The folks at Quickboost continue to add superb detail sets to their growing catalog of items. For this review I will be looking at two sets for the 1/48 Hasegawa Ki-43-II Hayabusa “Oscar” Japanese WWII Fighter.

Both sets are designed to fit any number of the Hasegawa kits, as every boxing of the Hayabusa share the same fuselage – either set will work for Hasegawa’s entire series of Ki-43 aircraft.

Before you run out and purchase one of these sets, check your reference material to decide if you would like to build an early model Ki-43-II or a Late model Ki-43-II. Quickboost set 48-295 is labeled “Type A” and represents the later style exhaust pipes (pointing toward the tail). Set 48-294 is labeled “Type B” and is for the early models with the exhaust stack pointing outward. For this review, the kit shown is a Ki-43-II Early type with the exhaust stack pointing outward.

Both sets are finely molded, and are very easy to remove from the casting block. I removed each exhaust using a razor saw, and after a bit of sanding, the parts were ready to paint.

As you can see from the photo, the detail is far above the kit part that these replace. The well is deeper and more defined on the Quickboost replacement parts than the original kit part.

Both sets easily fit into place, and there is no surgery required. I simply painted each part, added a little wash/weathering, and placed the parts into place on the fuselage. I cannot think of an easier upgrade to a kit! Both sets add a little more life to the model, and a higher level of realism with very convincing results. I highly recommend these sets to anyone wishing to add a little more detail to their “Oscar” without much work.

Thank you to Quickboost and IPMS/USA for providing the review samples!