Thank you to Phil and to Bill for all the work that you do and your support of IPMS.

The Kit

Intended for Italeri or Hasegawa 1/32 F-86 Sabre models, this Aires Aero Bonus kit includes one resin cast block and one single-sided instruction sheet with a full color illustration. They are packaged in a plastic container (for protection) inside of a plastic pouch. Prior to working on the kit, I recommend washing it in a mild detergent solution to remove any mold release residue. The resin cast has sharp detail and is flash free.

Construction

Other than the color illustration/painting guide, no instructions are provided, but they are not needed as the build is very intuitive. To begin, I used a razor saw to divide the cast into three sections: the body/seat, the arms, and the head. After I divided the cast into these pieces, I carefully trimmed them until they were all cleanly separated. Important Tip: you must use CA to adhere the parts. Other cements such as Tamiya Thin Cement or Testors liquid cement will not work.

Painting

To prepare the parts for priming (I used Vallejo acrylic gray primer), I mounted the parts on blue tac. After the primer was dry, I painted the base coats with Vallejo Model Color paints. For the body & ejection seat, I recommend a “bottom up” approach. You will have greater success if you begin by painting the ejection seat, cushion, uniform, belts and buckles in that order. After the base coat was dry, I clear coated all of the parts.

After the clear coat cured, I added further detail: dry brushing highlights, thinned black oil paint for recesses & definition. Please note: it will be much easier for you to paint the belts & buckles, if you paint the arms separately and then attach them near the end of your process. For the last step, I sprayed it with AK Interactive Acrylic Matt Coat to tie it all together.

Conclusion

This is a very nice accessory. Having a pilot figure already molded to an ejection seat is a smart idea, and it is even better when the detail is nice quality. As usual, Aires did not disappoint.

It is a quick & easy build, and you really can fully complete it in half a day. For anyone who has the recommended kits for this figure, I think it would be a great addition to your model and will make it come alive.

Thank you to Aires Aero Bonus for providing the sample for review and thank you to IPMS for the opportunity!