Often times, when building a model, I want to do nothing more that spruce up the cockpit area. That is where the Eduard Zoom sets come in.

The sets, such as this one, typically contain one fret of self-adhesive, pre-painted photo etch. The detail that is included on these pre-printed parts is absolutely fabulous. It is much better than anything I could ever paint, even on my best days. Besides the instrument panels, you also get the seatbelts and rudder pedals. You will need nothing else to make an award-winning cockpit.

Also included in this set is a clear acetate sheet with the gun sights printed on it.

Adding this set to your model will require nothing more than sanding some detail off and adding the photo etch. Simple, effective, and realistic looking. What more do you want in a detail set?

Highly recommended

Thanks to Eduard and IPMS/USA for the review copy.

Recommended for the exquisite 1/32nd Tamiya P-51D kit, Lifelike Decals’ latest decals are beautiful markings and options to rival those included in the kit.

Typical of Lifelike, there are four aircraft included on the sheets. The instructions are printed on two A4 single sided sheets and one half A4 sheet. The first one is the cover and the plan views. The inside sheet includes the historical data and the research used to determine markings. The smaller third sheet is a stencil sheet.

This is the second decal sheet that Lifelike has released for the Hasegawa 1/48th scale Nakajima Ki-44 Tojo. This particular sheet is unique with the inclusion of a bunch of aircraft with kill markings on the sides.

The decals themselves are printed by Cartograf, so they are very thin and in perfect register. The decals are included on three sheets. The first and largest sheet contains everything but the kill markings. The second sheet is a small sheet that includes ‘scratched’ number ‘2’, which is perfectly executed, and the kill markings. To show you the level of attention to detail, there is a third sheet that is a correction sheet for the one set of kill markings that is finer and better executed than the previous sheet. Well done, Lifelike.

I like to articulate my flight controls, but I can never get it to look just right. The biggest hassle is the curved portion on the flight controls themselves. Quickboost offers a solution. Molded in light grey resin with no blemishes, a Bf-109F rudder and two elevators with rounded leading edges are now offered as a solution to that problem.

You will have to cut the horizontal tail surfaces and bevel the attachment area, but this wasn’t too difficult. I did this with Dymo tape and a scribing tool. Once the part was removed, the parts were trued up and then the bevel was done with a round file. All this ensured a proper fit. I pinned the elevators to the plastic piece to allow me to install and adjust the elevators to the same angle. Everything is relatively easy and within the realm of most modelers.

I elected not to use the rudder at this time, but the same process would be used for it as well.

I will not hide the fact I've always been a huge fan of the Supermarine Spitfire and specifically the Merlin-engined marks. Kagero has released volume #27 in the Topcolors series and this one certainly does not disappoint. This publication is dedicated to Polish Spitfires, specifically to eight machines ranging from a Mk I to a Mk XVI.

What your money buys you is a stunning publication with a beautifully printed glossy cover and 18 stunning pages of profile drawings of the eight Polish machines. Also included is a sheet of decals representing all eight schemes presented in the book. I shouldn't forget to mention the fact the decals are printed by Cartograf. The publication and decal set arrives in a re-sealable plastic bag which I thought to be a nice touch to preserve and protect your investment. I would hope more companies would provide this type of service like Kagero.