THANK YOU to our friends and suppliers at Aires/Quickboost for this excellent improvement set for the Tamiya P-51 series! And thanks also to the reviewer corps leaders for making the set available to me to review.

This set takes the kit components and improves them in a major way. If you follow the Tamiya P-51 kit instructions, the kit prop blades are cemented to the spinner back half, then you cement the front half of the spinner to the back, trapping a poly-grommet in the spinner so you can press everything onto the front of the model at the end. It works, but there is a seam at the front of the spinner, and how to paint the whole thing comes into play. I have assembled the spinner and painted it and the props separately in the past; it worked, but the propellers are difficult to set at the proper angle using this method.

Here is where the Quickboost set comes into play! Included in this six-part set are a one-piece spinner, four propellers, and a prop jig for assembly. The spinner has no seam, and the prop jig solves the assembly problem!

Detail improvement: with the one-part spinner comes the screw holes around the parting line, a detail you need to add on your own otherwise

To use this set: remove the large pour stub from the spinner (I used a razor saw and 220 grit sandpaper on a sanding block to finish), then get out your drill sets. The prop jig has a centerline hole to guide your drill bit - use a 5/64” bit to drill the hole. Place the prop spinner in the jig, then (wear gloves) hold the jig and spinner together while carefully drilling out the center shaft hole. Brilliant! I’ll surmise if you are using aftermarket you have basic skills and I don’t need to tell you not to drill too far in or you’ll drill through it into your hand. And ruin the spinner.

At this point I painted the parts. QB thoughtfully molded the propeller blades so you can do this operation on the pour stub without having to resort to other methods of holding parts.

I use duct tape to hold most small things on my “patented on Venus” dry cleaning pants tube holder. As you can see I drilled a bunch of holes in the tube, and inserted cocktail sticks/toothpicks through the hole (Make the holes just a bit smaller than the sticks and you don’t need glue, AND you can adjust how much the sticks hang out to hold various parts). I run a piece of duct tape around some of the sticks, press the pour stub on the tape, then fold the remainder of the tape over to stick to the other side of the pour stub. It holds the parts, allows me to paint and mask, and when done, just remove the finished product from the tape.

Next was to paint the prop tips Tamiya flat white primer from a rattle can, then yellow (in my case Tamiya camel yellow). Mask the tips, then paint the parts with Duplicolor flat black automotive lacquer (which thankfully the California Paint environmental laws allow us to buy in small quantity spray cans). This stuff dries fast, and after about an hour can be buffed out to give a semi-gloss, decal-ready surface. My favorite for propellers.

The spinner had been chucked into the same drill bit as used to drill the driveshaft hole. Push the spinner over the bit, twist until there is “bite”, then it’s firmly held in place. I had previously primered it with Tamiya flat white primer while doing the prop tips, so it was ready for painting. I shot the whole spinner with the previously mentioned camel yellow, and let it dry. Then, I chucked the drill bit in the trusty multi-speed Black & Decker drill, Held the drill and my arm on the workbench, and carefully used vallejo flat red paint to brush paint the spinner while running the drill at low speed. It took two coats (drying between applications) and the spinner was painted without masking tape.

I did the same basic process with the Tamiya kit P-51spinner and propellers, then it was time to assemble! The jig holds everything in place: remove the props from the pour stub, test to make sure the prop fits firmly into place, then use a bit of Gel superglue on the tip while inserting into the spinner. Make sure the prop seats in the jig well, hold for a minute, then repeat three more times. Remove and make sure everything looks good, and the job is finished! The spinner fits neatly on the kit-supplied engine shaft without the poly cap.

Done! This set is highly recommended for improved detail, and I was chuffed at the final product well enough to buy another one! Thanks again to Quickboost and IPMS USA for providing these items!