Aerobonus is part of Aires and has consistently come out with great items for dioramas for kits in multiple scales. In this kit, Aerobonus provides a 150 gallon USAF Fuel Bowser which is used to reclaim the fuel planes have left over in their tanks after they’ve landed.

The kit comes with 14 resin parts and five small photoetch parts. Construction started by removing the casting blocks. They are large on the two tanks, and time spent here sanding them is worthwhile. The frame was next, and then the small parts. I added the two tanks to the frame, wincing at a few broken straps on the tank bottoms. They are fragile and broke during shipment. They were replaced with Evergreen strip.

I added the axle next, and then added the reel on the front, and also added the two tires temporarily. Once these were on, the front tire/jack stand was added to the front using the back tires to get the spacing correct. I added some line and the PE valve knobs and clips to the front.

I primed the kit with Alclad gray primer. There are two choices for color – gray or green, depending on decals. I wanted the gray version and shot the kit with light gray and gloss in preparation for the decals. I painted the tires grimy black. I ran into some trouble with the decals. They were well printed and covered with paper. Unfortunately, the paper stuck to the decals and left them spotty. You can see this in some of the pictures where it looks like they are weathered, which is great but it is actually where the decals were torn up. They are also prone to folding over, but if handled carefully they lay down well and leave no silvering. They could be better. A little flat coat and weathering, and the kits was done and looks great.

One other point to note: since the two tanks are solid resin, the kit trends a little toward being a tail-sitter. It could be glued in place, or the modeler could insert a slight wedge beneath the tires to make it sit nice and flat.

An excellent choice for anyone wanting a 1/32nd scale diorama on an airfield. Recommended. My thanks to Aires and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this excellent release.