Background

The recent new release by Airfix of the North American P-51D Mustang is a great detail addition to the modeling community for this iconic aircraft.

The Product

This latest release from Quickboost features a complete set of resin Exhaust-Type II exhausts for the P-51D Mustang from the Airfix new mold series of P-51D/K and Mustang Mk.VI kits. The quality of the resin casting is flawless and bubble-free. The tips of the exhaust pipes are hollowed out.

Assembly

These are simple drop-in parts that replace your kits parts. The locating stubs are replicated exactly where the kit’s parts are. Since these parts are made of resin, the modeler will need to use a cyanoacrylate adhesives (CA) super glue. If building with minors, exercise caution.

Albatros Productions publications, particularly their Winsdsock Worldwide and Datafiles, are indispensable reference materials for any serious modeler of World War One aircraft, and also for anyone with a deep interest in the history of aviation history.

The May/June 2013 (Vol.29, No.3) issue is their latest release of the Windsock Datafile line. The magazine consists of thirty-four pages (including covers) in medium thickness glossy paper. Other than the back cover and inside back cover, there is no advertising. The rest is all wonderful content. Production quality is excellent.

The cover shows pictures that hints towards the content inside; TVAL’s beautiful new Albatros D.II, a screen shot from the flight simulator Rise of Flight, an image of a 1/24 LVG C.VI, and a newly released resin figure.

Contents include:

Each issue of SAM follows a basic design and format. There are usually two Feature Articles, an Aviation in Profile piece, and a series of Compact Build Reviews. In this issue, the first Feature Article is by Marco Preto, who builds and reviews Meng’s Me-410B-2/U4 in 1/48th scale. This article is a must-read for anyone who is going to tackle the Meng kit, a kit that Mr. Preto highly recommends. Along with an outstanding set of images showing Marco’s kit in progress (and completed), he also provides a list of paints and weathering supplies that he used to the outstanding results one sees in the article.

The second Feature Article, on the Supermarine Attacker, was written by Assistant Editor Karl Robinson. Karl’s article highlights the paint selections he made to produce this tail dragger. Karl also indicates that the incredible results he obtained on the panel lines and seams were accomplished with MIG Productions Neutral Wash.

Many, many thanks to Mr. Hideyuki Shigeta for honoring me with the privilege of building the Super Wing Series He-219 Uhu (Eagle Owl) model kit for public review as an IPMS Reviewer Corps representative. I am deeply appreciative of the trust and confidence shown in me by both Mr. Shigeta and the IPMS Reviewer staff.

The Heinkel 219 Uhu was a highly effective but under-used Luftwaffe night fighter with a variety of innovations including obliquely firing guns and the first operational ejection seats. An excellent summary of the Uhu’s history may be found on the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s webpage, along with restoration photographs of the Uhu in the Museum’s collection.

One of the criticisms I've read about the 1/72 scale Airfix Spitfire Mk.22 is the cannons are not quite the right shape or length. Apart from this deficiency, the Airfix Spitfire is an excellent kit and a great value for your money.

If you want to improve this model's looks and accuracy, however, Quickboost has a remedy. Their replacement resin cannons are drop-ins for the original kit pieces. Based on photos I saw, they capture the shape and size of the real thing. The kit's outboard cannons are too short, both barrels seem too bulbous, and both have an out of scale extension on the tip. Also, the resin replacements have no seam lines to eliminate – a definite plus, since the kit parts have large sprue gates. Smoothing out these sprue attachment points presents the possibility of deforming the circular barrels. Overall, the Quickboost cannon barrels look more refined and in scale. Check out the photos to see what I mean.