Quickboost provides one pitot tube and two ShKAS 7.62mm gun barrels. Of note is the re-sealable packaging that Quickboost uses that makes the parts easy to review and then stuff back into the package securely. There are no supplied instructions; you simply swap out the kit provided plastic parts with the new Quickboost replacements.

Quickboost has molded the pitot tube and gun barrels perfectly in light grey resin with no apparent bubbles. The Quickboost pitot tube and gun barrels have no mold seams to sand off on these tiny parts, and superior detail of actually hollowing the barrel as opposed to a flat face to drill out.

Be very careful removing the parts from the resin block as the pitot tube is small and fragile. 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.

As you can see from the comparison pictures with the kit parts, this set is a great improvement over the kit parts. These Quickboost parts are specific replacements for the kit parts found in the Eduard series of I-16 kits. I’ve included a comparison photo that shows the Eduard, QuickBoost, ARK, and HobbyCraft (Academy) kit parts, left to right respectively. ICM has also threatened to release an I-16 kit for the last several years, so it probably would also benefit from this set. The QuickBoost guns fit easily into the Eduard and HobbyCraft wings. The HobbyCraft kit part is clearly different and would require some modification. The QuickBoost pitot tube can be used on all three kits without modification. As a side note, neither the Eduard kit nor the ARK kit have any backing to the holes in the wing. If you are test fitting the parts, they can easily slip straight back into the wing and will be difficult to retrieve.

The bonus is that these enhanced parts can actually be seen as opposed to almost anything inside the tiny cockpit or under the cowling. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this set.