This book is not so much a “what-if”, but more of a "what might have been" story. Everything is based on surviving tech orders, ads, and other papers that show what the RAF wanted to use the TSR.2 for, as well as the schemes it would have worn and weapons that would have been carried. Like its Canadian cousin the Avro Arrow, it has become the stuff of myth and legend.

The book is profusely illustrated with artwork, showing various markings and paint jobs that will give the modeler looking for something other than the prototype’s white paint scheme a lot to ponder. Like wise, the various weapons load outs will spark the modeler’s imagination.

I found this to be a well-researched and laid out book. The author has done his best to cover all possibilities of the what, where, and how of aircraft assignments. Also included are operations had the TSR.2 entered service.

The Voroshilovets tractor was produced at the beginning of WWII and was used by the Russians as their heavy artillery prime mover. It had a crew of 2 and could carry the gun crew on the bench seats in the cargo bed. The Germans captured and used a few of these vehicles.

The kit is molded in yellow plastic, with the tracks in brown. There is also a sprue of excellent clear parts for the cab windows, tarp windows and headlight lenses. Molding is very good with a minimum of ejection pin marks. I had no references at hand, but the model looks to be close to the proper dimensions based on pictures I found on line.

The instructions are clear and nicely illustrated with 15 steps in 12 pages, including a parts map. The decal sheet measures 1 ½ by 2 inches and includes 2 red triangles for the Russian version and 6 white markings for the German version. There is a separate painting and decaling sheet with full color 5 view drawings for each version.

• QB48 333 AU-23A Nose $3.49
• QB48 334 AU-23A Propeller with tool $6.29
• QB48 335 AU-23A Exhaust $4.61

Roden’s AU-23A kit was a welcome addition for those who like Counterinsurgency (COIN) aircraft, and Roden has established itself with a fine line of kits. However, being a short run kit, there are areas that can be improved with the addition of resin details. Quickboost comes to the rescue, with a series of items to help overcome some of the minor shortcomings of the Roden AU-23A kit.

QB48 333 AU-23A Nose

First in line is a single piece part to replace the nose on the kit. The resin part has a nicely molded front with deep air inlet. There is also some crisp panel lines scribed in, and at first glance this looks like a winner.

These represent a fairly new product from Aires, long time producer of quality resin aftermarket aircraft accessories and they are absolutely GORGEOUS !!!

As image shows, all tires and hubs are cast flawlessly as separate pieces which makes making painting a breeze. The tires have raised “Goodyear” and tire info in raised letters that take a light dry brushing extremely well. Images show the difference between kit and resin parts. There is also included a length of copper wire to be used as a brake line. I truly believe that these will sell very well when the work spreads as to the quality found here. See the “Wheeliant” line on Aires website at https://www.aires.cz/en/. Many thanks to Aires for the review sample.

Please note that cost is an estimate.

Eduard’s FW-190s are some of my favorite models. One of the things that is ‘nitpicky’ about them is that you have to cut open the wing root gun covers so that the kit parts will fit in a closed position. Sometimes this results in a less than perfect fit, depending on how well you cut them. Well you don’t have to do it anymore. Loon Models provides you with the two covers with the trailing edges suitably thinned so you no longer have to cut into the wings. This will make that whole process so much simpler and ensure a perfect fit.

Molded in light yellow resin that is blemish free these are easy additions to the kit.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Loon Models for the review copy. You can obtain your copy by contacting Roll Models. Tell them IPMS/USA sent you.