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Review Author
William Seaman
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$4.99

Quick Boost has quickly built a reputation for excellent resin castings at affordable prices. These two sets are sure to add to that for the already great out-of-the-box 1/72 Hasegawa A-1J kit.

Few things are more heartbreaking than finally getting to the last stages of finishing a kit, only to realize that you’ve lost an antenna. Sure, you can try your skills at re-construction from scrap styrene, putty, or both but we all know that’s easier said than done. Again, these are direct replacements for the kit parts. My sample was very crisp and bubble-free

As always, make sure you wear a respirator when you make your cuts and vacuum up the residual dust once you’re finished.

Review Author
William Seaman
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$4.99

Quick Boost has quickly built a reputation for excellent resin castings at affordable prices. This set is sure to add to that for the already great out-of-the-box 1/72 Hasegawa A-1J kit.

These are direct replacements for the kit parts and my sample was very crisp and bubble-free. They offer a simple solution to the often frustrating, sometimes futile attempt to drill-out exhausts in this scale.

Review Author
William Seaman
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$24.95

While this set is designed for the Fujimi kit, it’s a direct drop in; you can easily use it on any of the Hasegawa offerings (which I’ll be using). It’s an excellent upgrade from the kit parts and requires minimal modeling effort to complete.

It consists of a single fret of 2 PE afterburner flame rings and two sets of exhaust “feathers” (long), afterburner cans, and exhaust cones. My sample was cast in dark grey resin and was bubble free. The cut lines are clearly defined and the resin separates easily from the pour stubs with a few swipes from a razor saw. A few swipes with a sanding sick leveled the parts up and they were ready to assemble.

Be very careful with the PE afterburner flame rings. They are extremely delicate and are somewhat oversized for the afterburner cans. I used a wooden dowel, to gently move them into position, to where the grooved afterburner can liner begins.

Review Author
Jay Mesawitz
Published on
Company
Fujimi
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$31.00

The Toyota Prius has made its way from a government incentive driven experiment to a very successful mainstream product offering. As such it really deserves to be noticed for its place in history. The Prius body styling and the kit subject matter in general, however, may only appeal to the Prius enthusiast.

The Fujimi kit represents the 2009 model year of the 3rd generation Prius and is an all new kit. White, clear and chrome trees are all individually bagged. Also included are soft rubber tires, a small decal sheet and window masks. Part count is just over 80 pieces and the build up is fairly simple. The result is a curbside model with no open elements.

Book Author(s)
Andy Pearson
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
Company
Happy Medium Press
MSRP
$23.10

Let’s take a journey, a journey into the mind of a scratchbuilder. Not just any scratchbuilder, not one who takes an actual object that existed and builds a replica from scratch. But one who gives three dimensional shape and form to an idea in a novel or a picture in his head. Author Andy Pearson is just such a modeler. He is regularly featured in Sci-Fi and Fantasy Modeller magazine.

In this book’s eleven chapters; Andy will show you how to take an image in your mind or a book and give it form and substance. Each chapter is a walk through the building of project. From futuristic construction equipment, cybernetic whale, a cross sectional far away planet’s seascape, space ships and much more, Andy takes you on the journey from idea to model.

Review Author
Chris Durden
Published on
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$58.95

Italeri has been releasing more Italian WWII subjects in both 1/72 and 1/48 scales over the past several years, with mixed success. Several were excellent kits such as the CR.42 and the SM.82 while others, like the most recent Re.2002, were poorly received by some modelers. The recent release of the MC.200 has drawn some negative pre-release publicity as well as comparisons to the well done PCM kit released earlier. Being a sucker for anything in splotchy camouflage, I jumped at the opportunity to try the kit for myself, and found a solid effort with good points and some bad points as well.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
AModel
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$28.95

The Aircraft

The Vampire certainly qualifies as an “early jet”, being second oldest to the Meteor in RAF service. The Vampire’s twin-boom layout was a result of the low power of the early jet engines. The shorter the tail pipe, the more power the engine could deliver. The Vampire’s original mission was strictly as an interceptor, with only the 4x 20 mm Hispano cannon as armament.

Review Author
Ed Kinney
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$8.95

Beautifully cast as “plug in” replacements for the kit parts these parts are ready to use. Designed for the Tamiya A6M-2 Zero.

Many thanks to Quickboost/Aires for the review samples. Visit them on their website at www.quickboost.net for this and many other fine products.

This item is highly recommended.

Review Author
Ed Kinney
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$8.95

Recently released by Quickboost, Intake covers in 1/32nd scale for the Tamiya kit are now available. Beautifully cast, just cut off the moldings, paint red and apply the supplied “remove before flight decals”.

This product is recommended.

Thanks to Quickboost for the review item.