This is the second detailing set from Quickboost for the new Trumpeter Su-24 Fencer kits and focuses on the external antennas. The set includes replacements for 3 of the antennas in the kit and provides 5 others that are not in the kit. As the set is market simply for the Trumpeter Su-24, you may need to alter the antenna locations a little bit depending on whether you are building the Su-24MR or the Su-24M.

The antennas are sharply cast in Quickboost’s standard resin and the castings not only include the individual antennas, but also the mounting plate by which the antenna is attached to the aircraft. The antennas are easily separated from the cast block, either with a razor saw or even with sprue nippers. I removed the antennas one at a time, sanded down the mounting plate and then attached the antenna with superglue before moving on to the next antenna.

Parts 4, 5 and 7 are new antennas not included in the kit. There are two of part #4 which are attached on either side of the forward fuselage aft of the radome and below the windscreen. Similarly there are two of part #5, one of which is mounted under each engine bay. Part #7 is also a new antenna and is mounted adjacent to the starboard front edge of the nose gear bay.

Part 3 of the set replaces kit part C#4 and part 6 replaces kit part C#18 with one-for-one replacements for the kit parts. Be sure to check your reference photos of the aircraft you are building. The Su-24MR antenna represented by part #3 is located on the nose centerline partway between the refueling probe housing and the base of the pitot tube, not next to the probe housing as shown on the instructions.

The set also provides a replacement for the large antenna located atop the fuselage behind the right seater’s canopy. This probe is actually swept-back at about 30 degrees and has two thin aerials, on fore and one aft, which are parallel to the top of the aircraft. While the kit’s version of this antenna is a single piece, Quickboost’s is three pieces: the antenna itself and two very finely cast aerials that you have to attach and align. The aerials are very delicate, tiny, and one managed to disappear on my workbench for about 20 minutes before I moved something and there it was.

As with other resin bits, the antennas must be attached with superglue and I recommend a gel formula with a little bit of a setting time in order to give yourself time to make sure the antenna is where you want it. I also recommend leaving all of the antennas off until right before you are ready to paint the model to minimize the number of chances to knock one or more of them off. I have left the large upper fuselage antenna off until after painting as I know it has no chance of surviving if I attach it now.

I painted the antennas black in order for them to show up better in the photographs. On the actual aircraft, with the exception of part #3, they would either be white or light grey. Most photos I have seen of the antenna represented by part #3 show it to be black or dark grey.

This is a very nice set and adds some nice missing detail. I am not sure if the three part approach for the large upper antenna is better or worse, but I will have to wait until the model is painted and everything attached to see which I like best, the kit part of the new ones.

Recommended. Thank you to Aires/Quickboost for the review sample and to IPMS-USA for letting me review it.