Kit Description:

1/25th scale, 117 pieces, molded in white, clear and chrome; newly tooled 2010 body and wheels with retooled 2005 Mustang interior and chassis, decals for three racing stripe versions.

History and Research:

Who in this world is not familiar with Ford’s iconic Mustang? Ford’s 2010 Mustang is the first restyle of the 2005 retro-styled version of the brand. The 2010 restyle further enhances the car’s aerodynamics and aggressiveness. Today’s Mustang remains the oldest American pony car in continuous production, 47 years to date.

The Build:

These models are from an Anime series originally called “Sentō Yōsei Yukikaze” which appeared in Japan as a direct-to-video production. It was produced by Gonzo and Bandai Visual (now, there’s a familiar name!). The videos won awards in Japan for best animation in 2003 and 2006. An English version of the video is available.

The premise of the story is that Earth will be invaded in the mid 21st Century by an alien force called JAM, through an interdimensional portal which comes out near Antarctica. The UN puts together a secret force which pushes the invasion back through the portal. The UN force then follows JAM through the portal to its home world, which is called Fairy. The battle continues on Fairy using several aircraft with some real upgrades from what we see in the early 21st Century. More information can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukikaze_(anime).

Eduard provides a complete set of parts to enhance the appearance of the ejection seats for the Hobby Boss Tornado ADV with this product, Eduard’s Tornado ADV Seatbelts Set, # 49547. The Eduard set is colored so no painting will be necessary.

A PE “bender” is not required to use the Eduard set. The Eduard parts can be easily manipulated and re-shaped with a pair of tweezers. Some of the parts are quite small, so a modicum of caution must be exercised not only to prevent the parts from becoming one with the carpet, but also to prevent any unfortunate accidental bends being introduced to the PE parts.

First: Extreme thanks to FineMolds for having dared to finally provide an injection molded kit of this famous weapon. If you have never built a FineMolds model, please understand that they are one of the top-notch short-run companies out there. The first FineMolds model I built was their all-resin and metal “Tony” kit, back in 1992; it heralded in all-resin kits for me, fit great, and cost (at the time) about $100. A very “Princely” price, but it lasted for 15 years after I built it. Not bad for a model to survive three military moves with the lowest-bidder moving companies… Enough talk, on to the “Okha”!

The Parts:

Quickboost is releasing products similar to this item for an ever-widening range of aircraft, and each of these products that I’ve seen lives up to the high standards of quality for which Quickboost is known. Included in this offering are four individual prop blades, two prop hubs into which the blades are fitted, and two spinners. Of course, also included is the “tool”, which is a solid block of resin with a specially designed layout that holds the prop blades and hubs in correct alignment for assembly.

Assembly:

Assembly is straightforward and can be accomplished after painting. That makes life easier for the builder. One simply places a “hub” in the receiving bay within the “tool”, places a prop on the “tool”, and glues it into the hub. No fuss, no muss, and perfect alignment every time!

Conclusion: