Aires has developed a highly detailed cockpit for the Trumpeter 1/32 A-4 Skyhawk. This set includes twenty highly detailed grey resin parts and one clear resin part, plus a photo etched sprue which includes the seat belts, rear views mirrors, and other small details to add to the cockpit.

Not unlike their other cockpit kits, the fit of the cockpit tub is pretty much on the money, but some sanding will be necessary for a perfect fit. The quality of the resin is up there where one has come to expect the great quality from Aires, which is truly fantastic. I found no bubbles or missing corners anywhere on the parts. There is some minor flash, but a few licks from a sanding stick or the like will handle it with no problem at all. I did make sure to wash the parts with mild detergent because there was a lot of the releasing agent present.

With the release of the Eduard Mig-21 family and the upgrades to the older Academy Mig-29 and Su-27, as well as the reboxed Su-25 and Su-22s, it is amazing that it has taken this long to get a decent 1/48th scale pilot for these airplanes. If you are like me, I enjoy having a figure next to my airplane for scale comparison. Well, now I can do that with my Russian jets. Yes, I know, you are saying, “Floyd builds jets? And Russian ones at that?” Well, I haven’t yet, but I have all of them, so when I get that itch I can scratch it.

This figure is molded in two pieces of light grey resin that have no flaws that I can see. Aero Line posed the figure with his arm up shielding the sun while watching something in the sky. I like the pose and it seems natural. The biggest piece of resin is the whole pilot with very little cleanup required. The only other part is the arm, which is keyed to go into the body and should represent no big hassle in assembly.

Squadron has released a new cockpit set for the Roden T-28B/C. Molded in bubble- and blemish-free medium grey resin, the detail included is far superior to what can be offered in plastic. The instrument panels have some impressive detail, especially the rear cockpit which includes the coaming and the wiring in the rear of the panel.

This set contains parts for the cockpit tub, two seats, rear bulkhead, side panels, instrument panels (both front and back), rudder pedals, sticks, and throttles. I don’t think there is anything left to add to the inside. I don’t know for sure, but I’ll bet that Jeff Verswyvel was heavily involved in the development. Jeff was the proprietor and master maker for Avionix and Black Box. This is up to the typical work I expect from this master modeler.

If there is a downside to this set, it has to be that the packaging can’t be closed up after the parts are inspected.

The latest boxing from the Czech company Master Box is a little diorama in a box. It tells the story of a Special Forces team heading back to the Huey from combat with a wounded comrade. This model just speaks Vietnam.

Molded on two sprues of tan plastic, this model has 131 intricate pieces that build up into five figures. The main characters are three soldiers, one wounded, all hobbling back from combat. The other two are covering the withdrawal. The parts are the best that plastic can do. The faces are a little soft but certainly acceptable and will benefit from good painting. The clothing is tiger-striped but could easily be olive drab. The equipment is nicely done, especially the rifles and grenade launchers. The packs and framework are particularly nicely done.

The F-100 is an impressive model. I’ve built the 1/32^nd scale F-100 from Trumpeter and I have to tell you that I enjoyed the entire build. I enjoyed it so much that I went out and bought all three versions of the 1/48^th scale kit. It is the F-100D and F-100F that this set is designed for.

The later style speed brake had a cut out to allow its use with drop tanks and ordanence on the center line. This set is so easy to use that you would think it would be a Quickboost product. There is no cutting required. Just substitute the resin insert for the kit ones.