Aires has added the wheels and masks for the SU-27 Flanker to their line of resin aircraft accessories. This latest addition is molded in a grey resin; it’s smooth, seamless and bubble free.

For comparison I pulled out an Italeri Sea Flanker from my stash but found out that the Sea Flanker had 2 wheels up front. I called a friend of mine and he had the right kit so I compared it to the Encore SU-27. The Aires parts seem to be a little more detailed than the Encore wheels and the Aires paint masks are a very welcome addition to assist in painting.

I very highly recommend this product if you want a nice set of tires for your SU-27 model. I’d like to thank Aires Hobby Models and IPMS USA for the chance to do this review.

Hasegawa has been releasing many of its kits as Limited Edition issues during the last few years, and this iteration of its new-tool “advanced 737” kit in the colors of Air Do---the relatively new identity of Hokkaido Airlines---follows suit. The moldings and parts are the same as previous issues, with white fuselage halves and gray for all other parts. (Photo 37Parts.jpg) The kit comes with a stand plus alternate parts for displaying the model with gear retracted or extended. A forward interior bulkhead is provided with a big metal bolt to insert in its center, to act as ballast and prevent tail-sitting. Just to make sure my model had enough weight up front, I inserted the bolt into the front of the bulkhead instead of the rear, so the bolt head was closer to the nose.

Fine recessed surface detail is the hallmark of this kit and there was no flash on any of the parts---even the tiny gear struts and engine exhaust cones.

The Cross & Cockade International is the quarterly publication of a non-profit organization known as The First World War Aviation Historical Society. The UK based organization has been publishing these journals since 1970 with the objective of furthering the study of First World War Aviation History. The Company overview on its Facebook page says “Cross and Cockade International can trace its history back to the 1960s. We have always attracted some of the premier historians in the field. Our current President is Air Vice Marshal Peter Dye (Rtd), Director-General of the RAF Museum. We publish a high-quality quarterly journal of original research into the subject.”

NOTE: The journal is apparently not available as single issues, but by volumes. Back issues sell for $33.50 per volume.

Mushroom Model Publications are available in North American from Casemate Publications.

MMP is expanded their excellent selection of scale plans for various aircraft. Sets No. 1 and 2 (detailed below) have been available for several years. In 2014 scale sets, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 have been released. One can see that the plans are of excellent quality and are filled with detail that many modelers value.

The pages, themselves can be removed from the publication and are suitable for framing, even suitable to decorate a display base! The price is right, the quality is excellent, and the subject matter is appealing.

Set No. 1 (978-83-89450-79-1 ) priced at $10.72, formatted in A4 Softcover, spiral wire binding 24 pages in A3 - Pages - 24 (0 in colour) contains plans in 1/48th for these aircraft:

Quickboost has come out with a very nice aftermarket set of correct engine cowls for the 1/72 Academy P-38 Lightning. Right out of the clear packaging I could see that they did a very nice job in detail and size.

I took the kit cowls out and noticed I had to glue on the lower radiator intakes. The intakes did not fit very well, and would have to be filled and sanded. I then compared both cowls and you can see in the photos the kit lower intakes are bigger and thicker than the Quickboost. The scoops on the side look much nicer and are hollow, whereas the kit scoops are solid. After comparing them I started the task of cutting the Kit cowls off and installing the Quickboost ones. I used a very thin saw blade to do the job. Be careful and take your time so as not to ruin the rear cowls of the kit.