Aires is known as the producer of excellent after-market and detail items, and this product lives up to that standard. Designed for use on the Hasegawa P-40M/N this product provides for both of the horizontal stabilizers and control surfaces. There are four parts in all, cast in a durable resin material.

Looking at the accompanying images, note that the image labeled, ” 2 Parts 1” shows the parts after having been removed from the package. One will notice some “flash” between the parts and the part carrier. Not to worry, that flash is easily removed with a sharp blade or a pair of cutters. All four parts were removed and cleaned up in under 5 minutes without the use of sandpaper. Study the image labeled, “3 Aires Parts Removed from carrier” to see one set of parts after having been cleaned up.

A perfect addition to your diorama or display base is this Aires Aerobonus figure. This German or Austro-Hungarian Pilot figure is designed to be used with any German or Austro-Hungarian WWI aircraft (Albatros D.III / D.V, Berg D.I / D.II, Fokker E.III / E.IV, E.V, D.VII, Oeffag D.III, Pfalz D.III, D.XII, Phonix D.I / D.II / D.III, Siemens-Schuckert D.III / D.IV, etc.) Aires Aerobonus provides you with a resin figure with side bars to protect the figure. Of note is the re-sealable packaging that Quickboost uses that makes the parts easy to review and then stuff back into the package securely. The supplied instructions provide color drawings for painting.

Hauler has produced a nice World War Two Japanese Pre-fabricated Steel Pillbox. These were mainly used on Betio Island in the Tarawa Atoll. They had two internal levels, the upper was an observation area where the top opened to give a higher view. The lower area had to machine gun ports, a small arms port and a door. This is a very nice resin set.

In the box is:

• 1 x Resin Pillbox
• 1 x Photo Etch sheet
• 1x Instruction sheet

The Pillbox is very crisp and well molded with great detail.

Construction

The build starts by removing the excess resin form the lower part of the pillbox using a razor saw. The next stage is the Photo Etch gun port shutters. The one thing missing from the kit was the door which these Pillboxes did have; I will make one myself to add later.

Many thanks to Mr. Ross MacMillan of Scale Aircraft Conversions and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me to try this neat substitute and replacement set for the Special Hobby AF-2 Guardian. I am pleased to report on another sweet add-on and upgrade. The Guardian has a somewhat spindly appearance and having skinny but strong metal “legs” really helps!

The white-metal parts arrived in a blister pack, backed by the distinctive SAC company logo. The weight of the parts is very noticeable. All parts are free of sprues with the exception of two retractor struts. The parts require very little buffing, cleanup and polishing. I did use a Dremel tool to buff some of the parts and brought a very nice natural metal tone to them. But blue paint covers all of that shine.

Background

Despite early and overwhelming success of its armored and mechanized forces during initial conquests in western and eastern Europe early in World War II, the German Wehrmacht found itself in urgent need of an able tank destroyer capability as it began to encounter Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks following the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Initial response was to repurpose obsolete tank designs, such as the Panzer II, and refit them as tank destroyers. An incarnation built on the Panzer II chassis, Marder II’s were initially fitted with rechambered Soviet 7.62 cm guns, and were designated Sd. Kfz. 132. Follow-on production examples were fitted with 7.5cm PaK 40’s and designated Sd.Kfz. 131. Their open-top configuration and thin armor limited their utility in urban environments, but their mobility and firepower made them a notable improvement over fixed and towed anti-tank weapons they were designed to replace.