, with light use of Mig AMMO exhaust nozzle paint colors to highlight detail. (No detail “popping” allowed in my paintwork). The paint adhered well to all parts.

This set was a simple addition to the model, and all are “press fit” additions to the kit. I used a bit of superglue thick to keep the nozzle from sliding off the augmenter tube.

The nozzle was impressive in that it showed off the primary nozzle petals around the forward radius of the interior, a detail frequently missed on older kits. (The fact close up photography is a “ya aren’t supposed to see that” on the actual aircraft would probably have something to do with it). Yes, yes… I understand over the years photos have been published, but why break classification?

I was very impressed with the ease of assembly these items provided, and the resulting gear is just that much better than the already “almost perfect” Tamiya F-35 Kit.

On their website, D&W have a model with their gear being tested by some heavy weights to show how durable these items are. Pretty cool… Nobody can guess the shelf-life of these plastics, but short term strength appears to be high.

Once again I give these items a full “ten” of ten for all the right reasons; reasonable cost, (nothing is free anymore, and yes these are a bit pricy), perfect fit, and ease of implementation on the model. IPMS USA sincerely appreciates your support of our organization and the hobby and we look forward to future releases! Thanks also to our reviewer team of John and Bill for sending these my way…