Recently I was given the opportunity by IPMS USA to review Aires Focke-Wulf Fw 190F-8 tail wheel assembly for the 1/32 Revell Focke-Wulf Fw 190F-8 kit. One of the first things to notice with this product is the excellent presentation of the packaging with the sealed flap on the back of the package to allow for easy access to parts.

Upon removal of all the different parts that make up the tail wheel assembly, you will notice the great detail that we have come to expect from Aires QB products. The molding and detail on the tail wheel assembly’s parts are excellent and they come off of the resin block with little effort along with the help of an X-Acto blade or razor saw.

The tail wheel assembly comes in several highly detailed parts that will need assembly. The tail wheel frame comes in 2 pieces, with support arms, tail wheel, and an actual shock.

This kit provides an am32a-60 Generator, 1/32 scale, air and power cart, used by United States and NATO to provide ground power for ground system operations and compressed air for starting jet engines.

The “Dash 60”, as it is known, is a portable gas-turbine powered unit designed to provide high-pressure air to spin jet engines up to starting RPM, and at the same time provide 28-volt DC, 1500 amp, or 115/220-volt AC three-phase electrical power for aircraft systems. Once the engine starts and the aircraft is running on its own power, the cart is shut down and removed from the vicinity of the aircraft, allowing it to depart.

This kit comes with provision for three different decal marking options; one in standard 1960’s through 1980’s Yellow, one in the USAF 36079 overall dark green, and one gray Navy version. They have also been painted in Desert Tan, but this is not catered for in the kit.

Recently I was given the opportunity by IPMS USA to review Aires Focke Wulf Fw 190F-8 Gun Cover for the 1/32 Revell Focke Wulf Fw 190F-8 kit. One of the first things to notice with this product is the excellent presentation of the packaging with the sealed flap on the back of package to allow for easy access to parts.

Upon removal of the resin gun cover you will notice the great detail that we have come to expect from Aires QB products. The molding on the gun cover is excellent and it comes off of the resin block with little effort along with the help of a razor saw.

Even though there is a separate gun cover in the kit, this cover is an addition to this kit, when looking at the side by side comparison you will notice that the Aires offering has a lot more underside detail and more defined lines and rivet detail on the top surface. If you are going to take the extra time to detail and open up the gun bay for display you will want this cover.

Tamiya has long offered a wide range of acrylic paints and acrylic thinners. Recently I experimented with Tamiya’s Lacquer Thinner, item # 87077. As a rule, I tend to use the paint thinner produced by the same company that produced the paint being used.

I found that the Tamiya lacquer thinner worked very well, indeed, although its use is different than the acrylic thinner I’m used to using. Do not let the fact that it is a Lacquer thinner dissuade you from using it with your standard Tamiya acrylics. It works just fine.

The lacquer thinner is noticeably “stronger” than the acrylic thinner, both in how it interacts with Tamiya acrylics and how it smells. And it should be said here that if you can smell the paint you are airbrushing then you should wear a mask. Also, users are strongly advised not to have an open flame nearby as lacquer is combustible.

To those who model Soviet era and modern Russian aircraft there has been a welcome proliferation of weapons which have emerged on the market, so we have something to hang on aircraft models other than rocket launchers and dumb bombs. Unlike the west, the Soviet and now Russian military is not known for the use of smart ordnance; rare were the pictures of them fitted. But a wide range of smart weapons exist in the Russian inventory for specialized missions and the pictures coming from Syria show smart weapons being used.

A new manufacturer from Russia has come on the scene to offer perhaps the widest range of munitions than we have seen so far on the market – Advanced Modeling (AM). These are multi-media kits cleanly cast in gray, durable resin; the detail is superb.