Quickboost recently added 2 new sets in their line-up specifically for the Hasegawa 1/48 Ki-45 “Nick”. These are recommended for Hasegawa’s kits, but might also work with the old Nichimo one.

As with other Quickboost products, these are meant to be drop-fit replacements for kit parts. The molding on both of these resin sets was extremely crisp.

QB 48-571 contains two different styles of exhaust pipes, and is designed to fit any of the Hasegawa Ki-45 releases. In addition to removing the parts from the pour stubs, the multi-port exhaust pipes have some very thin flash that will need to be dealt with. Otherwise, I saw no mold lines or imperfections on these parts. Although Hasegawa’s parts are actually quite nice, these replacements are just that much sharper in terms of details. The multi-port pipes seem a little crisper than Hasegawa’s, but I did not see a huge difference here. The real winner in this set is the one-piece exhaust pipes – Hasegawa molds these in halves (I imagine in order to make it hollow), and the seam clean-up could be a challenge. None of that issue with the QB pieces. A quick look at the comparison photos will highlight the differences.

QB 48-572 is designed specifically for the “Kai Tei” version of the Ki-45, Hasegawa’s kit JT95. These are replacements for the nose cannon and the pair of upward firing machine guns located aft of the cockpit. Again, the kit parts themselves are not bad, and Hasegawa did a nice job providing open gun/cannon barrels, but the QB items are still an upgrade. Despite only a small portion of the barrels being visible, what is there is extremely crisp on the replacements. The comparison photos will show the differences.

I think both these items are typical of the Quickboost product line – simple and better-detailed direct replacements of the kit’s parts. If you are doing a Ki-45 with the single exhausts, 48-571 is definitely worth getting your hands on. But, I honestly don’t think the multi-port exhausts in this set are that much of an improvement over the kit parts. The good news is you can use these on two different kits (as long as they each have different exhaust systems). As far as 48-572 goes, the various gun barrels are a standout feature of that particular variant of the Ki-45, so having the details be a few notches higher on these pieces (in my opinion) is worth investing in.

Thanks to Aires/Quickboost for providing the review samples, and to IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it!