Thanks to Aires/Quickboost for providing more of their excellent aftermarket parts for IPMS USA to review, and to IPMS leadership for sending it my way.

The new Airfix Mark 1 1/48 Spitfire is, by all accounts, an excellent kit. Detail is on par with 1/32 kits… and will make a show-stopper if built to the max.

One area which can, however, be improved on,is the Rotol Propeller. The kit items are slightly heavy; a resin replacement is definitely in order!

The Quickboost item addresses two areas; the thickness of the propeller blades themselves, and the spinner itself. The kit item has a baseplate, to which a propeller assembly is attached (it is keyed, so you can’t really mess it up), after which you install the spinner itself.

The kit spinner is not as rounded as seems to be the case on the actual item; Quickboost provides a one-piece spinner which does two things: (1) it provides a clean, no-muss spinner without a need to clean up the baseplate to the propeller assembly area, and (2) it has a more rounded shape.

Included in this set are a jig, three propeller blades, and a propeller shaft. This jig works GREAT!

First: Remove the pour stub from the back of the spinner, and carefully sand it flat. (and even!)

Next, open up the existing jig’s 1/8” hole the rest of the way through; Next, CAREFULLY drill into the spinner base about ¼ inch.

Remove the blade bosses at the base using a razor saw, then place the spinner in the jig “cup”. One small drop of superglue, slide the prop boss into the spinner, and make sure everything is lined up. Wait for the glue to set, then repeat two more times.

Remove the propeller assembly, and either use the provided shaft to fill the back hole, or make your own, longer version(which is what I do to keep the prop from just falling off).

Primer and paint black, with white tips. Install on the model, stand back, and enjoy!

Buy this set if you want a better Mark I propeller… Thanks to Aires/Quickboost for this magnificent item!