The MiG-17 is a subsonic fighter aircraft developed by the Soviet Union as a follow-on to the very successful MiG-15. The MiG-17 was flown by numerous air forces around the world and several countries, such as Poland were licensed to build MiG-17s.

The book focuses on the various MiG-17 variants operated by the Polish Air Force from 1955 onward. While the initial batch of MiG-17F and MiG-17PF aircraft operated by the Polish Air Force were purchased from the Soviet Union, the majority of the aircraft it used were actually built by Polish industry under a license obtained from the Soviet Union. The license-built aircraft were designated Lim-5 (fighter/interceptor) or Lim-6 (fighter-bomber) and there were a number of variants of each which were differentiated by letter suffixes to the designation.

Quickboost provides you with Su-9 Fishpot antennas consisting of four parts. 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 address the replacement of the corresponding Trumpeter parts.

Quickboost has molded the antennas perfectly in tan resin with no apparent bubbles. The Quickboost antennas provide you with no mold seams to sand off on these tiny parts along with the superior detail.

Although most paints will adhere to resin alone, I would recommend that you wash the parts to remove any remaining mold release and prime them first. They will need to be installed with your favorite CA (super glue) or epoxy, as the normal plastic glues or solvents will not react with the resin.

Scale Aircraft Conversions is known for making replacement landing gear for a wide variety of kits in virtually every scale in which model aircraft are available. This set is designed to replace the plastic gear in the Academy and Italeri F-84E/G kits. I think with a bit of work it could be used on the Tamiya kit.

The set includes both main gear legs and the nose gear made in one piece with the nose wheel. The struts are very sturdy and are made to be drop-in replacements for the kit parts. The parts require very little clean up, though some parts do occasionally become a bit bent during shipping. No worries there, though, since they are very easily straightened. Recommended, especially after you’ve added a bit of weight to make sure your Thunderjet isn’t a tail sitter. The nose gear being metal will help with providing enough weight, which is a bit difficult with the nose intake.

Scale Aircraft Conversions is known for making replacement landing gear for a wide variety of kits in virtually every scale in which model aircraft are available. This set is designed to replace the plastic gear in the Airfix Folland Gnat T.1/F.1 kit.

The set includes both main gear legs with their integral retraction struts and the nose gear. The struts are very sturdy and are made to be drop-in replacements for the kit parts. The parts require very little clean up, though some parts do occasionally become a bit bent during shipping. No worries there, though, since they are very easily straightened. Recommended, especially if you’re adding a bit of weight to make sure your Gnat isn’t a tail sitter. You’ll probably need it, too, considering the normal tail-low stance of the diminutive fighter.

Thanks to Scale Aircraft Conversions for the review sample and to IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review it.

The C-54D was a derivative of the DC-4, which was first designed in 1938. It had a 117 foot, 5 inch wingspan, was 94 feet, 3 inches in length, and was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-2000-25 engines of 1,450 HP each. By the end of production, Douglas had turned out 1,241 machines. They’re best remembered for their role in the Berlin Airlift where they became known as "Candy Bombers" for dropping candy to refugees by small parachutes on the way in to offload supplies.

The kit comes in a large colorful box, and contains 352 parts molded in light gray plastic. The model has recessed panel lines, and many parts had light flash on them. Due to the high parts count, I highlighted the letters on the sprues to make them easier to identify.