The CR. 42 Falco was one of the last operational biplanes of World War II, as well as being (at least in my view) one of the most elegant aircraft of the period. In the Libyan and Malta campaigns, it battled against the equally obsolete Gloster Gladiator until more modern aircraft made the scene on both sides. It soldiered on for some time thereafter as both an ad-hoc night fighter and intruder for both the Italian and German air forces. The last of the breed served as trainers for the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force. Rugged and reliable, it was a remarkably agile aircraft, which gave it the vital edge in more than one aerial encounter.

Among the numerous update sets Phase Hangar has produced for the Hobby Boss kit comes this exterior upgrade that includes replacement wing tips and tail cone. Covered chaff dispensers are featured under these wing tips as well as missile launch detectors. These parts also spare you the chore of closing the joint in the curved underside of the wing present on the kit molding.

In addition, this set includes a replacement tail cone with updated detectors in place. Both parts require plastic removal from the base kit. Both fall on panel lines so you have a guide for cutting. The only caution I would note is squaring up the wing end on the kit part to make sure the new wing tip is positioned correctly.

There is also a second exterior upgrade set (#48110) that includes antennas and gun muzzle. If you wish to have open wingtip Flare/Chaff dispensers, you can order set #48109.

Phase Hangar resin provides a very nice correction set for the Kitty Hawk SH-60B Sea Hawk which I built a few months ago for an IPMS USA review, I really wish I had this set back then as it adds some nice additions to the kit.

The set comes with

• 1 x Operator’s Console in Light Grey Resin
• 1 x VCR in Light Grey Resin
• 1 x RAST Probe in Light Grey Resin
• 1 x RWR Fairing in Light Grey Resin
• One leaflet that informs you to go to the Phase Hangar website for the instructions

I did have an issue when I went to the website for the instructions as they were not available when I first looked, but once I e-mailed them, they replied very quickly and sent them to me. They are now back on the website as I did check. Great customer service!

All the four parts are very well cast and very crisp and detailed. The operators Console is an awesome addition on its own!

The Hobby Boss 1/48 A-10 kit can make up into an impressive kit right out of the box. As with another production kits however, it has some areas that need detail upgrades to represent the aircraft in scale. One of those areas in this kit are the engine exhausts. The Hobby Boss parts C8 & C9 make up the turbine section of the engine. There is no internal detail so you end up with a black hole inside the exhaust.

Luckily, Phase Hangar has developed a solution. This detail set includes one piece -3D printed exhaust cones with amazing surface detail inside and outside. Two other parts create the internal turbine details one would see if looking into the exhaust of the real thing. Phase Hangar provides detailed instructions online that take the builder through the steps to incorporate this set into the kit parts.

A focal point of any A-10 build is all of the ordinance hanging from eleven hardpoints across its wingspan. While the Hobby Boss A-10 has a lot of strong points, the kit provided weapon pylons are not one of them. The surface details consist of dimpled rivets and some raised boxy panels. Phase Hangar corrects that for us with this set of replacement pylons with separate bomb rack inserts. Each pylon includes a raised station reference on the casting block that corresponds to the weapon station diagram in the kit instructions. As with the other parts Phase Hangar produces for the Hobby Boss kit, these have fine surface details. There are no instructions on the Phase Hangar site for this but you don’t need them. Identify the weapons station, remove the casting block and drop into the recess on the kit wing. After minor cleanup to remove the casting sprue, the bomb rack parts drop into recesses under the pylon and include sway braces.